CADENCE

"“It’s a good date and should be a treat for bop lovers and those who’ve been waiting to hear a new Hollyday recording.”"

By Robert Iannapollo, Oct, 2019

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Telepathy is his first recording in over 25 years. While there’s nothing too surprising on here it’s amazing that his bebop sounds fresh and invigorated. Part of the reason is the quintet that is playing with him. Comprised of other San Diego players, they seem to be inspiring him (Pg112).

PARIS REVIEW

"Here is a beautiful record, self-produced, a jazz anchored in the extended tradition of bop and hard bop..."

By Yves Sportis, July 17, 2019

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...in that also beautiful alto saxophonists who have since Charlie Parker and Sonny Stitt illuminated the history of jazz in this spirit: the list from Cannonball Adderley and Phil Woods to the present day is long very talented, often early, and in any case carried by a lyricism, expressiveness and virtuosity that never leave indifferent. Christopher Hollyday brings all these qualities together. Born into a jazz and bebop family, he began performing very young in 1983.....

ENCORE

"The music on Telepathy virtually explodes out of the speakers and with Castellanos, White, Thorsen and Kreutel, Hollyday finds himself in lethal company..."

By Robert Bush, February 1, 2019

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Alto saxophonist Christopher Hollyday led a kind of storybook life in his early years. After taking up the instrument at the age of ten, he progressed rapidly after his older trumpeter brother Richard exposed him to Charlie Parker’s “Ko-ko”. But his roots in the jazz language go back even further.

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Jazz was the constant subject at the ...

PLAYING IT by Ear

"He’s an unrepentant bebopper whose aesthetic is filled with long twisted lines delivered with a fat, sassy tone with periodic squeals and whinnies for punctuation."

By Robert Bush, January 1, 2019

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“He’s just an extraordinary musician. He’s one of those rare players whose instrument just seems like an extension of his body and he can pretty much express whatever he feels. I enjoy and admire his adaptability—he’s such a good on-the-fly player, even when a tune gets called that he’s not familiar with. He’s such an encyclopedia that he can pull it out of nowhere and jump right in. I thoroughly enjoyed making that record [Telepathy] with him;..."

Top TEN Discs

"First release by Chris in many years, and a very welcome addition to our library."

By Joe Kocherhans, December 30, 2018

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Music Director Joe Kocherhans Picks Jazz 88.3 Top 10 Jazz of 2018

Jazz 88.3 Music Director and host of "The Jazz Morning Drive" and "Portrait in Jazz", Monday through Friday, 6 to 10am PT, picks the Jazz 88.3 Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2018, including some of this thoughts on why. Hear them played in their entirety, countdown starts at 9am PT...

Curt Jazz BEST OF 2018

My Best Jazz Albums of 2018 – The Complete List

By Curt Jazz Radio December 28,2018

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"Yeah. I know. I’ve been away from the blog since, well, since my last year-end review." 

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Making it on the list with jazz greats like Kenny Barron and Dr. Lonnie Smith, as well as some of newer cats like Christian McBride and Walter Smith III,  Christopher Hollyday's Telepathy was rated one of Curt Jazz's top jazz albums of 2018.

2018: The Summation

Best Instrumental CDs:

By Thomas Cunniffe, December 2018

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Well, it looks like we've survived another year. 2018 may have been less fun than 2017 (or the end of 2016 for that matter) but our beloved music is still alive and well--despite the ravings of certain uninformed critics. CDs are still around, along with vinyl (and now, cassettes too?) while digital downloads may be losing favor. Predicting the future of the music industry is almost as difficult as forecasting political trends, so instead we will celebrate the best music, books and videos of the year, and offer a farewell to the giants who left us in 2018.

Cadence MAGAZINE

“CHRISTOPHER HOLLYDAY has an interesting history. Back in mid 1980s...”

By Robert Rusch, December 2018

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"This short CD [33:01], TELEPATHY [Jazzbeat 888295 809757] was recorded 5/14/18. The 6 titles, all standards, show a very agreeable influence of Bird cum Woods cum Richie Cole. Comfortably joined by Gilbert Castellanos [tpt], Joshua White [p], Rob Thorsen [b] and Tyler Kreutel this offering bodes well for Hollyday." 

Jazz NOTES

"Telepathy draws its title from the musical connection he has with Castellanos.”

By Ken Franckling, Dec. 14, 2018

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Alto saxophonist Christopher Hollyday had a significant profile as a teenage jazz prodigy from the mid 1980s into the early ‘90s. Then the hard bopper vanished from the jazz scene. He married, moved from New England to San Diego and became a music educator. Now he’s out of the classroom and is performing again, often in groups with trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos. This is his first recording in more than 25 years. Telepathy draws...

From RUSSIA

"​If you like hard bop, and want to witness Christopher Hollyday’s return to jazz, then this is a match for you!.”

