Justin Chart
Alto Sax, Flute
56 age
February 6, 1970 Birthday
Los Angeles, California, U.S. Birthplace
justinchartjazz.com Website
Social
About
Justin Chart is a Los Angeles-based alto saxophonist, composer, and producer signed to Universal Music Group. Known in West Coast jazz circles as "The Blizzard" for his explosive technique, he has built a career spanning four decades rooted in hard bop and free-jazz improvisation. He relies entirely on improvisation in live performances and recordings, creating spontaneous compositions in the moment. He has released over sixteen albums as a bandleader, including Night Heat, Alto Avenue, Soul Scene, ART, Born of the Horn with trumpeter Mike Rocha, and the COLORSTORM series. His anthem "Los Angeles the Song" has been recorded in at least six versions and has accumulated over eleven million YouTube views. He has collaborated with Peter Xifaras and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and is endorsed by Bari Woodwind and Rigotti Reeds. The Los Angeles Times described him as "a badass on stage" with "a sound that soars."
Trivia
Chart originally played baritone saxophone before switching to alto, which became his signature voice. He has built an unusually large social media following for a jazz musician, with nearly 100,000 Instagram followers and over twelve million YouTube views. David Sanborn praised his playing, saying, "You definitely have the sound to transport us to another time and place with your music." Cadence Jazz Magazine compared his riff-firing to "a peregrine falcon flying through the canyons."
Early Life
Justin Chart was born on February 6, 1970, in Los Angeles, California, into a musical family. He initially played piano, clarinet, and saxophone as a youth before focusing on saxophone as his primary instrument. Chart began his jazz career as part of the "Young Lion" movement in the 1980s, a generation of musicians who championed a return to acoustic post-bop and hard bop at a time when jazz-fusion and smooth jazz dominated the commercial landscape. Drawing on the traditions of West Coast jazz and hard bop pioneers like Cannonball Adderley, he developed a style rooted in spontaneous improvisation and emotional storytelling. His early career centered on the Los Angeles jazz scene, where he built a reputation for explosive live performances that earned him the nickname "The Blizzard" from fellow musicians.
Justin Chart Solos
2024
Alto Sax solo - Right On! - 2024
4/4 funk in B minor at 100 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Lickity Split - 2024
4/4 funk in E minor at 126 BPM
Alto Sax solo - We Got Somethin Goin On - 2024
4/4 funk in C minor at 89 BPM
Alto Sax solo - She Absorbed Him - 2024
3/4 waltz in C minor at 174 BPM
Alto Sax solo - She Absorbed Him - 2024
3/4 waltz in C minor at 189 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Eros at Eventide - 2024
4/4 ballad in B minor at 63 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Prosper - 2024
4/4 funk in C minor at 81 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Prosper - 2024
4/4 funk in C minor at 83 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Welcome to the Midst - 2024
6/8 funk in A minor at 208 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Welcome to the Midst - 2024
6/8 funk in A minor at 216 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Love On Lexington - 2024
4/4 swing in F minor at 188 BPM
Flute solo - In Turquoise Time - 2024
4/4 straight in C minor at 114 BPM
Alto Sax solo - Grinder - 2024
4/4 funk in F minor at 93 BPM