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Thomas Chapin

A versatile multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and composer, in the 80s and 90s, Chapin led a trio performing his own music playing in New York City’s downtown scene, and at festivals and clubs around the world. An outstanding composer of larger works as well, he sometimes augmented the trio with strings and horn ensembles.

Though leukemia tragically ended his life in 1998 at age 40, Thomas Chapin left behind a legacy of many excellent albums and performances, and a reputation as one of jazz’s more extraordinary musicians and one of the few musicians to exist in both the worlds of the downtown, experimentalist scene and mainstream jazz. He continues to be a highly influential and inspirational force to those who knew him and to those who continue to know him through his music and example.

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Play This!

Thomas Chapin Trio: Night Bird Song

Read "Thomas Chapin Trio: Night Bird Song" reviewed by Ken Laster


Thomas Chapin was a vital part of the underground free-jazz scene in the early 1990's in NYC and his native Connecticut. He was an innovative multi-reed player. His performances were always “edge of your seat" exciting affairs. He died young at age 40 from leukemia before gaining the notoriety he so deserved. Here is the Thomas Chapin Trio, with Mario Pavone and Michael Sarin performing at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1995 (two years before his death). ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Thomas Chapin, Lara Solnicki, Vijay Iyer and More

Read "Thomas Chapin, Lara Solnicki, Vijay Iyer and More" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


From April 2021, this show features a lot of lesser-heard musicians such as Lara Solnicki, Rodrigo Faina, Juhani Aaltonen, and the late Thomas Chapin. There are also more familiar names in the mix such as Paul Motian, Vijay Iyer, and Tom Harrell. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Roy Nathanson “Sunny" from Sotto Voce (AUM Fidelity) 1:01 Michael Musillami ...

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Film Review

Stephanie Castillo: Thomas Chapin - Night Bird Song

Read "Stephanie Castillo: Thomas Chapin - Night Bird Song" reviewed by Stefano Merighi


Stephanie CastilloNight Bird Song [DVD] * * * * Come abbiamo fatto a dimenticarci di Thomas Chapin? Questa è la domanda--tra le molte altre -che gran parte della comunità jazzistica dovrebbe porsi di fronte all'imponente lavoro documentario “Night Bird Song," che Stephanie Castillo ha realizzato in onore del polistrumentista e compositore scomparso nel 1998. È vero che non tutte le eredità artistiche vengono adeguatamente riconosciute nel corso del tempo, che il fiume ...

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Album Review

Thomas Chapin: Never Let Me Go

Read "Never Let Me Go" reviewed by Giuseppe Segala


L'ascolto di questo cofanetto fa rinascere aspra l'amarezza per la scomparsa prematura, nel 1998 a soli quarant'anni, di Thomas Chapin. Una raccolta che contrasta l'oblio e aggiunge qualche motivo di stupore e riflessione all'esperienza di chi ha apprezzato la fulminea, ricchissima eppure troppo breve vicenda artistica di quel grande musicista, straripante di vitalità e umanità. Con tutta evidenza, il biennio 1995-96 fu un periodo di grazia per Chapin. Nel '95 furono registrati due dischi: Ride, tratto da ...

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Album Review

Thomas Chapin Trio: Ride

Read "Ride" reviewed by Jeff Stockton


When leukemia claimed Thomas Chapin at the age of forty in 1998, his mixture of the avant garde and the accessible placed him and his rhythm section at the verge of jazz stardom. Already a downtown NYC legend, Chapin was among the first artists to perform at the Knitting Factory and the first to be signed to the club's record label. By 1995, when his band performed in front of an enthusiastic North Sea Jazz Festival crowd, Chapin's core trio ...

451
Album Review

Thomas Chapin Trio: Ride

Read "Ride" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


Thomas Chapin cast a giant shadow on this concert recorded at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1995. Chapin brought bassist Mario Pavone and drummer Michael Sarin along--a stellar cast which delivered a stellar performance. Chapin, who passed away in 1998, had the imagination that took his compositions into different realms. He never let freedom get into the way of expressing a delectable melody. He could complement one with the other to create a exhilarating and seamless whole. ...

