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Chieli Minucci
is Just Showing Off!
June 11, 2008 – I have problems brushing my teeth and standing up at the same time but some guys like to cure cancer with five minutes spare time. Ok, maybe that’s over stating it but let’s look at Chieli Minucci for instance, he’s got 4 new projects on the go. |
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Aguilera Defends her right to Party
 June 11, 2008 – Are mothers not allowed to have fun? That’s the way Christina Aguilera feels these days. The singer says she feels like she’s in jail. More.
George Benson Gets Highest Jazz Honor
 June 11, 2008 – Congrats to George Benson for the honor of Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). It’s considered to be the highest Jazz honor on the planet. More. |
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The Special EFX guitarist plans on releasing 4 albums online at chielimusic.com. Minucci says, “This is all new music, never released before.” Here’s what you can expect, “Solos, Duos & Trios,”will feature lost treasure featuring Minucci’s ex-partner in Special EFX George Jinda who died on January 11, 2001. “Raspberry n’ Cream,”might sound sweet but it’s a Blues project that`s more vocal featuring Philip Hamilton, Will Brock and Armsted Christian. “Pop Today” will be more commercial and aggressive with Johnny Kemp, Vic Starsky and Noel Cruz. “Drippings” will feature the more background version of Minucci. He has had a steady gig providing soap operas in the US with back ground music. You can buy the lot, one album at a time or one tune at a time. The latter for a buck a song. – by John Beaudin
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Chieli Minucci is Just Showing Off!
 June 11, 2008 – I have problems brushing my teeth and standing up at the same time but some guys like to cure cancer with five minutes spare time. More.
Smooth Jazz Returns to Denver
 June 11, 2008 – Sometimes, what goes down must come up. Denver is welcoming a new Smooth Jazz station to the airwaves. Read the whole story - click here. |
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Little
Smooth Jazz Extras
June
6, 2005 - Hidden extras appear to be one of the ways many Smooth Jazz artists
are rewarding their loyal fans, according to smoothvibes.com.
Some of the hidden gems found on the latest Smooth Jazz offerings are guitarist Chuck Loeb's untitled jazz/funk track after
the last official song on the album "When I'm With You." Chieli
Minucci's four hidden interludes which can be heard on his latest only if
the album is played in order without skipping any tracks, and Mindy
Abair's tribute to Cannonball Adderly from her album "Come As You Are",
titled "26 Hemenway" (a reference to her address during her time at
Boston's Berkelee College of Music). - By Cheryl
Philips
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Janet Jackson in Love with Barry Manilow
 June 11, 2008 – Janet Jackson has a confession to make – she’s in love with Barry Manilow. Uh, Janet? Maybe you haven’t heard, but there is a certain something about Mr. Manilow. More.
George Michael Secrets on Film
 June 8, 2008 – Wham’s former manager, Simon Napier-Bell, wants you to see what really happened behind closed doors of the bands heyday. He plans on making a tell-all movie on the band. More
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Update
On New Chieli Minucci Solo Album
January
10, 2005 - Chieli Minucci tells Smoothjazznow he is just wrapping up work on his
CD "Got It Goin' On" scheduled for a March release date. Joining him
on the project are his regular band mates Jerry Brooks on bass, Lionel Cordew
on drums, Jay Rowe on piano, Philip Hamilton on percussion and vocal and David
Mann on sax. The amazing array of talented guests includes Marion
Meadows, Jeff Kashiwa, Steve
Oliver, Gerald Veasley and Kim Waters.
Readers will recall that last year we spoke with Chieli about his son, Gianluca's
band, The Malibu Boyscouts. Chieli is happy to say the band is still working,
"With 5 shows scheduled between now and March, they have more work than me!"
