Chris Speed

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Chris Speed
Chris Speed in Aarhus, Denmark 2010
Chris Speed in Aarhus, Denmark 2010
Background information
Born (1967-02-12) February 12, 1967 (age 54)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
GenresAvant-garde jazz, free jazz, free improvisation
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsSaxophone, clarinet
LabelsSkirl
Associated actsPachora, Human Feel, The Clarinets, yeah NO, Endangered Blood, Trio Iffy
Websitewww.chrisspeed.com

Chris Speed (born February 12, 1967) is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.[1]

Early life and career[]

Speed grew up outside of Seattle and studied classical piano and clarinet from an early age.[1] He later began studying jazz, took up the tenor saxophone, and performed in a local big band while in high school.[1]

Speed attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he founded Human Feel with Andrew D'Angelo, Black, and Kurt Rosenwinkel;[1] the band continued performing after his move to New York.[2]

Speed leads or co-leads the groups Pachora (with Jim Black, Skúli Sverrisson, and Brad Shepik),[3] The Clarinets (with Oscar Noriega and Anthony Burr),[4] yeah NO (with Black, Sverrisson, and Cuong Vu),[5] Trio Iffy (with Ben Perowsky and Jamie Saft),[6] Endangered Blood (with Black, Noriega and Trevor Dunn),[7] and the Chris Speed Trio (with Dave King and Chris Tordini).[8]

The co-led quartet Pachora was influenced by Balkan and Middle Eastern rhythms[3] and said to be "immersed in Eastern European and Moroccan music",[9] performing originals and Greek and Turkish works. Speed also performed and recorded with the Balkan brass and jazz band Slavic Soul Party!.[10]

Speed has performed with the avant-garde jazz groups Bloodcount (Tim Berne, Jim Black, Michael Formanek, and sometimes Marc Ducret),[11] The Claudia Quintet (John Hollenbeck, Matt Moran, Ted Reichman, and Drew Gress),[12] AlasNoAxis (Jim Black, Sverrisson, and Hilmar Jensson),[13] and Heroic Frenzies (Craig Taborn, Dave King, and Chris Lightcap).[14]

In 2006, Speed founded Skirl Records, a label dedicated to his musical community in Brooklyn.[1]

Awards and honors[]

  • Rising Star on clarinet, DownBeat magazine, 2004, 2005, 2006
  • NEA composition grant in 1993, 2004

Discography[]

As leader[]

  • Yeah No (Songlines, 1997)
  • Deviantics (Songlines, 1999)
  • Emit (Songlines, 2000)
  • Iffy (Knitting Factory, 2000)
  • Swell Henry (Squealer, 2004)
  • Jugendstil (ESP Disk, 2008)
  • Really OK (Skirl, 2014)
  • Ruins (Skirl, 2014)
  • Platinum On Tap (Intakt, 2017)
  • Respect for Your Toughness (Intakt, 2019)

With Human Feel

  • Human Feel (Human Use, 1989)
  • Scatter (GM, 1991)
  • Welcome to Malpesta (New World 1994)
  • Speak to It (Songlines, 1996)
  • Galore (Skirl, 2007)
  • Gold (Intakt, 2019)

With Pachora

  • Pachora (Knitting Factory, 1997)
  • Unn (Knitting Factory, 1998)
  • Ast (Knitting Factory, 1999)
  • Astereotypical (Winter & Winter, 2003)

With Endangered Blood

  • Endangered Blood (Skirl, 2011)
  • Work Your Magic (Skirl, 2013)
  • Don't Freak Out (Skirl, 2018)

With The Clarinets

  • The Clarinets (Skirl, 2006)
  • Keep On Going Like This (Skirl, 2011)
  • No Pressure (Skirl, 2019)

With others

  • Broken Shadows with Broken Shadows (Newvelle, 2019)
  • Buffalo Age with Buffalo Age (ILK Music, 2007)
  • Smell the Difference with Tyft (Skirl, 2009)
  • Plunge with Zeno De Rossi Sultry (El Gallo Rojo 2005)

As sideman[]

With Tim Berne

With Jim Black

With Uri Caine

With Dave Douglas

With Curtis Hasselbring

  • The New Mellow Edwards (Skirl, 2006)
  • Big Choantza (Skirl, 2009)
  • Number Stations (Cuneiform, 2013)

With Claudia Quintet

  • John Hollenbeck/The Claudia Quintet (CRI, 2001)
  • I, Claudia (Cuneiform, 2004)
  • Semi-Formal (Cuneiform, 2005)
  • For (Cuneiform, 2007)
  • Royal Toast (Cuneiform, 2010)
  • What Is the Beautiful? (Cuneiform, 2011)
  • September (Cuneiform, 2013)
  • Super Petite (Cuneiform, 2016)

With John Hollenbeck

  • A Blessing (Omnitone, 2005)
  • Rainbow Jimmies (GPE, 2008)

With Dave King

  • Good Old Light (Sunnyside, 2011)
  • Adopted Highway (Sunnyside, 2013)
  • Surrounded by the Night (Sunnyside, 2016)

With Myra Melford

With Henning Sieverts Symmetry

  • Symmetry (Pirouet, 2007)
  • Blackbird (Pirouet, 2009)

With John Zorn

  • Bar Kokhba (Tzadik, 1996)
  • Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d (Tzadik, 2000)
  • Voices in the Wilderness (Tzadik, 2003)

With others

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Fitzell, Sean (January 2012). "Feature: Chris Speed" (PDF). The New York City Jazz Record. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  2. ^ Chinen, Nate (24 February 2006). "The Listings: Feb. 24 - March 2; Human Feel". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Chinen, Nate (18 March 2010). "PACHORA: Cross-Cultural Rhythms Amid Relaxed Chemistry". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  4. ^ Chinen, Nate (21 August 2008). "Jazz Listings". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ^ Ratliff, Ben (17 December 1999). "Chris Speed's Yeah No". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  6. ^ Astarita, Glenn (1 May 2000). "Chris Speed Trio: Iffy". All About Jazz. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  7. ^ Ratliff, Ben (6 March 2011). "New Jazz That Keeps an Ear Trained on the Past". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  8. ^ Chinen, Nate (29 December 2016). "Pop, Rock and Jazz in NYC This Week". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  9. ^ Ratliff, Ben (10 January 1998). "JAZZ REVIEW; Gleefully Rattling Around the World". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  10. ^ Gottschalk, Kurt (19 January 2006). "Slavic Soul Party!: Bigger". All About Jazz. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  11. ^ Kelman, John (20 October 2005). "Tim Berne's Bloodcount: Memory Select - The Paris Concert III". All About Jazz. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  12. ^ Chinen, Nate (10 December 2009). "Jazz Listings". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  13. ^ Nicholson, Stuart (25 April 2019). "Jim Black Alasnoaxis: Splay". JazzTimes. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Broken Shadows: Dave King, Reid Anderson, Tim Berne, Chris Speed". Arts + Literature Laboratory. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

External links[]

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