Jazz Articles about Chris Washburne

Chris Washburne: Instrumental Activist

by Jason Crane
November 22, 2006

Chris Washburne: Instrumental Activist

by Jason Crane
October 23, 2006

Trombonist, composer and educator Chris Washburne has added another title--activist. Washburne and his longtime partners, The SYOTOS Band, are making a bold political statement on their new album, Land of Nod (Jazzheads, 2006). Like all bold political statements, this one is... danceable? You read that right. Washburne manages to pack the same punch on the dance floor as always, but he's coupling it with an ideological message intended to give listeners a meaning behind the music.In September, Washburne ...

Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band: Paradise in Trouble

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
August 25, 2003

Chris Washburne and his Syotos Band are very special. This would be just an opinion -- however accurate -- if it weren't for the fact that they've maintained long-term weekly gigs at a top jazz club (Smoke) and a top Latin club (Nuyorican Poets Cafe), the latter for eight years. Recently, they added Tuesdays at a top blues club (B.B. King's). These gigs are notable for two reasons: one, in the current dismal climate of New York's clubs, getting one ...

Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band: The Other Side (El Otro Lado)

by Jim Santella
September 1, 2001

Dedicated to Tito Puente, Chris Washburne's second recording with his stellar SYOTOS band brings fresh air to a staid genre. The Latin jazz umbrella covers a lot of territory. Washburne's focus is on salsa dance music for its starting point. You can dance to it. Just try to keep still. However, to the salsa formula, the bandleader adds somewhat more complex jazz elements and searing solos. You get the best of both worlds. This is music you can appreciate, while ...

Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band: The Other Side (El Otro Lado)

by Bob Powers
August 1, 2001

The young lions of today are smart enough to have studied their elders. Chris Washburne, a young Ohioan who leads a seven-piece band, has paid close attention to some of jazz history's best.Washburne, who plays exciting trombone with agility and knowledge of his elders, intended to have his new album pay tribute to Latin master Tito Puente. Alas, Puente's death last year robbed Washburne of his final opportunity to play a role in the long Puente recording history. ...

Chris Washburne and the Syotos Band: Nuyorican Nights

by Dave Nathan
November 1, 2000

This album is a testimonial to the courage and determination of the leader of the Syotos Band, Chris Washburne. Seven years ago he was informed that he had a malicious nerve cancer with a 50% chance of surviving and no chance of ever playing again. But he had a successful operation, and like an athlete undertaking physical therapy to recover from an injury, Washburne undertook lip and breath therapy which eventually permitted him to play again. It took him two ...

Chris Washburne and the Syotos Band: Nuyorican Nights

by Glenn Astarita
October 1, 1999

Featuring a who's who of the New York Latin-Jazz scene, trombonist Chris Washburne and the 'Syotos Band' serve up some hot and juicy salsa along with strong doses of Afro-Cuban rhythms. In case you wondered, 'Syotos' means: 'see you on the other side' as Mr Washburne was diagnosed with nerve cancer seven years ago yet thankfully and somewhat remarkably dodged a 50-50 chance of survival with a full recovery. On Nuyorican Nights Washburne and his band perform with vigor and ...