The success of Chris Standring’s groundbreaking 2010 CD Blue Bolero, which topped several year-end lists and produced a No. 1 single, made it a tough act for the guitarist to follow. But Standring has managed quite nicely with Electric Wonderland, his brand new 10-song CD of original songs that fuses elements of Blue Bolero’s orchestral touches with a deft jazz-pop touch that has been a hallmark of Standring’s stellar career. “I feel like it’s an extension of Blue Bolero, but a bit more playful and upbeat,” says Standring. “It also came out much dreamier. And of course I m playing electric guitar, so I wanted to merge the two when naming the CD.”

On Electric Wonderland, Standring’s longtime fans, as well as guitar aficionados, may recognize that he’s doing two new things here. The first is that, in keeping with the CD’s title, he’s traded his archtop jazz guitar which imparts a much more acoustic sound for a Fender Stratocaster, whose strings and solid-body infuses his music with a more expressive sound. “The Fender Strat guitar gives you an electric quality,” Standring says. “Because I’m a jazz player, I wanted to get a jazz sound out of that instrument, but to be expressive in the way a rock guitarist might, such as with bending the strings.”

The other thing Standring did on Electric Wonderland was to throw away his pick, for the most part. This leads to a difference in tone and an enhanced personal and intimate experience for the listener. “I went through a phase where I didn’t enjoy hearing myself play with a pick. It got in the way in what I was trying to express. When I put it down and played with my fingers and listened back to it, it felt more musical, much more intimate. I found myself gravitating more to that sound. It’s also how I’m playing live now.”

With Electric Wonderland, Standring is sure to draw more accolades from both music critics and his ever-growing fan base. JazzTimes Magazine has twice named his CDs the best of the year, while 2010 s Blue Bolero was named CD of the year by the influential Art Good s JazzTrax, and the song “Bossa Blue” which was No. 1 for nine weeks was named Billboard s Contemporary Jazz song of the year in 2010.

With his sixth CD, Blue Bolero, Chris Standring returns with a left-turning musical project so daring in its scope but still so true to his sound that it's destined to be one of the year's most-discussed projects, while certainly sure to be remembered in years to come as a highlight of the guitarist's works. He's taking a chance with Blue Bolero, but it's one his fans will certainly embrace as they follow Standring's ever-evolving career. "I think this one is probably the most honest CD I have recorded so far," Standring says. "I didn't care about commercial constraints. I didn't care about having special guest performers on the album for the sake of creating a sales and marketing perception. Everyone who performed on this CD was there because I felt they were the absolute best to help realize this album."

Blue Bolero, to be released March 2, 2010 on the Ultimate Vibe Recordings label, is a CD that retains Standring's familiar pop hooks while liberally tying it all together with orchestral elements. At the same time, the robust sonic landscape digs deep into jazz territory with an organic trio powered by Standring, drummer Dave Karasony and upright bassist Larry Steen. "It's been my ambition for years to record an album with an orchestra," Standring says, who spent a year and a half fleshing and refining the CD. "Every time I thought I was finished, I thought about what I could do to make it better. I really pushed myself to the edge with orchestration and arranging. I didn't want to make the music too dark and windswept - overall it is certainly meant to be fun - but at the same time it has musical elements that reflect my musical training, influences and cultural surroundings. The music is based around several themes and represents a very reflective mood throughout."

About Love & Paragraphs.

Although I always make a point of replying to emails, I have been accused in the past of not being particularly 'lengthy in conversation'. If someone writes to me and has a series of questions, for instance, I might address each question with just maybe one short sentence. Sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day! One such person said to me at a show recently; 'You owe me more paragraphs!' So I signed her CD 'with Love & Paragraphs - Chris' And of course I promised I would be better in future. We'll see.

So I got to thinking that this might be a nice title for the album and a spark of an idea for a musical concept. The idea of perhaps a romantic yet distant communication between two people. And so it came to be.Love & Paragraphs.

From a personal stand point, this was an interesting album to make. For the first time, I recorded 70% of an album in my own studio. This has now become quite a luxury for me where I can receive a spark of inspiration and record almost immediately. It also gave me the opportunity to try out different guitar sounds and ways of recording them. I found out that the best solo guitar sound I could get was with my amp miked in the bathroom! Who knew?

I also wanted to try a slightly different approach to playing on this album. My trusty archtop Benedetto is still featured, but I wanted to dig in a little more and get more bluesy on some tracks, just like the old days. To do this I played two Fender Strats. (not at the same time!) Playing a jazz guitar and then switching to a Strat is a little like playing a Violin and then picking up a Cello so I had to figure out a new approach so there wouldn't be quite so much of a head trip. I strung up the Strats with heavy strings (11-49) and played through a Boss ME-50 distorton box, but with my guitar volume backed off to 4. This enabled me to articulate notes as I would a jazz player, but get a little sustain in there if I wanted to dig in a little. The result was a much more expressive clean sound and feel. I wouldn't be surprised if I play the Strat a little more in the future. It's nice to go back to my Rock 'n Roll roots but still be able to play the bop phrases when I need to.

So thanks so much for picking up the CD. I certainly hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun making it. Do send a note, I will reply, just don't expect a ton of paragraphs!

Much love
Chris

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Guitarist Chris Standring teams up with songstress Kathrin Shorr to present an old-school-sounding, romantic-flavored album of original vocal compositions, complete with lush string arrangements and sentimental holiday feelings.

A classic album for any collection.

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