Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams(born 1961,Oamaru,New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born, Australian-based musician. He is a founding mainstay member ofexperimental,jazz triothe Necks(1987–present), collaborated withMelanie Oxleyas a soul pop duo (1989–2003), and has issued ten solo albums.
Chris Abrahams | |
|---|---|
 (L to R): James Waples, Mike Majkowski, Chris Abrahams | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams |
| Born | 9 April 1961 Oamaru,South Island,New Zealand |
| Origin | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | The Necks |
Biography
editEarly years
editChristopher Robert Lionel Abrahams was born on 9 April 1961 inOamaru,South Island, New Zealand.[1][2][3]Abrahams, on keyboards, formed jazz groupBenders,in 1980 in Sydney withDale Barlowon tenor saxophone, Louis Burdett on drums andLloyd Swantonon bass guitar.[4][5][6]By the time Benders disbanded in 1985, Abrahams had performed on all three of their albums,E(1983),False Laughter(1984) andDistance(1985).[4][5][7]While still with Benders, late in 1983, he supplied piano forLaughing Clowns' second album,Law of Nature(1984).[4][5]
The Necks, Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams
editThe Sparklers were a dance pop group formed in 1985 by Abrahams on keyboards, Bill Bilson on drums (ex-Sunnyboys), Gerard Corben on guitar (ex-Lime Spiders), Ernie Finckh (RenrocRab) on guitar and the Oxley siblingsMelanieon lead vocals (ex-Sweet Nothings) andPeteron bass guitar (ex-Sunnyboys).[4][5]Colin Bloxsom took over lead guitar by the following year.[5][8]Sparklers released two singles, "Overworking" (October 1986) and "So Often Dreaming" (January 1987) before Abrahams left.[4][8]The Sparklers issued their debut album,Persuasion,in 1988.[4][5]
The Neckswere formed as a jazz trio, in 1987, by Abrahams on piano, keyboards, organ and guitar with former bandmate, Swanton, on bass guitar and double bass, andTony Buckon drums, percussion and guitar (ex-Great White Noise).[4][5][7]For his compositions with the group he has won twoAPRA Awards (Australia)for Most Performed Jazz Work; "Drive By"in2005and "Mosquito"in2006.[9]As from March 2020 the trio have issued 16 studio albums.[10]Australian musicologist,Ian McFarlane,described their sonation, "abstract, improvised, jazzy mood music."[4]
In 1989, while still with the Necks, Abrahams formed a soul pop duo, Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams, with former the Sparklers' bandmate, Oxley.[4][5]They released a four-trackextended play(EP),Resisting Calm,via Spiral Scratch in late 1990.[11]For that EP they used Abrahams' current and former bandmates, Buck on drums, Swanton on acoustic bass guitar, Corben (ex-the Sparklers) on guitar as well as Mike Bukovsky on trumpet, Guy Dickerson on guitar, Stuart Eadie onfloor tomsandJackie Orszaczkyon bass guitar.[12]While periodically collaborating with Abrahams, Oxley maintained her career as a school teacher.[13]
The duo's first two albums,Welcome to Violet(1992) andCoal(1994), were released via Remote Records/MDS.[4][5]They were labelled as, "moody, emotive soul/pop" works by McFarlane.[4]Their next album,Jerusalem Bay(1998), had Hamish Stuart on drums (ex-Ayers Rock,Wig World,the Catholics) andMike Bukowskion trumpet (ex-Ten Part Invention).[4]In 2001 the pair performed Abrahams' music for a radiotravel documentary,South Island,which was broadcast byABC Classic FMon 6 October 2003.[14]It was created, narrated and produced by Abrahams withThe Listening Room's Sherre DeLys.[14][15]
Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams' next work,Blood Oranges,appeared in early 2003 via Remote Records/Vitamin Records.[16]The Sydney Morning Herald's John Shand found, "his lyrics are often bleaker than their past work, it is not a despairing bleakness, but one bolstered by stoicism, wit, hope and a love of beauty."[16]Jeremy Green ofdB Magazineobserved, "[it is] peculiarly ineffectual. It paws lazily at classic Motown pop but is totally sedated by dinky production and emotional primness."[17]
Solo work
editAbrahams issued his debut solo album,Piano,in 1985 via Hot Records/Making Waves.[4][5][18]It was recorded atSydney Opera House's Recording Hall and mastered atStudios 301.[19]Tony Mitchell ofCyclic Defrostdescribed this album in 2017, "nine improvisations... it suggests a virtuoso pianist in the making."[19]After leaving the Sparklers, in 1987, he issued his second studio album,Walk.[4][5]
His fifth solo album,Thrownappeared in 2005 viaRoom40.[20]Cyclic Defrost's Max Schaefer noticed, "Technically formidable and conceptually refined, [he] pays homage to the piano by drawing it into tightly articulated and highly personalized forms."[20]Abrahams performed, produced and arranged the music for the Australian film,The Tender Hook(2008), which was released as the soundtrack album,The Tender Hook: Motion Picture Soundtrack.[21]At the2008 Australian Film Institute Awardshis work was nominated forBest Original Music Score.[22][23]
