James Ilgenfritz

James Ilgenfritz (born November 16, 1978 in Monroe , Michigan ) is an American bassist and composer who specializes in avant-garde jazz and improvisational music .

Live and act

Ilgenfritz attended summer courses at the Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1992-96 , and in 1997 he graduated from St. Mary Catholic Central High School in Monroe (Michigan). He then briefly studied at Eastern Michigan University before moving to the University of Michigan , where he studied with Ed Sarath , Steve Rush, Diana Gannett and Stuart Sankey and earned a Bachelor of Jazz and contemporary improvisation in 2002. Already in Michigan he played in various ensembles, like in Bill Brovold's avant / prog rock band Larval and with Danny Bennett . After moving to New York, Norm Damschroder , John Lindberg , Mark Helias and Mark Dresser were his mentors.

After a stay in San Diego 2005-06, where Ilgenfritz received his Masters at the University of California, San Diego and worked with Mark Dresser, Charles Curtis and Miller Puckette , he moved again to Brooklyn. This was followed by collaborations with Gary Lucas , Andrew D'Angelo , Chris Speed , Steve Swell , Michael Formanek , David Krakauer , Eyal Maoz, Jason Kao Hwang and Tim Berne . He is also the founder or co-leader of various New York ensembles, such as Ensemble NSFW (with Kirk Knuffke and Chris Dingman ), the Anagram Ensemble , Deal Breaker (with Mike Pride ), Mind Games (with Angelika Niescier , Denman Maroney and Andrew Drury ), with Lukas Ligeti and in the Trio Caveat (with Jonathan Moritz and Chris Welcome ). He is also active in the International Society for Improvised Music and worked with trombonist Sarah Weaver as well as with Charles Gayle .

Anagram Ensemble (Earthtones, 2003)
James Ilgenfritz, Mike Khoury, Sarah Weaver, Piotr Michalowski: Babardah (2004)
James Ilgenfritz & Sarah Weaver: … Close to the Body (Earthtones, 2004)
Deal Breaker (Utech, 2006)
Trio Caveat: Introspective Athletics (Engine Records, 2011)
Compositions (Braxton) 2011 (Infrequent Seams, 2012) solo
Origami Cosmos (2017)

personal data
SURNAME	Ilgenfritz, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American bassist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH	November 16, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH	Monroe (Michigan)