{{Short description|American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Chris Speed | image = Chris-speed DSC09904.jpg | caption = Chris Speed in Aarhus, Denmark 2010 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|2|12}} | birth_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S. | genre = jazz, improvisation | occupation = Musician | instrument = tenor saxophone, clarinet | years_active = | label = Skirl, Intakt | associated_acts = The Bad Plus, Broken Shadows, Pachora, Human Feel, Endangered Blood | website = {{URL|www.chrisspeed.com}} }}
'''Chris Speed''' (born February 12, 1967) is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.<ref name="2012 TNYCJR Feature">{{cite web |last1=Fitzell |first1=Sean |title=Feature: Chris Speed |url=http://nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201201.pdf |website=The New York City Jazz Record |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=January 2012}}</ref>
==Early life and career==
Speed grew up outside of Seattle and studied classical piano and clarinet from an early age.<ref name="2012 TNYCJR Feature">{{cite web |last1=Fitzell |first1=Sean |title=Feature: Chris Speed |url=http://nycjazzrecord.com/issues/tnycjr201201.pdf |website=The New York City Jazz Record |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=January 2012}}</ref> He later began studying jazz, took up the tenor saxophone, and performed in a local big band while in high school.<ref name="2012 TNYCJR Feature" />
Speed attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he founded Human Feel with Andrew D'Angelo, Jim Black, and Kurt Rosenwinkel;<ref name="2012 TNYCJR Feature" /> the band continued performing after his move to New York.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chinen |first1=Nate |title=The Listings: Feb. 24 - March 2; Human Feel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/24/arts/movies/the-listings-feb-24-march-2-human-feel.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=24 February 2006}}</ref>
Speed leads or co-leads the groups Pachora (with Jim Black, Skúli Sverrisson, and Brad Shepik),<ref name="2010 NYT Pachora">{{cite web |last1=Chinen |first1=Nate |title=PACHORA: Cross-Cultural Rhythms Amid Relaxed Chemistry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/arts/music/19pachora.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=18 March 2010}}</ref> The Clarinets (with Oscar Noriega and Anthony Burr),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chinen |first1=Nate |title=Jazz Listings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/arts/music/22jazz.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=21 August 2008}}</ref> yeah NO (with Black, Sverrisson, and Cuong Vu),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ratliff |first1=Ben |title=Chris Speed's Yeah No |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/17/movies/pop-and-jazz-guide-925136.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=17 December 1999}}</ref> Trio Iffy (with Ben Perowsky and Jamie Saft),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Astarita |first1=Glenn |title=Chris Speed Trio: Iffy |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/iffy-chris-speed-knitting-factory-review-by-glenn-astarita.php |website=All About Jazz |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=1 May 2000}}</ref> Endangered Blood (with Black, Noriega and Trevor Dunn),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ratliff |first1=Ben |title=New Jazz That Keeps an Ear Trained on the Past |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/arts/music/endangered-blood-and-starlicker-review.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=6 March 2011}}</ref> the Chris Speed Trio (with Dave King and Chris Tordini)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chinen |first1=Nate |title=Pop, Rock and Jazz in NYC This Week |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/arts/music/pop-rock-and-jazz-in-nyc-this-week.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=29 December 2016}}</ref> and Broken Shadows (with Tim Berne, Reid Anderson and Dave King) a band dedicated to reinterpreting the music of Ornette Coleman and Julius Hemphill.
