Dennis Mitcheltree

Jazz Saxophonist and Composer

Jazz saxophonist and composer Dennis Mitcheltree will release his 8th album as a leader, "Seeing Red", Fall 2026.



A mainstay of the tenor saxophone, based in NYC & LA, he is on Janelle Monáe's 2024 Grammy nominated "The Age Of Pleasure".

Dennis has performed and recorded with masters of the jazz world: Clark Terry, Billy Taylor, George Cables, Bill Holman, Bob Moses, Jim McNeely, Howard Johnson, Gary Bartz, Kenny Werner, James Williams, Don Sickler, Charli Persip, Ronnie Matthews, Pete Yellin, Richie Cole, Bill Holman, Pete Christlieb, Doug Webb, Carl Saunders, Joe Labarbera, John Clayton, Christian Jacob and Bruce Forman along with contemporaries Uri Caine, Ingrid Jensen, Johannes Wallmann, Andy Milne and David Binney.

Mitcheltree was born and raised in Wisconsin, picking up the oboe and saxophone at age 12. He received a scholarship from Berklee College of Music where he graduated with a Magna cum Laude degree in Jazz Performance in 1987. He is the Artistic Director for the American Music Group, widely known for the INFLUENCES series presented at Carnegie Hall, and an award-winning saxophonist and composer.

A former student of Joe Viola, Billy Pierce, Jim McNeely, George Garzone and Joe Lovano, Dennis is also a renowned jazz teacher and clinician of jazz improvisation, harmony, composition and saxophone/woodwinds. He teaches privately and as a guest artist/clinician/lecturer at universities and jazz education programs worldwide.

Reviews

"Mitcheltree's tenor is soulful, swinging, and street smart."
Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
"Inside you'll find discipline, history, and a whole lot of heart."
John Barrett, JazzUSA.com

"He is a master storyteller with the tenor sax..."
Jared Donze, Iowa City Icon

"...the saxophonist is aggressively adventurous and most expressive...Mitcheltree evokes hearty tones from his instrument as he masterfully interweaves unexpected lines to create fascinating sound tapestries at any tempo."
Nancy Ann Lee, Jazz Times

"...one of the area's best young tenor players...His album "Brooklyn" (Dengor) is one of the better records of the last two years."
Martin Johnson, Newsday (NYC)

"Mitcheltree's quartet is definitely hard-core NYC: tough sounding, aggressive, and complex. They swing hard, even at midtempo, as though all of them were percussionists, which infectiously pulls the listener into their complex conversations."
Dave McElfresh, Jazz Now

"If you like your jazz virile, vital and post-bop, remember his name. To the names of Milwaukee's rising national jazz stars - including David Hazeltine, Brian Lynch, Carl Allen and Arriale - add Dennis Mitcheltree."
Mike Drew, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Mitcheltree is a strong player and equally talented composer."
Michael J. Renner, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"...an awesome recording that every jazz enthusiast should become familiar with. This should be on your must get list; I have become a fan with the first listening - you will too."
Michael L. Bolden, Brooklyn Advocate

"He strolls with an elegant sound through the history of jazz in the classic saxophone trio format, and on a few tracks in a quartet setting with piano. Along with his reverence for the jazz masters he has an enthusiastically fresh approach to his music."
Volker Marquardt, German daily newspaper, TAZ Hamburg

"He's a player whose appeal resides in his effortless textural patterns and unbroken tone..."
The Jazz Report

"BROOKLYN by Dennis Mitcheltree is, without doubt, the best piece of independently, artist-produced jazz of '96, skillfully composed and executed by a fellow who I consider to be a talent very deserving of wider recognition."
Daniel Kozak, Cyber City Magazine/Music-Real Jazz

"...talent like this will rejuvenate jazz for another generation."
Chico Jazz Radio

"The music is beautiful."
Shlomo Israeli, Israel Broadcasting

"...the highest quality Jazz music I've heard for quite some time."
hEARd Magazine

"This CD feels like present day Brooklyn, fast, adventurous, modern, big."
Cathy Austin, KZSU Radio"