Chris Platt

Guitar, Ukulele

Chris Platt is an accomplished Toronto-based guitarist and composer. He regularly performs at venues around the city as a leader and sideman and has played with legendary musicians such as Dave Liebman, Norma Winstone, Jerry Bergonzi, Mike Murley, Dave Young, and Reg Schwager. Chris holds a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Performance from the University of Toronto and a diploma from Mohawk College. Currently, he teaches jazz guitar at McMaster University.

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He is a featured soloist and accompanist on the album Sweet Ruby Suite (feat. Norma Winstone and Dave Liebman) as part of the University of Toronto Jazz Orchestra, as well as on Angela Turone’s debut EP Drift to You, and Marie Goudy 12tet’s The Bitter Suite.

Chris’ original music and style of playing is rooted in the jazz idiom but also features striking characteristics from the Brazilian and Blues genres. This can be heard on his debut instrumental trio album, Sky Glow, which received a nomination for the Julian Award of Excellence in 2019. In 2020, he co-released the album, Sounds of Brazil, alongside vocalist and pianist Angela Turone, which has received reviews and radio play around the world.

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Chris is an experienced teacher in both group and one-on-one settings. He teaches guitar and ukulele in public schools across Toronto in a lunchtime and afterschool setting. He is a proud sponsor of MJS Custom Pickup Microphones. Having met MJS founder Mike “Smitty” Smyth when he was just beginning to play guitar, Smitty convinced Chris that the pickups he was playing could be swapped out for something better. Once Chris heard the difference a hand-wound pickup could make, he was hooked. Not only does he now use MJS pickups in all of his guitars, but he is also the happy owner of three custom-built MJS guitars: the “Dove,” the “Crossroads,” and the “Beacon.” You can see and hear these one-of-a-kind instruments all over the music Chris has recorded.