Logan Strosahl fuses an affinity for innovative contemporary jazz with deep appreciation for British and European classical traditions, securing a singular place among post-bop practitioners. After earning his degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory, the saxophonist fused these contrasting sources at an early stage, first presenting the resulting layered perspective on his 2015 leader debut, Up We Go. Artistic development has since continued through widely varying settings, from spare duo performances to fully arranged sessions with his seven-piece ensemble. In 2017 he began translating medieval Arthurian legend into music with Book I of Arthur; the follow-up, Book II of Arthur: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, arrived on Sunnyside in September 2021.
A Seattle native, Strosahl started saxophone lessons in childhood after his parents immersed him in both classical repertoire and jazz. As a teenager he sharpened his skills inside the respected jazz program at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, then entered the New England Conservatory and graduated in 2011. His listening encompassed jazz figures Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, and Duke Ellington as well as composers Henry Purcell and William Byrd and 16th- and 17th-century consort music, all of which helped shape a voice equally devoted to composition and improvisation. That breadth surfaced on the 2015 album Up We Go. He next issued Janus, an investigative duo project recorded with longtime partner pianist Nick Sanders. Book I of Arthur, released in 2017, launched an ambitious three-part series rooted in the King Arthur legend, while its successor, Book II of Arthur: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, appeared on Sunnyside in September 2021.
