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Widely heralded as a gifted young
player with a passionate sound, jazz-guitarist Corey
Christiansen took up the instrument at the age of five
under the direction of his father, Mike Christiansen,
Chairman of Guitar Studies at Utah State University.
Corey earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Utah
State and a master’s degree in jazz performance from the
University of South Florida.
Awakening,
Corey’s first CD as a leader, was the initial release on
Mel Bay Records, the entertainment-recording division of
Mel Bay Publications. Awakening spent twelve
weeks on the JazzWeek chart, reaching number
sixteen in March 2005. The title track, an original
composition, consistently receives the most airplay from
the recording.
His
first DVD – Vic Juris &
Corey Christiansen: Live at the Smithsonian Jazz Café
– was released in July 2006. Jazzwise-reviewer
Mike Flynn gave the recording four stars, noting that
“…Christiansen is well versed in the guitar’s sonic
heritage and his judicious sense of phrasing finds him
light-fingered even on the densest of changes and
positively euphoric on his ballad work.”
In November 2006 Mel Bay Records
released MB3 / Jazz Hits
/ Volume One, a guitar-trio CD featuring
Corey, Vic, and fellow Mel Bay guitarist Jimmy Bruno,
with Danny Gottlieb on drums and Jay Anderson on bass.
Corey
has played the Syracuse Jazz Festival, the Lionel
Hampton Jazz Festival, the Festival of the Midnight Sun
(Helsinki), the Umbria Jazz Festival, Gerald Veasley’s
Jazz Base (Reading, PA), Jazz in June (Lincoln, NE), The
Northwest Arkansas Summer Jazz Series, the Clearwater
Jazz Festival, the St. Louis Jazz Festival, the Daytona
Beach Jazz Festival, the Whitaker Music Festival (St.
Louis), the Classic American Guitar Show (Long Island,
NY), John Pisano’s Guitar Night (Los Angeles), Chris’
Jazz Café (Philadelphia), the Blue Wisp (Cincinnati),
Dazzle (Denver), and the Bistro at Grand Center (St.
Louis). He has played or recorded with an impressive
roster of artists, including John Pisano, Andy Summers,
Willie Akins, Chuck Red, Rob McConnel, Sid Jacobs, Jack
Wilkins, Bruce Saunders, Randy
Johnston, Phil DeGreg, Steve Davis, Shelly Berg, Terreon
Gully, Chuck Owen, Frank Vignola, Tom Kennedy, and
Anthony Wilson.
Corey
has served as senior editor for Mel Bay Publications
since 2001 and has written more than 50 books for the
company. In 2006 he was named Artist in Residence for
The Music School in American Fork, Utah.
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