Emily Remler Tribute

Emily Remler (September 18, 1957 – May 4, 1990)Born in New York City, Emily began to play the guitar at the age of ten and she continued to excel in her musical studies at the Berklee School of Music from 1976 to 1979. She worked in blues and jazz clubs in New Orleans, working with bands such as FourPlay and Little Queenie and the Percolators before beginning her recording career in 1981. She was championed by guitar great Herb Ellis, who referred to her as "the new superstar of guitar".Recording for the famous Concord label, Emily’s albums showcase the diverse influences of a fast developing artist who quickly developed a distinctive style through versions of standard tunes and genres. Her first album as a band leader Firefly won immediate acclaim and her bop guitar on the follow up Take Two was equally well received. Transitions and Catwalk traced the emergence of a more individual voice, with many striking original tunes, while her love of Wes Montgomery shone through on the stylish East to Wes.In addition to her recording career as a band leader and composer, Emily played in blues groups, on Broadway and with artists as diverse as Larry Coryell, with whom she recorded an album entitled ’Together’, and the singer Rosemary Clooney. She played for the Los Angeles version of the show ’Sophisticated Ladies’ from 1981 - 1982 and produced two popular guitar instruction videos. She also worked as guitarist for Astrud Gilberto. In 1985 she won the ‘ Guitarist Of The Year’ award in DownBeat Jazz Magazine’s international poll. In 1988 she was ’Artist in Residence’ at Duquesne University and in 1989 received Berklee’s Distinguished Alumni award.She married Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander in 1981, the marriage ending in 1984.Her first guitar was her elder brother’s Gibson ES-330 while her B120 HollowBody Electric featured heavily towards the end of the eighties. Her acoustic guitars included a 1984 Collectors Series Ovation and a nylon strung Korocusci Classical Guitar for Bossa Nova."Good compositions, memorable guitar playing and my contributions as a woman in music…. but the music is everything, and it has nothing to do with politics or the women’s liberation movement."Two tribute albums were recorded after her untimely death, ’Just Friends’ volume one and two, featuring contributions from Herb Ellis, David Benoit, Bill O’Connell and David Beberg among many others. In 2006 the Skip Heller Quartet recorded a song called ’Emily Remler’ in her memory------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------Emily Remler (1957-1990), creció en Englewoods en el Estado americano de New Jersey. Eligió la guitarra como instrumento a los diez años inspirada y alucinada por la forma de tocar de Jimmy Hendrix y sus músicos. Atraída por el jazz en la adolescencia, Emily Remler, estudió en el "Berklee College" donde quedó fascinada por la forma de tocar de Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian y George Benson.Terminó sus estudios con dieciocho años y se marchó a New Orleáns, donde trabajó profesionalmente en números ambientes musicales, incluido el Rhythm and Blues. Su reputación como guitarrista se extendió rápidamente y en 1979, regresó a New York donde su facilidad melódica y el sentido natural del swing que desprendía su instrumento, impresionaron a todos las que la oían tocar. Alentada por Herb Ellis y Charlie Byrd, en 1980 firmó un contrato con el sello Concord Jazz, y un año mas tarde, en abril de 1981, grabó su primer álbum titulado "Firefly" con Hank Jones al piano, Jake Hanna a a la batería, y Bob Maize al bajo. Tuvo un notable éxito con el disco y ello le permitió ser invitada a los festivales de jazz de Colonia, Berlín y el Concord Jazz festival.Los años ochenta fueron para Emily Rimler, la década de su consagración; dirigió su propio grupo, un cuarteto con la presencia de James Williams en 1982 y realizó numerosas giras, actuaciones y conciertos en todo el mundo y en su música siempre estaban presentes los grandes maestros de la guitarra de jazz que le habían inspirado: Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell y Charlie Christian. Entre 1981 y 1988 grabó cinco discos para Concord, siendo el último de ellos un homenaje explicito al gran Wes Montgomery,"East to Wes" (Concord Jazz), 1988). Como muchos otros músicos, su carrera se malogró por la entrada en su vida de las drogas. Un mal día de 1990, el 4 de mayo, fue encontrada muerta en un hotel de Sidney en Australia por una sobredosis. Con ella se fue una gran instrumentista femenina de jazz, uno de los pocos caso en que la mujer se acerca al jazz para hacer algo que no sea cantar.