Christian Howes is all over the jazz world of late, and with good reason. The Columbus native and jazz violinist is one of the most talented and creative leaders of the modern jazz scene and many leading publications agree. Most recently Christian has won such esteemed awards as the #1 “Rising Star Violin” musician in Downbeat Magazine’s Critics Poll in 2011. He also grabbed a nomination from the Jazz Journalists Association as “Violinist of the Year” for 2011. Christian Howes grew up in Columbus and received a degree in Philosophy from the Ohio State University. Following 10 years in New York City making a name on the international jazz scene and touring the world, he has recently returned to raise a family, anchor his touring and educational activities from his hometown of Columbus.
Some other recent accolades for Christian:
The Minneapolis Tribune calls him “arguably the most intriguing young violinist in jazz,” and the Chicago Reader says: “Not since Jean-Luc Ponty has a violinist ranged from pure classical to fuzz tone rock to convincing jazz with such authority.”
Even guitar legend Les Paul claims, “It used to be you could hardly find a good jazz violinist. Nowadays there are four for five really good players, but there is nobody better than this guy.”
“As a jazz violinist he has no peer…” – All About Jazz
Following a string of self-produced albums through the ‘90s, Christian stepped into a larger arena by moving to New York, where he soon became an in-demand figure on the scene. A classically-trained player, he quickly earned a reputation in jazz circles by playing with the likes of trumpeter Randy Brecker, trombonist Steve Turre, guitarist Joel Harrison, pianist D.D. Jackson, saxophonist Greg Osby, drummer Dafnis Prieto, Dave Samuels’ Caribbean Jazz Project, Bill Evans’ Soulgrass, crossover pioneers Spyro Gyra and the legendary guitarist-inventor Les Paul.
Congrats on the awards this past year Christian and we look forward to continued success.
- Read more about Christian at his website: http://christianhowes.com/
- See Christina perform live in Cleveland this Saturday, January 21st at the Lakewood Civic Auditorium with the Lakewood Project.