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Album Review

Thomas Chapin Trio: Ride

Read "Ride" reviewed by Chris May


Whooooah! To keep up with saxophonist/flautist Thomas Chapin on this one, you're going to need some of those monkey adrenal glands Hunter S. Thompson wrote about, or at the very least a seat belt and a note from your mom. Ride--and if ever an album deserved an exclamation mark at the end of its title, this is one--is a 72-minute recording of a 1995 North Sea Jazz Festival performance of near-constant, broiling and searing emotional heat. It's magnificent, monumental and ...

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Video / DVD

Night Bird Song: The Incandescent Life Of Thomas Chapin On iTunes, Special DVD

Night Bird Song: The Incandescent Life Of Thomas Chapin On iTunes, Special DVD

Source: Stephanie Castillo

Night Bird Song: The Incandescent Life Of Thomas Chapin An acclaimed music-filled documentary Now available In U.S./Canada, Worldwide Film distributor Random Media and 'Olena Productions proudly announce the DVD, digital and VOD debut of the acclaimed documentary Night Bird Song: The Incandescent Life Of Thomas Chapin. A celebrated film in theatrical appearances at the prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Monterey Jazz Festival, and winner of awards including “Best Story Award" from the Nice (France) ...

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Event

Jazz At Lincoln Center To Screen Acclaimed Thomas Chapin Film on Friday, March 10th

Jazz At Lincoln Center To Screen Acclaimed Thomas Chapin Film on Friday, March 10th

Source: Stephanie Castillo

Jazz at Lincoln Center will screen the award-winning music documentary Night Bird Song: The Incandescent Life of Thomas Chapin on Friday, March 10th. The free showing will be at 7 p.m. at the Irene Diamond Education Center at the Frederick P. Rose Hall on Broadway at 60th Street, 5th floor (Columbus Circle). Seating is limited to 160 attendees and will be on a first-come basis. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the ...

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TV / Film

Monterey Jazz Festival 2016 Brings The Late Thomas Chapin Full Circle

Monterey Jazz Festival 2016 Brings The Late Thomas Chapin Full Circle

Source: Debbie Elicksen

The significance of performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival can not be understated. The longest-running jazz festival in the world features the best of jazz through performance and education. It hosts unparalleled world talent and legends and stands as a legacy to this musical genre, and impacts future generations of jazz musicians and afficionados alike. It would have been a momentous milestone for the career of saxophonist-flutist and composer Thomas Chapin and an unforgettable, exhilarating ride for the audience if ...

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TV / Film

Musicians, Music Fans -- Join Us At A Free Screening Of The New Thomas Chapin Film

Musicians, Music Fans -- Join Us At A Free Screening Of The New Thomas Chapin Film

Source: Stephanie J. Castillo

A First Look at THOMAS CHAPIN, NIGHT BIRD SONG A New Music Film ABOUT THE FREE SCREENING New York FREE Screening, SVA Theatre, on Sunday, March 13- 333 West 23 Street, NY, NY 10010. Doors open at 1 p.m.; the film begins 1:30 p.m. RSVPs required here THE FILM Destined to be among the great virtuosos of jazz, Thomas Chapin, an alto sax and flute master, was nearing the pinnacle of his meteoric rise when leukemia took him at the ...

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Event

Sneak Peek For Thomas Chapin Film At Litchfield Jazz Fest

Sneak Peek For Thomas Chapin Film At Litchfield Jazz Fest

Source: Stephanie Castillo

Join the Litchfield Jazz Festival's tribute to Thomas Chapin, tomorrow and Saturday at the Goshen Fairgrounds, in Goshen, Conn. for a musical concert featuring Chapin's music and a sneak peak of a new jazz film about him. Tomorrow evening August 7, the Litchfield Jazz Orchestra will salute Thomas Chapin as part of the festival's gala opening to its 20th Anniversary season. The LJO will play Chapin’s original arrangements, a concept proposed by bassist Mario Pavone, trombonist Peter McEachern and trumpeter ...

