Chris Flory (born November 13, 1953) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist.

Early life and career

A native of New York City, Flory was playing guitar by his early teens and around that time heard his first jazz album, '' Forest Flower'' by Charles Lloyd. He was influenced by seeing

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

, and

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live during the late 1960s. He met musicians through his friend Scott Hamilton and while babysitting the children of

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian Americans, Canadian–American jazz pianist, Music arranger, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators i ...

he listened to albums by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

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, and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

. In an interview with ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', Flory stated that his music has been inspired by Charlie Parker,

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, and Jimi Hendrix. Flory played in rock bands in his early teens but three years later had a couple jazz lessons with guitarist Tiny Grimes. In the early 1970s he was a student at Hobart College. He performed with Hamilton intermittently from 1975 through the early 1990s. He began to record his own albums as a leader after Hamilton's quintet broke up. From 1977 to 1983 Flory played in the

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

Sextet. He has worked with

Ruby Braff Reuben "Ruby" Braff (March 16, 1927 – February 9, 2003) was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist. Jack Teagarden was once asked about him on the Garry Moore television show and described Ruby as "the Ivy League Louis Armstrong". Bra ...

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, Illinois Jacquet,

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All Ab ...

, Bob Wilber,

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

, Duke Robillard, and Maxine Sullivan.

Discography

As leader

* ''For All We Know'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1990) * ''City Life'' (Concord Jazz, 1993) * ''Word on the Street'' ( Double Time, 1996) * ''Blues in My Heart'' with Duke Robillard ( Stony Plain, 2007) * ''For You'' ( Arbors, 2008) * ''The Chris Flory Quintet Featuring Scott Hamilton'' (Arbors, 2011)

As sideman

With

* ''A First'' (Concord Jazz, 1985) * ''A Sailboat in the Moonlight'' (Concord Jazz, 1986) * ''Mr. Braff to You'' (Phontastic, 1986) With Scott Hamilton * ''Scott Hamilton and Warren Vache with Scott's Band in New York City'' (Concord Jazz, 1978) * ''Skyscrapers'' (Concord Jazz, 1980) * ''Close Up'' (Concord Jazz, 1982) * ''In Concert'' (Concord Jazz, 1983) * ''The Second Set'' (Concord, 1984) * ''The Right Time'' (Concord Jazz, 1987) * ''Plays Ballads'' (Concord Jazz, 1989) With Maxine Sullivan * ''Uptown'' (Concord Jazz, 1985) * ''Together'' (Atlantic, 1987) * ''Swingin' Sweet'' (Concord Jazz, 1988) With Bob Wilber * ''Bob Wilber and the Scott Hamilton Quartet'' (Chiaroscuro, 1977) * ''Dizzyfingers'' (Bodeswell, 1980) * ''Bob Wilber and the Bechet Legacy'' (Bodeswell, 1981) With others * Harry Allen &

Keith Ingham Keith Christopher Ingham (born 5 February 1942) is an English jazz pianist, mainly active in swing and Dixieland revival. Early life and education Ingham was born in London on 5 February 1942. His father played the organ in churches. Ingham was ...

, ''The Intimacy of the Blues'' (Progressive, 1994) * Harry Allen & Keith Ingham, ''My Little Brown Book'' (Progressive, 1994) *

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

, ''A Swingin' Dream'' (Stash, 1989) *

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccin ...

, ''Sings the Music of Irving Berlin'' (Concord Jazz, 1984) * Peter Ecklund, ''Strings Attached'' (Arbors, 1996) * Susannah McCorkle, ''Thanks for the Memory'' (Pausa, 1984) * Ben Paterson, ''That Old Feeling'' (Cellar Live, 2018) * Flip Phillips, ''A Sound Investment'' (Concord Jazz, 1987) * Flip Phillips, ''The Claw: Live at the Floating Jazz Festival'' (Chiaroscuro, 1991) * Duke Robillard, ''Swing'' (Rounder, 1987) * Loren Schoenberg, ''Time Waits for No One'' (Musicmasters, 1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flory, Chris 1953 births Guitarists from New York (state) Living people 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American jazz guitarists American male guitarists American male jazz musicians Arbors Records artists Concord Records artists Double-Time Records artists Stony Plain Records artists