Jesse Selengut

Jesse Selengut is an accomplished New York City-based musician and composer with a versatile background in film, theater, production and performance. Influenced by his mother’s dedication to music and his love for jazz and contemporary greats, Selengut pursued his passion from boyhood through a Bachelor’s at Cornell and a Master’s in trumpet performance from N.Y.U. In 1999, Selengut composed, recorded and produced his first score for the Academy Award short-listed film Fin, the story of an elderly woman’s life told in reverse. This monumental project allowed Selengut to craft phrases of music that could be played both forward and backward.

When it came to giving back to the community, Selengut was instrumental in founding, directing and producing the Williamsburg Jazz festival from 2003 to 2007. Later he composed settings for Tennessee Williams's lyrics in Cosmin Chivu’s 2013 production of The Mutilated, while also acting as music director and performer. The play enjoyed a run at the Tennessee Williams festival in Provincetown, Rhode Island and then a sold out thirty-day run in New York City, as well as a sold out stay at The Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans. Recently Selengut reunited with director Chivu to compose music for a staged reading of Tadeusz Slobodzianek’s Our Class at the Temple Emanu-El Skirball Center in Manhattan. Working alongside a star-studded cast of theatrical, film and television actors, Selengut conducted his original score for the powerful and gripping single-night performance.

When not composing for others, Selengut is a writer, performer, producer and bandleader of the American roots band Tin Pan, having put out eight full-length releases and sold over 40,000 CDs within the band’s fifteen-year run. With all of Selengut’s performances, one cannot help but notice how the music consumes him—his devotion is undeniable, his energy unending and his soul completely full.