Christian  Howes (USA)

The Christian Howes Quartet

Christian Howes - violin

Michael Azzopardi - piano

Brett Hirst - bass

Tim Firth - drums

"Howes's solo violin pieces were quite fascinating, as he brought loops and jazzy sensibilities to bear on both the blues and Bach... Playing solo, the violinist made Paul McCartney's Yesterday sound like a folk song, extracting a little kernel of sadness that has generally remained buried. A solo Isn't She Lovely eased from simplicity, charm and warmth to leaping excitement, the latter mood sustained in a second rapid country-rock number with the band."
by John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald)

Jazz violinist/producer/composer/educator Christian Howes returns to Australia following his highly successful performances in 2012.

Howes has been widely recognized as a path-finding figure on the contemporary violin. Named the #1Downbeat Critics Poll "Rising Star Jazz Violinist" (2011), nominated for “Violinist of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association (2011), recipient of Chamber Music America’s “Residency Partnership Award” (2012), a top three ranking in the Jazz TImes Critics Poll (2013), he recently toured Ukraine as a cultural ambassador of the U.S. at the invitation of the U.S. Embassy.

A former Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music, Christian’s collaborations in recent years feature an array of jazz stars including Les Paul, Bill Evans, Robben Ford, Richard Galliano, David Binney, Greg Osby, Joel Harrison, Dafnis Prieto, D.D. Jackson, Steve Turre, Lewis Nash, Scott Colley, Tamir Hendelman, Bruce Forman, Linda Oh, Allan Harris, Rez Abbasi, and many more...

Jazz Violinist/Educator Christian Howes To Visit Australia In Conjunction With Australian National University’s Winter Jazz Week

On August 4-12, Christian Howes, one of the world’s leading jazz violin performers and educators, will be headed to Australia to lead a week full of live performances and educational activities. The trip will be anchored with Christian’s multiple clinics and headlining performances at the Australian National University’s annual Winter Jazz Week.

In addition to Christian’s work with the Australian National University, he will be performing in many local venues and working with other area string students, including collaborations with the Shoalhaven Youth Orchestra, Monash University, a showcase performance at Bennetts Lane jazz club in Melbourne, and more.

The Winter Jazz Week, according to ANU’s website, “will bring together internationally and nationally acclaimed jazz virtuosos and educators with ANU School of Music students to deliver masterclasses and create combined bands, culminating in a thrilling showcase concert.”

In December, 2012, Howes traveled down to Australia to present workshops for jazz string players and perform in the “Jazz at the Gallery” series, which was broadcast nationally on ArtSound FM.

Says Howes, “In addition to raising awareness for the virtues of jazz among classically trained musicians, I hope to empower classical string players to be more creative, through improvisation, composition, arranging, and in the development of their careers, in any styles of music they wish to pursue”.

A former Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music, Howes founded the 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Camille Catherine Inc., to support music educational activities and performances, including visits to approximately 50 school orchestra programs per year, an annual week-long intensive “Creative Strings Workshop” in Columbus, Ohio, and the “Creative Strings Academy” online home study course, which is subscribed to by thousands of string players worldwide pursuing his innovative improvisation and contemporary music curriculum.

Howes has won nominations and awards since 2011 in the Downbeat Critics Poll, Jazz Times Critics Poll, Jazz Journalists Association, and the Chamber Music America Residency Partnership Program. He was invited by the U.S. Embassy to Ukraine to perform several orchestral and jazz concerts and workshops in June

2014 as a cultural ambassador, underscoring U.S. support for a free and democratic Ukraine.

Schedule for Christian Howes’ 2014 Australia Tour

August 5

6:00PM - Educational workshop at Bennetts Lane (open to the public)

8:30PM - Performance at Bennetts Lane

August 6

10:00AM-12:00PM - Educational workshop at Monash University

August 7

10:00AM-12:00PM - Educational clinic at Australian National University’s Winter Jazz Week

August 8

6:30PM - Performance with Australian National University ensembles (open to the public)

August 9

6:30PM - Performance with Australian National University ensembles (open to the public)

August 10

11:00AM-1:00PM, 2:00-4:00PM - Workshops with Shoalhaven Youth Orchestra

August 11

8:30PM - Performance at The Foundry616

More information:

Christian Howes’ website:http://ChristianHowes.com

Videos"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux1rPJJ7QaE&authuser=0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig3B855Lsqk&authuser=0