Glenn Jenks (February 9, 1947 – January 21, 2016) was an American ragtime pianist, composer and music historian.
Career and life Jenks was a "prolific ragtime composer, teacher and performer from Maine who fused traditional ragtime with classical music themes". He attended the New England Conservatory before going on to receive a degree in music from Earlham College, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Jenks toured with singer-songwriter Jud Strunk between 1975 and 1978. He also performed with such acts as Manhattan Transfer, Dick Hyman, Gordon Bok, Doc Watson and Andy Williams. In 1978, Jenks began his solo performing career and in 1979 released his first album entitled Antidote on the Bonnie Banks record label.
Throughout the 1980s, Jenks served as pianist for the New England Vaudeville Review, the New Vaudeville Revival, and husband and wife dance duo Tony and Karen Montanaro. Jenks was an original founding member of numerous ragtime festivals and between 1989 and 2000 he produced the Harvest Ragtime Revue in Camden, Maine. Jenks was a noted ornithologist and botany specialist on roses who conducted tours of gardens throughout the Camden area. He founded the annual Rose Day celebration at the Merryspring Nature Center.
Jenks was commissioned by Down East Singers to compose Heaven and Earth are Full of Thy Glory for their concert tour of Russia. His String Quartet in Ragtime has been recorded and performed by several string quartets including the Laurentian Quartet, Vancadium Quartet and the Halcyon Quartet.
Jenks died on January 21, 2016, in Portland, Maine.
Legacy In 2019, the Glenn Jenks Ragtime Revue premiered at the Camden Opera House in Camden, Maine. The Revue revived a tradition that Jenks started 30 years prior which brought nationally-known artists together in "song, dance, humor and ragtime." The Revue has presented awards to various ragtime performers including Sue Keller, Edward A. Berlin and Max Morath. It also sponsors the "Glenn Jenks Future in Music Prize" in association with the Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School in Rockport, Maine.
In 2020, a collection of Jenk’s complete rags for piano was released. In May 2024, American pianist Corte Swearingen released the album The Complete Ragtime Works for Piano by Glenn Jenks - Vol. 1. The Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri posthumously awarded Jenks their 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award.The Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival. June 4, 2024. Glenn Jenks: Outstanding Achievement Award.
Discography Year Album title Performers Record label Catalog number 1979 Antidote Glenn Jenks Bonnie Banks Records BB 101 1981 Background Music Glenn Jenks, Various Philo Records FR-157 1983 The Ragtime Project Glenn Jenks Bonnie Banks Records BB 103 1985 The Ragtime Project - Volume Two Glenn Jenks Bonnie Banks Records BB 104 1988 Ragtime Alchemy Glenn Jenks Stomp Off SOS1179 1991 American Beauties Glenn Jenks Bonnie Banks Production BB 106CD 1994 Easy Winners Glenn Jenks Bonnie Banks Production BB 108CD1995 Ragtime Bigtime Glenn Jenks, Dan Grinstead Stomp Off Records Stomp Off CD 1292 1999 Invitation to the Danza Glenn Jenks Viridiana Productions VRD 2011 1999 Ragtime Sweets Glenn Jenks, Susan Boyce Smart Set Sound SSS-002 2007 Spider In the Tub Glenn Jenks Bonnie Banks Production BB 109CD
Music publications Jenks, Glenn (1993). A Garden of Ragtime, Squanlake Music. 68 pages. Jenks, Glenn (2020). The Complete Ragtime Works For Piano by Glenn Jenks. 265 pages.
References
External links
Maine Public Radio: An Exploration of Ragtime - Glenn Jenks List of Piano Compositions Glenn Jenks at YouTube