[box type=”shadow”]”It used to be you could hardly find a good jazz violinist. Nowadays there are four or five really good players, but there is nobody better than this guy.”
– Les Paul[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]”Christian Howes is arguably the most intriguing young violinist in jazz.”
– Tom Surowicz, Minneapolis Star Tribune[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]”…[Christian Howes is] the finest, fieriest jazz violinist since Billy Bang…”
-Minneapolis Tribune, October 23, 2008[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]”As a jazz violinist today, he has no peer”
– Michael Bailey, All About Jazz[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]”Not since Jean-Luc Ponty has a violinist ranged from pure classical to fuzz-tone rock to convincing jazz with such authority”
– Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]”Howes is a jazz player, first and foremost — one whose solid, classically trained technique provides the freedom to fully express an expansive improvisational imagination”
– Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]”.. one of the best jazz violinists around”
– Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]”Many parents said [Howes’ concert with students] was the most enjoyable concert they had ever attended.”
– Kathleen McCullough, April 2012, Teaching Music Magazine. Article by Cynthia Darling[/box]
“…playing solo, the violinist made Paul McCartney’s Yesterday sound like a folk song, extracting a little kernel of sadness that has generally remained buried.”
“A solo Isn’t She Lovely eased from simplicity, charm and warmth to leaping excitement, the latter mood sustained in a second rapid country-rock number with the band.”
-John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald[/box]
Southern Exposure
[box type=”shadow”]”…a masterful journey.”
“…everything about the way [Howes] moves across each string seems to express another emotion.”
-Jennifer Odell, February 12, Downbeat Magazine[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]“Galliano and Howes make a convincing case that [jazz] has evolved to the point where the terms “jazz” and “world music” have practically become interchangeable.”
“ Mr. Howes deserves credit for being able to keep up with Mr. Galliano and complement him perfectly…”
“…The triumph of “Southern Exposure”… shows that both accordion and violin are poised to play key roles in contemporary world jazz.”
-April 18, 2013, Wall Street Journal[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]“The whole album swims in a favorable climate of lyricism with flights of accordion crisscrossing those of the violin in rivalry with each other, in perfectly mastered dizzying arabesques, which are evidently the summit of the art.”
-Jacques Aboucaya, January 2013, JazzMan Magazine (translated from French)[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]“… this is [Howes]’s show, and he shines throughout.”
“Desiring to pay tribute to the music of Brazil, Argentina, et al., is admirable, but giving it authenticity and a personal stamp takes skill and insight.”
“As a soloist, [Howes is] ablaze on Ray Bryant’s ‘Cubano Chant’ and the Egberto Gismonti opener, ‘Ta Boa, Santa?’….”
-Jeff Tamarkin, April 2013, JazzTimes[/box]
[box type=”shadow”]“…music inspired by a wealth of South American traditions.”
-April 2013, New York Times[/box]
Out Of The Blue
[box type=”shadow”]”Calling your new album ‘Out Of The Blue’, especially if you’re a string player, is pretty much akin to calling it ‘A Love Supreme’ if you play sax. But no matter: jazz violinist Christian Howes plays it with an admirably purist sensibility…”
-9/16/10, Lucid Culture jazz blog[/box]