Klich happy to be flexing jazz muscles
By:Sandra Kraisirideja
Like many other Americans in the '50s, jazz musician Chris Klich fell under the spell of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
As a child, Klich remembers his mother playing Brubeck's 1959 album "Time Out," a wildly successful recording that included the hit song "Take Five."
"It was a time when jazz really became high profile and my parents, just like a lot of other people in this country, got swept up in that and went out and bought a bunch of jazz LPs," Klich said from his home in La Mesa. "They became jazz fans, and by osmosis I became one."
Klich's first instrument was the clarinet. Although he had a strong interest in music throughout school, he enrolled in UC San Diego intending to study medicine.
"At that time, I just thought (music) would be something I would do for fun," Klich said. Then he met Jimmy Cheatham, director of jazz studies at UCSD, and by the end of his freshman year Klich knew he was meant to be a musician.
"He saw talent in me that I didn't know I had," Klich said.
Klich has been a professional musician for 21 years. Joining him in the quintet are pianist Dan Aakhus, drummer Pete Woods, bassist Brian Wright and guitarist Alan Worthington. Vocalist Laura Preble, Klich's wife and leader of her own band, frequently performs with the group.
The quintet prefers to play classic jazz standards from artists such as Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis.
"Most of the music we play is classic jazz," Klich said. "We particularly like music from the '60s. That was a great period of jazz."
In addition, Klich likes to play music from modern jazz fusion artists, including Chick Corea, Keith Jarret and Herbie Hancock.
Before forming the quintet, Klich played with the Fabulous Mar Dels and his wife's group, the Laura Preble Band. His instruments of choice are sax, clarinet and flute. An employee at Twiggs Tea & Coffee in San Diego asked Klich if he would be interested in starting a jazz night there, and he said yes.
"I hadn't been playing much jazz in a while, which was sad. I wasn't really happy about that because my background is in jazz," said Klich, who earned a degree in music from UCSD in 1983.
"I wasn't really using my jazz skills playing with the Mar Dels," Klich continued. "I was really looking forward to the opportunity to work on my jazz skills again and refurbish them."
The gig at Twiggs was short-lived, but the band sounded so good Klich decided to make a CD, which led to more gigs. "We recorded 'The First Take' and soon after that we started playing a lot of other venues," he said. It wasn't difficult for Klich to get back into playing jazz again.
"We had all played jazz for many years, (but) we just hadn't had the opportunity to play it recently, and so it was great because we all refurbished our jazz skills and became good jazz players again," he said. "It's basically like a set of muscles that haven't been used that we just had to exercise again."
Besides the quintet, Klich performs regularly with the Rhythm Makers and the Rhythm Method. When he is not busy booking private parties and other gigs for the quintet, Klich studies for a master's degree in jazz studies from SDSU.
Klich and his wife have two children. Austin, 10, is from his previous marriage, and Noel is 9 1/2 months old.
Chris Klich Jazz Quintet
When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30
Where: Outdoor Garden, Wood House, 1148 Rock Springs Road, San Marcos
Tickets: $5 picnic seating
Information: (760) 744-9000

Chris Klich Jazz Quintet: Reflections on Yuletide
Gleegafex

8 out of 10 stars

Goes Well With: family, friends, and holiday cheer

With Reflections on Yuletide, San Diego native Chris Klich and his band of merry music makers have perfectly captured the spirit of Christmas. Whether leading the way on saxophone, clarinet, or flute, Klich -- along with pianist/keyboardist Dan Aakhus, bassist Brian Wright, guitarist Alan Worthington, and drummer Pete Woods -- brings the festive spirituality of the season to life. With special guest Laura Preble adding sensual vocals to five of the collection's 14 tracks, not even Scrooge could resist the warmth of this holiday celebration.

