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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 57)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genresjazz, improvisation
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)tenor saxophone, clarinet
LabelsSkirl, Intakt
Websitewww.chrisspeed.com

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

Early life and career

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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, Jim 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] the Chris Speed Trio (with Dave King and Chris Tordini)[8] and Broken Shadows (with Tim Berne, Reid Anderson and Dave King) a band dedicated to reinterpreting the music of Ornette Coleman and Julius Hemphill.

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, Bulgarian and Turkish works. Speed also performed and recorded with the Balkan brass and jazz band Slavic Soul Party!.[10]

Speed is a founding member of the avant-garde jazz groups Bloodcount (Tim Berne, Jim Black, Michael Formanek),[11] The Claudia Quintet (John Hollenbeck, Matt Moran, Red Wierenga, and Drew Gress),[12] AlasNoAxis (Black, Sverrisson, and Hilmar Jensson),[13] and Heroic Frenzies (Craig Taborn, Dave King, and Chris Lightcap).[14]

In 2006, Speed created Skirl Records, a label dedicated to Brooklyn-based creative music.[15]

In August 2021, Speed joined The Bad Plus.[16] They released an album, entitled simply The Bad Plus, on September 30, 2022.[17]

Awards and honors

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

Selected discography

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as a leader

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  • Yeah No (Songlines, 1997)
  • Deviantics (Songlines, 1999)
  • Emit (Songlines, 2000)
  • Iffy (Knitting Factory, 2000)
  • Swell Henry (Squealer, 2004)
  • Really OK (Skirl, 2014)
  • Platinum On Tap (Intakt, 2017)
  • Respect for Your Toughness (Intakt, 2019)
  • Light Line (Intakt, 2021)
  • Despite Obstacles (Intakt, 2023)

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 The Clarinets

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

with Endangered Blood

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

with Zeno De Rossi

  • Ruins (Skirl, 2014)

with Broken Shadows

  • Broken Shadows (Vinyl: Newvelle, 2019; CD and Digital: Intakt, 2021)
  • Broken Shadows Live (Screwgun, 2021)

with The Bad Plus

  • The Bad Plus (Edition Records, 2022)

as a sideman

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with Tim Berne

with Jim Black

with The 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)
  • Evidence Based (Flexatonic, 2021)

with Uri Caine

with Dave King

  • Good Old Light (Sunnyside, 2011)
  • Adopted Highway (Sunnyside, 2013)
  • Surrounded by the Night (Sunnyside, 2016)
  • Old TV (Self-released, 2023)

with Craig Taborn

with others/selected

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ 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. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  15. ^ Collins, Troy (27 October 2006). "New Exit From Brooklyn: Chris Speed's Skirl Records". All About Jazz. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  16. ^ "The Bad Plus Reformulates Again, Now as a Quartet with Ben Monder and Chris Speed". Wbgo.org. 17 August 2021.
  17. ^ "The Bad Plus". Thebadplus.com. 11 October 2022.
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