|  January
15, 2007
Hello, Everyone,
I would like to wish you all health, happiness, peace and
success in the New Year.
But before I share my latest news, I want to mention the
passing of a dear friend and someone who I believe was one
of the greatest musicians ever, Michael Brecker. He had been
battling cancer for the last several years and finally succumbed
last week. I wrote the following to express my feelings about
him.
Stand•ard
(stand-ard) – n.
A level of quality or excellence that is accepted as the norm,
or by which actual attainments are judged.
The very first time I heard Michael Brecker
play, a fundamental shift took place. A new standard–albeit
largely unattainable–had been set for quality and excellence
in improvising music. And although I already had a long list
of musical heroes, when I heard Mike, he broadened the playing
field.
I think it was the way he crossed over
so many musical formats with his integrity and virtuosity
intact. He contributed just as greatly to a James Taylor pop
song as he did to a Hal Galper composition with chord changes
ten feet deep. His technical prowess is the stuff of legend,
but it never overshadowed his sensitive musicality, or came
at the expense of his gorgeous rich sound. These characteristics
seemed like noble goals to strive for, and now, thirty years
since I first heard him play, he continues to inspire me towards
those goals.
Later, when I was fortunate enough to
get to play with, and eventually call Mike a friend, the standard
went beyond just music. As a person he was kind, funny, generous,
and humble. Here was a person that was in constant demand
worldwide and yet he always found the time to be there for
whatever projects we asked him to do.
So it has great meaning for us that last
spring, while he was fighting the fight of his life, he took
the time to play on Carmen's new CD You
Still Don't Know Me. The solo he played on "Todo
Para Ti" ("All for You") was perfect as usual.
Now Mike is gone, but the standard he
set never will be.
Our hearts go out to Susan, Jessica, Sam,
Randy and his extended family at this most difficult time.
Mike: we love, miss and thank you.
Chuck and Carmen
In postscript, I would like to mention that the diseases
Michael suffered from were MDS and then leukemia. If you would
like to help battle these diseases, please consider making
a donation to The Marrow Foundation's TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
FUND by going to The Marrow Foundation website at www.themarrowfoundation.org.
If you would like to volunteer to be a bone marrow donor,
please visit the National Marrow Donor Program Registry website
at www.marrow.org
or call 800-MARROW-2.
I am looking forward to a very exciting 2007, as I begin
a new phase in my new career on Heads Up International. I
anticipate this being a year full of activity, beginning with
the January 23rd release of Presence
(which is now available for pre-ordering on Amazon.com)
and continuing with a lot of interviews, CD reviews, and concerts
in support of it. I hope that these activities will give me
the opportunity to connect with many of you.
With that in mind, I'd like to let you know about some live
dates coming up in the next few months:
Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis–February
8, 2007
Coming up on February 8th, I'll be playing with my regular
band at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD, which has a
history as rich as the city itself, not to mention great food
and a great variety of music.
Scullers Jazz Club, Boston–February
15, 2007
The following week, on February 15th, we'll be at Scullers
Jazz Club, which is widely considered Boston's best jazz club
and one of the best in the country. On the day before the
show, February 14th (Valentine's Day), I will be taping an
appearance for Sunday with Liz Walker on WBZ-TV.
With Thomas Quasthoff–March
7-19, 2007
From March 7-19, I'll be part of a very special band
accompanying bass-baritone opera phenom Thomas Quasthoff in
a series of special jazz concerts in support of his new CD,
The Jazz Album: Watch What Happens,
which will be released on Deutsche Grammophon in February
or March.
You may remember my mentioning Thomas in an earlier newsletter.
He is an extraordinary person and artist, and is the subject
of a fantastically inspirational film entitled "The Dreamer,"
by Michael Harder, who also took the photos of me that appear
on my website and in the liner notes of Presence.
I highly recommend the "The Dreamer," which is available
through the following websites: www.thedreamer.de
or www.thomasquasthoff.com
(both of which link to the German music store www.jpc.de).
(To my knowledge, the film is not yet available through any
U.S. sellers.) A portion of the proceeds will go to the International
Yehudi Menuhin Foundation's (IYMF), Il canto del Mondo, and
the Right Livelihood Award against atomic war.
With the extraordinary combinations of the vocal talents
of Thomas, German trumpet star Till Brönner, Peter Erskine
on drums, Alan Broadbent on piano, Dieter Ilg on bass, and
of course, yours truly on guitar, these concerts, which will
take place at Carnegie Hall in NY, and in Austria and Germany,
promise to be a fantastic experience both for audiences and
for those of us on stage. Please see the show schedule on
my website for complete details.
