NEDERLAND -- Michael Lenssen (also known as Mickey Lenny) is a multi-instrumentalist and composer currently based in Denver. He plays trumpet, cornet, and multiple synthesizer-based instruments (including the Electric Wind Instrument), but he didn’t start out on those instruments.
His brother, two years older than him, started playing the violin when he was about five, and Lenny quickly followed suit. Lenny played violin for about ten years, and towards the end of his time playing the instrument, he started getting into improvisational music such as jazz and Brazilian music. He started playing the trumpet in fifth grade, sticking with that instrument all the way through high school.
Throughout this time, there were a few local musicians who inspired him along the way. He grew up close to Paul Erhard, currently a professor of double bass at the University of Colorado Boulder.
At the time Lenny was growing up, Erhard was part of the Colorado Conservatory of Jazz Arts. Lenny participated in programs there from middle through high school, which led him through some of his first performance opportunities.
He also earned a Jazz & Contemporary Music degree at the University of Miami (and, as a local connection, even taught ski lessons at Eldora during high school).
Lenny cites Erhard, Greg Gisbert, and Maria Schneider as major influences and important parts of his music career. Gisbert is a trumpet player who was one of Lenny’s heroes as a kid, and they are currently working on music together.
Gisbert played trumpet and flugelhorn on the album Data Lords by Maria Schneider, on which Lenny also assisted with trumpet electronics programming. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Music, among other prestigious awards.
Within a year of finishing music school in 2015, Lenny joined the Front Range band Amoramora, which sold out the Fox Theater at one point.
Eventually, he started teaching at Justice High School, where he still teaches disadvantaged youth today. He loves the vulnerability and unpredictability of being able to perform on stage, and he hopes that he is able to help people feel the emotions they need to feel at that particular time.
He is adamant that even with AI taking over so many aspects of our daily lives, “art’s not going anywhere.” To him, there is nothing that touches the human soul quite like art.
To find out more about Michael Lensson and where he’s performing, head to mickeylenny.com.
This article was originally written on June 26, 2023, to promote Lensson's performance at Knotted Root Brewing, located at 250 N. Caribou Street in Nederland, on Friday, July 7, 2023, at 5 p.m., but ultimately wasn't published due to scheduling logistics. As a result, this week's Music of the Mountains serves as an artist spotlight!
