Steve Treseler with saxophone, photo by Ziggy Spiz

Steve Treseler is a Seattle-based saxophonist, composer, teaching artist, and author who performs and leads improvisation workshops throughout North America and Europe. DownBeat calls his music “beautifully crafted ensemble pieces—whether free, through-composed, or somewhere in between.” His music has been featured in the New York TimesDownBeat, and on NPR’s Jazz Night in America. Steve is the founder of Infinite Improvisation, offering creative music experiences in a variety of mediums: in-person and virtual workshops, instructional books, and digital media.

Treseler grew up near Seattle, and his adolescence was shaped by immersion in 90s grunge and classic jazz recordings. He began playing clarinet in fifth grade band, picking up saxophone in middle school. He began composing and recording original music in high school and performed up and down the West Coast with a youth trad jazz band. At 18, he moved to Boston to pursue his studies on scholarship at New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with jazz legends Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Brookmeyer, George Garzone, and Steve Lacy. Steve graduated with a distinction in performance and was named "Outstanding Jazz Soloist" in the Down Beat student music awards. He holds a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies and Improvised Music from the University of Washington where he served as a teaching assistant for avant-garde trumpeter Cuong Vu.

Steve at Egan's Ballard Jam House, photo by Ziggy Spiz

Steve at Egan's Ballard Jam House, photo by Ziggy Spiz

Steve leads his own ensembles and is part of several ongoing collaborative projects. He and renowned trumpeter Ingrid Jensen are co-leaders of the album Invisible Sounds: For Kenny Wheeler on Whirlwind Recordings, which was named one of DownBeat's best albums of 2019 and featured in the New York Times and on NPR's Jazz Night in America. Steve's latest EP Snow Line Suite presents a portrait of North America's mountain ranges from the inside out. Paul Rauch of Earshot jazz says, "Imagined in a variety of soundscapes, grooves, and melodies, the music unravels like an epic poem." Steve also leads the In Motion Quartet and Radiant Fields: an experimental meditation for solo saxophone and electronic effects. Steve is deeply embedded into the Northwest jazz and creative music scene as a member of The Jim Knapp Orchestra, Tom Varner’s Nonet, Scrambler, Wayne Horvitz’s Washington Composers Orchestra, Jessika Smith’s Big Band, and the Phil Parisot Quartet.

Creative music education is an integral part of Steve’s ongoing work. In addition to Infinite Improvisation programs, he is on faculty at Seattle JazzED and the Pacific Music Institue in Honolulu. His is the author of Amazon bestseller Creativity Triggers for Musicians, The Living Jazz Tradition: A Creative Guide to Improvisation and Harmony, and the Creative Music Blog. He has presented clinics at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, JEN, WMEA, Più Piano in Bavaria, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, Hawaii Saxophone Foundation, and California Jazz Conservatory.

Steve is a Conn-Selmer endorsing artist.

Contact Steve at steve@stevetres.com