By Michelle Carpenter

Chris Ams – an Oakland University graduate, creative triple-threat and musical force to be reckoned with – is living the life of a starving artist. It doesn’t bother him a bit.

Like the jazz music that is his greatest passion, Ams is making the most of his life as an unsigned musician by being flexible and trusting that improvisation will be the source of his success.          

A recent graduate of OU’s Studio Art program, Ams is not leaving behind his lifelong passion for music. In fact, the 24-year-old maintains that he declared an art major only to avoid studying music theory in depth.

“I was way more willing to hate art than music at that time” said Ams, a self-taught guitarist and singer who writes pieces by ear.

Though he has minimal classical training, a steady stream of performances has garnered an impressive local following. He is persistent in getting exposure for his original material, but Ams is also careful to keep the attention of the crowd by playing improvised and imaginative covers of such popular songs as Al Green’s “Love and Happiness” and Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.”

“If you are going to do it the same way, go to a bar and do karaoke,” Ams said of imbibing longtime favorites with his own eclectic musical style.

This open-mindedness about music is exactly what has Ams so excited about the future of his most recent project, a band comprised of five musicians working together to create a theme album that flows with lyrical continuity and carefully crafted music.

Their differing stylistic tastes are surprisingly cohesive and, Ams said, allow the music to “be placed in a genre without limiting it to that genre.” He said this makes him more aware of the way the parts work together. The band plans to complete an EP by September and follow up with a full-length CD soon thereafter.

Being able to recognize the progression of music is crucial for a jazz musician like Ams, who relies heavily on improvisation both in the studio and onstage. By identifying the role of each of the five instruments, Ams can improvise accordingly for a cohesive and fresh live performance.

In addition, recorded material will be more versatile and require less mastering and equalizing. Ams said excessive retouching can produce a “manufactured” sound, something he tries to avoid at all costs.

Knowing such details about the industry has been both a blessing and a curse for Ams.

“People like the same recycled garbage they hear on the radio,” he said, noting the countless times that agents and bands have tried to make him suppress his style, which he describes as a combination of soul and jazz, often combined with a percussion sound that is reminiscent of R&B.

Ams is careful to avoid working with people who will limit his creative freedom or misrepresent his musical style. As a result, he is cautious of the music industry and prides himself on being a self-sufficient musician. He looks forward to working with an agent and label that is enthusiastic about his creative style.

Having a sense of direction has been Ams’ mainstay both on the business and performance sides of his budding music career. “When you are trying to make it, you have to have an idea. You have to have a direction. You have to know where you are going and know how you are going to get there,” he said.

Ams has known since his first live performance of “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” in the elementary school talent show that performing was his passion. Throughout his school years, Ams remained involved in acting and musical theater with the Macomb Junior Players group, All the World’s a Stage.

While studying at OU, Ams auditioned for the Jazz Choir. Led by Danny Jordan, who Ams cites as a major personal influence, the group is normally exclusive to those pursuing degrees in music.

Jordan himself was a highly sought-after musician who performed extensively as a pianist and arranger with Hitsville USA and Jobete Music during Motown’s peak in Detroit. He later created the jazz program at OU. Jordan passed away in May.

Though Ams claims that his audition rendition of “Georgia” wasn’t his best performance as he forgot some of the lyrics midway, Jordan was impressed and allowed him to join the group.

He sang with Jordan for the following two years. Ams saw Jordan’s death  as a personal loss, as well as a loss for the musical community at Oakland University.

Ams said this is not the life for everyone. He said the musician’s lifestyle is full of of criticism, manipulation and exposure. This is the price Chris Ams pays, and yet he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I wanted something with a little more dirt,” he said.

His material is available online at http://www.myspace.com/cjams7.