Tim Whalen - Jazz Pianist / Composer / Arranger / Producer / Educator

“Tim Whalen is a serious improviser.”
– Tom Laskin, Isthmus Newspaper

There are people who come into this world that are meant to be special. Tim Whalen is one of these people. His love, passion, and dedication to his art come through in everything he touches, and in a very short time he has been blessed with opportunities to write and play music with some incredible people. He has played all over the United States and Europe in many different musical situations, and has written music for a wide range of styles. Whatever the style, Tim is as versatile as they come. Needless to say, the future is bright for Tim Whalen.
Whalen is held in high regard as a composer, arranger, and orchestrator. His most recent accomplishment is his string orchestration for the Oscar-winning song “El Otro Lado del Rio” by Jorge Drexler from the film “The Motorcycle Diaries.” Tim has also written music for commercials, and his music for the first DeJope Bingo ad campaign won an Addy award in Wisconsin. Versatility is so important these days, and he is equally at home writing music for an orchestra as he is writing for a jazz quintet. He is currently completing an orchestra commission for the Cobb Symphony in Atlanta where they will be playing the music of The Who featuring a 5-piece rock band accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra.
Tim has been blessed with opportunities to write and play music with some incredible people, including Jorge Drexler, David “Fathead” Newman, Jon Hendricks, Vic Juris, Richard Davis, Dennis Irwin, Barry Ries, Clyde Stubblefield, Ben Sidran, and Marcus Belgrave. He has played all over the United States, Europe and Japan in many different musical situations, and has written music for a wide range of styles.
In 1996, while still at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Whalen formed the funk / soul band Phat Phunktion. This amazing nine-piece band has shared the stage with some of the most legendary performers of our time including Chick Corea, Maceo Parker, Tower of Power, WAR, Taj Mahal, Rick James, The Brothers Johnson, and the "Original P" featuring original members of Parliament. Still going strong, Phat Phunktion is about to emerge with their 4th album.

“On You and Me, the band’s first release on a national label, producers
Tim Whalen and Al Falaschi demonstrate a talent for crafting
strong, danceable tracks.”
– JazzTimes Magazine

Not one to stand still musically, Whalen is also very busy with projects including the Tim Whalen Trio and the Tim Whalen Nonet. As musical director and chief composer and arranger, Tim has formed a hard-swinging, unique band that plays with the intricacy of a big band but maintains the freedom of a small group. His first album "Magnus" has just been released to highly positive reviews.

“Whalen's nonet is now arguably Madison's most dynamic large jazz
ensemble. His originals counterpoint a thickening book of
provocatively arranged modern standards.”
- Kevin Lynch, The Wisconsin State Journal

Tim is currently is a visiting assistant professor of Jazz Piano at the University of Toledo in Ohio, where he teaches jazz improvisation, jazz composition and arranging, jazz history, and private lessons in jazz piano. He also co-directs the Jazz Vocalstra with the legendary jazz vocalist Jon Hendricks. Needless to say, the future has arrived for Tim Whalen.