Chris Anderson: From the Heart

Chris Anderson - piano

"From The Heart" is aptly titled. Chris plays the piano as though his life depends on it; every note is laced with vulnerability. His improvisation with chords is a startlingly beautiful combination of delicacy and deliberation and his selections, though standards, become mysteriously eclectic and varied. Chris sings on "In Love In Vain"; it is a touching and heartfelt rendition.

Chris Anderson is a highly infuential pianist, having worked with luminaries such as Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker and Dinah Washington amongst others. He is credited with teaching Herbie Hancock, who to this day remains a huge fan of Chris. He has recorded an album with Charlie Haden, "None But The Lonely Heart" also available on The Naim Label.

Chris was born in Chicago, in 1926. His enduring fascination with harmony which was sparked by film soundtracks began well before the age of ten. He had already started to teach himself to play on the family piano, so well in fact that he never took lessons. This is a clue to the amazing originality and sheer talent of his harmonic ideas.

To this day, Chris Anderson remains legendary among musicians and essentially unknown to the jazz record buying public.