Play Scar(2010), his seventh album, was reviewed by Oliver Laing ofCyclic Defrost,who declared, "[it] is the glorious sound of well-established artist willing to push the boundaries of sound and technique into new realms."[24]His next effort,Memory Night(2013), shows that "even at his most ominous is also quite listenable, creating jumbled, but still quite accessible soundscapes" according to4ZZZ's Chris Cobroft.[25]
Abrahams has worked as a session musician on albums by the Triffids (Born Sandy Devotional,1986), Ed Kuepper (Rooms of the Magnificent,1986;Honey Steel's Gold,1991;This Is the Magic Mile,2005),Skunkhour(Skunkhour,1993),the Apartments(A Life Full of Farewells,1995;Apart,1997;In and Out of the Light,2020), the Church (Magician Among the Spirits,1996), the Whitlams (Eternal Nightcap,1997;Torch the Moon,2002), Silverchair (Neon Ballroom,1999), Midnight Oil (The Real Thing,2000) and Wendy Matthews (Beautiful View,2001).[5][10]
Musical style and composing
editSome of Abrahams' music is experimental in nature—The Necks are an improvisational trio, and Abraham's performance at the Room40 Tenth Anniversary in London was labelled "ambient", "free-jazz" and "industrial noise" by (UK) Financial Times reviewer, Mike Hobart.[26]Chris Reid ofRealTimemagazine wrote of hisGerm Studiescollaboration with Clare Cooper, an organiser of the NOWnow Festival who played the Chinese zither on the album, that "it represents an extensive investigation into the endless range of sounds that can be created by combining the venerable DX7 synthesiser and the even more venerable Chinese zither, the guzheng [...] a deep exploration of musical language".[27]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Piano | |
| Walk | |
| Welcome to Violet (with Melanie Oxley) |
|
| Coal (with Melanie Oxley) |
|
| Jerusalem Bay (with Melanie Oxley) |
|
| Glow | |
| Blood Oranges (with Melanie Oxley) |
|
| Streaming | |
| Artery (with Jon Rose, and Clayton Thomas) |
|
| Thrown | |
| Oceanic Feeling Like (with Mike Cooper) |
|
| The Tender Hook: Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
| Germ Studies (with Clare Cooper) |
|
| Play Scar |
|
| None of Them Would Remember It That Way (with Lucio Capece) |
|
| None of Them Would Remember It That Way (with Alessandro Bosetti) |
|
| Kopfüberwelle (with Sabine Vogel) |
|
| Memory Night |
|
| Gardenier (with Magda Mayas) |
|
| Luv / Kopfüberwelle (with Sabine Vogel) |
|
| Fluid to the Influence |
|
| Climb |
|
| Peggy (with Jon Rose) |
|
| Sink (with Arthur Rother, Andrea Ermke, Marcello Silvio Busato) |
|
| Next to Nothing (with Ignaz Schick) |
|
| Appearance |
|
| Praxis (with Mike Cooper) |
|
| Weft (with Robbie Avenaim andJim Denley) |
|
| Words Fail (with Clayton Thomas & Miles Thomas) |
|
| Nightjar (with The Vampires) |
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| Resisting Calm (with Melanie Oxley) |
|
Awards and nominations
editAPRA Awards
editTheAPRA Awardsare presented annually from 1982 by theAustralasian Performing Right Association(APRA).[41]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Drive By"(withLloyd SwantonandAnthony Buck) | Most Performed Jazz Work[9] | Won |
| 2006 | "Chemist"(with Swanton and Buck) | Most Performed Jazz Work[42] | Won |
| 2019[43] | "Body" (with Swanton and Buck) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted |
ARIA Music Awards
editTheARIA Music Awardsare a set of annual ceremonies presented byAustralian Recording Industry Association(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of themusic of Australia.They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Welcome to Violet(with Melanie Oxley) | Best Independent Release | Nominated | [44] |
| 2023 | Nightjar(with The Vampires) | Best Jazz Album | Won | [45] |
Helpmann Awards
editTheHelpmann Awardsis an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry groupLive Performance Australiasince 2001.[46]Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | FOOD COURT(withBack to Back Theatreand The Necks) | Best New Australian Work | Nominated | [47] |
| FOOD COURT(The Necks, Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck & Lloyd Swanton) | Best Original Score | Nominated |
References
edit- General
- McFarlane, Ian(1999)."Whammo Homepage".Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop.St Leonards, NSW:Allen & Unwin.ISBN1-86508-072-1.Archived fromthe originalon 5 April 2004.Retrieved3 March2022.Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Specific
- ^"'Living in a Jar' at APRA search engine ".APRA AMCOS(Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society).Retrieved3 March2002.
