James Jensen

For nearly a decade, James Jensen has been a woodwind repair specialist, performer, and educator in the Cedar Valley. After completing a Master of Music Performance from Wichita State University, he relocated to Cedar Falls to take an apprenticeship learning woodwind instrument repair with Randy Jones at Tenor Madness. As a multiple woodwind instrumentalist, Jimmy performs throughout the state in a variety of settings including the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Theatre Cedar Rapids, the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, and the UNI Faculty Saxophone Quartet.

An Arkansas native, Jimmy earned a Bachelor of Music Education with an emphasis in saxophone from the University of Central Arkansas where he was a student of Dr. Jackie Lamar. Pursuing his love for teaching and performing, Jimmy moved to Wichita in 2014 to continue his studies with Dr. Geoffrey Deibel. Here, he was a graduate assistant and founding member of the Amaranth Quartet, an ensemble that took second place in the Wolff-Bing Chamber Music Competition and performed at conferences around the country. Being equally interested in classical and jazz styles, he participated in jazz combos, big bands, musical pits, orchestras, wind ensembles, and anything else that required a woodwind player. In his spare time, Jimmy began customizing and refacing woodwind mouthpieces and this quickly grew into an online business that reaches customers worldwide, including Jeff Coffin, Brad Leali, Professor of Jazz Saxophone at the University of North Texas, and Paul Perez, formerly of Tower of Power. 

With a background in mechanics and auto repair as a teenager, instrument repair was a way to blend a variety of passions. As a mouthpiece craftsman, Jimmy was invited by Brad Leali to the University of North Texas in 2015 to give a masterclass on mouthpiece anatomy and design. Jimmy has since presented this session and many others on woodwind repair topics at high schools, universities, and conferences nationwide such as the International Saxophone Symposium, TMEA, and IBA. Soon after starting at Tenor Madness, instrument repair became a full-time passion that led to Jimmy opening his own repair shop, J&H Winds, with his friend Simon Harding. At J&H Winds, Jimmy repairs all woodwinds, develops new instruments and mouthpieces, and provides a resource center for players looking to troubleshoot issues and improve their playing experience. In addition to repairing and performing, Jimmy maintains a private lesson studio open to all ages and skill levels.

Education

M.M. – Wichita State University
B.M.E. – University of Central Arkansas