Chris Abrahams
Chris Abrahams | |
---|---|
James Waples, Mike Majkowski and Chris Abrahams | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams |
Born |
1961 New Zealand |
Instruments | Piano, DX7 Synthesiser |
Years active | 1985-present |
Associated acts | The Necks, Benders, the Laughing Clowns, The Sparklers |
Notable instruments | |
Piano |
Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams (born 9 April 1961 in New Zealand[1]) is a Sydney-based pianist,[2] best known for his jazz work.
Abrahams has been a member of the Benders, Laughing Clowns, The Sparklers and The Necks.[3] He has recorded several solo albums, as well as collaborations with Melanie Oxley from the Sparklers. Abrahams has also been a session musician on albums for artists such as The Church, The Whitlams, Midnight Oil, Wendy Matthews, Skunkhour and Silverchair.[4]
Chris Abrahams produced and arranged the music for the Australian film "The Tender Hook" which was released in 2008.[5][6] In 2008, Chris Abraham's work on the film's soundtrack was nominated for the "Best Original Music Score" AFI Award.[7]
Some of Abrahams music is experimental in nature—The Necks are an improvisational trio, and Abraham's performance at the Room40 Tenth Anniversary in London was labeled "ambient", "free-jazz" and "industrial noise" by (UK) Financial Times reviewer, Mike Hobart.[8] Chris Reid from RealTime Arts Magazine wrote of his Germ Studies collaboration with Clare Cooper, an organizer of the NOWnow Festival who played the Chinese zither on the album, ". . . it represents an extensive investigation into the endless range of sounds that can be created by combining the venerable DX7 synthesiser and the even more venerable Chinese zither, the guzheng. . . a deep exploration of musical language".[9]
Solo discography
- Piano (Hot HTLP1014, 1985)
- Walk (Hot HTLP1025, 1986)
- Glow (Vegetable/Vitamin VEGE001, 2001)
- Streaming (Vegetable Records VEGE002, 2003)
- Thrown (Room40 RM409, 2005)[10]
- The Tender Hook Soundtrack (Vitamin Records, 2008)
- Play Scar (Room40, 2010)[11]
Discography with Melanie Oxley
- Resisting Calm (EP, Spiral Scratch, 1990)
- Welcome to Violet (Remote/MDS, 1992)
- Coal (Remote/MDS, 1994)
- Jerusalem Bay (Remote, 1998)
- Blood Oranges (Vitamin, 2003)
Other collaborations
- Pedal (Staubgold STAUBGOLD83, 2008) with Simon James Phillips
- Oceanic Feeling Like (Room40 RM420, 2008) with Mike Cooper
- Germ Studies (Split Records, Splitrec CD19, 2009) with Clare Cooper[9][12]
References
- ↑ Shand, John (2002). "Abrahams, Chris(topher)". In Barry Kernfeld. The new Grove dictionary of jazz (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. pp. 6–7. ISBN 1561592846.
- ↑ Rose, Jon (2003-01-17). "Forte Piano Solo - Chris Abrahams". Australia Adlib. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ Swift, Brendan. "Chris Abrahams - Biography". All Music. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ Holmgren, Magnus. "Chris Abrahams - Session musician". Australian Rock Database. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ "The Tender Hook (2008)". IMDB - The Internet Movie Database. 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ "The Tender Hook (sound recording) : motion picture soundtrack.". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ "Awards for The Tender Hook (2008)". IMDB - The Internet Movie Database. 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ Hobart, Mike (08/11/2010). "Chris Abrahams, Café Oto, London". Financial Times (UK). Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Reid, Chris. "Earbash - Sound/Music CD Reviews - clare cooper & chris abrahams". RealTime Arts Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ Schaefer, Max (September 2005). "Chris Abrahams - Thrown (Room40/Couchblip)". Cyclic Defrost Magazine - Issue #012. Cyclic Defrost Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ Laing, Oliver (2010-07-27). "Chris Abrahams – Play Scar (Room40)". Cyclic Defrost Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ Meggitt, Joshua (06/04/2009). "Chris Abrahams and Clare Cooper – Germ Studies for Guzheng and DX7 (Splitrec)". Cyclic Defrost Magazine. Retrieved 27 May 2011.