- ^Shand, John (2002). "Abrahams, Chris(topher)". In Barry Kernfeld (ed.).The new Grove dictionary of jazz(2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. pp. 6–7.ISBN1561592846.
- ^Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Radio National;Abrahams (guest, producer), Chris; DeLys (guest, producer), Sheree; Yahp (presenter), Beth (13 February 2010),South Island,Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC),retrieved3 March2022
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrMcFarlane,'Chris Abrahams'entry. Archived fromthe originalon 3 August 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^abcdefghijklmnAustralian Rock Databaseentries:
- Chris Abrahams:Holmgren, Magnus."Chris Abrahams".Australian Rock Database. Archived fromthe originalon 19 March 2004.Retrieved3 March2022.
- The Laughing Clowns:Holmgren, Magnus."The Laughing Clowns".Australian Rock Database. Archived fromthe originalon 16 January 2004.Retrieved4 March2022.
- The Sparklers:Holmgren, Magnus."The Sparklers".Australian Rock Database. Archived fromthe originalon 12 November 2004.Retrieved4 March2022.
- The Necks:Holmgren, Magnus."The Necks".Australian Rock Database. Archived fromthe originalon 19 March 2004.Retrieved4 March2022.
- Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams:Holmgren, Magnus."Melanie Oxley".Australian Rock Database. Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2003.Retrieved4 March2022.
- ^Jackson, Adrian (28 October 1983)."Make Way for the Benders".The Age.Retrieved3 March2022.
- ^abSwift, Brendan."Chris Abrahams – Biography".AllMusic.Retrieved27 May2011.
- ^abSutton, Pollyanna (2 April 1987)."Melanie Oxley Flexes Her Powerful Voice".The Canberra Times.Vol. 61, no. 18, 808. p. 9.Retrieved6 March2022– viaNational Library of Australia.
- ^ab"2005 Winners - APRA Music Awards".Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived fromthe originalon 18 September 2009.Retrieved6 March2022.
- ^abCouture, François."The Necks | Biography & History".AllMusic.Retrieved4 March2022.
- ^abOxley, Melanie;Abrahams, Chris (1990),Resisting Calm,Spiral Scratch,retrieved4 March2022
- ^Resisting Calm(Media notes). Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams. Spiral Scratch Records. 1990. 12002.
{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^Dwyer, Michael (4 July 2003)."Musical blood".The Age.Retrieved6 March2022.
- ^abAbrahams, Chris; DeLys, Sherre (October 2003)."The Listening Room– 06/10/2003: October 2003 ".ABC Classic FM(Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). Archived fromthe originalon 5 April 2004.Retrieved5 March2022– via National Library of Australia.
- ^Australia Council (2003)."Arts in Australia: Sherre DeLys".Australia Council for the Arts.Archived fromthe originalon 17 July 2005.Retrieved5 March2022– via National Library of Australia.
- ^abShand, John (15 April 2003)."Melanie Oxley and Chris Abrahams, The Basement".The Sydney Morning Herald.Archived fromthe originalon 16 November 2004.Retrieved5 March2022– via National Library of Australia.
