Big thanks to All About Jazz‘s Ian Patterson for the glowing review and insightful interview.
Here are snippets, but for the full story click on the links!
The violin is widely considered as the most expressive of instruments, closely approximating the human voice. It depends, however, to a large degree, on whose hands the instrument is in. Christian Howes is that rare breed of musician who makes the violin talk; using the idiom of the blues on Out of the Blue, Howes gives a virtuoso performance, as full of emotion as it is technically dazzling. Joined by guitarist Robben Ford , who lends his jazz-inflected accent to these blues, Howes’ quintet fairly rips through an eclectic selection of covers which run from gospel and funk to New Orleans, by way of Ornette Coleman. The energy levels are high, and Howes’ stirring displays must surely rank him as one of the very best violinists on the scene.
– Out of the Blue Review, September 27, 2010
Christian Howes—a classically trained violinist who has turned his hand to all kinds of music from orchestral to Latin, and jazz to fusion—is doing his bit to revive the violin as an authentic voice of the blues. His just released second album for Resonance Records, Out of the Blue, is an exploration of the intangible essence of the blues and a passionate calling card from one of the most talented violinists of any genre of music.
– Christian Howes: Blues for the Blues Violin, September 27, 2010
