Justin Chart
Quick Facts
Biography
Justin Chart is an American singer-songwriter, producer and performer of improvisational jazz. He is best known for free-form jazz performances and for "Los Angeles The Song", a song dedicated to the city of his birth. Nicknamed "The Blizzard" for his compositional style, Chart has written songs for numerous films and television shows. Throughout his five-decade career, he has played and/or toured with groups suchn as Nancy Sinatra, The Pet Shop Boys, Jellyfish, Johnny Rivers, The Grass Roots, Paul Revere and The Raiders, and The Thrills. He has produced nine albums.
Early life
Chart was born in Los Angeles, California, to Lee and Betty Chart. His father was a professional boxer who loved jazz. His mother was a professional opera singer who performed in New York, Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, and California. Chart credits his parents with inspiring his music career. Chart started playing piano at the age of 5 and by the age of 11 had learned to play the clarinet as well as alto and baritone saxophone.
Chart recalls "Listening to my Mom sing opera around the house and sitting down with my Dad to listen to his jazz records" while growing up. Chart's musical idols included Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, Bill Evans, Art Tatum and Cannonball Adderley.
As a young teenager, he was chosen to record an album with two orchestras as soloist. After high school, Chart studied music at the School of the Performing Arts in London, England.
Career
Chart has written songs for films and television. Films include Key Exchange (1985), Back To School (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Born to Race (1988), Speed Zone (1989), The Hitman (1991), The House (2017), and Speed Zone (1989). He also worked as a songwriter on television shows including Brothers (1984), Take it to the Top (2017), The Neighbors (2012), Buck (2018), and Robin Hood (1984) for PBS.
Chart has played and/or toured with many different jazz and rock groups, with performances and recordings throughout the world. The groups include Emerald, Electric Avenue, The Pet Shop Boys, Nancy Sinatra, Material Issue, Jellyfish, Johnny Rivers, The Grass Roots, Paul Revere and The Raiders, and The Thrills.
Chart is best-known for improvising free-form jazz pieces. Recently, Chart released COLORSTORM (2020), followed by COLORSTORM IV (2021) and COLORSTORM VI (2021). COLORSTORM was recorded live, in one session in Los Angeles. The album, which consists of group improvisational pieces, was recorded in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Every performance on COLORSTORM was the only version of that particular work, and no editing or overdubbing was done to change the group's improvisational offering.
"Los Angeles The Song"
In 2012, Chart wrote, sang and produced "Los Angeles The Song". It is dedicated to the city of Chart's birth. Chart eventually created twelve different versions of "Los Angeles The Song", with various members of his band including his daughter, Tali Chart. The song versions are accompanied by music videos: "Los Angeles La Cancion", "Los Angeles Dance Angeles", Los Angeles Latin", "Los Angeles Word", "Los Angeles Voice of The World" and "Los Angeles A City Alive".
In "Los Angeles Voice of The World", Chart performs together with 40 singers and three rappers from all 25 of Los Angeles' sister cities as well as performers from three friendship cities around the globe. In keeping with the title of the song, the cast sang in 28 different languages spoken by people on six different continents, as a gesture to L.A.'s multicultural flavor.
The videologues of the song feature scenes from L.A. including the Venice boardwalk, the downtown, and ethnic neighborhoods. "Los Angeles Dance Angeles" has a Latin beat including a band with horns, keyboards on which Justin's daughter Tali played keyboard.
"Los Angeles Word" features black-and-white images from as early as 1850 when L.A. was just a sparsely populated area in the American Wild West. The video features old photos of orange groves, dusty roads and horse-drawn carriages in the early years of L.A. as well as fast cars from modern times
The various versions of the song, including the original version, the dance version, the Spanish version and the Latin version, have garnered more than 11 million views on YouTube alone.
In addition to attracting millions of views on YouTube and other online venues, "Los Angeles the Song" attracted notice from public officials. Chart was awarded the Artisan Appreciation Award in July 2014 by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who praised his ability to capture "through song for people to enjoy and understand this passion for the city we all call home." Chart also received recognition from L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson, Councilmen Jose Huizar, Tom La Bonge, and Gil Cedillo. In February 2016, Chart traveled to Washington, D.C., where he was awarded a Statement of Accomplishment from U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. In 2017, the L.A. city council adopted "Los Angeles the Song" as an official part of the history of the city of Los Angeles.
