Synstelien began composing when he was thirteen and by seventeen was scoring music for big bands, funk and dance bands, world beat, and reggae bands, and eventually large-scale symphonic jazz works. He grew up traveling and living all over the United States, and has worked as a professional musician since the age of fifteen, he has become well-versed in all styles of musical performance. A musician, composer, arranger, and band leader, Jade picked up the alto sax at age eleven but traded it for a guitar at thirteen.
Jade Synstelien was born on August 17th, 1974, in Minneapolis. Jazz-and all the music born of the jazz tradition-is the truest example of real equality and unification for all people of the earth. Jade's music is inspired by the singular goal of bringing American musical heritage to the people of the United States, to spread the understanding and appreciation of our major cultural contribution to the world. A highly talented and uniquely gifted young composer, Jade Synstelien has immersed himself in the venerable traditions of jazz while developing an irrepressible individuality in his compositions and performance.
