GW Video Premiere: Chris Combs' "Versus"

Article Contributed by Mixtape Media | Published on Thursday, December 14, 2017

Chris Combs, guitarist, composer and member of the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, offers his debut solo album, Combsy. Based out of Tulsa, OK, Combs has written, arranged and produced the album in its entirety.

With influences like Charles Mingus, Madlib, George Harrison, James Blake, J Dilla, Radiohead, Marc Ribot, Combsyis a lush, groove-heavy album that under the careful watch of Combs shows a tremendous amount of emotional depth and maturity as an artist. Combsy may be a debut, but there’s nothing amateur about it. Combs deftly sources jazz, hip-hop, electronic and rock genres in creating a sonic landscape that is all his own.

Combsy layers horns and rhythm instruments in a rich, nuanced fashion that allows space for Combs’ guitar work. At times, the bandleader and architect of this project uses his playing to give direction or cues for change, while at others, he takes the opportunity of the space created to spread out and explore. Although far from careful, Combsy comes to the ear as curated and intentional and with a healthy sense of both the history and future of the genre.

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