The co-led quartet Pachora was influenced by Balkan and Middle Eastern rhythms<ref name="2010 NYT Pachora" /> and said to be "immersed in Eastern European and Moroccan music",<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ratliff |first1=Ben |title=JAZZ REVIEW; Gleefully Rattling Around the World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/10/arts/jazz-review-gleefully-rattling-around-the-world.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=10 January 1998}}</ref> performing originals and Greek, Bulgarian and Turkish works. Speed also performed and recorded with the Balkan brass and jazz band Slavic Soul Party!.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gottschalk |first1=Kurt |title=Slavic Soul Party!: Bigger |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/bigger-slavic-soul-party-barbes-records-review-by-kurt-gottschalk.php |website=All About Jazz |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=19 January 2006}}</ref>
Speed is a founding member of the avant-garde jazz groups Bloodcount (Tim Berne, Jim Black, Michael Formanek),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kelman |first1=John |title=Tim Berne's Bloodcount: Memory Select - The Paris Concert III |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/memory-select-the-paris-concert-iii-tim-berne-winter-and-winter-review-by-john-kelman.php |website=All About Jazz |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=20 October 2005}}</ref> The Claudia Quintet (John Hollenbeck, Matt Moran, Red Wierenga, and Drew Gress),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chinen |first1=Nate |title=Jazz Listings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/arts/music/11jazz.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=10 December 2009}}</ref> AlasNoAxis (Black, Sverrisson, and Hilmar Jensson),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nicholson |first1=Stuart |title=Jim Black Alasnoaxis: Splay |url=https://jazztimes.com/archives/jim-black-alasnoaxis-splay/ |website=JazzTimes |access-date=26 February 2021 |date=25 April 2019}}</ref> and Heroic Frenzies (Craig Taborn, Dave King, and Chris Lightcap).<ref>{{cite web |title=Broken Shadows: Dave King, Reid Anderson, Tim Berne, Chris Speed |url=https://artlitlab.org/events/broken-shadows-dave-king-reid-anderson-tim-berne-chris-speed |website=Arts + Literature Laboratory |date=24 March 2018 |access-date=26 February 2021}}</ref>
In 2006, Speed created Skirl Records, a label dedicated to Brooklyn-based creative music.<ref name="Collins">{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Troy |title=New Exit From Brooklyn: Chris Speed's Skirl Records |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-exit-from-brooklyn-chris-speeds-skirl-records-by-troy-collins.php |website=All About Jazz |accessdate=1 September 2018 |date=27 October 2006}}</ref>
In August 2021, Speed joined The Bad Plus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbgo.org/music/2021-08-17/the-bad-plus-reformulates-again-now-as-a-quartet-with-ben-monder-and-chris-speed|title = The Bad Plus Reformulates Again, Now as a Quartet with Ben Monder and Chris Speed|website=Wbgo.org|date = 17 August 2021}}</ref> They released an album, entitled simply ''The Bad Plus'', on September 30, 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebadplus.com/home|title = The Bad Plus|website=Thebadplus.com |date = 11 October 2022}}</ref>
==Awards and honors== * Rising Star on clarinet, ''Downbeat'' magazine, 2004, 2005, 2006 * NEA composition grant in 1993
==Selected discography== === As leader/co-leader === * ''Yeah No'' (Songlines, 1997) * ''Deviantics'' (Songlines, 1999) * ''Emit'' (Songlines, 2000) * ''Iffy'' (Knitting Factory, 2000) * ''Swell Henry'' (Squealer, 2004) * ''Really OK'' (Skirl, 2014) * ''Platinum On Tap'' (Intakt, 2017) * ''Respect for Your Toughness'' (Intakt, 2019) * ''Light Line'' (Intakt, 2021) * ''Despite Obstacles'' (Intakt, 2023)
