Emily Remler
cor...@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu
and unfortunate departures. Her music always seemed to me to have a lot of
feeling, and I looked forward to seeing her live, but never got to do it.
Obituaries listed her death as due to heart failure. Anybody know any more
details? What kind of a person was she?
Harvey
2 jazz pagans
Gene Lees has an essay in one of his books (I think it's Waiting for
Dizzy) about Emily Remler. Sad to relate, she was a junkie, and
apparently she OD'd in Australia. Definitely a waste.
- JRB
Piotr Michalowski
into one of the greats of the jazz guitar. I have never been able to
warm up to her recordings, I must admit, but I had the chance to hear her
in person a number of times and was captivated by the energy and
inventiveness of her playing. She came a few times to our local club, The
Bird of Paradise, and played with the house trio. She would spin out
long, involved solos that were much more complex and energetic than
anything I have heard her do on record. She had a great sense of
propulsion, and on some nights she would close her eyes and just play off
the drums in such a way as to create incredible tensions; she had an
instinctive immediate rapport with George Davidson, a magnificent drummer
who should be better known. It is a pity that none of these nights were
recorded. I one remember when
Adam Makowicz played a local concert and sat in. Those of us who were
there on those occassions tended to stay through the last set, trying to
catch everything that was being played. Although I play guitar a bit, I
have to say that many jazz guitarists bore me with their even tone and
lack of dynamics. Emily was different. I have one of her instructional
videos, but I must admit that it is hard for me to watch it, as I still
cannot get over her senseless, premature death. We all have memories of
great live performances that make recordings pale, and with her such are
mine. The death of Don Pullen brought back to me two such nights, one in
London at Ronnie Scott's where he played with George Adams (hard to think
that Dannie Richmond and Adams are also gone)--nothing happened. It was
simply one of those nights. But some years before I had heard Adams and
Pullen with Mingus in Boston. Both of them were trying too hard. Milt
Jackson came on as guest and he and Mingus played the blues in what is
usually refered to as "timeless fashion" by the cliche mongers. It was a
lesson indeed, and both Pullen and Adams took it to heart. They settled
down, played fewer notes, and put down some beautiful music. I know that
this may sound wrong, but I treasure such nights of experimentation and
stretching more than any perfect solo by the neo-traditionalists. We all
love our records and cd's, but to love jazz is to hear it live.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Piotr Michalowski Office phone: 313-764-0314
Dept. of Near Eastern Studies fax: 313-936-2679
3074 Frieze Building
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tue, 25 Apr 1995, Betsy Stern wrote:
> I have two of her recordings (the two retrospectives) and am
> borrowing "East to Wes." I'd like to know what her other
> recordings are like, as I think she was such an incredible
> player. Anyone else a fan of hers?
>
>
fred warner
bst...@netcom3.netcom.com writes:
>I have two of her recordings (the two retrospectives) and am
>borrowing "East to Wes." I'd like to know what her other
>recordings are like, as I think she was such an incredible
>player. Anyone else a fan of hers?
i became a big fan of Emily Remler's when i was a student
in charlottesville, va and she happened to be living there
at the time (1984/85) (i think she just wanted to get away
from things for a while). she would play quite frequently
in local bars/clubs - sometimes alone, sometimes with others
including John D'earth and Larry Coryell.
of her albums before "East to Wes", the best IMO are
"Transitions" and "Catwalk", both of which feature John D'earth
on trumpet and i think the rhythm section might be Eddie Gomez
and Bob Moses. both of these records have some nice originals and
they are less bebop-ish than "East to Wes". i think they are
well-represented on the retrospectives, but i'm not sure. another
very good record from that time period is the duet album with
Larry Coryell, "Together". this is well worth a listen if you
like her playing.
after "East to Wes", the only record that I know of is called
"This is Me", released by Justice Records at around the time of
her death. she said that this record is really the sort of thing
she always wanted to do - hence its title. it is very different
from the others above. there is some use of synthsizers and more
percussion (i think) and electric bass (i think), and features
playing by david benoit among others. so, it isn't "East to Wes"
but it still displays the excellent guitar work of Emily Remler
which i'm sure is missed by anyone who heard her play.
Justice Records also released two volumes of a tribute to Emily
Remler - maybe called "Just Friends" , but i'm not sure. they
feature a number of guitarists including Herb Ellis and Leni Stern,
as well as other people from her past like "Smitty" Smith.
Betsy Stern
check out the recordings you recommended.
The dynamics and soul she put into the guitar are what stopped me
in my tracks. I started playing when I was six and there were no
female players of her caliber around (I was born the same year
she was). I listened to other players and learned a lot. The bossa
players were able to get that warmth that she got, but I never found
anyone on electric who really did it.
Where would I find her videos?
Betsy
2 jazz pagans
writes:
>
>I have two of her recordings (the two retrospectives) and am
>borrowing "East to Wes." I'd like to know what her other
>recordings are like, as I think she was such an incredible
>player. Anyone else a fan of hers?
The two retrospectives should give you pointers to the individual
albums. She's also on some of the other Concord artists'
dates--Susannah McCorkle, for one. She plays on about half the tracks
of No More Blues (especially a very tasty "Don't Let the Sun Catch You
Crying"); Bucky Pizzarelli plays on the remaining tracks.