- ^Green, Jeremy."CD Reviews... Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams –Blood Oranges– Vitamin/Shock ".dB Magazine Online.Archived fromthe originalon 15 July 2004.Retrieved5 March2022– via National Library of Australia.
- ^Rose, Jon (17 January 2003)."Forte Piano Solo – Chris Abrahams".Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC). Archived fromthe originalon 20 April 2017.Retrieved3 March2022.
- ^abMitchell, Tony (19 February 2017)."Chris Abrahams:The Farmer's CinemathequeandClimb".Cyclic Defrost.Archived fromthe originalon 10 October 2019.Retrieved5 March2022– via National Library of Australia.
- ^abSchaefer, Max (September 2005)."Chris Abrahams –Thrown(Room40/Couchblip) ".Cyclic Defrost Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon 19 February 2006.Retrieved7 March2022.
- ^"The Tender Hook(sound recording): motion picture soundtrack ".State Library of New South Wales.Retrieved27 May2011.
- ^Zuk, Tim."Australian Television: 2008 AFI Awards".Australian Television Information Archive.Retrieved7 March2022.
- ^"Winners & Nominees".AACTA.Retrieved7 March2022.
- ^Laing, Oliver (27 July 2010)."Chris Abrahams –Play Scar(Room40) ".Cyclic Defrost Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon 20 January 2013.Retrieved7 March2022.
- ^Cobroft, Chris (17 April 2013)."Chris Abrahams:Memory Night".4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM.Archived fromthe originalon 6 May 2013.Retrieved7 March2022– via National Library of Australia.
- ^Hobart, Mike (8 November 2010)."Chris Abrahams, Café Oto, London".Financial Times (UK).Archivedfrom the original on 10 December 2022.Retrieved27 May2011.
- ^abReid, Chris."Earbash – Sound/Music CD Reviews – clare cooper & chris abrahams".RealTime Arts.Retrieved27 May2011.
- ^Oxley, Melanie; Abrahams, Chris (1992),Welcome to Violet,Remote Records,retrieved5 March2022
- ^Oxley, Melanie; Abrahams, Chris (1998),Jerusalem Bay,Remote Records,retrieved5 March2022
- ^Abrahams, Chris (2001),Glow,Vegetable Records; distributed by Vitamin Records,retrieved5 March2022
- ^Oxley, Melanie; Abrahams, Chris (2003),Blood oranges,Remote Records,retrieved5 March2022
- ^Abrahams, Chris (2003),Streaming,Vegetable Records,retrieved5 March2022
- ^abAbrahams, Chris (2005),Thrown,Chris Abrahams,retrieved5 March2022
- ^The Tender Hook: Motion Picture Soundtrack,SONY/ATV, 2008,retrieved5 March2022
- ^Meggitt, Joshua (6 April 2009)."Chris Abrahams and Clare Cooper – Germ Studies for Guzheng and DX7 (Splitrec)".Cyclic Defrost Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon 8 August 2011.Retrieved27 May2011.
- ^Abrahams, Chris; Room40 (Firm) (2010),Play Scar,Chris Abrahams: Room40 [distributor],retrieved5 March2022
{{citation}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Abrahams, Chris (2013),Memory Night,Room40,retrieved6 March2022
- ^Abrahams, Chris (2016),Fluid to the Influence,Room40,retrieved6 March2022
- ^Abrahams, Chris (2016),Climb,retrieved6 March2022
- ^"Chris Abrahams / Robbie Avenaim / Jim Denley: Weft".AllMusic.com.Retrieved26 August2021.
- ^"APRA History".Australasian Performing Right Association(APRA).Retrieved6 May2010.
- ^"2006 Winners – APRA Music Awards".Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).Retrieved6 May2010.
- ^"APRA Reveals 2019 Song of the Year Shortlist".Music Feeds.5 February 2019.Retrieved26 April2022.
- ^"ARIA Awards Best Independent Release".Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).Archivedfrom the original on 28 August 2018.Retrieved9 June2021.
- ^"Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards".Music Feeds.21 September 2023.Retrieved24 September2023.
- ^"Events & Programs".Live Performance Australia.Retrieved4 October2022.
- ^"2009 Helpmann Awards Nominees & Winners".Helpmann Awards.Australian Entertainment Industry Association (AEIA).Retrieved8 October2022.