Chris Lightcap

In addition to his work as a bassist he has led a variety of bands since 2000 and has produced six albums of original music. Lightcap's first two CDs as a leader, Lay-Up (2000) and Bigmouth (2003) were released on the Fresh Sound New Talent label and featured a quartet line-up with Gerald Cleaver on drums and Tony Malaby and Bill McHenry on tenor saxophones.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/14/arts/jazz-review-serene-and-restless-freely-juxtaposed.html?_r=1 | work=The New York Times | title=Serene and Restless, Freely Juxtaposed | first=Ben | last=Ratliff | date=October 14, 2000 | accessdate=April 21, 2013}} Two years later he expanded the group to a quintet, naming it Bigmouth and establishing a line-up of Craig Taborn on keyboards, Chris Cheek and Malaby on tenor saxophones and Cleaver on drums. In 2010 Bigmouth recorded Deluxe, Lightcap's third CD as a leader, on Clean Feed Records with alto saxophonist Andrew D'Angelo also joining the group on three selections.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/arts/music/16play.html?_r=1 | work=The New York Times | title=Sounds of New Orleans, and Far Beyond | first=Nate | last=Chinen | date=May 10, 2010 | accessdate=August 13, 2010}} The Wall Street Journal called the recording "superb".{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703555804576102020780155268?_r=1 | work=Wall Street Journal | title=Basing Himself in a New Jazz Sound | first=Martin | last=Johnson | date=January 26, 2011 | accessdate=March 2, 2013}}

In 2006 he received a commission to compose for the ensemble counter)induction, which premiered his piece Wiretap at the Tenri Cultural Center on October 16, 2006. In 2011 he received a New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America. Bigmouth premiered Lightcap's resulting work, Lost and Found at the Earshot Jazz Festival on October 28, 2012 in Seattle, WA. The work was subsequently broadcast on NPR for the show Jazzset with Dee Dee Bridgewater. A performance of the piece the following year was reviewed by The New York Times.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/arts/music/chris-lightcap-and-bigmouth-at-cornelia-street-cafe.html?src=xps | work=The New York Times | title=A Love Letter to New York, Written by Consensus | first=Nate | last=Chinen | date=June 3, 2013 | accessdate=August 29, 2014}} Bigmouth's 2015 release on Clean Feed Records, Epicenter features this batch of music along with a cover of The Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties". 2018 saw the release of his all-electric project Superette on Royal Potato Family which also featured guests Nels Cline and John Medeski. He received a second CMA New Jazz Works grant in 2016, the result of which was SuperBigmouth (which combined his Bigmouth and Superette bands), released on Pyroclastic Records in 2019. Lightcap's albums have appeared on year-end "best of" lists published in The New York Times,{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/arts/music/19chinen.html?_r=1 | work=The New York Times | title=Renewal, the Sensual and Fraught Candor | first=Nate | last=Chinen | date=December 16, 2010 | accessdate=March 2, 2013}} NPR,{{cite news| url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/12/29/131712050/top-10-jazz-albums-of-2010?_r=1 | work=NPR.org | title=Top 10 Jazz Albums Of 2010 | first=Patrick | last=Jarenwattananon | date=December 1, 2010 | accessdate=March 2, 2013}} the Village Voice,{{cite news | url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-12-29/music/the-2010-voice-jazz-poll/full/?_r=1 | work=The Village Voice | title=The 2010 Voice Critics' Poll: The Results | date=December 29, 2010 | accessdate=March 2, 2013 | archive-date=December 13, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213201836/http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-12-29/music/the-2010-voice-jazz-poll/full/?_r=1 | url-status=dead }} Jazz Times,{{cite news| url=http://jazztimes.com/articles/26986-critics-picks-top-50-cds?_r=1 | work=Jazztimes | title=Critics' Picks: Top 50 CDs| date=January 2011 | accessdate=March 2, 2013}} and Rolling Stone,{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/2019-jazz-albums-923949/ | magazine=Rolling Stone | title=The Many Sounds of Jazz in 2019: A Listener's Guide| date=December 2019 | accessdate=December 14, 2021}} among other publications.

Lightcap has worked with Marc Ribot, Regina Carter, Craig Taborn, John Medeski, Tomasz Stanko, John Scofield, The Swell Season, Mark Turner, Joe Morris, Chris Potter, Glen Hansard, Sheila Jordan, James Carter, Butch Morris, Ben Monder, Ghost Train Orchestra, Tom Harrell, and others.

Lightcap is the cousin of Acetone guitarist Mark Lightcap.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.chrislightcap.com/ Chris Lightcap official site]
• [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703555804576102020780155268?_r=1/ Wall Street Journal Article on Chris Lightcap by Martin Johnson]
• [http://cleanfeed.wordpress.com/tag/chris-lightcap/ Clean Feed Press Archive for Chris Lightcap]
• [http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chris-lightcap-mn0000110289/ Allmusic.com Entry]
• [https://www.npr.org/event/music/174937757/ Bigmouth on NPR's Jazzset with Dee Dee Bridgewater]

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Category:Living people

Category:Williams College alumni

Category:American jazz double-bassists

Category:American male double-bassists

Category:American jazz bass guitarists

Category:People from Latrobe, Pennsylvania

Category:Guitarists from Pennsylvania

Category:American male bass guitarists

Category:Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania

Category:21st-century American double-bassists

Category:21st-century American male musicians

Category:American male jazz musicians

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:The Delphian Jazz Orchestra members