Jazz saxophonist and composer Christopher Madsen has made impressive accomplishments during his musical career. He serves as Jazz Faculty member at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Director of Jazz at Midwest Young Artists in Highwood, IL, and has coordinated the Jazz program for the National High School Music Institute in Evanston since 2009. Madsen is an in-demand figure in the Chicago jazz world, actively performing, writing, and teaching in multiple contexts and venues. He is a sought-after jazz clinician, often adjudicating and offering clinics to ensembles of all ages and levels. Born in Chicagoland, Madsen made the decision to focus his life and career on music while still in his early teens. He showed a predilection for music at a very early age, becoming fascinated at first with rhythms he heard and attempting to re-create them. As time went on, his interest grew exponentially as the other aspects of music (melody, harmony, form, texture, and the like) grabbed his attention and wouldn’t let go. After falling in love with the at once complex and earthy nature of jazz music, there was no turning back and his love for the art form has grown consistently. Madsen understands that jazz, like any other serious discipline, deserves to be studied deeply and treated with the utmost respect if it is to be fully understood. After graduating from DePaul University in Chicago with a B.M. in Jazz Studies and studying with the likes of Mark Colby, Tom Matta and Dr. Bob Lark, Madsen auditioned for the then-relatively new Juilliard Jazz Studies program. He was accepted to the program in 2003 and moved to New York City to complete this two-year post-bachelor’s program. Madsen spent three years in New York, performing with and writing for such jazz masters as Wynton Marsalis, Victor Goines, Loren Schoenberg, Wycliffe Gordon, Kenny Washington, Jon Gordon, and many others. After graduating from Juilliard in 2005, Madsen made the decision to move back to his homeland of Chicago in 2006 and has since been artistically involved with much of the local talent, including the Ron Perrillo Quartet, the Rob Parton and Tom Matta Big Bands, the Mulligan Mosaics Big Band, and many others. Madsen continues to write for New York-based ensembles as well. Madsen has an impressive discography and can be heard on countless independent releases as well as nationally-available recordings. His saxophone playing can be found on the Loren Schoenberg Big Band’s 2006 release “Black Butterfly” featuring the vocal stylings of jazz legend Barbara Lea. Two of his big band arrangements were also featured on this album. His saxophone solos and compositions have been featured on recordings by many Chicago musicians and the Juilliard Jazz Ensembles. Madsen’s original composition “Tao Jones” served as title track for DePaul University’s release in 2004. Composing music actively for groups of all sizes, levels, and styles, Madsen is a published composer with Walrus Music Publishing. He has been commissioned to compose the Illinois Music Educators Association’s jazz piece which will serve as the basis for all jazz auditions in 2011-2012. He was honored to have his arrangement of the song “Never Let Me Go” recorded by Phil Woods and the DePaul Jazz Ensemble released in 2007 to rave reviews. He maintains a consistent compositional schedule writing for Chicago- and New York-based ensembles such as the Rob Parton Big Band, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the Jazz Museum in Harlem All-Stars. Madsen’s compositions and arrangements have been featured by many local high school jazz ensembles at in-house concerts as well as local jazz festivals. Madsen serves as Professor of Jazz Studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and is responsible for teaching Jazz Improvisation, Jazz Composition, and directing ensembles, and is assistant director of the Northwestern University Jazz Orchestra. He has been responsible for award-winning ensembles at New Trier, Libertyville, John Hersey, and Elk Grove High Schools in Illinois. Madsen currently resides in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville with his wife, Melanie, and two dogs.