'''Human Feel'''<br /> With Kurt Rosenwinkel, Andrew D'Angelo and Jim Black * ''Human Feel'' (Human Use, 1989) * ''Scatter'' (GM, 1991) * ''Welcome to Malpesta'' (New World, 1994) * ''Speak to It'' (Songlines, 1996) * ''Galore'' (Skirl, 2007) * ''Gold'' (Intakt, 2019)
'''Pachora''' * ''Pachora'' (Knitting Factory, 1997) * ''Unn'' (Knitting Factory, 1998) * ''Ast'' (Knitting Factory, 1999) * ''Astereotypical'' (Winter & Winter, 2003)
'''The Clarinets''' * ''The Clarinets'' (Skirl, 2006) * ''Keep On Going Like This'' (Skirl, 2011) * ''No Pressure'' (Skirl, 2019)
'''Endangered Blood''' * ''Endangered Blood'' (Skirl, 2011) * ''Work Your Magic'' (Skirl, 2013) * ''Don't Freak Out'' (Skirl, 2018)
'''Zeno De Rossi''' * ''Ruins'' (Skirl, 2014)
'''Broken Shadows''' * ''Broken Shadows'' (Vinyl: Newvelle, 2019; CD and Digital: Intakt, 2021) * ''Broken Shadows Live'' (Screwgun, 2021)
'''The Bad Plus''' * ''The Bad Plus.'' (Edition Records, 2022) * ''Complex Emotions'' (Edition Records, 2024)
===as a sideman=== '''with Tim Berne''' * ''Lowlife: The Paris Concert'' (JMT, 1995) * ''Poisoned Minds: The Paris Concert'' (JMT, 1995) * ''Memory Select: The Paris Concert'' (JMT, 1995) * ''Unwound'' (Screwgun, 1996) * ''Saturation Point'' (Screwgun, 1997) * ''Discretion'' (Screwgun, 1997) * ''Seconds'' (Screwgun, 2007) * ''Insomnia'' (Clean Feed, 2011) * ''Attention Spam'' (Screwgun, 2021) * ''5'' (Screwgun, 2021)
'''with Jim Black''' * ''AlasNoAxis'' (Winter & Winter, 2000) * ''Splay'' (Winter & Winter, 2002) * ''Habyor'' (Winter & Winter, 2004) * ''Dogs of Great Indifference'' (Winter & Winter, 2006) * ''Houseplant'' (Winter & Winter, 2009) * ''Antiheroes'' (Winter & Winter, 2013)
'''with The Claudia Quintet''' * ''John Hollenbeck/The Claudia Quintet'' (CRI, 2001) * ''I, Claudia'' (Cuneiform, 2004) * ''Semi-Formal'' (Cuneiform, 2005) * ''For'' (Cuneiform, 2007) * ''Royal Toast'' (Cuneiform, 2010) * ''What Is the Beautiful?'' (Cuneiform, 2011) * ''September'' (Cuneiform, 2013) * ''Super Petite'' (Cuneiform, 2016) * ''Evidence Based'' (Flexatonic, 2021)
'''with Uri Caine''' * ''Uri Caine Ensemble Plays Mozart'' (Winter & Winter, 2006) * ''The Othello Syndrome'' (Winter & Winter, 2008) * ''Rhapsody in Blue'' (Winter & Winter, 2013)
'''with Dave King''' * ''Good Old Light'' (Sunnyside, 2011) * ''Adopted Highway'' (Sunnyside, 2013) * ''Surrounded by the Night'' (Sunnyside, 2016) * ''Old TV'' (Self-released, 2023)
'''with Craig Taborn''' * ''Daylight Ghosts'' (ECM, 2017) * ''Compass Confusion'' (Pyroclastic Records, 2020) with Junk Magic
'''with others/selected''' * Hilmar Jensson ''Dofinn'' (Jazzis, 1995) * John Zorn ''Bar Kokhba'' (Tzadik, 1996) * Ben Perowsky ''Ben Perowsky Trio'' (JazzKey Music, 1999) * Myra Melford ''Above Blue'' (Arabesque, 1999) * Curtis Hasselbring ''The New Mellow Edwards'' (Skirl, 2006) * Ben Perowsky ''Esopus Opus'' (Skirl, 2009) * Mary Halvorson ''Reverse Blue'' (Relative Pitch, 2014) * Matt Mitchell ''Vista Accumulation'' (Pi, 2015) * Howard Peach ''Howard Peach'' (El Negocito, 2015) * Michael Formanek ''The Distance'' (ECM, 2016) * Ben Perowsky ''Upstream'' (2019) * Dejan Terzić Axiom ''Silent Dancer'' (C.A.M. Jazz, 2021)
==Footnotes== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.chrisspeed.com/ Chris Speed official site] *[http://www.skirlrecords.com/ Skirl Records Homepage] {{The Bad Plus}} {{Clarinet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speed, Chris}} Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Seattle Category:Free jazz saxophonists Category:Free improvisation saxophonists Category:American jazz saxophonists Category:American male saxophonists Category:American jazz clarinetists Category:Avant-garde jazz clarinetists Category:Avant-garde jazz saxophonists Category:American avant-garde musicians Category:21st-century American saxophonists Category:21st-century American male musicians Category:American male jazz musicians Category:Orange Then Blue members Category:Human Feel members Category:Intakt Records artists