Biography
Chris Lightcap works as a bassist, bass guitarist, arranger, bandleader, composer, and improviser. In sideman roles he has collaborated with numerous musicians such as Regina Carter, Whit Dickey, Craig Taborn, Marc Ribot, Joe Morris, Rob Brown, and Tom Harrell. He has also handled arranging duties on recording sessions for multiple artists. From the late 1990s forward he has contributed to more than six dozen albums. Beyond those supporting appearances, Lightcap has fronted multiple groups since 2000 and overseen the release of well-regarded collections of his own compositions, among them the 2003 album Bigmouth, which featured drummer Gerald Cleaver alongside saxophonists Tony Malaby and Bill McHenry and received widespread praise. He subsequently enlarged the ensemble into a quintet that retained the name Bigmouth and added Craig Taborn, Gerald Cleaver, Tony Malaby, and Chris Cheek on tenor saxophone. Lightcap’s playing remains direct and pulse-driven whether the material draws on conventional jazz progressions, blends of classical or folk elements with jazz, or his distinctive strain of jazz-rock fusion. On upright bass his sound stays warm, deep, woody, and resonant, marked by robust pizzicato lines, while his electric bass functions as both rhythmic driver and central anchor for the ensembles he leads in the studio and onstage. The 2010 release Deluxe, credited to Bigmouth and including alto saxophonist Andrew D’Angelo, earned recognition from numerous publications across the United States and Europe as one of the year’s standout recordings. In 2018 he unveiled Superette, performed by his all-electric group of the same name that comprised guitarists Jonathan Goldberger and Curtis Hasselbring together with drummer Dan Rieser; keyboardist John Medeski and guitarist Nels Cline also participated.
Lightcap grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. During his youth he studied violin and piano before switching to electric bass at age fourteen. He began formal work on the upright bass in his final year of high school and continued his training at Williams College, where he pursued studies in bass, composition, and improvisation under Milt Hinton, Cameron Brown, Alvin Lucier, and Bill Dixon. He also worked and performed with drummer Ed Blackwell not long before Blackwell’s passing in 1992. After completing his degree and receiving the institution’s Hutchinson arts grant, Lightcap moved to New York City. Beginning in the late 1990s he performed regularly in the quartets led by guitarist Joe Morris, Rob Brown, and Whit Dickey, joined Regina Carter’s studio and touring ensembles, participated in PLK Trio alongside saxophonist Lisa Parrot and drummer Heinrich Köbberling, and maintained his own projects. His earliest leader dates were the 2000 album Lay-Up and the 2003 recording Bigmouth, both issued by Fresh Sounds New Talent. In 2001 he started collaborating with Craig Taborn on the keyboardist’s Light Made Lighter, and in 2003 he first appeared with Regina Carter’s group on Paganini: After a Dream. Alongside his own recording and touring commitments, Lightcap has worked with Anthony Braxton, Lawrence “Butch” Morris, Cecil Taylor, James Carter, Tom Harrell, and Archie Shepp.
Although Lightcap began arranging as far back as 1997 on Rob Brown’s Scratching the Surface, he established a stronger profile through his contributions to Matt Wilson’s That’s Gonna Leave a Mark in 2009 and to Bigmouth’s Deluxe the following year on Clean Feed. He further arranged material for two Regina Carter projects—Reverse Thread in 2010 and Southern Comfort in 2014—as well as for Mary Halvorson’s Meltframe. In 2015 the Bigmouth lineup, reduced once more to a quintet, released the exploratory Epicenter on Clean Feed; the album drew strong critical response, and the group’s concerts at festivals including Willisau, North Sea, Ljubljana, and Edinburgh likewise received enthusiastic notices. Upon returning to the United States, Lightcap concentrated on sideman work, appearing on recordings by Lisa Parrot, Matt Wilson, Regina Carter, Skye Steele, Craig Taborn, and Shakers ’n’ Bakers. He assembled the Superette band in late 2017 with guitarists Jonathan Goldberger and Curtis Hasselbring plus drummer Dan Rieser. Eschewing strict adherence to jazz conventions, the quartet pursued a fusion approach that incorporated elements of harmolodic jazz, psychedelic rock, West African urban and folk traditions, and surf music. In September 2018 the ensemble issued its self-titled debut on Royal Potato Family Records, which also featured John Medeski and Nels Cline and listed David Breskin as co-producer; the album concluded with a restrained interpretation of Neil Young’s “Birds” under Lightcap’s melodic guidance. In 2019 Lightcap merged his Superette and Bigmouth endeavors on the expansive studio album SuperBigmouth.
Lightcap grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. During his youth he studied violin and piano before switching to electric bass at age fourteen. He began formal work on the upright bass in his final year of high school and continued his training at Williams College, where he pursued studies in bass, composition, and improvisation under Milt Hinton, Cameron Brown, Alvin Lucier, and Bill Dixon. He also worked and performed with drummer Ed Blackwell not long before Blackwell’s passing in 1992. After completing his degree and receiving the institution’s Hutchinson arts grant, Lightcap moved to New York City. Beginning in the late 1990s he performed regularly in the quartets led by guitarist Joe Morris, Rob Brown, and Whit Dickey, joined Regina Carter’s studio and touring ensembles, participated in PLK Trio alongside saxophonist Lisa Parrot and drummer Heinrich Köbberling, and maintained his own projects. His earliest leader dates were the 2000 album Lay-Up and the 2003 recording Bigmouth, both issued by Fresh Sounds New Talent. In 2001 he started collaborating with Craig Taborn on the keyboardist’s Light Made Lighter, and in 2003 he first appeared with Regina Carter’s group on Paganini: After a Dream. Alongside his own recording and touring commitments, Lightcap has worked with Anthony Braxton, Lawrence “Butch” Morris, Cecil Taylor, James Carter, Tom Harrell, and Archie Shepp.
Although Lightcap began arranging as far back as 1997 on Rob Brown’s Scratching the Surface, he established a stronger profile through his contributions to Matt Wilson’s That’s Gonna Leave a Mark in 2009 and to Bigmouth’s Deluxe the following year on Clean Feed. He further arranged material for two Regina Carter projects—Reverse Thread in 2010 and Southern Comfort in 2014—as well as for Mary Halvorson’s Meltframe. In 2015 the Bigmouth lineup, reduced once more to a quintet, released the exploratory Epicenter on Clean Feed; the album drew strong critical response, and the group’s concerts at festivals including Willisau, North Sea, Ljubljana, and Edinburgh likewise received enthusiastic notices. Upon returning to the United States, Lightcap concentrated on sideman work, appearing on recordings by Lisa Parrot, Matt Wilson, Regina Carter, Skye Steele, Craig Taborn, and Shakers ’n’ Bakers. He assembled the Superette band in late 2017 with guitarists Jonathan Goldberger and Curtis Hasselbring plus drummer Dan Rieser. Eschewing strict adherence to jazz conventions, the quartet pursued a fusion approach that incorporated elements of harmolodic jazz, psychedelic rock, West African urban and folk traditions, and surf music. In September 2018 the ensemble issued its self-titled debut on Royal Potato Family Records, which also featured John Medeski and Nels Cline and listed David Breskin as co-producer; the album concluded with a restrained interpretation of Neil Young’s “Birds” under Lightcap’s melodic guidance. In 2019 Lightcap merged his Superette and Bigmouth endeavors on the expansive studio album SuperBigmouth.
Albums
Singles