The talented and versatile Quintet taps into the essence of traditional carols and popular holiday tunes, enriching and invigorating each selection with a remarkably fitting jazz style. Joy and peace abound on the up-tempo jazz waltz version of "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen," the mellow bossa nova treatment of "The First Noel," and the bebop and smooth-jazz variations of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow!" Although they're not holiday songs per se, the Quintet's soothing, sublime version of "A Child Is Born" and Preble's uplifting original composition, "Remember Me Home," reflect that same yuletide magic.

Preble infuses the familiar "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with a heartfelt tenderness; she conveys the loneliness and longing also felt during the holidays through a faithful cover of Joni Mitchell's "River." And for those lucky enough to share the gift of romance this holiday season, Klich's sultry saxophone version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" provides all the right mistletoe moments.

Reflections on Yuletide is available at ChrisKlich.com. The Chris Klich Jazz Quintet will perform at the CD-release party at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Hillcrest, Dec. 1 at 7:30pm.

Joann D. Ball
© 1994 - 2001 SLAMM Magazine, All Rights Reserved

San Diego's Chris Klich is equally adept on flute, clarinet and alto, tenor and soprano saxes, as he demonstrates on this 14-song album of seasonal favorites ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"), jazz classics
(Thad Jones' luminous "A Child Is Born") and an engaging original ("Remember Me Home") by his wife, Laura Preble, who contributes strong vocals to four other cuts. (Klich performs a CD release concert Saturday at 7:30 at the First Unitarian Church in Hillcrest.)

George Varga
Copyright 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

The San Diego Union Tribune

Musician listens to his muse
By: Margie Pierce
Solana Beach - Chris Klich wanted to play the drums. His parents wanted him to play the clarinet. Thirty-one years later, the professional jazz musician is grateful that he listened to his parents.
"I love music that swings," Klich said. "It really feels good when you lock into that groove."
Klich, 40, began his musical career as a fourth-grader playing the clarinet at Skyline Elementary School. His band instructor immediately recognized his talent and encouraged his parents to get him private saxophone lessons while continuing to play the clarinet in the band at Skyline and later at Earl Warren Junior High. He took up the saxophone full-time, playing in the band at Torrey Pines High School.
Originally, Klich went to the University Of California San Diego with the hopes of becoming a doctor. A failed calculus class and musician Jimmy Cheatham helped him change his mind. Cheatham and his wife, Jeannie, hosted jam sessions and introduced Klich to other musicians.
"Jimmy Cheatham is an important person in my life," Klich said. "He is the person who encouraged me to take my music further." Under Cheatham's guidance, Klich picked up his clarinet again and added the flute to his instruments of expertise.
These days, Klich plays the flute, the clarinet and the saxophone (tenor, alto, soprano and baritone) in three different bands. The Fabulous Mar Dels, which plays 50's tunes, is the most financially successful of the bands.
"It's the band that pays the mortgage," he said. "But it's not what I'm most interested in."
His heart is in the two other bands, which he also manages. The Laura Preble Band is named for his wife, who is the singer, songwriter and pianist for the pop-alternative group. The music he plays for his wife's band is challenging, Klich said, but the Chris Klich Quintet lets him play the jazz he really loves.
Jazz allows Klich to play a traditional melody while improvising to 90 percent of the music. "That's what makes it interesting," Klich said. "We never really play the same thing twice. It's one of the most sophisticated ways of performing art."
He attributes his love of the music genre to his mother playing Dave Brubeck and Ramsey Lewis when he was only 5 years old.
When he isn't playing music, Klich is promoting it. He teaches private lessons out of his home in La Mesa and at Music Mart on Miramar Road. He currently has 18 students. He once did a teaching stint for four years at Skyline Elementary School, but found that the morning schedule did not coordinate very well with his late night performances.
Lately, most of Klich's time is spent at the computer where he promotes his own bands and local music. Klich and Rick Heller host a local music show on www.worldmusicradio.com every Friday from noon to 1 p.m. Most of the artists they play on the show don't have record labels, and like Klich, have to promote themselves.
"I try to be proactive and support the community as much as I can," Klich said.