Chris Mondak - Blank With Colour (2023)

Is the sound of BLANK WITH COLOUR jazz with a touch of funk, or funk with a touch of jazz? The answer is in the eye–and ear–of the beholder. Recorded on analog in a single day (November 7, 2022) at Nashville’s Welcome to 1979 studio, the compositions draw on a rich palette that combines sophisticated musicianship with feel-good get-up-and-dance energy.

When listening to the performances on BLANK WITH COLOUR, one shares the sparkling dynamism felt by the musicians that day in the studio, and experiences a welcome infusion of brightness and exuberance.
BLANK WITH COLOUR’s eight original tunes travel through multiple scenes, from the simmering, gritty power of “Skunk Funk” to the reggae-tinged hues of “Walking in Sunshine” to the sly captivating funk of the award-winning track “Begetting” to the zestful “Wake Up” and the irrepressible closer “Everybody Knows.”

On BLANK WITH COLOUR, Chris Mondak’s third CD, Chris includes covers for the first time. One is a lively instrumental take on fellow bassist Nick Lowe’s classic “Cruel to Be Kind.” The second finds guitarist Jack Macklin unleashing his inner George Benson on the José Feliciano composition “Affirmation.”

Born in Venezuela, raised in Florida and Illinois, and trained in Boston, bassist and composer Chris Mondak moved to Nashville in 2020 after receiving his B.M. from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Cecil McBee and Dave Holland. Chris has quickly become a mainstay on the burgeoning Nashville jazz scene. A dynamic bassist and performer, Chris also has amassed a great deal of time on the road. As a composer, Chris has received two international awards–one in Italy in 2023 for “Begetting,” a tune on BLANK WITH COLOUR, and one in China in 2019 for “Always Smiling”.