Christine Spero - Pianist/Singer/Composer
Biography
Even before Christine Spero began recording with her dynamic quartet, she was earning numerous accolades for her melodic, emotionally powerful and soulful songwriting and was Winner of the USA Songwriting Competition/Jazz category with her song,"He Wasn't Always That Way". She was also a finalist with "Caribbean Nights," a festive tropical celebration that typifies the joyful exotica that drives her second recording, "My Spanish Dream", a rich Brazilian/Latin/world fusion offering that dances blithely between pop and jazz. The project was produced by Elliot Spero, who does multiple duties on soprano and tenor saxes as well as percussion. Christine's piece, "Therapy" has been published by Wild Whirled Music for use in film and television. The group has opened for such notables as: The Woody Herman Orchestra, Kim Waters, Walter Beasley, Mike Phillips, Ray Vega, Bobby Mattos, Blood, Sweat and Tears. Christine has been written about in USA Today, Billboard, Jazz Times, JAZZIZ, Keyboard and Recording Magazines and ASCAP Playback. "My Spanish Dream" is being played in 20 countries and is one of six featured jazz albums in Japan at www.garagebandjapan.com
Christine and her group performed live on NPR on Performance Place "Music of Our Time" to promote "My Spanish Dream". Diverse and daring, it highlights Spero's love for lush vocal harmonies, something she's been enthralled with her entire career.
The Christine Spero Group was one of the headliners at The Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz and has performed on Time Warner Cable's "Poughkeepsie LIVE!"
The December issue of Recording Magazine featured Christine in their Artist Profile. This can be viewed at: www.taxi.com/transmitter/0611/headlineB0611.html
A recording of new songs for peace on the Woodlark Rising label, will feature the choral ensemble Voices for Peace and many well-known musicians and song writers. The collection will include music and/or performances by The Christine Spero Group, Pete Seeger, Tom Pacheco, Leslie Ritter and Scott Petito, Peter Schickele, Jon Stein, Danielle Woerner, Dennis Yerry and others.
Each one of Christine's pieces is a unique vehicle for creative improvisation. Add to that her evocative, soulful singing and you've got a smooth runway for the piano, saxophone, bass, drums and percussion to take off!
Christine is the Swedish/American granddaughter of classical pianists. She recorded her first songs on RCA as a teen, then moved from New York to San Francisco to further study music and botany. She was a member of Bob Braye's Peace and Rhythm Unit. Her eclectic and personal style of composing was influenced by many classical and jazz musicians. She has performed with her own quartets and sextets over the years and now lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York, where she continues to write, record, and perform with her band.
Saxophonist, percussionist and producer Elliot Spero founded his own ensembles in San Francisco and opened for Bobby McFarrin in the Bay Area. He engineered and produced Christine's CD's, "We Call It Music" and "My Spanish Dream" and owns a recording studio in New York.