Discography
Albums[26]
- The February Feeling (1993, remastered and released in 2017)
- Return of the Knight (1995, remastered and released in 2017)
- Los Angeles: An Anthem (2017)
- All That Is Just (2018)
- The Jammiest Bit O Jam (2019)
- Colorstorm (2020)
- Colorstorm IV (2021)
- Colorstorm VI (2021)
- Intuition (2021)
Compositions
- 2017 – "Last Night" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Outta Control" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "You Are for Me" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Face Life Dancing" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Reachin' Out" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Times" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Times Like These" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Return of the Knight" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Ridin the Edge" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Give n Take" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Souvenir" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Love Never Leaves" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Nothing Can Come" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Life Force" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "No One Tells the Wind" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Movin' On" on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "And On..." on Return of the Knight
- 2017 – "Los Angeles the Song" on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles a City Alive" (Radio Remix) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles Word" (Deluxe Version) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles Latin" (Salsa Merengue Version) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles" (King & Queen Remix) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles Voice of the World" (Extended Version) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles Grooves" (Re-Recorded Version) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles: Dance Angeles" (Dance Remix) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles" (Live) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles" (Spanish Version) [Live] on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles Now" (Bonus Track) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "Los Angeles la Cancion" (Spanish Version) on Los Angeles: An Anthem
- 2017 – "The Key" on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "The Time is Now" on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "It's Morning" on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "Welcome to a Waking World" on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "Paint the Sky" on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "The Waiting is Over" on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "Souvenir" (Live) on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "The Quickening" on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "Love Never Leaves" (Live) on The February Feeling
- 2017 – "Reaching Out" (Remix) on The February Feeling
- 2018 – "You're the One" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "Days Turn into Years" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "Back to School" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "The Waiting is Over" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "Deadheat" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "The Key" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "The Time is Now" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "Without Measure" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "Tali" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "Give 'n' Take" (North West Session) on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "We Rock the World" on All That Is Just
- 2018 – "Contraband Op. 1: Apassionato Con Stretto Volante" on All That Is Just
- 2019 – "Higher" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Nothin Can Come Between Us" (Instrumental) on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Chase" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "The Waiting is Over" (feat. Betty Chart) on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Life Force" (Remastered) on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "You Know" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Ride It" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Rendezvous" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Days" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "You Fooled Me Once Again" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Candlelight" (Instrumental) on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2019 – "Paint the Sky" on The Jammiest Bit O Jam
- 2020 – "The Obliquity of the Ecliptic" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Teal in Time" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Amethyst Afterglow" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Jazzure" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Taken by Storm" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Bluetiful" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – Electricity's Eminence" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Faster Than Eyes Could Ever See" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Skyshine" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Colorstorm" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Blue Blizzard" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Lilac Luster" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Winter Woman" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "The Chartreuse Cyclone" on Colorstorm
- 2020 – "Shimmer Storm" on Colorstorm
- 2021 – "A Salacious Slice" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Short Spell" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Harmonic Transcendance" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Like a Memory" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "10,000 Notes" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Purple Pleasure" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Kool Continuum" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Awaiting Tonalite" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "The Truth in the Music" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Slammin' Man" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "The Wanderlust Whirlwind" on Colorstorm IV
- 2021 – "Can't Fly So I Play" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "Facin' Thunder" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "Overtones Over You" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "Here Is For You" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "In Between the Jazz" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "Golden Life" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "This Hits Me Right Where I Live" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "Write On" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "Yeah Man, I'm Diggin' That" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "A Trick of Light" on Colorstorm VI
- 2021 – "At 3 a.m." on Intuition
- 2021 – "The Sidereal Sound" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Didn't Then I Did" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Just Like That" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Our Hands" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Always in All Ways" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Somethin To Say" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Diamond of the Night" on Intuition
- 2021 – "These Changes Devine" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Cherry Tonalin" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Blue Will Get You" on Intuition
- 2021 – "Pleased After a Day's Work" on Intuition
Awards and recognition
Chart has received the following awards and recognition:
- Certificate of Recognition of Service to the City of Los Angeles in June 2014 from Council President Herb Wesson Jr.
- Proclamation and Angel Award from the City of Los Angeles in June 2014 from Councilman Tom La Bonge
- Artisan Appreciate Award in July 2014 from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
- Proclamation of Service to The Latin Community of Los Angeles in February 2015 from Councilman Jose Huizar
- Award of Commitment and Inspiration to the City of Los Angeles in March 2015 from First Council Member Gil Cedillo
- Statement of Accomplishment in February 2016 from United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
In May 2017, the Los Angeles city council adopted Chart's composition of "Los Angeles The Song" as an official part of Los Angeles' history.
Personal life
Justin Chart lives in Los Angeles, California. He has a daughter.
Humanitarian and charitable causes
Chart is involved in numerous charitable causes. He has performed numerous fund-raisers to raise consciousness about the loss of funding for the arts in public schools. Chart also partnered with Cal Fund to raise funds for the California wildfires. Chart has served as Musical Ambassador for Wildlife Warriors Worldwide and the Australia Zoo Foundation.