Cool Columbian
Chris Graham And His Jazz Trio Take Their New Album Above and Beyond
By Jonathan W. Crowell
Photos By L.G. Patterson
Columbia native John “Chris” Graham has been a jazz fan for almost as long as he can remember. He first saw the Tom Andes Trio performing at Murry’s in Columbia some 15 years ago and has never lost his passion for the genre.
As a senior at Rock Bridge High School, he often performed with Andes’ trio, and with his own jazz trio, The Incumbens III, at Sake in downtown Columbia. Music has always been an integral part of Graham’s life, and in 2006 he moved to Chicago with a long-term goal of becoming a professional jazz vibraphonist.
Late June saw the release of “After-Birth of Cool,” the first album of the Chris Graham Trio, and already it has received rave reviews at the national level and has reached rankings as high as No. 4 on both College Music Journal’s CMJ Network and Roots Music Report jazz chart. In July, Graham returned to his hometown for a performance at Murry’s; Alex Austin joined him on bass with Oliver Hunt on the drums.
The Five-Mallet Grip
When Graham was a student at Rock Bridge, music teacher Rich Hadfield introduced him to the world of renowned vibraphonist Gary Burton. Graham immediately took to the instrument’s unique sounds.
“It’s a really versatile instrument and it’s easy to pick up gigs if you’re a vibraphonist,” Graham says. “I started messing around with it, and actually the transition from piano and guitar, which I grew up playing, was pretty smooth.”
Graham lauds his accommodating high school for allowing him to borrow the school’s vibraphones for evening performances around town, and his parents for letting him stay out late to perform on weeknights.
“At one point, I even quit soccer so I’d have more time to practice and perform,” he says. “I just couldn’t get enough. I knew it was something I loved to play, and the more I played the more familiar I became with jazz and its greats.”
Graham has drawn musical inspiration from a rich, diverse array of genres, including rock and punk rock. His jazz influences include Bill Evans, Gary Burton, John Coltrane and Brad Mehldau. To date, Graham is the only known vibraphonist who has mastered what he refers to as the “Graham five-mallet grip.” He performs while holding all five mallets, which allows his music to have constant chordal function. Graham plays the melody lines simultaneously and can “bend” any note at anytime, without using an effects pedal.
“I get to be quite innovative while performing,” he says. “It’s become much more comfortable and natural, and it’s nice to be able to have more leeway in what kind of sound I create.”
A Cool First Album
The Chris Graham Trio’s first album, “The After-Birth of Cool,” is a jazz album of almost entirely original material, and in the few short weeks since its release, it has already made a splash in the national radio scene. Recorded in a mere two days at Rax Trax studio in Chicago, it’s all live, without any overdubs; Bob Katz, a renowned audio mastering engineer mastered the recording.
“As an independent artist with little previous national recognition, it’s an amazing feat for Chris and his band to have done as well as they have on the charts,” says Kari Gaffney, who handles Graham’s public relations.
Gaffney praises Graham’s ability and talent as a musician, and attributes his trio’s quick rise on the charts as a “testament to his originality and unique playing style.”
Since the new album’s release, the trio has seen a spike in CD sales and has been sought out from as far away as San Francisco and Japan.
“His five-mallet grip, which he came up with, is a signatory mark for him in the industry,” Gaffney says. “He doesn’t have an educational background, but rather has evolved as far as he has by touring and ‘playing in the trenches.’ He’s definitely a young lion that’s worth watching.”
A Future In Festivals
So far, Graham and company have performed in support of “After-Birth” in Chicago, Columbia and St. Louis. More regional dates are in the works for the upcoming months, followed by performances at larger jazz festivals next year.
Though all three members of the trio still have their day jobs, they are getting closer to being able to support themselves with their music alone.
“His talent is being recognized, and he’s an artist who has some serious potential and lasting ability,” Gaffney says. “More than one critic has considered the possibility of what Graham could do in an all-star lineup — the kind of dream lineup that Wynton Marsalis and Miles Davis have been known to assemble.”
“I’ve been in Chicago for four years, and I love it there,” Graham says. “But I know that none of this would have happened without the amazing music scene that Columbia has.”
For more information about The Chris Graham Trio and the new album, “The After-Birth of Cool,” visit: karionpresskits.com/chrisgraham/chrisgraham.html