Working with a couple musical geniuses...
Sun, 09/17/2017 - 3:45pm
Or is it Geniii? Hey everybody: a few notes on some things I have coming up, and one in progress! Just finished five days in Portland, OR, working with Gino Vannelli on his new CD, and am again reminded what an incredible musician the guy is. We did a CD 20 years ago called “Slow Love”, and I was really struck by the depth of his writing, producing, singing, mixing, you name it. That one took a LONG TIME, as we did almost the entire record in Logic on the computer, programming drums, bass, keys, guitars, horns, strings…I even took a nice little “harmonica” solo on a sound we built out of our own samples in a Kurzweil K2000. Great record, and 20 years later we picked up right where we left off, but older and wiser.
Gino’s writing has as much really cool harmony in it as anybody can fit into a contemporary song; this CD is a kind of “Americana” one, with a small band featuring slide guitar, piano, percussion, pedal steel, harmonica, and some string sections. But it’s as sophisticated as it gets, yet incredibly friendly to the ear.
Dave Stryker Honors Chuck Loeb
Mon, 08/07/2017 - 4:19pm
"I don’t need to tell you that Chuck was not only a great musician, but just a sweetheart. Just a beautiful person, he had positive energy and it came out in his music, and that was always inspiring to me - communication. Not only as a player, but as a teacher of course, with all the great work he’s done here at ArtistWorks." - Dave Stryker
A Tribute to Chuck Loeb: 1955-2017
Tue, 08/01/2017 - 11:22am
We’re extremely sad to announce the loss of our jazz guitar teacher Chuck Loeb who passed away on Monday night. He was an amazing musician, teacher, and a dear friend who will be deeply missed. He had been undergoing cancer treatments for several years. As we mourn this great loss, we are comforted by heartfelt words which are pouring in from those who knew him.
ArtistWorks CEO Patricia Butler has posted a video for Chuck's students with her condolences and commitment that his teaching legacy will always remain intact at ArtistWorks. As she says: "he was a friend, not just someone we worked with. We loved him.”
David Butler, co-founder of ArtistWorks, has posted a tribute in the Forum here where he talks about first meeting Chuck and getting to know him through their mutual love of music.
"I learned a lot from Chuck, I am a student of his guitar method myself. One thing in particular that really stuck with me was the way he approached practicing. He said most people consider practicing to be a chore, something you have to do to prepare to perform or just to improve. But for him, practicing was like meditation, a true a spiritial experience. He taught me to think of practicing as not solely a preparation for later, but rather a worthy and rich direct experience in and of itself, a very 'zen' view of practicing. It changed my attitude towards practicing forever, I encourage all musicians to ponder this simple and very wise idea.”
"He was a massive talent and I wish that I started lessons with him earlier. I'm very grateful for the videos and recordings left behind so we can still learn from him. I'm wishing his wife and daughters peace and comfort, this is a huge loss for all of us.” Jough, ArtistWorks student
"As a young bluegrass picker I had the opportunity to hang out with Tony Rice a bit. One memory was sitting in Tony's car listening to Chuck. His influence on Tony was great. Every modern bluegrass guitarist has been influenced by Tony and, in a way, by Chuck.” Bryan Sutton, ArtistWorks teacher
Our hearts and thoughts are with Chuck’s family during this difficult time. We encourage you to share your memories of Chuck in the ArtistWorks Forum. May his legacy live forever.
NEW: Dave Stryker Interview & Performances
Fri, 07/21/2017 - 4:58pm
When Dave Stryker was in the ArtistWorks studios to film Video Exchange responses for Chuck, we filmed him doing a few impromtu solo one-take guitar performances. We then took some time to a few questions at him in a candid style interview. Some of the topics include getting to know his musical background and how he got started, major influences and sources of inspiration, as well as his jazz methodology and thoughts on playing jazz and growing as a musician. Check it out in the +Music area or just click the links below:
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