Chris

My blogs

About me

Gender Male
Industry Arts
Occupation musician/teacher
Location Brooklyn, NY, United States
Introduction I am a jazz pianist and composer in NYC spending most of my creative life in the downtown scene playing free jazz and improvised music. I play in a variety of context but my major collaborators are Matt Lavelle's group Morcilla, several groups with Steve Swell including his Nation Of We large ensemble and his newly formed 5tet, and I regularly performance with Ras Moshe's Music Now ensembles. In addition I am a classically trained composer and have written chamber works, a symphony and a full legnth ballet. I also teach vocal music percussion and songwriring at a performing arts afterschool program in Brooklyn.
Interests Music, art, architecture, world religions, arm chair science, reading, history, movies, travel (wish I did more of it), philosophy, theater, instrument making.
Favorite Movies Spirited Away, Ran, Seventh Seal, Kill Bill, Pan's Labyrinth, Hitchcock films, Up, LOTR trilogy, manymanymany old movies.....
Favorite Music Too much to name but big influences are Cecil.Taylor, Sun RA, Pharoah, Rahsaan, Trane, Braxton, most everyone I've played with in NYC, Bartok, Schoenberg, Ives, Varese, Stravinsky...especially the late stuff, Morton Feldman.
Favorite Books Again....way too much. Brothers K, Absalom, Absalom, Ulysses, LOTR, Left Hand of Darkness, Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand.

You've got to make contact with the alien leader. How will you tell when the conversation is finished?

When one of us blows the other away...hopefully Me.