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Chris Bakriges

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Chris Bakriges went to school at York University in Toronto but grew up in Detroit, two doors down from the original Motown Studios. "Music was literally in the air and I was exposed to the world of music that existed in that community, from Mediterranean to the avant-garde. In fact, my first teacher outside of classical music was Earl Van Dyke, one of Motown's storied Funk Brothers." Drawn to jazz and to the piano by age ten, Chris didn’t start playing out in the Detroit clubs until my early twenties, after a necessary apprenticeship with the masters and not until he felt he had something to say and to contribute. Surprisingly, Chris didn't start to think about the possibility of pursuing a life in music until after he was married. "Jenny, a fiber artist, told me that I shouldn't have any regrets, and that became my mantra." Studies with Nadi Qamar, a.k.a. Spaulding Givens on Charles Mingus's first sides as a leader, introduced Chris to the repertoire of Mal Waldron, McCoy Tyner, Randy Weston, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Cecil Taylor. He continued his studies with Dr. Billy Taylor, Harold Danko, Jaki Bayard, and Jimmy Giuffre, a neighbor of his while living in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. “Jimmy took me to sit in with his group when he taught at New England Conservatory because he knew that I couldn't afford the tuition.” A scholarship to Wesleyan University allowed him to work with Anthony Braxton, becoming the MacArthur Fellow's musical copyist for two years while performing in both his small group and double orchestra. However, it was at York University in Toronto where he obtained his doctorate in ethnomusicology and stayed close to Oscar Peterson. "I literally had lessons from the entire gamut of jazz history that has resulted in a particular depth in playing and an appreciation for the music." Chris's music experiences were more than an academic exercise. His resume includes leading his own groups since the early 1980s and performing in countries like India, Pakistan, China, The Czech Republic, France, and the United Kingdom. Chris has played with artists as diverse as Bobby McFerrin, David Darling, Cicci Santucci, Jay Hoggard, Leonard "Doc" Gibbs, Henry Franklin, Beldon Bullock, John Blake, Joe Ford, Sandra Wright, Denise Thimes, and Sheila Jordan.

Uploaded: 2014-09-29  
Size: 400 x 598 pixels  

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