User:Desalane/Chuck Anderson(guitarist)
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Chuck Anderson is an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
He was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 21st, 1947. At a young age, the family moved first to the Chicago suburb of Broadview, then to Westchester. When Chuck was 12, the family moved to Pennsylvania.
Guitar lessons began in 1961. By 1963, Chuck was teaching guitar and playing local dances, giving up sports by his senior year to completely focus on music. Chuck began studies with the famous jazz music teacher Dennis Sandole, and studied with him for eight years. He eventually was instrumental in developing Sandole's seminal work Guitar Lore [1] and first published it with his music publishing company Anderson Publishing in 1974.
Chuck entered St. Joseph’s University in 1965. Chuck became the director of a large music school at Medley Music, in Armore, PA. By the time Chuck graduated in 1968, he began to teach and play full time. His first major break came in 1969 when he was offered the staff guitar job at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The Latin was a major showcase of world class entertainment in the years before gambling came to Atlantic City. During that period, he accompanied and performed with Bobby Darin, Billy Eckstine and Peggy Lee among many others, playing for four years of fourteen shows a week.
In 1973 Chuck formed the Chuck Anderson Trio with Al Stauffer on Bass and Ray Deeley on drums. Their first album, “Mirror within a Mirror”[2], received critical acclaim and radio play and was the springboard for a busy concert schedule[3]. The Trio featured Chuck’s original writing and arranged jazz classics.
In 1977 Chuck took the staff guitar job at Valley Forge Music Fair in Devon, PA, another major talent showcase. Here, he worked with Nancy Wilson, Michel LeGrand and Anthony Newley among many others.
After seven years of intense show involvement, in 1984 Chuck turned toward the development of The Neo Classical Guitar. In this style, Chuck pioneered the use of the pick style guitar in Classical music. Using both electric and acoustic guitars, his Neo Classical style featured transcriptions, original composition and improvisation on international themes. This work produced the ground breaking album “Kaleidophon – The Art of the Neo Classical Guitar”. Appearances and interviews on radio stations such as WFLN, WXPN and WRTI as well as television appearances on Prime Time and PBS introduced Chuck as the “new Segovia” [4]. Two live recordings, “Timeless”[5] and “Virtuosity”[6], were products of this period. Bruce J. Bolen, Director of Artist Relations for the Gibson Guitar Company wrote “The Gibson Guitar Company is pleased to recognize the innovative work of Neo – Classical guitarist Chuck Anderson. Mr. Anderson should be congratulated for his efforts in approaching a classical forum with a traditionally jazz oriented instrument.” [7]
Two events reshaped Chuck’s career: the theft of his Gibson L5 guitar, and a chronic health condition that kept him focused on teaching. Chuck found it difficult to perform without his stolen guitar, and he turned to teaching and composition for the next twenty odd years. His compositional work differentiates Anderson from other jazz guitarists.
Eventually, one of America’s greatest luthiers, Eric Schulte [8] offered to recreate his original guitar. Chuck began to prepare for his return to the concert world.
Without realizing it, Chuck had been suffering for a long time with a severe condition of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Once the sleep therapy began, the energy and enthusiasm of his early jazz days returned, and he has in recent years resumed his performing work.
Chuck currently writes for the national magazines Just Jazz Guitar and Jazz Inside. He has also joined the staff of Jazz Masters at Mike’s Master Classes. His column “The Art and Science of Jazz” appears monthly at [[1] All About Jazz], the world’s largest jazz website. He maintains a busy schedule performing, teaching, composing and lecturing in the US and abroad.
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