Chuck Loeb

Chuck Loeb (born July 12, 1955 in Nyack, New York) is a guitarist who performs numerous styles of music, most notably jazz. His own solo projects have generally been commercially successful crossover jazz, such as "contemporary" or "smooth" jazz.

Background and career

Chuck Loeb was born in Nyack, New York, in the New York City region, where he was first introduced to music. He originally came from a musical background of pop and rock rather than jazz, listening to 1960s rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. According to a 2005 JazzTimes article, the first song he learned on the guitar was Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone which he would later play at a guest appearance with Dylan himself.^[1] It was until he was 16 years old that he discovered jazz and learning about artists such as Wes Montgomery, George Benson, John McLaughlin and Pat Martino.^[2]

He studied with local music teachers until he traveled to Philadelphia where he was a student of jazz guitarist Dennis Sandole and later in New York City with Jim Hall.^[3] After studying with Hall for two years, Loeb attended Berklee College of Music for two years. After leaving in 1976, he sought professional work in the New York City-area, playing alongside jazz musicians Chico Hamilton, Ray Barreto and Hubert Laws. Loeb played in Stan Getz's group from 1979 for two years.^[4] Getz would later become Loeb's best man at his wedding to Carmen Cuesta.^[1] In 1994 Loeb and fellow member of Stan Getz, Mitchel Forman formed the jazz-fusion band Metro.^[5]

Simulataneously, Loeb continued studying often practicing up to eight hours a day. In 1988, Loeb pursued a solo career with his debut album My Shining Hour on Japanese record label Pony Canyon/Jazz City Records. He released his subsequent albums on DMP Digital Music Products until receiving commercial success with Shanachie Records on his album The Music Inside in 1996 (the album's title song held the number one position on the jazz charts for six weeks).^[3] Later he produced Moon, the Stars, & the Setting Sun was issued in 1998; Listen followed in 1999, In A Heartbeat in early 2001 and All There Is in 2002.

As of 2007, Loeb has recently toured the U.S.^[6] and Spain^[7] with fellow band members drummer Josh Dion, bassist Brian Killeen and Matt King on keyboards, who all also performed with him on Loeb's Presence.^[8]

Loeb has also played on numerous movie soundtracks including The Untouchables (under the name "Ennio Morricone"), You've Got Mail and Hitch. Chuck Loeb was also during a number of years the guitarist of the famous jazz-fusion band Steps Ahead, featuring Michael Brecker and Mike Mainieri.^[1]

As of 2010, he plays guitar for Fourplay as the replacement of Larry Carlton.^[9] In 2014, he was also featured on Brian Culbertson's project Another Long Night Out, providing guitar for track "Fullerton Ave.". Loeb and his wife have collaborated together, with Cuesta providing vocals on his albums and Loeb playing on Cuesta's albums,^[10] and recently their daughters Lizzy and Christina have provided vocals as well.^[11]

References

External links

• Official website
• Chuck Loeb Interview
• Metro Site