‬ ‭ There is no one without the other for Chris Combs. Even from childhood, picking up his first guitar meant also‬ ‭ composing original music, an inextricable partnership that has shaped his lifelong love of the medium and, ultimately,‬ ‭ his career as a working musician, now moving into its third decade.‬ ‭ A native Tulsan, Combs’ musicality took equal inspiration from a handful of guitar teachers, choral directors in church‬ ‭ choirs, and early childhood trips to visit family in New Orleans. This foundation of equal parts instrumental skill,‬ ‭ music theory, and a curiosity for jazz music and improvisation has made Combs not only a natural bandleader but a‬ ‭ coveted collaborator and producer across genres and styles.‬ ‭ Shortly after joining renowned band Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey in 2007 on lap steel, he became the group’s primary‬ ‭ composer, touring jazz festivals globally with the band and meeting and working with some of his musical heroes,‬ ‭ including Matt Chamberlain (David Bowie, Tori Amos, Brad Mehldau), Steven Bernstein (Leonard Cohen, Levon‬ ‭ Helm), Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck, Dave Matthews), Mike Dillon (Ani DiFranco, Primus), John Medeski (Medeski, Martin,‬ ‭ and Wood), and George Porter Jr. (The Meters).‬ ‭ As the band’s lead composer, he wrote several new JFJO works, many of which netted glowing press in the U.S. and‬ ‭ abroad and topped best-of lists. These include 2011’s “Race Riot Suite, ” a conceptual instrumental record depicting‬ ‭ the then-largely unknown Tulsa Race Massacre, a devastating hometown theme he revisits even today as a live‬ ‭ guitarist with many of the artists in the city’s Fire in Little Africa hip-hop collective.‬ ‭ While touring with JFJO, Combs received a commission to compose one hour of music for a 14-piece jazz ensemble in‬ ‭ Switzerland, with the resulting performance met with such acclaim that he was invited back to do the same just two‬ ‭ years later. It’s one small example of how Combs’ mind can endlessly scale: he routinely writes, records, and‬ ‭ produces music as a solo artist or in any number of configurations and with any number of musical colleagues. His‬ ‭ current roster of projects includes Combsy, Lil’ Big Band, Gogo Plumbay, Mike Dee & Stone Trio, Booomclap, and of‬ ‭ course Chris Combs—Trio, Quartet, Sextet, and so on.‬ ‭ Storied Chicago-based jazz and blues magazine‬‭ DownBeat‬‭ named him a Rising Star instrumentalist in its Critics’ Poll‬ ‭ in both 2022 and 2023, and he capped last year with two new records:‬‭ Neon Eyes,‬‭ with his experimental‬‭ indie project‬ ‭ Combsy, and‬‭ Run Down the Ghost‬‭ as Chris Combs proper,‬‭ recorded with Aaron Boehler on bass (Wilderado) and Josh‬ ‭ Raymer (JFJO) on drums.‬ ‭ Combs kicked off 2024 performing, writing, and recording in NOLA and has both extensive trio touring on the books‬ ‭ and several new records already in the works via Tulsa-based Horton Records. It’s not some chameleonic restlessness‬ ‭ that Combs could play every night of the week in a different band after a day of writing music for another; he’s one of‬ ‭ the fortunate few whose prolific muse never rests—and who has the work ethic and skill to keep pace.