Find your next record.
A listening guide to Chris Dair’s blues, jazz, rock, World music and solo guitar recordings.
Where to start
Chris Dair is a British guitarist, songwriter and composer whose records move between original blues songs, smooth jazz, solo instrumental guitar and rock. There is no single route through the catalogue: choose a familiar sound, then follow the connections.
For blues, begin with Crossroads to Freedom. For smooth jazz, try Ondine. The Threading centres on solo guitar, while Truth introduces the psychedelic rock and folk collaboration with Vivien Dair.
Each record has its own page with listening links, notes and available tracklists. The guide below brings those records together so you can compare styles before choosing what to play.
Start with the blues
Thirteen original songs, with Chris writing, playing and producing. Continue with Strange Island for blues, jazz fusion and rock, or Three Day Love Down for rock instrumentals and ballads.
Listen to Crossroads to Freedom
Follow the instrumental music
Begin with the eight smooth jazz pieces on Ondine. The Threading turns the focus to solo guitar; GuitarRaga brings Indian influences and open-ended improvisation into World blues and fusion.
Listen to Ondine
Explore the psychedelic side
Dimensions crosses jazz fusion, rock, industrial, psychedelic rock and World music. Truth approaches psychedelic rock and folk through Vivien Dair’s melodies and lyrics, with Chris’s instrumentation and recording.
Listen to DimensionsThe records at a glance
Seven solo records and a collaboration with Vivien Dair. Follow a title for the full album page.
- Crossroads to Freedom
Blues · World blues · Blues rock
Thirteen original songs, written and performed entirely by Chris. Delta dust, Chicago drive, jazz harmony and psychedelic guitar all meet on one record.
- Strange Island
Blues · Jazz fusion · Rock
A wide-ranging set that moves from blues phrasing into jazz textures and electric rock.
- GuitarRaga
World blues · Instrumental · Fusion
Guitar-led improvisation drawing Indian colour and open-ended phrasing into Chris’s blues language.
- Ondine
Smooth jazz · Jazz · Instrumental
Smooth jazz built around warm grooves, melodic guitar and spacious improvisation.
- The Threading
Solo guitar · Instrumental · Contemporary
An ethereal blend of solo guitar, led by touch, space and an unhurried melodic line.
- Dimensions
Jazz fusion · Rock · Industrial · Psychedelic rock · World music
A complex mix of jazz fusion, rock, industrial and psychedelic rock, threaded with World music influences.
- Three Day Love Down
Blues rock · Rock instrumental · Rock ballads
Blues rock, rock instrumentals and rock ballads shaped by flamenco and Eastern influences.
- TruthVivien Dair & Chris Dair
Psychedelic rock · Folk
Vivien’s melodies and lyrics meet Chris’s multi-instrumental playing on an album rooted in psychedelic rock and folk.
The player behind the records
Chris’s own stories add another way into the music. In Just saying…, he writes about complete takes and avoiding loops or samples. Playing Solo Guitar explores practice, Indian classical sitar scales, creativity and the importance of feeling. These are his accounts of the work behind the recordings.
Read Chris’s guitar storiesLooking for a particular detail?
Find answers about album credits, the collaboration on Truth, the smooth jazz record Ondine, press portraits and where to listen. For performances rather than studio recordings, explore the videos and Chris’s official YouTube channel.