CHUCK WAYNE Chuck Wayne (February 27, 1923 – July 29, 1997) was a jazz guitarist who came to prominence in the 1940s. He is best known for his work with Woody Hermans First Herd, and for being the first guitarist in the George Shearing quintet. He also was Tony Bennetts music director and accompanist from 1954-1957. STYLE. Wayne was noted for a distinctive, swinging bebop style, strongly influenced by horn players of the day – especially Charlie Parker and Coleman Hawkins. In an era when many guitarists used four-square, mandolin-style picking, with rigid up-down stroke articulation, Wayne developed an unusual legato technique, not widely adopted by others until decades later. (He also developed a comprehensive approach to guitar chords and arpeggios – based on generic tetrad forms spanning all possible inversions, in varying degrees of open voicing. This highly analytic approach to the fretboard was later documented in a series of theory books, some released posthumously. A summary of his approach to theory is found below.) LIFE & WORK Wayne was born Charles Jagelka in New York City on February 27, 1923 to a Czechoslovakian family. In his youth, he became an expert on the banjo, mandolin, and balalaika. In the early 1940s he began playing jazz on 52nd Street and in the Village. After serving two years in the Army, he joined Joe Marsalas band at The Hickory House in 1944. Wayne was galvanized after hearing Charlie Parker at the Three Deuces, and focused on playing bebop. At one point, frustrated with the difficulty of getting the guitar to swing with the bop feel he wanted, Wayne nearly switched to saxophone; but ultimately, he found his sound and his style. Bill Crow writes: He was one of the earliest guitarists to learn the bebop style. Chuck recorded with Dizzy Gillespie in 1945, on two sides that helped spread the bebop revolution, Groovin High and Blue n Boogie. Wayne replaced guitarist Billy Bauer in the Herman First Herd in 1946. He quickly won a more visible role for the guitar in the band, and was featured in exchanges with the likes of Stan Getz and Sonny Berman. Contemporary reviewers regarded him highly. In his heyday, he worked with many great performers, including: Vocalists Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand Bandleaders Coleman Hawkins, Jack Teagarden, Dizzy Gillespie, Claude Thornhill, Lester Young, Wingy Manone, Slam Stewart, and Tadd Dameron An endless list of soloists including Zoot Sims, Brew Moore, Jo Jones, Joe Marsala, Billy Taylor, George Duvivier, and Red Norvo In his later career, he was also noted for duo performances in the New York City area with Warren Chiasson, Joe Puma, and Tal Farlow. His style matured, intensified, and made increasing use of contrapuntal improvisation, an eye-opening experience for local guitarists. A generation of performers were heavily influenced by Waynes playing and instruction – especially during his thoughtful later years. Waynes discography is impressive, but his work remains relatively obscure. He was instead best known for consistently hot live performances, playing regular gigs on the Manhattan jazz scene – including a long stint at Gregorys on the upper East Side. Sadly, little of this music was recorded; the vitality of live improvisation is often missing from studio recordings of the era. Like many other jazz musicians whose careers took them in and out of the limelight (Tal Farlow and Sonny Rollins come to mind), Wayne was frustrated by the music business, and its ephemeral crowns of success. Wayne also played classical guitar, appeared on numerous television programs, worked with many Broadway shows, and wrote film scores. Through the 1990s, Wayne continued to play in the New York area, though he was increasingly troubled by health problems. He died on 29 July 1997.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 04:45:55 +0000
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