[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference napalm::guitar

Title:	GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion
Notice:	Discussion of the finer stringed instruments
Moderator:	KDX200::COOPER

Created:	Thu Aug 14 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	3280
Total number of notes:	61432

1453.0. "Emily Remler" by RAINBO::WEBER () Fri Sep 01 1989 19:07

    Can an attractive, 31-year-old, Jewish woman from New Jersey hold her
    own with the likes of Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and Larry
    Coryell? Not only can Emily Remler play with the best, but she has been
    doing so for 11 years. Her career has spanned a variety of styles, from
    NO funk to solo accompanist for Astrid Gilberto to playing with The
    Great Guitars to videos, seminars and a number of recordings.
    
    A graduate of Berklee, Emily has charted a somewhat different course
    from the typical Berklee star, staying closer to the sound of her main
    influence, Wes Montgomery. Best of all, her model is early Montgomery,
    before he became a pop star. She has six albums, all on the Concord
    label:
    
    "Firefly".  Her first release, an uncanny evocation of Montgomery, far
    more successful than most. Not so much a copy as a continuation of the
    path Wes had started.
    
    "Take Two ".  More of the same, about equal in quality.
    
    "Transitions", "Catwalk".  On these, Emily is attempting to break away
    from the Montgomery style, with only partial success. A few of the
    tunes are static and harmonically simple; she seems to improvise better
    over complex changes. Not bad albums, but sometimes slow going. Nice
    use of Latin rhythms.
    
    "Together" w/Coryell. Something of a change, duets in a variety of 
    styles from bop to new age. Very pretty; my only complaint is my usual
    one--I really prefer jazz with a rhythm section.
    
    "East To Wes". This is more like her first two albums. I've only had a
    chance to play it once, but I liked what I heard a lot. Harmonically
    more daring than her previous records.
    
    Emily has excellent chops, a smooth and facile touch, and is proficient
    in both single line and chordal playing. She has some nice, original
    tunes on each of her records. On Emily's first records she was playing
    a Gibson ES-330, which produced a slightly thin tone. For the last four
    years she has also been playing a Borys B120-2, which sounds more
    robust and better complements her style. She has also been using an
    Ovation for acoustic numbers. She generally uses Polytone or Musicman
    amps.
    
    Jazz guitar is an area in music where women have not made great
    inroads. Besides Emily, only Mary Osborne has become well known. I hope
    Emily Remler's example will induce more women to take up this demanding
    but rewarding instrument. 
    
