Chris Montgomery

September 15, 2023 "Ode to Joe" released on Shifting Paradigm Records February 13, 2020 IMA Nominee - Best Blues Song, "Shuffle Blues" IMA Nominee - Best Jazz Instrumental Song, "With Love" Best Jazz Producer - Chris Montgomery and David Whitman for "Soul Flow" David Whitman" March 31, 2018 - IMA Winner - Best Jazz Instrumental for David Whitman's "Oh, Clara!" IMA Nominee - Best Jazz Producer Guitarist/Producer/Composer Chris Montgomery has performed at the world famous Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, the DuMaurier Jazz Festival, the Escondido Performing Arts Center, The California Center for the Arts and at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA. He has worked with such music luminaries as Joe Pass, Oscar Peterson, Phil Nimmons, Taj Mahal, Eric Marienthal, Sammy Nestico, Howie Mandel, Joe Morello and Fred Travalena. He currently leads the Coastal Cities Jazz Band, a premier big band in Southern California. He has worked with many prominent stars including Sir Simon Rattle, Angela Gheorghiu, Joyce DiDonato, Yundi, Sarah Chang, Gabriela Montero, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Ben Heppner and Alison Balsom. He was also responsible for iconic catalogues of EMI and RCA recordings, a collection that includes Maria Callas, Pablo Casals, Maurice Andrée, Sir Thomas Beecham, Andrée Previn, Herbert von Karajan Arthur Fiedler, Jascha Heifetz and Artur Rubinstein. He has produced box-set anthologies including: "70 years of RCA Jazz", "Julian Bream Collection" and "An Evening with the Boston Pops". He has received numerous industry awards including a Canadian Juno Nomination and Gold Records for recordings that include: 2010 Vancouver Olympics Soundtrack, Ben Heppner’s “Great Tenor Arias” and Heppner “Sings Lohengrin”, The Chieftains "Long Black Veil" and Yanni. Chris is also an accomplished producer having produced dozens of jazz and classical recordings. Most recently he co-produced "En Comun" by 19-yr old jazz piano phenom, Chase Morrin (engineered by Grammy winner Rich Breen). Chris is was a past member of the The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS).Music Industry MUSIC INDUSTRY the biz Chris is internationally known as a music industry expert and digital music pioneer. He has held senior international positions with BMG Entertainment (SonyBMG) – marketing; MP3.com/Universal Music – CEO MP3.com Europe (Vivendi Universal/NBC Universal); Head of EMI Classics North America and Global VP, Consumer Digital. He has consulted for a variety of companies on strategy and marketing related area. Chris is a digital music entrepreneur who worked with the revolutionary MP3.com. In 2000, Chris led MP3.com team’s launch of the first all you can eat subscription music 
service on the Internet. He was the head of EMI Classics North America and Vice President of Global Consumer Digital. More recently, Chris served as SVP of Business Development for Cooley LLP, the leading law firm for early stage companies. He was CEO of InstantEncore (mobile apps company), Head of EMI Classics North America, CEO of MP3.com Europe (Vivendi Universal/NBC) and SVP, Digital Media Management. In the early 1990s, Chris was national marketing manager for BMG Music North America. Chris was also the founder of Seamont Group Inc., a leading global strategy and marketing consulting firm that specialized in digital media transformation. Chris was also part of three influential companies that transformed the music industry. He was a director at Diamond Multimedia Systems (launching the Rio mp3 player) and then, in the subsequent spin-out, RioPort.com. Following RioPort, he joined MP3.com, where he launched the first on-demand music subscription model in 2000 and later became CEO of MP3.com Europe. Chris graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a bachelor of arts degree in music education, and the University of Toronto with a bachelor of education degree. In 1998, he graduated from the University of Edinburgh, where he received a MBA in International Marketing and Strategy. He was appointed a Fellow of the University of Edinburgh in 2000. Chris is currently a visiting professor of business and an Advisory Board member at the University’s Business School (since 2003). Chris is available to provide consulting services or to speak in educational and conference setting on the topic of the music industry in transition.

Encinitas, CA