- JRB
Betsy Stern
Piotr Michalowski
them from Riffs, 1-800-388-3008. One is called Bebop and Swing Guitar and
the other is Advanced Jazz and Latin Inprov. She was also a great latin
guitar player and could do bossa rhythms very well (she spent some time
playing behind A. Gilberto).
cor...@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu
Piotr Michalowski <pio...@umich.edu> writes:
(edit)
> We all have memories of
> great live performances that make recordings pale, and with her such are
> mine. The death of Don Pullen brought back to me two such nights, one in
> London at Ronnie Scott's where he played with George Adams (hard to think
> that Dannie Richmond and Adams are also gone)--nothing happened. It was
> simply one of those nights. But some years before I had heard Adams and
> Pullen with Mingus in Boston. Both of them were trying too hard. Milt
> Jackson came on as guest and he and Mingus played the blues in what is
> usually refered to as "timeless fashion" by the cliche mongers. It was a
> lesson indeed, and both Pullen and Adams took it to heart. They settled
> down, played fewer notes, and put down some beautiful music. I know that
> this may sound wrong, but I treasure such nights of experimentation and
> stretching more than any perfect solo by the neo-traditionalists. We all
> love our records and cd's, but to love jazz is to hear it live.
As I said in an earlier post, I looked forward to hearing E.R. live, expecting
her to be so much better in person than on her recordings--most of which I also
love. I regret very much that I never got to do so.
But this post makes me wonder something about the folks who disparage the
"neo-traditionalists"--and I assume that in the above this phrase refers to
Marcus Roberts, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, etc. (Maybe not Hargrove--if
not, why not? And why not Adam Makowicz, for goodness sake, who was mentioned
favorably in what was edited out of the above? [How] can you tell a
"neo-traditionalist" from a young[ish] straight ahead player?)
What I wonder is: can the disparagers possibly have heard these guys live? I
once saw Delfeayo Marsalis for $2 at the Berklee School in Boston, and it was
one of the best shows I've ever seen. Saw Harry Connick in the same hall, way
back before he became Buddy Greco for thirtysomethings: outstanding. I saw
Cyrus Chestnut playing with Freddie Hubbard at One Step Down (I think that was
the name of the club) in Wash., DC, and Chestnut played so much better than
Hubbard that night it was ridiculous, though I still think Freddie's no
ordinary mortal. Last year I saw Marcus Roberts down here in Austin at
Antone's, and when it was over the audience stood up and applauded till our
hands stung.
Sitting here listening to this slightly absurd "Gershwin for Lovers" thing, I
guess it's no wonder musicians like Roberts get knocked as "ersatz." But don't
people out there have experiences similar to mine of these guys live?
Harvey
Bob Groendyke
Piotr Michalowski <pio...@umich.edu> wrote:
Piotr's very nice comments included --
> Although I play guitar a bit, I
> have to say that many jazz guitarists bore me with their even tone and
> lack of dynamics. Emily was different. I have one of her instructional
> videos, but I must admit that it is hard for me to watch it
this is going a bit off the thread, but I would make the comment to jazz
guitar students that I think her videos are among the best instructional
videos I've seen. Piotr's comments about tone and dynamics were well in
evidence even in this format, where the playing was fairly simplified for
instructional purposes. She was quite amazing in the range of intonations
in her teaching examples, and showed a great personality to boot, which
always makes watching tapes easier. She had the ability to make even simple
stuff sound great. Yeah, I thought she was really something also...
- Bob Groendyke
California State University Chico
bob_gr...@macgate.csuchico.edu
London David
Emily Remler. I first heard her when I was living in Hamburg, Germany -- she
was playing at a bar called (what else?) Birdland. The week before I had gone
to hear Barbara Dennerlein, the German organist. It was OK -- fun, but very
tame. Dennerlein and her band didn't really take many risks. (OTOH, I quite
like her CD's, but that's another thread ...) When I heard Remler the
following week, the contrast was striking! She was playing with (alto
saxophonist) Richie Cole, as well as Ed Howard on bass and Victor Jones on
drums. They played standards, but they were out there! It was clear that,
that night, the band often found themselves in places they hadn't been before
(musically speaking, of course). But they always found their way back. It was
magic! That's what jazz is all about. I still have the poster from that
concert.
David London
lon...@lps.umontreal.ca
Sam Hokin
|> [snip] The bossa
|> players were able to get that warmth that she got, but I never found
|> anyone on electric who really did it.
Yeah, that's one big reason that I like her playing -- she
seems to have shared my interest in both hard bop and bossa. I
really like the "Insensatez" duet she did with Coryell; but my
favorite single track on the respectives is "Daahoud" from
EAST TO WES. I often have chunks of her solo on that track
going through my head.
--
Sam Hokin ho...@juno.physics.wisc.edu
Curator of Original Jazz Charts on the Web
http://hokin.physics.wisc.edu/jazz/charts.html
Betsy Stern
I was trying to delete one of my posts and I have the feeling that
I may have done in the whole topic. If I did, my *sincere* apologies.
There were a lot of nice bits in that thread.
Does anyone know where she was teaching (I believe it was a university)
when she died?
Also, who is player currently closest to her in style and warmth?
Again, if the original topic is gone, I'm very, very sorry. It was
by no means intentional.
Betsy