    Danny W.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1453.1	Remler-Coryell	POBOX::DAVIA	That hammer done killed John Henry	`Fri Sep 01 1989 19:56`	12
	"Together" is great guitar album. I love duets and solo guitar music so I was excited to see this album (I had never heard Remler's music before). I think Larry Coryell is great, and after listening to this record I hope that he does an album of standards. Emily, on this album, sounds technically perfect. That's a compliment, not a putdown. Larry occasionally shows his usual wildness but, it's pretty subdued. Just listened to it this morning as a matter of fact. Phil
1453.2	Emily Remler at Jazz Worcester '90	AQUA::ROST	Everyone loves those dead presidents	`Mon Feb 12 1990 13:33`	43
	I caught Emily at her Jazz Worcester appearance on 2/9 and it was a good show despite some logistical problems, namely her pianist was stuck somewher on the Mass. Pike with a dead car and she had to do a set at Nightstage in Cambridge immediately after the concert. Despite that, she put on a good performance, but after 90 minutes it seemed like she was ending too early!!! For material, she alternated between standards ("Yesterdays", "Softly as a Morning Sunrise", "Days of Wine and Roses", "How Insensitive") and her originals ("Majestic Dance", "Blues For Herb (Ellis)", "Do You Hear What I'm Sayin'") and one solo fingerstyle piece as an encore (forgot the title, it was her own composition). She played most tunes the same way, started out fingerstyle, with her pick in her mouth (she joked she should get red ones to match her lipstick) and then after dispensing with the head, playing pick-style, reminiscent in many places of Wes Montgomery. On a couple of tunes she cranked up the digital chorus and headed into Metheny territory (notably on the Latin "Majestic Dance"). Her bassist was a bit too busy for me and his solos were bland. Her drummer made interesting use of his cymbals and took some tasty breaks. Neither were in a position to upstage their employer, though. She is currently touring with (pianist?) David Benoit so if he's coming to your area, check to see if Emily is on the bill also. For techno-heads: Emily played some sort of solid or semi-solid axe, looked vaguely Les-Paul-ish, with an extremely flamed top, back and headstock, two pickups and controls mounted to a floating pickguard. No name on the headstock. She ran stereo using a Fender "The Twin" and a JC-120, with a Yamaha FX-500 digital box for effects. She had her Ovation there but didn't play it. Brian P.S. Her guitar workshop that had been scheduled for 2/10 was cancelled, so for those who had been unable to go, you didn't actually miss it.
1453.3	what it is...	TOOTER::WEBER		`Mon Feb 12 1990 19:44`	8
	Remler's guitar is a Borys B-222, a semisolid that is closer to an L-5S than an LP in size. Hers has a stop tailpiece and stud-mounted bridge. Standard models have a brass trapeze tailpiece and two-footed bridge. These are nice guitars and are capable of a great jazz sound. There is also a B-224, which is a 24-fret model aimed more at rock players. Danny W.
1453.4	Benoit + Remler ?!?	CRONIC::PCUMMINGS	There's a mingus amonk us	`Mon Feb 19 1990 23:21`	10
	Wow, I'm surprised she's playing with David Benoit. He's kind of a fuzak guy I think. As a matter of fact, I saw his name in there for Nightstage, but didn't see Emily's name in the billing. Wonder if it was just a last minute gig (Nightstage) for her. I really like her playing though. I heard a Clifford Brown tune from the 'East to Wes' LP (her latest) called 'Dahoud' and she was smokin! /Paul
1453.5	Bad News	AQUA::ROST	Bad imitation of Jerry Jemmott	`Mon May 07 1990 13:05`	5
	Weird thing happened...I just got a message from my wife that she heard that Emily Remler died last week in Australia...????? Stay tuned....
1453.6	Confirmation of Emily's Passing	AQUA::ROST	I'll do anything for money	`Tue May 08 1990 12:45`	29
	This came off of USENET, take it with a grain of salt. I haven't seen anything in the Boston papers, but I guess she indeed has died from a heart attack. From: paulr@mips.COM (Paul Richardson) Subject: Re: Emily Remler Date: 8 May 90 01:05:14 GMT In article <1990May7.221503.13720@csusac.csus.edu> gordonvs@csusac.csus.edu (scott gordon) writes: >I saw a notice in this morning's newspaper (the Sacramento Bee) that >Remler was indeed dead of a heart attack. Amazing and really sad. She >always seemed so cool and relaxed. But then, she smoked an awful lot. >Any details out there? > >-- >----- > Vahl Scott Gordon (916) 278-7634 > Calif State Univ Sacramento gordonvs@athena.ecs.csus.edu > " W h y i s t h e r e A n y t h i n g ? ? " I called our local jazz station here in S.F and the D.J. indicated that she died last Friday in Sydney Austrailia of a drug overdose. I believe that this is a tragic loss for the jazz community,may peace be with her. -- /pgr "And to the ladies,peace,and humptiness forever" - Digital Underground {ames,prls,pyramid,decwrl}!mips!paulr or paulr@mips.com
