Sábado, 15 de noviembre 2003. 21:00h.
Chuc Loeb
Black Note (polo y Peiloron, 15) valencia

Presenta su nuevo cd "EBOP" (bio en inglés) Born and raised in Nyack, NY, a small town twenty miles from New York City, Chuck Loeb began his life in music by taking up the guitar at the age of eleven. Growing up in the mid ‘60’s the musical atmosphere that permeated the airwaves at the time was a fertile one for a young guitarist and budding composer. The Beatles, The Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, B.B. King, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder were all early influences. He was self-taught until the age of 16, Chuck was tough on the vinyl records in his house. Guitar in hand, he would learn all the chords, melodies, and guitar riffs right off of the records, playing them over and over, until he got them right. Practicing and learning on his own also led to coming up with his own musical ideas, planting the seed for his own compositions, which he began compiling at the same time. At thirteen Chuck was asked to join a local dance band, “The Sinclair's” that played dances every Friday and Saturday night at the local youth center. The repertoire was almost all what was known at the time as “Soul” music: James Brown, Archie Bell and the Drells, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Kool and the Gang, Wilson Pickett etc. So aside from being his first professional experience it also permanently entrenched the young musician with the power of the funky groove. The band started adding some original material and eventually performed on the ABC Television show “Like It Is” and cut some demos for record companies, and although they were never signed, Chuck got his first taste of working in the recording studio. At about 16 years of age a local pianist and composer turned Chuck onto some very important jazz records such as Wes Montgomery’s “Smokin’ at the Half Note”, while at the same time he discovered the work of John McLaughlin with the Mahavishnu Orchestra . The impact was immediate, and his desire to fully understand and begin to be able to incorporate these new sounds into his playing made it obvious that it was time to enlist the aid of a formal teacher. After some research he began lessons with legendary jazz educator Dennis Sandole in Philadelphia. This meant leaving school one day a week to make the trek to Philly, and eventually because of this, Mr. Sandole recommended a teacher in New York City - none other than guitar great Jim Hall! Chuck studied with Jim as well as guitarists Richie Hart, Joe Puma, and Pat Martino until graduating from high school when he decided to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachusetts. There he focused on Composition and Arranging while continuing to study the guitar up to 8 hours a day. After two years at Berklee the opportunity arose for a world tour with a pop act, and Chuck decided to put his studies on hold and hit the road. Once the tour was over Chuck set up camp in New York City and began to make a name for himself, quickly landing jobs with some of the great talents on the scene at the time: Ray Barreto, Chico Hamilton, Hubert Laws, Jack McDuff, among others while at the same time making the rounds in the local club circuit and recording studios. This kept him busy until in 1979 when he got a call that would change his musical and personal life forever. World renowned saxophonist Stan Getz was thinking of adding a guitarist and Chuck was asked to attend a rehearsal. After playing a few songs with the group, Stan asked Chuck if he wrote music as well. Chuck had been composing almost as long as he had been playing, and he happened to have a song with him in his guitar case. Stan and the band played through the song together, and as Chuck found out subsequently, his talent as a composer was a key element in landing him the job. In fact, at times during his tenure with Getz, Chuck's compositions comprised almost half of the nightly repertoire. Joining the Getz Band meant that Chuck had the opportunity play and have his songs performed in all the major festivals, concert halls, and jazz clubs throughout the world, as well as meeting and collaborating with some of the jazz greats of all time. Although he visited Europe many times, one time was undoubtedly the most important. While playing with Stan for three nights in Madrid, Spain, Chuck crossed paths with singer and song writer Carmen Cuesta. It was a case of “love at first sight”, and after a whirlwind romance, within six months the two were married and living together in NYC. Eventually leaving the Getz band, Chuck set out to establish himself in the studio scene in New York City in the early eighties. Meeting and collaborating with the great “studio” musicians on the scene at the time Chuck played on hundreds of recording sessions for records, film scores, commercials, and television show themes. Eventually his knack for composition came into play once again. He began to be called upon to arrange and compose as well as play, and within the next few years he had written themes for ABC News, Nightline, CBS Up to the Minute News, The main CNN Theme (heard with the voice of James Earl Jones) Headline News, The New York Yankees, The New York Knicks, The Atlanta Braves and countless jingles, and background themes for soap operas and game shows. (see attached credit list). His extensive experience in the recording studios proved to be a perfect training ground another important part of his career - producing records - both for himself and other recording artists. Recording his first CD as an artist in 1988, Chuck embarked on a career as a recording artist. He now has recorded ten CD’s as a solo artist (see attached discography list), as well as many other group projects. Achieving a rare mix of critical and commercial success, his own CD’s have garnered many top 10 singles on the R&R and Gavin jazz radio charts, including three #1’s, one of which, “The Music Inside”, topped the charts for eight weeks in a row. His projects feature some of the top musicians in the world, and offer a varied musical approach reflecting the eclectic musical upbringing he had. Most of the musicon the CD’s are Chuck’s own compositions, but he almost always includes a “cover” song or two that he feels fits the project. The success of Chuck’s own CD’s has led to many other artists enlisting him as a producer of their projects as well. This is a part of Chuck’s career that he finds very rewarding, and fulfilling. Working as a producer with such top names such as Bob James, Michael Franks, Spyro Gyra, Gato Barbieri, Acoustic Alchemy, Jeff Kashiwa and many others, he has again found his productions and compositions topping the charts. (for more details see attached discography and credit list). Becoming a solo artist has led to the growing demand to perform live, and Chuck and his band regularly perform at major festivals, concert halls, and jazz clubs worldwide. On many of these trips, Chuck does seminars and master classes in guitar, contemporary jazz production and composition. Chuck and Carmen continue to collaborate musically, with Carmen contributing her vocal, composition, and production skills on Chuck’s projects, singing at least one featured vocal on each of his CD’s, and Chuck pitching in on Carmen’s three solo CD’s “One Kiss”, “Peace of Mind”, and "Dreams"(all on the Skip Record label) as a co-producer, composer, and guitarist. Carmen, Chuck and family continue to live and work in the New York area.