Chris Abrahams
Chris Abrahams | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 9, 1961 Oamaru, New Zealand |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of The Necks, member of Benders, The Sparklers; solo albums; collaboration with Melanie Oxley |
Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams (born 9 April 1961) is a musician originally from New Zealand who is currently based in Australia. He co-founded the experimental jazz trio the Necks in 1987, a group that continues to perform today. Between 1989 and 2003, he partnered with Melanie Oxley to form a soul pop duo, and over the course of his career, he has released ten solo albums.
Early years
Born on 9 April 1961 in Oamaru, New Zealand, Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams began his musical journey by forming the jazz ensemble Benders in Sydney in 1980. The group featured Dale Barlow on tenor saxophone, Louis Burdett on drums, and Lloyd Swanton handling bass guitar, with Abrahams on keyboards. The Benders produced three albums before disbanding in 1985: E (1983), False Laughter (1984), and Distance (1985), all of which included Abrahams' contributions. During this timeframe, he also played piano on the Laughing Clowns' second album, Law of Nature (1984).
The Necks, Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams
In 1985, Abrahams joined The Sparklers, a dance pop band formed with Bill Bilson (drums, formerly of Sunnyboys), Gerard Corben (guitar, ex-Lime Spiders), Ernie Finckh (guitar), and siblings Melanie Oxley (lead vocals, previously with Sweet Nothings) and Peter Oxley (bass guitar, ex-Sunnyboys). The group released two singles before Abrahams left, after which Colin Bloxsom replaced Corben on lead guitar by 1986. Their debut album Persuasion was issued in 1988.
The Necks emerged in 1987 as a jazz trio featuring Abrahams on piano, keyboards, organ, and guitar; Lloyd Swanton on bass; and Tony Buck on drums and percussion. As of March 2020, they have issued sixteen studio albums. Abrahams received two APRA Awards recognizing Most Performed Jazz Work for compositions performed by The Necks: "Drive By" in 2005 and "Mosquito" in 2006. Their music is often described as abstract and improvised jazz with an atmospheric quality.
In 1989, Abrahams reunited with former Sparklers bandmate Melanie Oxley to establish the soul pop duo Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams. Their 1990 EP Resisting Calm included contributions from Tony Buck, Lloyd Swanton, Gerard Corben, trumpeter Mike Bukovsky, guitarist Guy Dickerson, percussionist Stuart Eadie on floor toms, and bassist Jackie Orszaczky. Alongside her music career, Oxley maintained a role as an educator.
Their initial two albums—Welcome to Violet (1992) and Coal (1994)—were released through Remote Records/MDS and were characterized by their emotive and moody soul/pop style. The 1998 album Jerusalem Bay featured Hamish Stuart on drums alongside Mike Bukovsky’s trumpet performances. In 2001, they composed music for the radio travel documentary South Island, produced by Abrahams and broadcast on ABC Classic FM in 2003.
The duo’s final album together, Blood Oranges (2003), distributed via Remote Records/Vitamin Records, was noted by John Shand of The Sydney Morning Herald for its somber yet hopeful lyrical content. Conversely, Jeremy Green from dB Magazine critiqued it for its restrained production and emotional subtlety that diminished its overall impact.
Solo work
Abrahams’ first solo release was the album Piano in 1985 under Hot Records/Making Waves. This recording took place at the Sydney Opera House Recording Hall and was mastered at Studios 301. In a 2017 review for Cyclic Defrost, Tony Mitchell described it as consisting of nine improvisations that hinted at the emergence of a virtuoso pianist. Following his departure from The Sparklers, Abrahams issued his second solo project titled Walk in 1987.
His fifth solo album Thrown, released in 2005 via Room40, received acclaim from Max Schaefer of Cyclic Defrost, who regarded it as both technically impressive and conceptually sophisticated—a tribute to the piano through highly individualized expressions. Additionally, Abrahams composed and arranged the soundtrack for the Australian film The Tender Hook (2008), earning a nomination for Best Original Music Score at the Australian Film Institute Awards that year.
The seventh album Play Scar (2010) was praised by Oliver Laing of Cyclic Defrost as a demonstration of an experienced artist eager to explore new sonic territories and techniques. His 2013 release Memory Night was described by Chris Cobroft of radio station 4ZZZ as presenting layered yet approachable soundscapes even when conveying darker moods.
