Chris Weller

Chris Weller, born 1988, is an emerging saxophone talent, instructor, and composer in Chicago, IL. He grew in Oak Park, near the rich culture and vibrant musical scene in Chicago. By 15, Chris was playing professionally, and frequenting jazz clubs in the city like Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge. He went on to attend Berklee College of Music as a World Scholarship Tour Recipient from 2007-2010 where he received his bachelors degree in Music Performance. While in college Chris was fortunate to learn from George Garzone, drum master Bob Moses, Ed Tomassi, Jim Odgren, Greg Hopkins, Benny Golson, Mark Turner, and many other great musicians/teachers.  He also performed extensively during that time in Jazz, Latin, and Hip Hop idioms all across the nation. After college, CW moved back to Oak Park where he currently resides, performs, composes, teaches privately, and works as a clinician/educator. Recently, he accepted another studio position as woodwind teacher at West End Conservatory in Milwaukee, WI. Chris has performed with or opened for the likes of Kurt Elling, Patricia Barber, Kenny Barron, Dee Alexander, Ramsey Lewis, Ken Chaney, Big Boi (Outkast), Jim Snidero, and the Greg Hopkins Big Band among others. Chris leads a couple of his own groups, namely Hanging Hearts (trio) and Cage Free, and plays in a multitude of other groups in and around Chicago. Website: www.chriswellermusic.com, Twitter: @ChrisWellerSax, Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/chris-weller-music, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HangingHeartsTrio.

“Chris Weller has a great musical future ahead of him. It's not only rare that someone his age has great command over the saxophone, but he also has the musicality and soul behind it.” - Russ Nolan

“Chris Weller is a fantastic musician! He not only plays music with great ability and care, he cherishes the history and strives to build on it as well. Chris’s respect for the masters is evident in his big, broad tenor sound and his creative, melodic improvisations. Listening to Chris is a lesson in Jazz history and a look into the future.” - Ted Hogarth, Musician and Educator

“Jazz music has got to have that thing. You have to be born with it. You can’t even buy it. If you could buy it, they’d have it at the next Newport festival.” (Miles Davis) “From the very first moment I heard Chris Weller play, I knew this was a person who was born with it! It is truly wonderful to have an opportunity to hear a remarkable musician perform at such a young age. You can’t help but to sit and wonder, “My goodness, this kid is only 18 years old, what will his music sound like by the time he is 21?” Be sure to check him out now while you can. I predict one day, in the not-too-distant future, we will all be standing in line trying to get tickets to one of his performances.” - Camille Wilson White, Executive Director, Oak Park Area Arts Council

“Chris is easily one of the most promising young horn players in town: his playing is a sure sign of great things to come.” - Jason Patera, co-founder of Caltera School; Music Department Head, The Chicago Academy for the Arts Show less