We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Plansker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, why did you pursue a creative career?

I believe going into anything artistic or creative full time is not a choice but rather a calling. If you choose to deny that call then you may live your life with some regret. I chose to accept the calling and yet it still haunts me!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

The last 30 years has been a balance of composing music for tv commercials and playing Jazz piano. The art of creating music for commercials is a very niche career. It teaches you about deadlines like no other thing Ive had to deal with. Scoring 30 or 60 second spots using anything from a simple piano to a full orchestra is common (my current project has my piano draped in various felts and found objects to create a piano like sound)

The challenge in this “sport” however, is that this is a commercial art that is constantly reinventing itself with whatever trends are happening in pop culture. As a composer, my job is to attempt to keep current enough so as to make the cut or win the project. The lessons I have learned though is to first: realize there will be failures and rejections. It’s just the nature of the business and you have to move on! Also, never make the music too busy with whatever it is that you’re doing. This applies to the way I approach playing the piano too and perhaps my lifestyle in general: If you can’t hum it, don’t play it.

Outside of studio commercial work, I have been playing and collaborating with Ann Arbor based saxophonist Bobby Streng. The two of us share a very similar vision for original jazz influenced composition. As a result, we have been able to sucsessfully produce some meaningful music with help from some of Detroit and Ann Arbors best players. This has been an ongoing project which we hope will develop even further as we are getting close to recording some of our new works. Jazz music has this tendency to want to infiltrate other genres. I think it’s vital that the music continues to weave its improvisational and harmonic tradition into popular sound.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

There is a fantastic soul food restaurant called Detroit Soul very close to my home. The owners are totally invested and are passionate about their cooking and service. If they were closed, I’d go to Polonia in Hamtramck. It’s a long time favorite with a similar comfort in its cuisine. Im really glad the Belle Isle Aquarium is open these days. It’s a quick visit but has an amazing history and the most brilliant architecture for a municipal aquarium. Belle Isle in general is a favorite of mine. If this friend enjoyed beer, I would take them to Ye Olde Tap room or the Cadieux Cafe (both in Detroit) There is an authentic aspect to both places that I find welcoming. The Cadieux has some great mussels and music! Of course, the feather bowling is legendary. Biking at one of our beautiful metro parks is key. This is just day one! Oh, I almost forgot the DIA

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would have to give my shout out to my wife Stephanie. She has endured the most over the years as we have been together going on 3 decades! Her support has given me the energy to stay up late nights working on projects or playing gigs. She is a constructive critic who definitely knows a fair amount about music and the arts in general (she is a long time ballet instructor who has help develop some of our countries remarkable dancers) I’d also like to give a shout out to our son Ian. He is the next generation of musician. A truly well rounded artist that is making things happen on a high level at a young age. For me, it’s truly inspiring!

Website: www.chrisplansker.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076230930315

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7gVOMFluoyC5k2EBAO2VFv

Image Credits
self except the photo with Bobby Streng (sax) that is Chuck Andersen

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