BIOGRAPHY
A musician, spiritual teacher, environmental and social activist, holistic nutritionist and philanthropist, Christopher Fleck has his fingers in many gluten/dairy-free pies. He currently leads the Flecktet jazz quintet and Aklima vocal improvisation ensemble and performs in Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir.
Fleck's singing career started at age 7 in church choir (not where his mother was a Minister), which he left at age 13, realizing he didn’t believe in what he was singing. As a teenager, in Grade 10, he auditioned to be in a band that some friends were starting, but sadly didn’t make the cut. It was a devastating blow, and he had little hope for a future in singing. He went on to perform in high school and university musicals and choirs (just a few and never for long). Then, halfway through a depressing engineering degree, he was doing some soul searching and fell in love with a wise woman who inspired him to dream his life.
As fate would have it, her cousin was British jazz pianist, Julian Joseph, and spending time with him and his musical family re-awoke Christopher’s dream to be a jazz saxophonist (in high school he had wanted to play, but was given the xylophone/vibraphone instead). Christopher finished his engineering studies, but started daily technique building on the clarinet.
Christopher then moved to Montreal (he’s Canadian) and studied classical clarinet in a full time music school for 3 semesters, then was accepted to Concordia University for jazz performance, where he completed his first year of studies and began a transition to saxophone. He also sang with the People’s Gospel Choir of Montreal.
The transition to jazz from classical was challenging for him. He was harsh with himself, wishing he could progress more quickly. Then a number of life events occurred, including a bicycle accident that left him unable to hold the weight of the saxophone. Life seemed to have other plans for him, so he dropped out and began a healing / spiritual journey, travelling and studying various energy healing modalities, chi-based arts and holistic nutrition.
Christopher landed in Vancouver, Canada, where he began vocal jazz lessons with Bonnie Ferguson, who encouraged him to perform. As he slowly built his repertoire, skills and courage, he became a spiritual teacher of meditation, energetic awareness and energy healing. He was also a step-father and ran a property development company.
As a singer, his skills and confidence grew, and Christopher started getting solos in the Universal Gospel Choir and joined the celebrated Phoenix Chamber Choir of Vancouver. So that, when his relationship ended and he decided to shut down his company, he chose to re-engage with his dream of being a musician, but as a vocalist. He went back to school at Vancouver Community College, where he obtained a Music Diploma as a Vocal Jazz Major and Clarinet Minor, studying with Kate Hammett-Vaughan (vocal jazz) and Paula Kremer (vocal technique) and Francois Houle (clarinet).
A trombonist friend encouraged Christopher to put a band together and perform, which he did with his friend’s support and guidance, and this quintet performed shows at The Cottage Bistro as well as several farmer’s markets. Christopher also performed in various VCC ensembles, including the Pre-Bop Ensemble (vocals, clarinet), the Classic Jazz Ensemble (vocals, clarinet), the Jazz Orchestra (vocals), and the Tower of Power Ensemble (vocals, tenor sax). He was also hired as soloist and section leader for the Pacific Spirit Choir and West Vancouver United Choir.
While at VCC, Christopher attended a summer jazz workshop, Jazz in July, in Amherst, MA, where he studied with Sheila Jordan and Marion Cowings. He then went to study intensively for one week with Cowings in NYC, and explored the jazz schools in NYC.
Upon completion of his Music Diploma, Christopher transferred to The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and moved to NYC, where he has studied vocal jazz with Kate Baker and Elisabeth Lohninger and is now in his final year. At The New School, he has performed as vocalist in the John Coltrane Ensemble (led by Reggie Workman), Standards Ensemble (led by Jane Ira Bloom), Carnival Caravan (vocals, tenor sax) and Brazilian Percussion (percussion) Ensembles (both led by Scott Kettner), R&B Ensemble and Instrumental Ensembles (led by Jimmy Owens and Ed MacEachen).
Christopher has a particular passion for vocal improvisation and regularly attends vocal improvisation workshops with esteemed teachers Rhiannon (he is soon embarking on her All The Way In program), and Bobby McFerrin.