Kristian Borring

After establishing himself early on as a “rising star” (Time Out, London) when moving to the British capital from Amsterdam, Kristian has cemented his name as a melodic contemporary jazz artist, who can be a leader and sideman alike. The objective of his music is story telling as shown on numerous albums with his quartet as well as in co-led projects. He is currently preparing further releases of new material with his quartet and a more eclectic solo project…

In the Summer of 2019 Kristian co-released “Make Your Stand” with Acrobat, the British/Scandinavian “cool-grooving organ trio” (AP Reviews), featuring also Will Bartlett (org) and Pat Davey (d). Acrobat’s 2nd album was recorded at Steve Winwood’s legendary Cotswolds studio. The release was followed by a European tour in early 2020, starting out at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London, and finishing 20 days later in Freiburg, Germany.

In 2018 Kristian released his first live album, recorded at the renowed venue Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston, London. Adrian Pallant from AP Reviews wrote about this album: “A COOL, LUMINOUS BREEZE once again permeates the classy grooves of Danish guitarist Kristian Borring’s original music… The guitarist’s clear improvisatory journeyings, as always, catch the attention.” A three weeks tour of the UK and Spain followed featuring the line-up from the album; Rick Simpson (p), Dave Whitford (b) and Jon Scott (d).

Kristian’s third album Silent Storm was released July 2016, recorded on a dark Autumn’s day at Curtis Schwartz Studio straight off the back of his quartet’s tour around England finishing in Bristol. The writing on this album is colourful and stylistically diverse, and is concentrated exclusively around his accomplished quartet, putting the sounds of guitar and piano backed by a strong and emphatic rhythm section in the centre of the recording. The Danish Jazz Magazine, Jazz Special, described the result as “…hard swing, lively post bop and mellow Nordic melancholy to edgy jazz-rock fusion is delivered with great force and a controlled ferocity which suits the quartet well.” The group, which featured the inspiring efforts of Arthur Lea (p), Mick Coady (b) and Jon Scott, had been playing together since 2009: “This feels like a ‘proper’ working band throughout, with a flexible and intelligent rapport honed by several years of playing together.” (The Jazz Mann). The synchronicity of the band and the level of the music was noted by Peter Jones at London Jazz News: “This is confident, sophisticated work at every level – composition, arrangement, execution – and a pleasure to listen to throughout.” The Silent Storm tour to follow of England, Wales and Denmark was supported by Arts Council England.

In the period 2014-2016 Kristian also worked extensively in duo with British pianist Bruno Heinen, performing recording and touring, invited amongst others places to perform at Inntoene Jazz Festival in Austria. The duo saw stellar reviews upon their release of Postcards To Bill Evans (2015, Babel) a dedication to the music of pianist Bill Evans. They received four star reviews in both The Telegraph and the Art Desk and The Times reviewer Chris Pearson stated that the duo’s “synergy [was] almost on par with that of Evans and of his long time collaborator Jim Hall”.

Kristian released his second album as a bandleader in 2014 Urban Novel drawing inspiration from the cityscape as a personal homage to life in the metropolis. The album, his first on Jellymould Jazz Records, features his working quartet as well as British vibraphonist and two time Down Beat Reader’s Poll nominee, Jim Hart, who joined in the creation of a rich sound palette consisting of guitar, piano and vibes. The music on Urban Novel with its strong sense of melody set in a contemporary ‘sound-scape’, has been described as being “clean, cool, precise and contemporary” – (The Scotsman). Jazzwise reviewer Selwyn Harris said, “Borring’s set of originals are engaging and their subtle rhythmic and harmonic twists add to the interest”. Commenting on Kristian’s continuous ability as a strong melodic player, All About Jazz ‘s Bruce Lindsey described Kristian’s playing as a “warm, open tone – a welcoming sound that draws and holds the attention”. Lance Liddle from Bebop Spoken Here added “one of the finest, most tasteful and accomplished guitarists on the scene, with Jim Hart – one of the world’s great vibraphonists – in the mix, the result is another triumph for the Danish guitarist and his team.” The group received Arts Council England tour support upon the release.

Kristian’s debut album, Nausicaa – a reference to Odysseus’ journey in Homer’s “The Odyssey” – was released in 2011 on Italian label Ultra Sound Records and featured New York based alto saxophonist, Will Vinson. It received wide spread national acclaim and was described by John Fordham (The Guardian) as a “hyper-cool and low-key approach to jazz guitar, but…with warmth, confidence and a rhythmic hipness that’s thoroughly contemporary”. Chris Parker from LondonJazz found Kristian’s original compositions “immediately attractive and enduringly impressive”.

Kristian has worked and performed in the UK, Europe and Australia. He currently resides in Perth, WA, where he is teaching guitar at the Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts (WAAPA) and is  finishing his practice-led Doctorate research about non-isochronous meter in jazz composition and improvisation.

He has worked as ‘session’ and ‘side-man’ with a great variety of groups and performers such as: Archie Shepp, Antonio Zambrini, Tommaso Starace, Laurence Cottle, Jamie Oehlers, Will Vinson, Liam Noble Trio, Karen David, Chris McNulty, Tom O’Halloran, Gareth Lockrane, Nia Lynn, Monika Lidke, Ray Quinn, Paul Derricott, Steve Barry, Bryan Abraham, Christine Tobin, The Puppini Sisters, Ed Puddick’s Big Band, Mike Garrick, Jim Hart, Ivo Neame, Ben Vanderwal, Lars Dietrich, Daniel Susnjar, Andreas Pichler, Jasper Høiby and many more. Kristian was also associated with the progressive London based jazz collective SE Collective around 2012-2015 through his work with the organ trio Acrobat and saxophonist Jon Shenoy’s organ quartet Draw By Four.

Kristian attended studies at Conservatorium Van Amsterdam in The Netherlands and at Guildhall School of Music in London.