Levis Howes

Violinist Christian Howes is a technically proficient, forward-thinking musician with a bent toward progressive jazz, bluegrass, and classical music. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Howes began playing classical violin at age five and by his teens was competing in various national classical competitions as well as pursuing a burgeoning interest in jazz improvisation. At age 19, however, Howes was convicted on a drug charge and sentenced to four years in a medium security prison.

Christian Howes – Out of the Blue (2010)
MP3 192 kbps | 83 MB | Front cover
Jazz,Swing,Blues

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.