CD review: Jim Buennig – Smoke & Mirrors 2019: Video

A native of Geneseo, Illinois, Jim Buennig [BYOO-nig] is a saxophonist, educator, composer, and recording artist based in Austin, TX specializing in a range of musical styles with his main focus being jazz. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Western Illinois University and a Master of Arts degree in Jazz Studies from The University of Iowa.

Jim relocated to Austin from Iowa City in the summer of 2017 and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Performance while serving as an Assistant Instructor in the Jazz Studies department of the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. He also maintains a private saxophone studio in the greater Austin area. Buennig was the recipient of the Eleanor Alexander Stribling Award for Excellence in Jazz Studies in November 2018 at the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music.

In March 2017, Buennig released It’s Like This, his self-produced debut studio album. The album consists entirely of original compositions and has received wide critical acclaim. Hobart Taylor of Orange County Public Radio (Irvine, CA) called Buennig’s playing “relaxed, not derivative or chasing fashion, and perpetually in the groove.”

Midwest Record described the album as “a solid dose of pure jazz for serious listeners that want to hear some new stuff done right.”

In July of 2017, the Jim Buennig Quintet recorded a live EP entitled Live at the Life. This recording documented his Iowa band’s final performance before Buennig relocated to Austin, TX and it was released on December 1, 2017.

Buennig and his groups play extensively throughout Texas and the midwest and have made appearances at the Iowa City Jazz Festival and the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival. Buennig has also performed with the Steve Hawk Jazz Orchestra, New Original Works Jazz Orchestra, Johnny Fury, Johnson County Landmark, Western Illinois University Jazz Studio Orchestra, the Peoria Heritage Ensemble, and numerous cover bands throughout Texas, Iowa, and Illinois, including a performance at Summer Camp Music Festival (Chillicothe, IL). Buennig is a member of the Austin-based Boss Street Brass Band.

Jim’s major influences include Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Kenny Garrett, Vincent Herring, Cannonball Adderley, Wayne Shorter, and Tom Harrell.

1. Chasin’ Chickens 06:00
2. Família 06:30
3. Smoke & Mirrors 06:51
4. Float 07:56
5. Dearborn Station 03:59
6. Breakdown 06:25
7. Lone Traveler 06:32
8. Sink Or Swim 06:32