Guitarist Chris Standring to Release New Album “Simple Things”

RENOWNED CONTEMPORARY GUITARIST/COMPOSER CHRIS STANDRING
REFLECTS ON SECOND CHANCES WITH
SIMPLE THINGS

Available May 20, 2022

Sometimes it takes a potentially life altering event to make you stop and re-evaluate what is truly important to you. In March 2021, guitarist, composer, and arranger CHRIS STANDRING found himself in the emergency room after experiencing chest pains. Although there was some history of heart disease in his immediate family, he never dreamed that he was himself a candidate for a heart attack. He was just 60 years old, kept trim, ate well, exercised, and never smoked. But he was lucky. He come through it with flying colors and a new appreciation for the simple things that make life worth living.

On his newest release, SIMPLE THINGS, Standring reflects on his recent experience and his new and intimate awareness of the fragility of life. Standring relates, “We have all heard cliches like ‘who knows what tomorrow may bring’ and ‘don’t forget to stop and smell the roses,’ but we usually don’t take those old aphorisms to heart. To suddenly come face to face with my own mortality made me think about what is really important to me and how I want to live out my third act. Ultimately the answer came down to a just few basic things – spending time with loved ones, being present in the moment, and doing things with joy. Indeed, the theme of this album is joy, positivity, hope, and, because I’m a sucker for a beautiful melody, a little sadness as well.”

Standring is one of the most prolific and successful artists on the contemporary urban jazz scene. SIMPLE THINGS is his 14th CD as a leader and follows his 2021 release Wonderful World, of which critic Travis Rogers said, “Wonderful World propels Chris Standring’s reputation—indeed, fame—as masterful guitar artist and savvy arranger. Standring’s ability to pare down standards and classics, while never losing the lush quality of the orchestra, is brilliant. Whether it is his composing, his arranging, or his performing, Chris Standring is deserving of careful attention.”

Standring, a native of England, has had 13 Billboard Top 10 singles and 6 singles that reached number one on the chart. Although he spent his childhood on a farm, driving tractors and feeding sheep, he began studying classical guitar when he was just six years old. He listened to a lot of West Coast American jazz growing up and became a serious jazz musician when he attended the London College of Music. Many of his fellow students were aspiring jazz musicians and hard-core, straight-ahead aficionados, and Standring soon found himself listening to the great bebop players and learning new approaches to harmony and rhythm.

Standring had visited the United States several times in the 1980s and loved the West Coast vibe. He moved to Los Angeles in 1991 and quickly became part of the local jazz scene, playing the top L.A. venues with A-list musicians. He soon caught the attention of many top music acts, and his contemporary guitar sound can be heard on recordings by Bebe and Cece Winans, Jody Watley and Rick Braun. He has also performed with Marc Antoine, Bob James, Richard Elliott, Peter White, Kirk Whalum, and Al Stewart.

Covid has not lightened Standring’s output or schedule. Besides working on SIMPLE THINGS, he has been producing music for other artists and will soon present additional artists on his label, Ultimate Vibe Recordings. Besides playing guitar and composing all the tunes on SIMPLE THINGS, Standring also plays keyboards and programmed various synth sounds and drum loops. He is joined by some of the top names in jazz, smooth jazz, funk, and R&B who live in Southern California, including his regular bandmates ANDRE BERRY on bass and CHRIS COLEMAN on drums. Also performing on the album are RODNEY LEE on keyboards, GARY MEEK on sax, and KEVIN AXT on bass.

SIMPLE THINGS will be available on CD, vinyl and digitally everywhere on May 20, 2022.

Online:
Chrisstandring.com
Facebook.com/standringc
Instagram.com/chrisstandring1
Twitter.com/chrisstandring

Mouthpiece Music