Christopher Gore

composer, arranger, producer, vocalist

 

Born in Biddeford, Maine, composer Christopher Gore was raised in Montreal and New England before moving west and finding his home in Southern California. He began composing music at the age of seventeen, and actively performs those very compositions to this day.

 

In Montreal, he founded the “Upstairs Jazz Club” in 1985, where he began to appreciate the “American Songbook.” It was during this time he developed his musical aptitude and direction from the talented musicians he hired nightly.

 

In California, Gore met Pat Rizzo, local saxophonist whose credits include long stints with Sly and The Family Stone, War, and Frank Sinatra. Rizzo is also a versatile vocalist and composer. Shortly after meeting Rizzo, Gore met the late Walter Earl Brown (Earl), composer of the hit Elvis song “If I Can Dream,” Grammy and Emmy award winner, and music arranger and writer for dozens of hit variety shows including The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Dinah Shore Show, and countless others.

 

With Rizzo and Brown, Jackson Garrett was formed by Gore, and the band began a long-standing relationship in the recording studio which has produced four CDs to date, “Please Call Me, Sanjaya!” (2008), “Cool and Easy” (2009), “Speechless” (2010), and “Let Sleeping Dogs Lie”(2011).

 

As of this writing, Jackson Garrett, as a band, loosely consists of Christopher Gore(vocals, keys), Marty Steele(keys, horn arrangements), Jeff Stover(bass), Steve Neilen(drums and percussion), John Pagels(guitar), Pat Rizzo(sax), Steve Madaio(trumpet), John Leys(trombone), Kristi King(vocals), Diva Denise Carter(vocals), and Steve Feldman(vocals, sound engineering).

 

On the local scene, Jackson Garrett performs as a 10-piece band for charity events and special concerts, and sometimes in a smaller ensemble at nightclubs.

 

The latest CD, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, includes collaborations with Grammy-winner Gary Bias (saxophonist for Earth, Wind and Fire, and co-composer of the Anita Baker hit “Sweet Love”) and internationally renowned singer and composer Slim Man, who penned the hit “Faith In Us” in 1996.