Chris Collins is a professional jazz woodwind player who has toured Japan, South Africa, Europe and North America as leader of his own ensembles and as a featured soloist. He has played with artists including the Phil Collins Big Band, Mel Torme, Lou Rawls, Doc Severenson, Michael Fienstien, Rob McConnel, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at jazz festivals including Montreux, Pori, Nice, North Sea, and Glasgow.
His most recent CD release Jazz From The Shamrock Shore (HarriettJazz/ASCAP) features extended compositions that artistically combine the instrumentation, musical vocabulary and repertoire of the Irish folk tradition, with American jazz. In addition to his work on commercial recordings and film soundtracks, including the soundtrack for the award winning Paramount Pictures release The Big Night, Chris's jazz solo work can be heard on the CD releases Urban Solitude - Chris Collins Quartet (Harriett Jazz), A Hot Night In Paris - The Phil Collins Big Band (Atlantic), A Time To Mourn, A Time To Dance (Harriett Jazz/ ASCAP) and Watching For Watchung Plaza - The John Cooper Quintet.
Collins' work has received recognition from Billboard Magazine, Downbeat Magazine, Detroit Jazz Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit news, The Hennesey Jazz Competition, and the International Association of Jazz Educators.
In addition to his playing career, Chris is currently an Associate Professor and Co-Director of Jazz Studies at Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan. Chris has presented numerous workshops around the world including South Africa, The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and The Big Band Club in Kita Kyushu, Japan as well as numerous U.S. I.A.J.E. conferences. He has also contributed several articles to the Jazz Educators Journal including recent cover stories on Joe Lovano and Joe Zawinul.
Chris bought his Peter Eaton International model clarinet early in 2001. "The Peter Eaton clarinet allows me to be extremely flexible and expressive. I can shape the tone to be dark and haunting in small jazz clubs, rich and full-bodied in large halls or controlled and intimate in the recording studio. The Eaton clarinet consistently maintains an excellent balance between centered and diffuse tonal elements throughout its vast dynamic range. Additionally, the mechanics, workmanship and overall feel of this fine instrument are unparalleled in the industry."
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