Beyond his own projects, Abrahams has contributed as a session musician to numerous prominent Australian artists’ recordings including the Triffids’ Born Sandy Devotional (1986), Ed Kuepper’s works spanning from 1986 to 2005, Skunkhour (1993), the Apartments (1995–2020), the Church (1996), the Whitlams’ albums from 1997 and 2002, Silverchair’s Neon Ballroom (1999), Midnight Oil’s The Real Thing (2000), and Wendy Matthews’ Beautiful View (2001).
Musical style and composing
Abrahams frequently incorporates avant-garde techniques in his creations—The Necks function as a trio focused on improvisation, while his performance for Room40's Tenth Anniversary in London was characterized by the UK Financial Times as encompassing "ambient," "free-jazz," and "industrial noise" elements. Chris Reid from RealTime magazine emphasized the innovative nature of Abrahams' Germ Studies project with Clare Cooper, highlighting its inventive blend of the DX7 synthesizer and the traditional Chinese guzheng zither as a profound investigation into musical expression.
Albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Piano |
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| Walk |
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| Welcome to Violet (featuring Melanie Oxley) |
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| Coal (featuring Melanie Oxley) |
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| Jerusalem Bay (featuring Melanie Oxley) |
|
| Glow |
|
| Blood Oranges (featuring Melanie Oxley) |
|
| Streaming |
|
| Artery (with Jon Rose and Clayton Thomas) |
|
| Thrown |
|
| Oceanic Feeling Like (with Mike Cooper) |
|
| The Tender Hook: Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
| Germ Studies (with Clare Cooper) |
|
| Play Scar |
|
| None of Them Would Remember It That Way (with Lucio Capece) |
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| None of Them Would Remember It That Way (with Alessandro Bosetti) |
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| Kopfüberwelle (with Sabine Vogel) |
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| Memory Night |
|
| Gardenier (with Magda Mayas) |
|
| Luv / Kopfüberwelle (with Sabine Vogel) |
|
| Fluid to the Influence |
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| Climb |
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| Peggy (with Jon Rose) |
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| Sink (with Arthur Rother, Andrea Ermke, Marcello Silvio Busato) |
|
| Next to Nothing (with Ignaz Schick) |
|
| Appearance |
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| Praxis (with Mike Cooper) |
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| Weft (with Robbie Avenaim and Jim Denley) |
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| Words Fail (with Clayton Thomas & Miles Thomas) |
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| Nightjar (with The Vampires) |
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Extended plays
| Title | EP information |
|---|---|
| Resisting Calm (featuring Melanie Oxley) |
|
APRA Awards
The APRA Awards are held yearly by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) to honor outstanding achievements in music.
|- | 2005 || "Drive By" (collaborating with Lloyd Swanton and Anthony Buck) || Most Performed Jazz Work || |- | 2006 || "Chemist" (alongside Swanton and Buck) || Most Performed Jazz Work || |- | 2019 | "Body" (in partnership with Swanton and Buck) | Song of the Year | |-
ARIA Music Awards
Since its inception in 1987, the ARIA Music Awards have celebrated excellence across all Australian music genres.
! |- | 1993 | Welcome to Violet (with Melanie Oxley) | Best Independent Release | |- | 2023 | Nightjar (with The Vampires) | Best Jazz Album | |-
Helpmann Awards
The Helpmann Awards, organized by Live Performance Australia since 2001, honor achievements in live entertainment and performing arts throughout Australia. Note: The ceremonies for 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
! |- |rowspan="2"| 2009 | FOOD COURT (in collaboration with Back to Back Theatre and The Necks) | Best New Australian Work | |rowspan="2"| |- | FOOD COURT (The Necks, Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck & Lloyd Swanton) | Best Original Score | |-
References
- General
- Note: Archived version may have restricted features.
- Specific
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1961 births
- 21st-century New Zealand pianists
- Living people
- APRA Award winners
- Australian jazz pianists
- Australian session musicians
- Benders members
- Musicians from Sydney
- People from Oamaru
- The Necks members
- The Whitlams members