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Chris’s Style

Chris goes exploring First off, it must be stressed that there isn’t really anything “2-by-4 between the eyes”, “hey lookit-me” overt about Chris’s playing at first listen. I mean, sure, he’s got the technique, but nowadays everyone does -- we live in an age when instrumental technique now means far less than the actual content of what you do with it. And this is where Chris is exceptional, in a “sneak up on you” kind of way: after you listen to him for a while, you gradually become aware that there is something consistently solid, pure, rich, and satisfying about his playing that is hard to find elsewhere.
 
The best way I can think to describe what’s special about his playing is like this:
Many jazz musicians play like they’re driving in Manhattan with a street map. There are many paths that you can choose along the grid to get from A to B, but it’s pretty straightforward to figure out which way you more or less have to go. And once you’ve been on Fifth Avenue a few times, you recognize it if it comes up again.
 
Chris plays like he’s walking in the woods with a compass. Every step is someplace new and fresh and unpredictable, determined on the spot, and you never know when you might have to veer unexpectedly around a rock or backtrack to find a way across the creek -- but there’s always an overriding sense of direction. Even though any moment could take you anywhere, he always knows where he’s going, and in the end he gets there, no problem.
Others have sensed things like this as well, and expressed it better than I can:
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REMINDER: all this is just my opinion, I could be wrong.