An Indy native, Jared Thompson is a saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He began piano at the age of 5 and began studying saxophone at the age of 10. The North Central High School(c/o 2000)and Denison University alum(c/o2004) formed his own jazz quartet Premium Blend in 2007. A mainstay and fan favorite in the Indy area, Premium Blend has been featured in two national award-winning documentaries “Go Get Your Horn”, and “Chatterbox: A Love Letter.” They have also released four albums “S.O.A.P.(Sum Of All Parts) and “The Road,” and released their third album “Vices” in June of 2019. Premium Blend’s fourth studio album, “38th & Postmodernism,” was a featured commission by the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation for Indy Jazz Fest 2020, and is the soundtrack for the docu-concert “38th & Postmodernism” that addressed the myriad of social tensions that were at the forefront of America’s mind throughout 2020. Their documentary was accepted by the Heartland International Film Festival under the Indy Shorts category in 2021. Thompson has also performed at SXSW(2018) and was recently commissioned by Classical Music Indy to compose a piece that was released in November of 2021. Most recently, Thompson and Premium Blend released their fifth studio album, “Virtue,” in the spring of 2023 thanks to a generous grant from Mapfund.org based out of NYC. Thompson’s main goal is to present the evolution of jazz music from its zenith of popularity during the Blue Note Records years to today.