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his sound his style his range his growth his quest his songs << back |
Chris’s GrowthHerewith, for your edification and enlightenment, a few milestones from the path of Chris’s development on record: 1990: This is Chris’s first solo on his first [official] record date. Relatively straightahead -- as the song requires -- but with the confidence of a seasoned veteran, and already some hints of interesting intervallic leaps. And when Red wants his band to stretch beyond bop, Chris is right at home. 1992: After a couple more years and a couple more record dates, Chris is finally in the studio as a quasi-leader. Right from the first cut, we can hear an even more personal tone emerging, a reassuring effortless creativity. On this album, he also unleashes one of his earliest cadenzas. This is a favored armament of the tenorist -- Rollins, Tabackin and others have devoted many years to developing this a capella art -- but, even so early in his career, Chris is remarkable for the drama and intensity he generates -- when he’s done, the band kicks back in at white heat! Chris’s first record as leader. Among a slew of his own tunes, he also includes a Thelonious Monk cover, proving that he has impeccable taste.more >> |
