Chris Speed
Speed was born in Seattle in 1967 and graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1990. In 1992 he moved to NYC where he joined Tim Berne’s Bloodcount. Throughout the nineties Speed worked with many pioneering bands in the creative new music/downtown scene including the Dave Douglas Sextet, Myra Melford’s Same River Twice, Erik Freidlander’s Chimera, John Zorn’s Bar Kokhba and Mark Dresser’s trio with Anthony Coleman. During this time he also began pursuing his interest in East European folk music, forming Pachora in 1992, and traveling throughout Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Macedonia. Speed is considered one of the leading NYC musicians linking jazz and creative improvisation with Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. Currently, he works with Uri Caine’s Bach, Mahler, and Mozart projects, as well as Ben Perowsky’s quartet.
Chris was named the rising star clarinetist in Downbeat magazine for 2004 and 2005. In July 2004 he was the special guest at the Copenhagen International Jazz Festival, working with ten different cutting edge Danish groups. In April 2006, he launched Skirl Records, a label dedicated to Brooklyn based creative music.
Photo Credit
Michael Hoefner
Tags
Interview
Live From Philadelphia
Multiple Reviews
Album Review
- Jugendstil by Raul d'Gama Rose
- Jugendstil by Jerry D'Souza
Multiple Reviews
Album Review
- Endangered Blood by Mark Corroto
- Really OK by Glenn Astarita
Lyrics
Album Review
- Platinum on Tap by Geannine Reid
December 12, 2006
Skirl Records Party featuring The Clarinets with Chris Speed in...
Lynn Ligammari
saxophonePhotos
Concert Schedule
Album Discography
Dream and Guess
From: Compass ConfusionBy Chris Speed