Executive Tea Set (Behind the Beat)

Executive Tea Set is a jazz band that plays playful and compelling original music with deftness and humor.   Paul Dietrich………...Trumpet Mark Siegenthaler…..Piano Bradley Townsend…..Bass Michael Brenneis…...Drums   Executive Tea Set is a tea set for the discerning executive. Stylish and functional; the correct accoutrement for the shrewd; an asset to any high-society soiree where affairs of business are conducted. Actually, Executive Tea Set is a jazz band that plays playful and compelling original music with deftness and humor. The sound is idiosyncratic, yet familiar, distinctive, yet systematic—played with grace, abandon, elegance, and intensity.   Bios Drummer Michael Brenneis has been an essential mover in the Madison improvised music community for twenty years. From his early work with Tomato Box and The Active Percussion Duo, to later projects such as Post Consumer Gnarl, The Ten Sleeps Trio, The Improvisor’s Workbench, and Plutonium, he is consistently demolishing the boundaries of musical convention. In 2018 Michael was awarded an Artistic Development Grant by the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium to compose, record and premiere a large ensemble work entitled Plutonium. In 2019 Michael recorded a quasi-monthly series of improvised duets under the handle Deeds & Endeavors Part One, available on bandcamp: https://deedsone.bandcamp.com/ Pianist Mark Siegenthaler holds a Master’s degree in Improvisation from the University of Michigan. A computer music and analog synth whiz, Mark’s talents are much sought after in the world of contemporary music. Mark also performs with Arp of the Covenant. Bassist Bradley Townsend holds a Master’s degree in improvisation from the University of Michigan, and teaches jazz and classical Bass at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. Bradley has performed with Arp of the Covenant, the Rountree Ensemble, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. His work has also been featured in Jazziz magazine.   Trumpet player Paul Dietrich has been described as “an apt bandleader, an exceptional composer, and a superlative performer” (All About Jazz) and “a skilled composer” (JazzTrail) and his music has been praised as “stunningly beautiful” (Audiophile Audition) and “captivating” (Chicago Jazz Magazine).   A composer, trumpet player and educator based in the Midwest, Dietrich has been the leader of the Paul Dietrich Quintet since 2012 and the Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble since 2016. The Chicago-based Quintet has released two albums: Focus (2017, ears&eyes) and We Always Get There (2014, Blujazz). The Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble’s 2019 album Forward features guest artist and world-renowned drummer Clarence Penn (Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider) alongside many of the Midwest’s best jazz musicians, including Greg Ward, Russ Johnson, Dustin Laurenzi, Matt Gold, and Andy Baker.