British
born guitarist Chris Standring has find the golden key to a glorious
career. In the early time of his musical activity he was a
member of the trio Solar System. After his re-location to L.A. he
performed with Bebe & Cece Winans, Rick Braun and Jody Watley.
In 1998 he brought his debut album Velvet to public attention.
In 2000 followed Hip Sway. Receiving high accolades he was
motivated to release Groovalicious (2003). In between he started
his website Playjazzguitar.com offering a galore of jazz guitar
lessons, later also guitarmadesimple.com. Well, in 2006 Chris returned
with Soul Express promoted with
two
successful summer tours in 2006/2007.
His new album
Love and Paragraphs, scheduled for release on April 22nd 2008, is
also the debut release on his newly formed indie label Ultimate
Vibe, a new start as entrepreneur for niche compilations in the
chill lounge arena and beyond. Chris explains the heritage of the
title in the liner notes of his album. He has always done his best to
keep up with his fans and friends across The Pond via email. One of
his good pals in London seemed a bit miffed, however, when he replied
to her lengthy email with just a short sentence or two. Last year,
when the British born musician was there doing his annual slate of
gigs, she said, “You owe me more paragraphs.” His response? Signing
her CD, “With Love & Paragraphs, Chris”—a phrase that inspired Love
& Paragraphs.
The title Qwertyuiop is easy to find on
your keyboard. The tune has a funky touch. No wonder, Funk man Andre
Berry (bass) is on the party and with Everette Harp on sax Chris has a
further specialist of this style.
The title song is a big runner. All over the
radio waves right now this captivating song is haunting you. The
seductive guitar refrain is just as addictive as the lead melody and
Mary Cassidy's breath of air is the icing on the cake.
Are some people really luckier than
others, or is it all in their heads. We don't know it. But with As
Luck Would Have It is Chris on the luckier side of the deal. Taken
from the popular proverb Have Your Cake And Eat It is a
delightful tune with a vocoderized voice. Jeff Robinson's part as
singer is really underexposed.
Liquid Soul is a selfmade song featuring
Chris on guitars, keyboards and programming. Imagine a dark bass,
vibrant keyboards, smooth strings and Chris superior guitar sound
melted in an awesome melody line. Ooh Bop is driving in the
Chill-out area with Dave Karasony's hip hi-hat and rim-shot escort.
C.S. In The Sunshine has that typical EWF hype. Smooth guitar
sound with some humming around and Rodney Lee's constant organ
presence. That's What I Thought You Said has a nice Bossa
Nova groove in the style of Carlos Jobim.
Qu'est-ce Que Tu Fais (What Do You Make?)
is featuring Jeff Lorber on Fender Rhodes. This classic instrument
is always mesmerizing and a great counterpart to Chris' dynamic guitar
sound. The album is closed by the grandiosely introduced Reflection.
After the intro Chris carved his romantic impact.
“In England, everything is about being the best
player you can be, but the most important thing I’ve learned playing
for audiences in the U.S. is that it’s all about how you communicate.
Working so much in my home studio this time gave me the luxury of
taking my time to create what I believe is my best, most mature work
to date. And I promised my friend to write longer emails in the
future. We’ll see…”
Chris has kept his promise.
Love and Paragraphs is an album full of sultry melodies and
grooving sounds which stay in mind after the first turn.