Berks Jazz Fest–March
22-25, 2007
Finally, I want to let you know about a couple of events
I'll be participating in at the Berks Jazz Fest (as always,
in Reading, PA) this year. On Thursday, March 22nd, I'll be
participating in the Berks All-Star Jam and on Sunday, March
25th, I'll be hosting the Fan Appreciation concert being sponsored
by WJJZ 97.5 in celebration of their return to the airwaves.
In between those shows, on Saturday, March 24th, I will be
leading a guitar seminar (inspired by Gerald Veasley's Bass
Boot Camp), which I have named "Chuck Loeb's String Training:
Preparing Guitarists for a New Season of Music." This
seminar will take place on Saturday afternoon at a venue to
be named. It will include master classes with me, Pat Martino,
and other guitarists as well as a technical clinic with Bob
Sabellico of Roland. If you're interested in being part of
these classes, visit the Berks website or send me an e-mail
at: themusicinside@earthlink.net.
 Carmen's
new CD, You Still Don't Know
Me, also will be released in January on Skip
Records. At the moment, if you're in the USA, the best
way to pick up your copy is to order it (or any of her other
CDs) via her website, www.carmencuesta.com.
If you're in Europe, you may wish to check out www.jpc.de,
which also carries her recordings. If you'd like a preview,
you can visit the Skip
Records website for clips or listen to our collaboration
on "Llevame," which you can hear in rotation on
my website.
Articles, Interviews and Appearances
related to Presence
For those of you who enjoy reading about music and
listening to interviews, below are some examples of articles,
interviews, appearances and reviews that Presence has received
so far. I'll try to post more on my website as time goes on.
Vintage Guitar
Chuck Loeb: "Most Wanted" for Melody
By John Heidt
Dave Koz Radio Show Appearance:
Weekend of January 20-21
I will be the special guest on the Dave Koz radio show
the weekend of January 20-21. For a list of stations and times
on which you can catch the Dave Koz radio show, go to www.davekoz.com.
"If his dynamite new CD is any
indication, it'll be a while before he's ready to watch the
action from the sidelines as an elder statesman with nothing
left to play but the oldies… Loeb has made a cool and
progressive contemporary jazz CD that does the genre proud."
JazzTimes
"Chuck Loeb is more than just a
guitarist, he's a Renaissance man of music - a composer, arranger
and producer in many areas of music. He played with Stan Getz,
Chico Hamilton and Hubert Laws. He has been involved in production
with Spyro Gyra, Larry Coryell and others, done scores for
TV programs and movie soundtracks - including The Untouchables.
Loeb wanted to stress the human element in his new album,
getting away from doing things long distance and without all
the players being together in the studio… this one is
a delight and I wanted to hear more!"
Audiophile Audition
"…a virtually perfect jazz
album…Chuck Loeb's Presence definitely has its own charisma
and has its own brand of magnetism."
TheCelebrityCafe.com
"The latest from the guitar jazz
man that seems to have done it all but doesn't seem to know
how to play a jaded note is a spunky outing that tickles and
pleases the ear like a pro. Loeb doesn't hem himself in and
feels free to do covers with his stamp, pay tribute to heroes
and just let the muse lead him on the way."
Midwest Record Recap
We have a few irons in the fire in the next few months.
I will soon be going into the studio as part of one my favorite
bands, Metro, to cut tracks for a new CD. As some of you know,
Metro has been around since 1994 and features myself, keyboardist
Mitchel Forman, drummer Wolfgang Haffner and, over the years,
several different bass players. We are very excited to announce
that the current lineup includes the incomparable Will Lee
(the bassist on The Letterman Show for the last 24 years).
The new Metro CD will be released late 2007 or early 2008.
Watch www.metrojazz.com
for updates.
I'm also very excited to be participating in the production
of a new CD by bass whiz Gerald Veasley. We're currently cutting
tracks for this new release, which will be out later this
year, also on Heads Up International. As many of you know,
Gerald is a world-class musician, bandleader, composer and
producer and I consider it an honor to be asked to produce
tracks for him.
In addition to that, I continue to work on developing material
for a CD that's especially close to my heart, the debut CD
of my daughter, Lizzy Loeb. Lizzy continues to write beautiful
songs in the singer/songwriter tradition of James Taylor,
Joni Mitchell, John Mayer and Simon Apple. No specifics yet,
but I predict a bright future for this up and coming star.
Finally, I'd like to ask your feedback on an idea I've
been tossing around with some people down here in Hilton Head,
SC: the idea of a Hilton Head Jazz Festival. If you can spare
just a minute or two, click here
to complete a brief 7-question survey on or before midnight,
January 31, 2007, you will automatically be entered to win
a pair of CDs--my new CD Presence
and Carmen's new CD, You Still Don't
Know Me. We will draw three winners at random on February
1, 2007, and will notify you by e-mail if you have won by
8pm EST that evening.
Thanks for your help and good luck, everybody!
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