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TV / Film

Thomas Chapin Film Project Ends Europe Filming At The Famous Bimhuis In Amsterdam

Thomas Chapin Film Project Ends Europe Filming At The Famous Bimhuis In Amsterdam

Source: Michael Ricci

This week, EMMY-winning U.S. filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo ends her filming for her documentary Thomas Chapin, Night Bird Song at the Bimhuis, jny: Amsterdam's and Europe's jewel for jazz and improvisational music performances. Castillo concludes her four-country tour, which started in Paris, in Holland where her effort to gather the stories of Thomas Chapin in Europe have taken her to France, Italy, Germany and now the Netherlands. Some other 30-plus interviews for the project done in the last two years ...

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Event

Thomas Chapin Film Project Adds Second Round Of Filming

Thomas Chapin Film Project Adds Second Round Of Filming

Source: Stephanie Castillo

NEW YORK CITY — EMMY-winning filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo reports that it has now been two years of steady progress since she conceived the film THOMAS CHAPIN, NIGHT BIRD SONG in 2012. She is now preparing for the 2nd round of shoots this April. The first round was completed in July 2013 with 20 interviews in the can. The success at the City Winery fundraising event in Manhattan on Jan. 20 gave another great boost to the project in helping ...

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Crowdfunding Campaign

Thomas Chapin Film Success At Kickstarter.com Nets $51,552 In 45-day Campaign

Thomas Chapin Film Success At Kickstarter.com  Nets $51,552 In 45-day Campaign

Source: Stephanie J. Castillo

The Thomas Chapin Film Project will begin shooting this summer; filmmaker will complete her research and scripting, and lining up her film crew. EMMY-winning Filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo is celebrating a successful finish at Kickstarter.com, an online fundraising site, that will now allow her to begin planning her shoot this summer for NIGHT BIRD SONG, her documentary film about the late jazz master Thomas Chapin. 224 backers, pledging an average of $232, put Stephanie beyond her $50,000 goal. When the ...

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Crowdfunding Campaign

Thomas Chapin: New Jazz Film Goes to Kickstarter.com for Global Fundraising Campaign - Final Days!

Thomas Chapin: New Jazz Film Goes to Kickstarter.com for Global Fundraising Campaign - Final Days!

Source: All About Jazz

FINAL DAYS OF KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN New jazz film is using kickstarter.com to raise money to shoot a music biography/ documentary in the NYC area, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Europe EMMY-winning filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo is running a 45-day global fundraising campaign at kickstarter.com to raise $50,000 to begin shooting her feature-length documentary film, NIGHT BIRD SONG: THE THOMAS CHAPIN STORY this summer. The shoot locations will include the New York City area, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Europe. The ...

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Contest

Enter the "Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story" Giveaway at All About Jazz!

Enter the "Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story"  Giveaway at All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Olena Media Night Bird Song: The Thomas Chapin Story giveaway contest starting today. We'll select 3 winners to receive Thomas Chapin's 3-CD set, Never Let Me Go, at the conclusion of the contest on April 2nd. Click here to enter the contest

(Becoming a fan of Thomas Chapin at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.)

Good luck! Your Friends at Olena Media About Night Bird Song: The Thomas ...

Rent Romus
saxophone, alto
Juan Saiz
flute

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Out and Out Jazz

Arkadia Records
2022

buy

Never Let Me Go

Playscape Recordings
2016

buy

Never Let Me Go

Playscape Recordings
2013

buy

Never Let Me Go

Playscape Recordings
2012

buy

Ride

Playscape Recordings
2007

buy

Ride

Playscape Recordings
2006

buy

Bad Birdie

From: Ride
By Thomas Chapin

Videos

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