Biography

Chris Kelsey father was a jazz saxophonist and his mother a school librarian. He was raised in a succession of small towns in Texas and Oklahoma. His father endowed him with a love for jazz; his mother, a passion for reading. Kelsey began playing saxophone in elementary school and never laid it down. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the University of Central Oklahoma, then moved to New York City, where he made something of a name for himself playing, composing, teaching, and ultimately writing about strange and obtuse forms of modern jazz. He's been published by a variety of publications, including Ms., Magazine, Jazziz, JazzTimes, and The All Music Guide. As a musician, he's recorded and produced upwards of twenty albums under his own name, for the C.I.M.P and Unseen Rain labels, and his own Saxofonis and Tzazz Krytyk imprints. Kelsey's CD, What I Say: The Electric Miles Project, won a 2013 Independent Music Award for Best Tribute Album. Kelsey currently lives in Dutchess County, NY, with his wife Lisa, son Jasper, and daughter Meret. His first novel, Where the Hurt Is, was published in 2018 by Black Rose Writing.