Greg Chambers
Livermore, California, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Silky...Vibrant ...Catchy...Thoughtful...Greg Chambers self-titled album delivers fresh jazz-pop (á la Dave Koz or Michael Lington) mixed with lush ballads and sophisticated and sexy jazz-techno. Straddling acoustic and electronic soundscapes, Greg Chambers balances memorable melodic material and creative song construction with invigorating. heartfelt playing. Showing maturity and poise, this album is not to be missed! - Smooth Jazz News DISCover New Music
Back in 2007 I described ‘City Lights’ by sax-man Greg Chambers as an album different enough to get him noticed. It was a rarified blend of the classical with the contemporary and now he is back with another innovative (and this time self titled) offering. In fact Chambers is far from being your regulation smooth jazz musician. With a resume that includes a parallel project with his own jazz quartet and work with the Aspen Festival Orchestra he is well placed to push the musical envelope. Indeed, with six of his own compositions, plus covers of Richard Elliot’s ‘Sweet Dream’ and the Keane hit ‘Try Again’, this is exactly what he has done.
His sensitive handling of the stunningly beautiful ‘Try Again’ is really quite special while ‘Ocean View’ (which incidentally is the first single to be serviced to radio) makes an early nod to classical undertones before luxuriating in a rock steady beat that still affords Chambers adequate room to experiment. Elsewhere the paradox that is Greg Chambers is further compounded the compelling techno vibe of the feisty ‘Sapphire’ which sits in magical contrast to Elliot’s ‘Sweet Dream’ that Chambers uses to tenderly tug at the heartstrings.
‘Interlude’ builds a mellow yet totally absorbing bridge to ‘Street Noise’ which for a player who does not routinely do funk comes pretty close. However, in doing so, the tune never looses the essence what Chambers playing is really all about and, although ‘Here With You’ proves to be a mellifluous charmer, he closes out this fine collection with ‘Studio 8’ where a thumping bass line and engagingly quirky production will live long in the memory.
For details on how to buy the CD go to www.gregchambersmusic.com.
- Smooth Jazz Therapy- Denis Poole
Discography
Greg Chambers (2011)
The Christmas Song [Single] (2011)
The first radio single from "Greg Chambers" ("Ocean View") made the Billboard Magazine, SmoothJazz.com, and Radiowave "Most Added" lists from reporting Smooth Jazz Stations. It charted at #46 on the Jazzweek Smooth Singles chart.
Photos
Bio
For his third record (due March 1, 2013), Greg has enlisted the help of some major talent. Aside from his core group of musicians- Shahien Shahkar (bass), Paul Neal (guitar), Glenn Osur (keyboards) and Kevin Lewis (drums)- this six song EP (entitled "On the Move") features smooth jazz hit-maker and two-time Grammy winner Paul Brown on guitar, session musicians Ross Bolton and Louis Fasman, and the mixing expertise of saxophonist/producer Darren Rahn.
As a freelance musician and private woodwind instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area, Greg strongly believes in being versatile- evident in the fact that he graduated with a Master of Music Degree in Saxophone from UCLA in 2008. "Studying classical music helped me to understand personal expression through music, to strive for perfection and precision, and to understand our responsibility to those who inspired us". As a classical saxophonist, Greg worked with the New World Symphony (in Miami, FL), the Spoleto USA Festival Orchestra, and was the Saxophone Fellowship recipient for the 2007 and 2008 seasons of the Aspen Music Festival (where he was given the privilege to work with such luminaries as Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Robertson, Kathleen Battle, and many more). Although an honor to have been able to perform with some of the most celebrated classical musicians in the world, his passion has always been for playing contemporary/smooth jazz.
In September 2011, Greg released his self-titled CD, which charted on the Jazzweek Top 50 Smooth Singles Chart and made the Most Added/Increased Airplay lists for Billboard Magazine, Smoothjazz.com, and RadioWave. The goal for the project was to feature an "innovative blend of acoustic and electronic music... crossing multiple musical boundaries and balancing catchy and creative", which allowed ample room to explore, pay homage to predecessors, and evoke different moods. "Greg Chambers" is available on Amazon.com, CDBaby, and iTunes.
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