Corey Christiansen

Biography

Corey Christiansen is an American jazz guitarist, composer, and educator from Utah, widely recognized as one of the leading modern jazz guitarists of his generation.[2][4][7] Born and raised in Utah’s Cache Valley in a highly musical family, he began guitar studies at age five with his father, Mike Christiansen, who directed the guitar program at Utah State University for more than three decades.[1][5][7][8] He later completed his bachelor’s degree at Utah State University before moving to Florida to earn a master’s degree in music at the University of South Florida, supporting himself through intensive gigging and private teaching during his student years.[1][5]

Christiansen first came to broad professional attention through his long association with Mel Bay Publications, where, after finishing graduate school, he worked as a clinician and eventually senior editor, touring extensively to give workshops, develop curricula, and produce instructional materials for guitar.[1][4] As a recording artist, he has released multiple albums on Origin Records and other labels, many of which explore a distinctive blend of modern jazz with rock, blues, and traditional American cowboy and frontier songs, drawing directly on his Western roots and the landscape and folklore of the American West.[1][2] His projects such as Lone Prairie and subsequent albums have been praised for reimagining Western and folk material in a contemporary jazz idiom, highlighting both his improvisational prowess and his focus on melody and narrative in instrumental music.[1][2]

Alongside his performing and recording career, Christiansen has become an influential educator. He has taught at Utah State University—where he now runs the guitar program—and previously helped pioneer the jazz guitar program at Indiana University, working closely with the noted jazz educator and bandleader David Baker.[1][4] He is known for mentoring generations of students through university teaching, clinics, and online platforms such as the Corey Christiansen Modern Guitar Community, and he has been recognized with honors including a Grammy nomination and a Utah Arts & Museums individual artist fellowship for his work as a performer and composer.[2][3][4] His ongoing contributions as a performer, recording artist, and teacher have made him a central figure in contemporary jazz guitar with a particular role in shaping the musical identity and reputation of Utah on the national jazz scene.[2][4][8]

Fun Facts

• Corey Christiansen started playing in a band at age eleven and was already working club gigs with his father by the time he was thirteen.[1]
• At one point during his college years, he balanced playing three to four nights a week with teaching around fifty private students while attending school full-time.[1]
• His acclaimed Western-themed jazz albums grew out of his love of hiking, fishing, and mountain culture in Northern Utah, and from the cowboy songs he played growing up.[1][2]
• In addition to university teaching, he created the Corey Christiansen Modern Guitar Community, an online platform dedicated to modern guitar education and mentorship.[1][4]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Mike Christiansen - Father and primary guitar teacher who trained Corey from childhood through his undergraduate studies, shaping his technical foundation and early professional outlook. (Guided Corey’s early band work and club performances; long-time director of the Utah State University guitar program that framed Corey’s early education.) [From childhood (age five) through Corey’s first four years at Utah State University.[1][5][7]]
• David Baker - Renowned jazz educator and composer with whom Corey worked while pioneering and developing the jazz guitar program at Indiana University. (Collaborative work in building the Indiana University jazz guitar curriculum and integrating Corey into Baker’s broader jazz studies faculty.) [During Corey’s tenure establishing the jazz guitar program at Indiana University (mid-2000s–2010s, approximate based on faculty descriptions).[1][4]]
• Bill Bay - Publisher and industry mentor who hired Corey at Mel Bay Publications, overseeing his work as clinician and later senior editor, and facilitating his early touring and educational publishing career. (Development of Mel Bay book series, educational curricula, and related recording/DVD projects under Mel Bay Publications.) [Shortly after Corey completed his master’s degree, for a period of several years while he worked as clinician and senior editor.[1]]

Key Collaborators

• Origin Records artists and ensembles - Labelmates and fellow jazz musicians with whom Corey has recorded and performed as part of his solo projects on Origin Records. (Multiple Corey Christiansen albums on Origin Records, including projects such as Lone Prairie and other releases that feature small-group jazz settings.[1][7]) [From the mid-2000s onward, during his tenure as an Origin Records recording artist.[1][7]]
• Faculty and students at Utah State University - Ongoing collaboration in performances, recitals, and ensembles connected with the Caine College of the Arts and its jazz and guitar programs. (University concerts, faculty collaborations, and student ensemble projects associated with his role running the guitar program.) [From his return to Utah after leaving Mel Bay to the present.[1][2][4]]
• Indiana University Jazz Studies faculty - Collegial collaboration while Corey helped establish and teach in the jazz guitar program, working within David Baker’s jazz faculty. (Jazz studies program performances, clinics, and curricula linked to the Indiana University jazz guitar track.) [Period in which Corey commuted to Indiana to teach and build the jazz guitar program (mid-2000s–2010s, approximate).[1][4]]

Artists Influenced

• Students of the Utah State University guitar and jazz programs - Corey has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate guitarists, many of whom have pursued professional careers, through his leadership of the USU guitar program and jazz ensembles. (Student recitals, ensemble performances, and professional-level preparation under his instruction at the Caine College of the Arts.) [Since he joined the Utah State University faculty and especially after assuming leadership of the guitar program.[2][4]]
• Indiana University jazz guitar students - Players who trained in the jazz guitar program he helped pioneer, absorbing his approach to modern jazz, technique, and improvisation. (Coursework, ensembles, and juried performances in the Indiana University jazz guitar curriculum he helped design.) [During his years commuting to Indiana to teach in and develop the jazz guitar program.[1][4]]
• Participants in Mel Bay clinics and Corey Christiansen Modern Guitar Community - Guitarists worldwide influenced through his clinics, workshops, books, recordings, and online educational content. (Mel Bay instructional books and series, in-person clinics, and materials provided through the Corey Christiansen Modern Guitar Community.) [From his post–graduate school years at Mel Bay through his ongoing online and clinic work.[1][4]]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Sittin' on Top of the World (Lone Prairie)
2. Summertime (Vignola Plays Gershwin)
3. Greasy Coat (Days Over)
4. All Hat, No Saddle (Whispers on the Wind)
5. I Got Rhythm (Vignola Plays Gershwin)
6. Streets of Laredo (Days Over)
7. Wichita Lineman (Days Over)
8. They Can't Take That Away From Me (Vignola Plays Gershwin)
9. Days Over (Days Over)
10. Rockin' Chair (Days Over)

External Links

• Spotify