the Chris Engel Quintet at JJ Smyths

“In just over two years, the searing, quicksilver sax playing of Cape Town native Chris Engel has become an indispensable sound on the Irish Jazz Scene.”- Improvised Music Company, Down with Jazz 2013

Born and raised in South Africa, Chris came to Ireland after completing his studies at The Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway. Chris also has a BMus in Jazz Studies from The University of Cape Town and has performed at venues and festivals in South Africa, Mozabique, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France, Swtizerland, Croatia, Italy, Dubai, TheNetherlands, The UK and Ireland.
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“In just over two years, the searing, quicksilver sax playing of Cape Town native Chris Engel has become an indispensable sound on the Irish Jazz Scene.”- Improvised Music Company, Down with Jazz 2013

Born and raised in South Africa, Chris came to Ireland after completing his studies at The Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway. Chris also has a BMus in Jazz Studies from The University of Cape Town and has performed at venues and festivals in South Africa, Mozabique, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France, Swtizerland, Croatia, Italy, Dubai, TheNetherlands, The UK and Ireland.

Exploration, collaboration and interaction through improvisation form the foundation of this bands’ musical philosophy. Using the compositions as a springboard, the band strives to cover new ground, creatively, with each performance. This promises to make for an exciting concert that will hopefully linger in the minds and ears of the audience for a long time to come.

This hard grooving quintet includes an enthusiastic rhythm section in the form of 3 of Dublin's most in-demand musicians who've been playing with each other since childhood; Cormac O'Brien, Darragh O’Kelly and Shane O'Donovan. Also gracing us with his unwavering musicality and his rich, unique sound is trumpeter Bill Blackmore.

“Engel is one of the most arresting instrumentalists on the Irish jazz scene. His songwriting signals an individual voice emerging and hints at greater things to come. The saxophonist is one of the busiest musicians in Dublin... certainly showcased his notable chops in a series of exuberant solos, but here as leader his songwriting and arranging abilities were more to the fore.” - Ian Patterson, All About Jazz.com

- See more at: http://journalofmusic.com/listing/23-09-14/chris-engel-quintet-live-jj-smyths#sthash.CHb56FCv.dpuf

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