About
"Chris Lee and Colleen O'Brien play music with sincerity, openness and with a hunger for the beauty that resonates with the heart.
Both as composers and improvisers you will hear nothing to impress or create an effect.
Each piece is simply an ode to what they love and care about, which offers a music simultaneously completely natural and thoroughly original.
We are lucky to be offered music like this." - ECM pianist and recording artist Art Lande
For over 30 years Chris Lee and Colleen O'Brien have been performing as the eclectic chamber jazz duo (and sometimes trio) Primal Mates, The Chris Lee /Colleen O'Brien Group and currently as PoetryMusic.
Growing up about a mile from each other in Portland, Oregon, they met in 1980 when Colleen asked Chris to play drums in a quartet she was forming. The meeting of kindred musical spirits is always a fortunate encounter and the two soon realized they had even more in common as 'anam cara' as the Irish say, or soul mates.
Along the way they have raised a son, spent a year in Alaska where the vibe, cello and voice duo was born, recorded projects of original music for a quintet that featured Art Lande and Paul McCandless of the group Oregon, performed at the Mt. Hood jazz festival, Festival Internacional de Jazz in San Miguel, Mexico as well as being featured on the Denver PBS series Artist Profile.
In 1989, they formed the eclectic chamber jazz trio Primal Mates in which they joined forces with 'anything with strings wizard' guitarist Khabu Doug Young. They performed and toured nationally and produced two recordings.
Chris and Colleen continue to tour and perform with PoetryMusic & as a duo evolving the spirit of Primal Mates in their chamber music as well as integrating their songs, and poetry project into the body of their works. They have been joined in the past by honorary 'Mates' such as long time collaborator Mark Miller on flutes and soprano saxophone, Dan Balmer - guitar, Gary Versace - accordian, Mike Curtis - woodwinds, Dave Devine - guitar, Kai Lin Yong - violin and Eric Erhardt - clarinet and bass clarinet.
Their latest project is PoetryMusic which is dedicated to performing poetry that has been set to music, music composed to poetry and poetry as a catalyst for free improvisation.
Discography:
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN - (2014)
SONGS - (2001)
PRIMAL MATES/ DUOS AND TRIOS - (1995) with Khabu Doug Young.
PRIMAL MATES - (1992) with Chris Lee, Colleen O'Brien and Khabu Doug Young.
SOMETHING FORGOTTEN , REMEMBERED - (1989) with Art Lande, Paul McCandless and Bill Douglass
SILENT TALK - (1984) with Art Lande, Mark Miller and Dave Captein .