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| Avant-Jazz/Rock guitarist, audio innovator Chris Buono is turning heads and leaving audiences perplexed with his fly by the seat of your pants, sonic superhero artistry. Not to be tied down to one genre, Chris Buono has been associated with an impressive list of today’s boldest musical minds. With an undeniably unique and recognizable sound, Chris Buono’s presence is resonating through a myriad of creative circles. In 1996, Chris Buono set his sights on establishing his career as a "player". Along with some of the top musicians in the New Brunswick, NJ area, Chris helped launch the R&B/Funk machine Burgundy which would become an important experience for his growth as a player and exposure to the New York scene. Within a year, Chris found himself being approached by longtime New York funk/rock favorites D’Tripp. They would escort Buono into international touring and New York’s inner circle of today’s most highly regarded musicians. D’Tripp would help him fine-tune the skills needed to stay in that circle through their legendary high energy and highly spontaneous live performances. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| At the same time, Chris was vigorously honing his improvisational abilities and harmonic vocabulary through the new music and players he was being exposed to in the downtown jazz/fusion and avant-garde community. His desire to be able to hang with these new sounds and players led him to his studies with fusion giants Gerry Carboy, Vic Juris , Wayne Krantz , and most notably David "Fuze" Fiuczynski. The knowledge and the relationships that evolved from these sessions proved also to be a pivotal stepping-stone to Chris’ artistic and professional presence today. In 1998 Chris left New York completely and returned to his hometown in NJ, which is where he set out to expand his sonic, harmonic, and improvisational skills so he could establish a true voice of his own as a bandleader and an in demand sideman. Numerous collaborations with local musicians afforded Buono the limitless environment to experiment with new ideas and sounds. When 2000 rolled around, Chris Buono was ready to return to New York. The first step was the Diablo Project , a menagerie of freak-out lounge and free-improvisation that afforded Buono his first real chance to step out as a writer and a leader. The short-lived collaboration with Jai Diablo garnered a CD on Emagine Records , national press, and two of Chris’s tunes used on MTV’s Real World, Real World Casting, and VH1’s Bands on the Run. Following the success of this formula, Chris assembled the highly volatile Richard Weed Ensemble and the forever-quirky BubbleFro. These two free-jazz/electronic based outfits are already causing quite a stir on the east coast and are sure to introduce many more listeners to Chris Buono’s twisted world of audio nirvana. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| PHOTO: Jamie Cowling | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| In the last two years Chris Buono has also come into his own as a sideman with such notable gigs as Tony C. and the Truth, Haale Gafori, and Sophia Ramos. These, along with other high profile engagements, have put Buono in incredible playing situations with Don Byron, DJ Logic , Graham Haynes, Dean Bowman, Carla Cook, and many others. As a result, Chris has appeared on national television, numerous independent releases, taken part in most of the industries major conventions, and performed in countless clubs and theatres across North America and Europe. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| "True improvisation is a rare art of many freedoms. It allows the artist to explore creative spontaneity with no boundaries and it offers an opportunity for the audience and musicians to experience moments of true sonic bliss, which are free of predictability" - Anonymous Diablo Project – Jai Diablo, Glenn Mauser, Adam Small, Anibal Rojas, Arne Wendt October 2000 release on Emagine Chris was the co-leader and musical director for the gigs. It was the first time he was "aloud" to improvise and lead an ensemble based on interactive motifs and sounds. Also, Chris encouraged the revolving door of players to take the same liberties both musically and sonically. Samples …….. Richard Weed Ensemble – Antar Goodwin, Jon Francis, Tom Bendel This 4 piece takes a daring approach to instrumentation and reharmonization with some of the sonic ingredients from Diablo. Two-string banjo player Jon Francis employs a violin bow with guitar pedals as well as effects on his voice to help push the music even further. Most of the time the main purpose of this group was to chase people out of the room. The job was well done! Samples …….. BubbleFro - Matt Aiken, Chris Parrello, Rus Wimbish, Sonny Jain, Rick Tate, Tobias Ralph, Antar Goodwin The newest ensemble to emerge in the last year, BubbleFro takes off from RWE but in a nicer way. The music is still pushing it but Chris (and the clubowners!) would like the people to stay and listen this time! This ensemble will have a very busy revolving door, so watch out, you never know who could pop up … Stay tuned for the music … | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chris has performed, toured, and/or recorded with the following artists as a bandmember or a sideman Haale – Haale Gafori, DK Dyson, Bill Foster, Keith Carlock , Rodney Holmes … … Samples! Amy Paul Band – Glenn Mauser, Tobias Ralph, Roberto Ruiz Sophia Ramos - John Conte, Nir Z. Tutu– Tutu Tutani, LaMar Mitchell , Antar Goodwin, Booman Helga Davis – Ted Cruz, Jason DiMatteo, “Flip” Lewis Barnes, Terreon Gully Tony C. and the Truth – Tony Cesternino, Tobias Ralph, DJ Prestige, Kyle Kelso Rodney Holmes D’Tripp – Shyndigg, Freedom Bremner, Kismet, Glenn Mauser, Larry Florman, Lynne Superior … Samples! | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| PHOTO: Stacy Buono | |||||||||||||||||||||