By Patrick Van de Wiele, Nov. 20, 2018

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Google Translation:  American saxophonist Christopher Hollyday started performing at the age of thirteen in the Boston area, along with Richard's quintet. In 1988 he toured as a soloist with Maynard Ferguson's band, and between 1989 and 1993 he visited every European country, followed by Brazil, Canada and the USA. He also recorded 4 albums for RCA. In the same year he was lusted to study at the ...

For the Love of MUSIC

"​This is a track that makes me smile each time I listen to it, and it just builds and explodes in wonderful ways. ”

By Michael Doherty, Nov. 4, 2018

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Saxophonist Christopher Hollyday got an early start on his jazz recording career, beginning while still in his teens. He released several albums as band leader, and then after 1992’s And I’ll Sing Once More, stopped. He moved from Massachusetts to California and began teaching. Well, he is now back, with his first album as band leader in twenty-six years, and it is a gem. Titled Telepathy, this album finds him delivering his own interpretations ...

1st Recording in Decades

"​There really is a feeling of having “discovered” something when this recording begins to play.”

By  Dodie Miller-Gould, Nov. 3, 2018

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Jazz fans who have awaited Christopher Hollyday’s return, wait no more. The alto saxophonist is back with an inspired collection of revved up jazz pieces that play with tempo and rhythm. The album has a quality of having been unearthed. Each song has its own particular delights and fun aspects, even when the general tempo is lowered, and soft-shoe drumming sets the pace.

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There really is a feeling of having...

Passionate joyful BEBOP

"​Christopher has a stellar crew of players with him on the recording… ”

By Rotcod Zzaj, Oct. 30, 2018

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Passionate joyful bebop jazz Christopher Hollyday – TELEPATHY:  There’s no question but that Christopher’s striking alto saxophone work will be communicating with you… all you need do is scope out his rendition of Bud Powell’s “Hallucinations” to hear, in full clarity – despite the title of the tune, what he’s saying to you… no nightmares here, just sheer joyful bebop jazz!

To really get up close & personal...

A jazz STAR

"​Christopher Hollyday, a jazz star in his teens, is back with first album in 26 years and a Friday gig at Dizzy's ”

By George Varga, Aug. 25, 2018

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Alto saxophonist Christopher Hollyday was only 14 when he made his 1985 debut album, “Treaty.”

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A year later, Hollyday made his San Diego area debut at Elario’s. After his career cooled off, he moved here in 1996 and became the band director at Valley Center High School.

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The Boston native began ...

Dead serious

ABOUT THE MUSIC

“My value as a teacher actually increased when people could see me onstage.”

By Robert Bush, Aug. 1, 2018

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Christopher Hollyday is uniquely prepared to advise the upcoming generation of young jazz players. He earned the designation of “Young Lion” three different times before reaching the age of 21 back in Boston, where he was mentioned in the same breath as Wynton Marsalis and Marcus Roberts in the early 80s. He’s got mixed feelings on the experience.

Take EFFECT

“...this strong comeback should solidify Hollyday as an impressive force in the jazz scene.”

By Tom Haugen

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On his first album in over 25 years as a band leader, the alto-saxophonist and classic bop aficionado reworks 6 tunes here with an all star cast where traditionals are reinvented through Hollyday’s imaginative jazz filter.

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It doesn’t take long to see the strength of the work here, as Freddie Hubbard’s “One Of Another Kind” gets off to a rapid pace with fantastic solos and interplay between Hollyday and Gilbert Castellanos’ ...

Hollyday GIFTS

“Christopher Hollyday brought the goods to Dizzy's on Dec. 23.”

By Robert Bush, Jan. 6, 2017

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Alto saxophone master Christopher Hollyday made a relatively rare San Diego appearance on Dec. 23, playing to a full house on a rain-swept night at the new Dizzy’s location on Morena Boulevard, leading a red-hot quartet featuring pianist Joshua White, bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Duncan Moore.

Thorsen began the modal Freddie Hubbard tune “The Core,” with a flamenco strum as White assumed the McCoy Tyner template with churning fourths and Hollyday went straight into a blistering essay layered over the rhythmic counter-attack of Moore. ... 

Willow Weep for Me:

a Young Lion in SAN DIEGO

“Christopher Hollyday brought the goods to Dizzy's on Dec. 23.”

By Dave Good, May 24, 2012

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By the late 1980s Christopher Hollyday's jazz career was on fire. Critics were calling him a Young Lion along with Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman, and the rest of the bebop and hard boppers trying to save the doomed art form that was jazz. His alto sax was a controlled outburst of notes in the upper registers, vital and Bird-like. They were calling him the Next Big Thing while he was still in high school.

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In 1988, at the age of 16, Hollyday ...