Chris Cheek
Chris Cheek | |
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![]() Cheek at Moers Festival 2009 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Christopher Carson Cheek |
Born | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | September 16, 1968
Genres | Jazz, blues |
Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader |
Instrument | Saxophone |
Years active | 1992–present |
Labels | Fresh Sound, Blue Music Group |
Website | ChrisCheek.net |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Chris-Cheek01.jpg/250px-Chris-Cheek01.jpg)
Christopher Carson Cheek (born September 16, 1968) is an American jazz saxophonist.
Biography
Cheek was born in St. Louis, Missouri,[1] where his father was the director of a Junior high school band. Cheek began learning to play the alto saxophone at age eleven, and upon graduation from high school, he attended Webster University.[1] He studied at the Berklee College of Music under Joe Viola, Hal Crook, and Herb Pomeroy, and earned his bachelor's degree.[2] He moved to New York City in 1992, where he played with Paul Motian in the Electric Bebop Band, and co-founded Bloomdaddies with Seamus Blake.[1] He also played with Guillermo Klein, Mika Pohjola, Luciana Souza, and David Berkman.[1]
His debut release as a leader, I Wish I Knew, appeared in 1997 and featured Kurt Rosenwinkel,[3] and by 2010, three more solo albums with Cheek as bandleader on the Fresh Sound label followed; A Girl Named Joe (1997), Vine (1999), and Blues Cruise, in 2005. Two albums as co-leader – Lazy Afternoon and Guilty – were released by Blue Moon in 2002.[4] In 2016 another CD, Saturday Songs, was released by Sunnyside Records [5] and recorded at Supertone Records, Valencia. Criss Cross Jazz have also released two Cheek albums with co-leader Seamus Blake.[6] Cheek has appeared on more than one hundred albums as a session musician.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel |
---|---|---|---|
1996–97 | I Wish I Knew | Fresh Sound | Quartet, with Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Chris Higgins (bass), Jorge Rossy (drums) |
1997 | A Girl Named Joe | Fresh Sound | With Mark Turner (tenor sax), Ben Monder (guitar), Marc Johnson (bass), Jorge Rossy and Dan Rieser (drums) |
1999 | Vine | Fresh Sound | Quintet, with Brad Mehldau (piano, Fender Rhodes), Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Matt Penman (bass), Jorge Rossy (drums) |
2000 | Guilty | Blue Moon | Quartet, co-led with Ethan Iverson (piano), Ben Street (bass), Jorge Rossy (drums); in concert |
2000 | Lazy Afternoon | Blue Moon | Quartet, co-led with Ethan Iverson (piano), Ben Street (bass), Jorge Rossy (drums); in concert |
2005 | Blues Cruise | Fresh Sound | Quartet, with Brad Mehldau (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass), Jorge Rossy (drums) |
2013 | Reeds Ramble | Criss Cross Jazz | Co-led with Seamus Blake (tenor sax); quintet, with Ethan Iverson (piano), Matt Penman (bass), Jochen Rueckert (drums) |
2015 | Let's Call the Whole Thing Off | Criss Cross Jazz | Co-led with Seamus Blake (tenor sax); quintet, with Ethan Iverson (piano), Matt Penman (bass), Jochen Rueckert (drums) |
2015 | Saturday Songs | Sunnyside | Quintet, with Steve Cardenas (guitar), David Soler (pedal steel guitar), Jaume Llombard (bass), Jorge Rossy (drums, vibes, marimba) |
As sideman
With Burak Bedikyan
- Leap of Faith (SteepleChase)
With The Bloomdaddies
- Seamus Blake - The Bloomdaddies (Criss Cross Jazz)
- Racer X
- Mosh For Lovers (Fresh Sound New Talent)
With Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout
- Live at Sunny's (Story Sound, 2017)
With Frank Carlberg
- The Crazy Woman (Accurate, 1995)
- Variations on a Summer Day (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2000)
- In the Land of Art (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2005)
- State of the Union (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2006)
- Uncivilized Ruminations (Red Piano)
With Jen Chapin
- Revisions - Songs of Stevie Wonder (Chesky, 2009)
- Live at the Bitter End (Purple Chair Music, 1999)
With Alan Ferber
- Jigsaw (Sunnyside)
- March Sublime (Sunnyside)
With FOX
- Pelican Blues' (Jazz&People, 2016)
With Stephane Furic
- Kishinev (Soul Note, 1990)
- The Twitter Machine (Soul Note, 1992)
- Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (Soul Note, 1995)
- Music for 3 (Soul Note, 1997)
- Jugendstil (ESP-Disk)
- Jugendstil II (ESP-Disk)
With Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra
- Not in Our Name (Verve, 2004)
- Time/Life (Impulse!, 2011–2015 [2016])
With Stephane Huchard
- Panamerican (Jazz Village)
With Guillermo Klein
- Los Guachos II (Sunnyside, 1999)
- Los Guachos III (Sunnyside, 2002)
- Filtros (Sunnyside, 2008)
- Carrera (Sunnyside, 2012)
- Los Guachos V (Sunnyside, 2016)
With Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth
- Epicenter (Clean Feed, 2015)
- Deluxe (Clean Feed, 2010)
With Brad Mehldau
- Finding Gabriel (Nonesuch)
With Paul Motian and the Electric Bebop Band
- Reincarnation of a Love Bird (JMT, 1994)
- Flight of the Blue Jay (Winter & Winter 1996)
- Play Monk and Powell (Winter & Winter, 1998)
- Europe (Winter & Winter, 2000)
- Holiday for Strings (Winter & Winter, 2001)
- Garden of Eden (ECM, 2004)
With Wolfgang Muthspiel
- Daily Mirror (Material)
- In and Out (Amadeo)
With Pierre Perchaud
- Waterfalls (Gemini)
With Mika Pohjola
- The Secret of the Castle (Blue Music Group, 1997)
- Announcement (Blue Music Group, 1997)
With Rudder
- Matorning (19/8 Records, 2009)
- Rudder (19/8 Records, 2007)
With Luciana Souza
- The Poems of Elizabeth Bishop and Other Songs (Sunnyside)
With Steve Swallow
- Into the Woodwork (XtraWATT/ECM, 2013)
With Miguel Zenon
- Identities are Changeable (Miel Music)
References
- ^ a b c d Gary W. Kennedy, "Chris Cheek". The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. 2nd edition, ed. Barry Kernfeld.
- ^ Adler, David. "Chris Cheek: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ Yanow, Scott. "I Wish I Knew: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ Corroto, Mark (September 12, 2002). "Cheek/Iverson/Street/Rossy: Lazy Afternoon/Guilty". AllAboutJazz.
- ^ Brady, Shaun (December 2016). "Together (and Apart) Again". DownBeat. p. 64.
- ^ Blanco, Edward (August 29, 2016). "Seamus Blake / Chris Cheek: Let's Call the Whole Thing Off". AllAboutJazz.
External links