Christopher Woitach is a jazz guitarist and composer, currently residing in Portland, OR. He plays and composes in a fresh, innovative style that pushes the boundaries of modern jazz while embracing everything from swing to avant-garde.
As a player, Woitach has covered a lot of ground, from backing up Rich Little and Bernadette Peters to playing with avant-garde cellist Hank Roberts. He plays throughout the Northwest with the popular swing band The Monarchs, and does several concerts a year with guitarist John Stowell. He performs every year for Bellingham, WA’s Jazz Project in a variety of settings, and is a featured performer/educator for the Blaine Jazz Festival in Blaine, WA. In August 2006, he participated in Mel Brown's well respected Jazz Camp in Monmouth, OR.
As a composer, Christopher Woitach combines all his influences with a thoughtful “jazz crossover” approach. He studied counterpoint with minimalist pioneer David Borden, 20th century composition with Robert Keefe, and jazz guitar with the great Jim Hall. His use of Baroque contrapuntal techniques with modern tonality, combined with extensive improvisatory passages, shows the influence these musicians had on Woitach’s work.
Christopher Woitach teaches jazz guitar at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR, where he leads the WOU Guitar Ensemble and performs with the WOU Faculty Jazztet, known as “The Western Rebellion”. He is a Teal Creek Records and Jazz Project recording artist.
Christopher Woitach's most current recordings are “Live at Lucia Douglas Gallery” with guitarist John Stowell, “Larry Holloway and Christopher Woitach”, with bassist Larry Holloway, “Western Rebellion”, with WOU Faculty Jazztet, and “Family”, a collection of his compositions for his family. His latest recording is “Dead men (are heavier than broken hearts)”, a tribute to the great Raymond Chandler.
