Ronnie and Fred were a unique team in music history – two incredible trumpet players, each with his own remarkable style and history, yet matched perfectly for the brass quintet era they helped start. When Fred went to Georgia in 1996 he left behind huge shoes to fill. The next guy to step up to the plate was Jens.
Like all brass players today, Jens grew up listening to the Canadian Brass — he even had a poster of the group on his bedroom wall! His path to joining Canadian Brass was through McGill University in Montreal (where Jeff Nelsen was also a student) and music school in New York. He spent his twenties preparing solo repertoire for competitions and won an array of prizes. Jens left the group in May 2001.