Justin Chart

Occupation(s)Instrument(s)Years active1993–presentLabelsUniversal Music GroupWebsite

Justin Chart (born 1959 or 1960)^[1] is an American singer-songwriter and jazz musician. He is best known for "Los Angeles the Song", dedicated to his hometown. He has released seventeen albums during his career, primarily in the jazz genre.

Early life

Chart was born in Los Angeles, California, to a musical family, and played piano, clarinet, and saxophone as a youth.^[2]

Career

"Los Angeles the Song"

In 2012, Chart wrote, sang and produced "Los Angeles the Song", dedicated to the city of his birth. He created twelve different versions of the track, 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. The cast sang in 28 different languages spoken by people on six different continents, as a gesture to L.A.'s multicultural flavor.^[2] The videos of the song feature scenes from L.A. including the Venice boardwalk, downtown Los Angeles, and ethnic neighborhoods.^[3] "Los Angeles Dance Angeles" has a Latin beat and features Chart's daughter Tali on keyboard.^[3] "Los Angeles Word" features black-and-white Wild West photos of orange groves, dusty roads and horse-drawn carriages in the early years of L.A., juxtaposed with modern automobiles.

The various versions of "Los Angeles the Song" have garnered more than 11 million views on YouTube and 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."^[2]

Jazz

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 was the only version of that particular work, and no editing or overdubbing was done to change the group's improvisational offering.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Chart has a daughter, Tali.^[3]

Discography

Source:^[4]

• The February Feeling (2017; recorded 1993)
• Return of the Knight (2017; recorded 1995)
• 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)
• Live in Los Angeles (2021)
• The Scarlet Jazz Room (2022)
• The Midnight People (2022)
• Keep the Blue (2022)
• Avenue (2023)
• Prosper (2023)
• Right On! (2023)
• Today's Tomorrow (2024)

References