Michael Ducey NY to Portland » Jazz Artist

Smooth Jazz – Chieli Minucci

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:34:25 +0000

Now I don’t know about you, but I rarely remember the first time I heard a particular artist. They better be really good for that to happen! Well, Chieli Minucci is really good. What I had first noticed was Chieli’s guitar work, but it didn’t take long before it was just as much the music. The music of both Chieli as a solo artist and with Special EFX is very rhythmic and often upbeat. What stands out about his playing is his superb use of dynamics, even when playing fast lines, and also his use of volume control. He doesn’t use it so much as an effect, but rather as a means to redirect the melody line.

How does Chieli’s guitar playing stack up against some of the greats. Well, at the end of this post, just listen to Chieli’s version of Jeff Beck’s ” ‘Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers.” Chieli plays this with his own flair and makes the song his own.

There is a good chance you have heard some of Chieli’s guitar playing on other artist’s CDs, such as Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Jessica Simpson, Bobby Caldwell, Marion Meadows, Kim Waters, along with hearing his compositional work on CBS’s “The Guiding Light” and the live production work of “Dora the Explorer.” A special 25th year commemorative album, with the music of his own is soon to be released, so stay tuned.

You may soon have a new favorite in your CD collection and for that I say “You’re Welcome!”

Have a listen to this Chieli tune

Cause we Ended as Lovers

For more just visit Chieli Music

Emily Remler

admin — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:29:26 +0000

For a short while I took guitar lessons from one of the finest female jazz guitarists since Mary Osborn. I never became a great guitarist, but that’s because I never put in the time it takes to be a great guitarist. Emily on the other hand, lived and breathed the guitar.
One day I arrived at Emily’s apartment to take a lesson and there she was in a leg cast and on crutches, having not exactly had the greatest time skiing. I told her Joe Pass was coming to town and he was performing on a double-bill with Jim Hall. She said that she knew about it and she’d really love to go, especially since she was a good friend of Jim Halls, but there’s one problem she said “at the moment I can’t walk”. I said “Emily, you’re not heavy, so I’ll just get as close to the Blue Note as I can and I’ll carry you.” So, sure enough a few nights later I picked Emily up and drove down into Greenwich Village, found a spot on the north side of Washington Square Park and Emily got on my back and I carried her to the Blue Note.

I wish I had a tape recorder with me that night, because up in the dressing room after the first set Emily asked Jim if she could borrow his beautiful cherry colored guitar. Joe told her to play a tune with him. They had one beautiful interchange after another and it was something the rest audience downstairs never got to see.

After playing with Joe, rather than stay for the 2nd set Emily asked me how my back was and wanted to know if I’d mind checking out Leni Stern, because she was playing that night at the 55 Bar on Christopher Street. So, playing horse again, we made our way over a few more blocks.

What thrilled Emily that night was seeing not only two legendary guitarists at the Blue Note, but seeing another wonderful guitarist, who was also a great writer. Emily said “hey, I know I’ve got the chops, but I would love to write like Leni”.

Leni was playing that night with a blazing guitarist named Wayne Krantz and as always her solos were silky smooth. I’ll tell more about Leni another time, but what I saw that night made me realize that every talented individual has something to glean from another. Beautiful music is always an interchange.

If you’re not familiar with Emily Remler than I’d suggest checking out the following.

http://www.allthingsemily.com/

Jaco Pastorius Finds New Sneakers

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:08:57 +0000

The beauty that went on inside Jaco’s head never ceases to amaze me. Whenever I heard Jaco play a song his presence was always so strong. He didn’t have to overplay or overpower a song to make that presence known either.

I only got to see Jaco play in a group setting 2 times, once with Weather Report in 1977 or 1978, when they played in Virginia Beach and the second time in Forest Hills Stadium, when Jaco was the leader of Joni Mitchell’s Band. Both times were amazing! Up to that point the best electric bass player I’d ever seen was Stanley Clarke, but Jaco had so many more sophisticated harmonies going on and to me his sense of “space” was perfect.

It was in the early 80′s that I got to meet Jaco at the 55 Bar where he came down to hear his friend Mike Stern play. I had taken a few lessons on guitar from Mike’s wife Leni. Jaco was a Greenwich Village regular and so I met him on numerous occasions after that, just stopping to chat here and there.

One day, as I was walking into Tower Records near NYU, Jaco was close to the door yelling at the employees and saying “You people should be giving me these records, I’m the greatest musician in the world.” I could see the employees were kind of intimidated and so I walked up to Jaco and said “hey Jaco what’s wrong?” he just turned to me, gave me a wink and smiled and then said “You know me” – Yeah, Jaco was just trying to get a charge out of these people and nothing more. He was just being playful and didn’t mean any harm at all. He asked me where I was headed and I said that my car was about 10 blocks away, because I couldn’t find a parking place any closer; He said well hop in my cab. Jaco had a cab sitting outside of Tower Records while he went in to shop. As we started to walk to the car, he looked into this garbage can saw these old Ked style canvas sneakers with huge holes in the tops and said “hey, I could use a new pair of sneakers” and took them out of the garbage. Jaco was such a funny guy. He was always zany and just a one of a kind person. Now, who could forget a guy like that!

Jaco with Joni
Jaco sitting and playing