About Chris
Chris Ferrari was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. At a young age, Chris was exposed to music and the arts through his parents, who encouraged him to explore all creative outlets. After years of piano lessons and singing in choirs, it was listening to Coltrane and Sonny Rollins recordings that inspired Chris to pursue playing jazz music, and especially, the saxophone.
At age 9, Chris began his woodwind studies on the clarinet, allowing him to naturally pick up the soprano saxophone shortly thereafter, followed by the other saxophones and the flute. Chris attended the Denver School of the Arts from 2014 to 2019, where he studied classical clarinet and jazz saxophone. Additionally, he participated in the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts for six years, a program to which he attests much of his musical growth. Through dedication and hard work, Chris received statewide and national musical acclaim early on—Colorado All State Band/Jazz Band, the Telluride Jazz All Stars, National YoungArts Awards, Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards, the Vail Jazz Workshop, and NYO Jazz were just a few of his accomplishments in high school.
In 2017, Chris began to teach music privately and through an outreach program with Ashley Elementary School in Denver, leading him to foster a love for music education. Shortly thereafter, Chris began his collegiate studies in 2019 at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he graduated in 2023 with his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance (Academic Honors, Phi Kappa Lambda Nominee, George Whitefield Chadwick Medal recipient). In May 2025, Chris graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with his Master of Music degree in Jazz Performance. Chris currently teaches clarinet, saxophone, flute, improvisation, composition, and music theory/ear training at all levels.
Chris has performed alongside with many notable musicians, including Sean Jones, Dianne Reeves, Wycliffe Gordon, Shane Endsley, Greg Gisbert, Ethan Iverson, Dave Holland, Maria Schneider, Tim Hagans, Miguel Zenon, John Benitez, and Luisito Quintero; and at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Dizzy’s Club, The Jazz Gallery, Roulette Intermedium, Nublu, Zinc Bar, Arthur’s Tavern, Terraza 7, and Dazzle. Chris is a founding member of Splifftet, a Denver-born collective that has been playing together for over seven years; and Things of This Nature, a New-York based quartet which formed at the Manhattan School of Music in 2023. At MSM, Chris studied with Mark Shim and Dayna Stephens. At the New England Conservatory of Music, Chris studied with a number of influential teachers: Frank Carlberg, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Jerry Leake, Melissa Aldana, and Miguel Zenón, among others.
Chris is passionate about composing original music and exploring creative approaches to improvisation, which is reflected in his bold musical style influenced by Ornette Coleman, Anthony Braxton, Albert Ayler, and Sam Rivers. Chris also strives to encapsulate the soulful and folklike spirit of the “Denver Jazz Sound” into his music, an aesthetic well established by Denver legends Ron Miles, Bill Frisell, Ken Walker, Rudy Royston, Hugh Ragin, Fred Hess, and the great collective, Convergence. When he is not busy with his musical career, Chris loves to spend time outside hiking, running, and skiing, and frequently participates in SGI-USA Buddhist activities.
For a full list of Chris’s accolades and artistic achievements, you can download his CV below: