Quotes: Though his looks hint at a player still in his early teen years, his resume - including having been a soloist with Illinois Jacquet's big band and a longtime musical associate of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt- Julius Tolentino blows a mature alto saxophone with a veteran tone revealing nothing but a brighter future ahead, for him, for any listener in earshot, and for jazz music in general.

A fiery alto player with a fresh, open sound, and an original style that doesn't remind you of someone else—and he's the nicest guy you ever met!

It is my pleasure to have Julius Tolentino as a member of the Illinois Jacquet Big Band. Julius is well educated, well trained and his very clear understanding of the fundamentals of music magnifies his God-given talent as a performing artist. Julius has a strong foundation of a very exemplary character and the natural passion and feeling that he puts into his music can bring only joy and happiness to those with the good fortune to hear him.

The latest in a long line of protégés of Jackie Mclean…Tolentino layers a creamy lead alto sound with a tart tenorish attack reminiscent of Mclean and Gary Bartz.



Articles: All About Jazz New York "March 2005" No. 35

Saxophonist Julius Tolentino has made his mark on the Jazz scene since his arrival to New York in ’97 and has since apprenticed and recorded with bandleaders Eric Reed and the late Illinois Jacquet. He has performed with such distinguished artists as drummers

Billy Drummond and Charlie Persip, trumpeters Philip Harper and Marcus Printup, saxophonists Craig Handy and Wes Anderson, vocalists Kevin Mahogany and Marlena Shaw, as well as the Count Basie and Duke Ellington Orchestras.

TEACHERS: I went through Bloomfield, NJ public schools and had many great local teachers, too many to mention. Jackie McLean has been a musical father to many and has been that and much more to me. I’m still trying to deal with what he was getting me to do 8 years ago. If Jackie was my musical dad, Illinois Jacquet was definitely my musical granddad. He taught me how to play in a big band and always strive for perfection. I have also been fortunate to study some classical saxophone with Kenneth Radnofsky, ear training with Jeff Goldstein and more recently with Ralph Bowen.

INFLUENCES: I try to check out the whole lineage of alto and tenor saxophonists from beginning to now. Definitely gravitate towards either alto players that have a tenor player’s concept—McLean, Gary Bartz, and Kenny Garrett and tenor players like Trane, Stitt and Rollins. I have been working on my tenor playing and have been checking out Lester Young, Jacquet and Warne Marsh.

CURRENT PROJECTS: I will be recording my first record as a leader with Steve Davis (trombone) and Jeremy Pelt (trumpet). I also have a group called Full Circle, which I hope to record soon, and which has more swing music influences.

BY DAY: Practice, teach some lessons and practice some more.

I KNEW I WANTED TO BE A MUSICIAN WHEN…

I played in a youth band in my hometown. The experience of making music that sounded really good. Also that same summer I went to Eastman for a jazz camp and that did it.

DREAM BAND: Elvin Jones, Reggie Workman, McCoy Tyner and what the heck Trane too, it's my dream. My "all still on earth" band would be Lewis Nash (drums),Ron Carter (bass) and Mulgrew Miller (piano).

DID YOU KNOW? My Dad named me after "Dr J" Julius Erving, #6. And so it seems the number 6 has always been my lucky number. Example, I won the shuttle run in the 6th grade in the 6th lane. Review of On the Loose
The Sharp Nine Class of 2001 | Sharp Nine Records
All About Jazz.com
By Jack Bowers

A note to this year's poll winning Jazz instrumentalists: don't look over your shoulder; there's a group of talented young players running behind you who are rapidly gaining ground with every ambitious stride they take. And if you wish to maintain your composure, do whatever you must to avoid listening to On the Loose by the Sharp Nine Class of 2001. It could be harmful to your self'confidence. Nine they're not (only six) but sharp they are. These young post boppers, ages 21-25 when their coming out album was recorded in June 2000, sound at times like a dynamic new incarnation of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Another group they bring to mind is the topnotch New York cooperative All for One. Many card-carrying musicians in the New York City area have probably heard about these precocious cats already, at least by reputation, and if this recording is any yardstick, it shouldn't be long before the rest of the Jazz world gets the message too.

The sextet includes identical twins Marcus (tenor, soprano sax) and drummer E.J. Strickland (you can tell them apart by the 'dos and by the fact that Marcus carries a saxophone case on his back); alto Julius Tolentino who has studied with master player / educator Jackie McLean at the Hartt School of Music; trumpeter Jeremy Pelt from the Berklee School and, most recently, the Mingus Big Band and Jimmy Heath Quintet; Florida born bassist Brandon Owens who has gigged with Benny Green and Monty Alexander, among others; and pianist Jeb Patton whose influences include McCoy Tyner, Bud Powell, Ahmad Jamal, Cedar Walton and his mentor at Queens College, the marvelous Sir Roland Hanna.

While splendid at any tempo, the group is at its collective best on the trio of flag'wavers ' Dexter Gordon's 'I Want More,' Jimmy Heath's 'The Quota,' McLean's 'Bird Lives' ' wherein they can show off their monstrous chops and remarkably tight rapport. Completing the program are Reuben Brown's scampering 'Billy' and one congenial composition each by Tolentino ('Dedicated to Dad'), Pelt ('Reassurance'), Patton ('All Is Not Lost') and Marcus Strickland ('For Fewer Words'). The front'liners are quick and daring, the rhythm section nimble and responsive, although drummer E.J. (like Blakey before him) is sometimes a tad too boisterous and emphatic for our taste. Patton is especially persuasive whether comping or soloing.

This is an excellent group of well-schooled musicians who play much older than they are, and Sharp Nine deserves a round of applause for supporting them as they endeavor to make a name for themselves in a crowded and uncommonly demanding profession.