Biography
Master vibraphonist Warren Chiasson grew up in Nova Scotia before relocating to New York in 1959. Though he had long pioneered the four-mallet approach, broader recognition remained limited to other jazz players until his appearance at Carnegie Hall with Benny Goodman on January 16, 1988. That performance formed part of the 50th-anniversary recreation of the 1938 Spirituals to Swing concerts first presented by record producer and jazz impresario John Hammond; Chiasson filled the role originally taken by the unavailable Lionel Hampton.
Once settled in New York he became a member of pianist George Shearing’s quintet and stayed until 1961, when he formed his own ensemble. Additional associations from that era include work with the Chet Baker Quartet and the Tal Farlow Trio. During the remainder of the 1960s he performed on vibes at the New York World’s Fair and spent four years as a percussionist in the Broadway production Hair. In 1972 he rejoined Shearing and subsequently cut his debut leader date, Quartessence, for Van Los Records. Following tours and recordings with Roberta Flack, he resumed solo activity and issued Good Vibes for Kurt Weill in 1977 on Monmouth/Evergreen Records; a third album, Point/Counterpoint, appeared on the Empathy label in 1988.
As a youth Chiasson drew inspiration from Charlie Parker along with pianists Paul Bley, Bud Powell, and Shearing, stylistic echoes of whom surface in his own writing. He appears on B.B. King’s Grammy-winning 1984 MCA album Blues ’N’ Jazz and on additional sessions such as Roberta Flack’s Atlantic debut, Hank Crawford’s Centerpiece for Buddha/Arista, Les McCann’s Les Plays the Hits for Mercury, Helen Ward’s Songbook, Vol. 1 for Mercury, and Chuck Wayne’s Traveling for Progressive.
Once settled in New York he became a member of pianist George Shearing’s quintet and stayed until 1961, when he formed his own ensemble. Additional associations from that era include work with the Chet Baker Quartet and the Tal Farlow Trio. During the remainder of the 1960s he performed on vibes at the New York World’s Fair and spent four years as a percussionist in the Broadway production Hair. In 1972 he rejoined Shearing and subsequently cut his debut leader date, Quartessence, for Van Los Records. Following tours and recordings with Roberta Flack, he resumed solo activity and issued Good Vibes for Kurt Weill in 1977 on Monmouth/Evergreen Records; a third album, Point/Counterpoint, appeared on the Empathy label in 1988.
As a youth Chiasson drew inspiration from Charlie Parker along with pianists Paul Bley, Bud Powell, and Shearing, stylistic echoes of whom surface in his own writing. He appears on B.B. King’s Grammy-winning 1984 MCA album Blues ’N’ Jazz and on additional sessions such as Roberta Flack’s Atlantic debut, Hank Crawford’s Centerpiece for Buddha/Arista, Les McCann’s Les Plays the Hits for Mercury, Helen Ward’s Songbook, Vol. 1 for Mercury, and Chuck Wayne’s Traveling for Progressive.
Albums