1453.7		DCSVAX::COTE	Strom clods are forming...	`Tue May 08 1990 15:50`	8
	Damn! I'm listening to her "East to Wes" tribute album as I type. Her style is one I really enjoy, soft, subtle and incredibly musical. The how is really kind of irrelevant, jazz guitar lost one of it's leading proponents... Edd
1453.8		ROYALT::BUSENBARK		`Tue May 08 1990 16:58`	9
	re. Ed... I was also listening to "East to Wes" ....how truly sad to hear of such a young fine guitarist/musician's death.(I'd like to believe it's not so) A tremendous loss to all..... She will be missed..... Rick
1453.9	a sad day	TOOTER::WEBER		`Wed May 09 1990 13:50`	12
	Roger Borys spoke to Emily's parents yesterday, who confirmed the terrible news. The depressingly short list of young, mainstream jazz guitarists has lost one of its brightest stars. Condolences may be sent to: The Remler Family 18 Skykine Drive Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Danny W.
1453.10		COOKIE::WITHERS	It's good to be home	`Fri May 18 1990 20:21`	6
	Saturday's Weekend Edition did a very touching Obit on her. I'm saddened to say that this was the first I'd been conscious of her music, though I plan to add her disks to my collection. BobW
1453.11	Still can't believe it	RANGER::WEBER		`Tue May 22 1990 20:37`	21
	I was devastated the day Wes Montgomery died. Having hoped that he would get back to playing jazz, I couldn't believe that I'd never have another chance to see him burning away. At the time of his death, he was as close to a household word as most jazz musicians ever got, though the price he paid for this was high, making recordings well beneath his prodigious talents, playing "Tequila" in the hopes that people would also listen when he played "Impressions". Emily was not an innovator like Wes: she was still searching for her own identity. My feeling, from her recordings and live performances, is that she was at her best when playing Montgomery. For me, that was enough. It was like having Wes back for awhile, making new music. My sadness at this loss is for what might have been. Remler might have become a major jazz guitar voice, but now we'll never know. A guitarist I know in NJ who knew her confirmed that she had been involved with drugs. How sad. I'd rather remember her as the charming, witty guitarist who could blow the room away with her playing. Danny W.
1453.12	in her prime...	CRONIC::PCUMMINGS	There's a mingus amonk us	`Sat May 26 1990 20:18`	11
	It's a real bummer. She was only 31 or 32 right? Emily was definitely in my top 10 for main stream jazz players. Luckily I did get to see her once live, at Nightstage in Cambridge. She was doing a trio gig opening for Tal Farlow (quite a fine player - especially at his age!) in Jan/Feb of 1987. Some stuff that really hits home (with me) are 'Del Sasser', 'Search'in', 'Ode to Mali'. Great playing, great loss. /Paul
1453.13	She shows up unexpectedly...	WEFXEM::COTE	What if someone sees us? Awwwwkk!	`Wed May 30 1990 13:42`	17
	Last night I finally got my 3 freebie CDs from BMG. Their selection is pretty weak, so when I ordered it was basically the "shotgun" approach. One of the discs was "Waiting For Spring" by David Benoit. I knew nothing about the album or the artist when I ordered it, but suspected some sort of New Age piano masturbation. I was pleasntly surprised to find that it was great mellow jazz (Not Kenny G. or Najee 'jazz') with none other than Emily Remler on guitar! (Not to mention a couple guest appearances by John Pattitucci on bass.) If you enjoy a small quartet sound (Think "Wendy" by Desmond), I HIGHLY recommend this disc. The performances are perfect, the production is crystalline. Emily's performance alone was worth much more than the $1.77 P&H. MUCHMUCHMUCH more.... Edd
1453.14	Old wine, new bottles	RANGER::WEBER		`Fri Jul 19 1991 16:57`	7
	Concord records has released CD's titled "Retrospective", Vols 1 & 2. These seem to be just compilations of previously released tunes, rather than new material from the vaults. Since Emily's first four releases are not available on CD, this might be a good way to catch up, but I think you'll get a better picture of her work from the original albums. Danny W.
1453.15	Early Emily Remler on CD	FLYWAY::CHAOT::WIEDLER	they could never be blue	`Fri Nov 13 1992 11:50`	6
	Re: .-1 "Firefly" and "Catwalk" are available on CD now - is "Take Two" as well in the meantime? FeliX.
1453.16	Emily's last album	FLYWAY::CHAOT::WIEDLER	they could never be blue	`Mon Nov 30 1992 05:22`	7
	Re: .-1 To answer my own question, "Take Two" is available on CD. And so is Emily Remler's last album which I think was not mentioned yet in this conference topic: "This is me" from 1990. Mainly own compositions. FeliX.