Talent, however, is not limited to Chieli and Gianluca."Love Is Always Young",
a selection from the new CD was penned by Chieli's dad, Ulpio. Ulpio, a concert
pianist and composer, who has written for Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby and Julius
La Rosa is now 87 and still writing. Says Chieli, "He wrote this beauty when
he was just about 80, with his lyricist, who's about the same age. These guys
are still thinking about you-know-what!" - by Liz Rivard |
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Chieli
Minucci Readies New Solo Album
 December
14, 2004 - It's been a busy December for Chieli
Minucci. The guitarist is in the studio recording his follow up to 2003's
"Night Grooves." Set for early spring release "Got It Goin' On"
will feature fellow guitarist Steve Oliver and loads of sax help including Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, Marion
Meadows and David Mann who is now a permanent member of Minucci's other big
project Special EFX. The new album should
be mixed at the end of January.
Chieli
Minucci Nominated for Another Daytime Emmy
April
30, 2004 - Chieli Minucci has again, this
year been nominated for a Daytime Emmy (Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction
and Composition for A Drama Series) for his work on Guiding Light. The guitarist
started the gig as a ghost writer in 1998 and amazingly one year later was nominated
for his first Emmy award and won! Each following year, including this year, he
has been nominated. Chieli tells Smooth Jazz Now that he composes 'mostly tension
music for the show' he says he uses movie soundtracks (as well as TV's ER and
Law & Order) as models for arrangements. Chieli says, "I often write
to tense, awkward or disastrous situations so it's pretty contrasting to the writing
I do for my own contemporary jazz projects." Chieli summarizes, "This
composing gig has gone from a side job, to a really interesting scoring project
which has been really great since it always seems to fall between tours! It gives
me a chance to write some really varied styles of music." The awards take
place Friday, May 21st in New York City. Smooth Jazz Now would love to hear the
'underscoring' that Chieli would write for his own emotions, leading up to the
ceremony! - by Liz Rivard Read
part one of our interview with Chieli Minucci.
Jazz
Guitarist Chieli Minucci May Soon Be Playing Second Fiddle!
April
2, 2004 - You heard right, there is an up and coming musician in the Minucci household,
none other than Chieli's 14 year old son Gianluca (pictured left). Gianluca (bass),
Phil Padouvas (drums), Ruben Marinbach (trombone), Vinnie Campanele (trumpet),
Theo Paduovas (trumpet), Alex Somer (guitar) and Christian Madera (keyboards/sax)
have joined forces to create the Malibu Boyscouts (www.malibuboyscouts.com).
This talented group of teens has already earned their first musical merit badge,
their first CD "Enlist Now" is available through live concerts or via
their website. They have also performed a half a dozen times in its first six
months, mostly at local neighborhood 'teen' clubs and they have developed quite
a following of fans, who 'skank' to their music, very enthusiastically. Dad, Chieli,
adds a note about the "Ska" music that the guys perform…"One
way to describe it is to say that it is a high energy, fast style of vocal music,
mixing double time reggae/2 beat (polka?!) rhythms with punk music! Normally the
audiences 'skank' in front of the band, which kind of resembles a mosh-pit, except
that it's more friendly than the usually punk madhouse….the chance of injury
is 25% percent, as opposed to 99%." - by Liz
Rivard
Mary
Kirk's Smooth Jazz Cruise Journal
February
10, 2004 - Mary Kirk co-owner of the Wave
94.7 in Hamilton was not only taking in all the great music at Warren
Hill's recent Smooth Jazz cruise - she was taking notes. Kirk along with Wave
contest winners experienced a smorgasbord of "A" list Smooth Jazzer's
including Hill, Jeff Golub, Chieli
Minucci, Peter White, Marion
Meadows, Euge Groove and Alexander
Zonjic. Here are her
notes.
Chieli
Minucci - Artist of the Month for January 2004
 January
5, 2004 - We are pleased to start off 2004 with one of our favorite guitarists
as "Artist of the month." Chieli Minucci had a great year in 2003 both
as a solo artist and the driving force behind Special EFX. Minucci came in at
# 25 (see
the chart) on our year end countdown of top songs in Canada with "Kickin'
It Hard" from his solo album "Night Grooves." The song also came
in at # 3 (see the chart) on
R&R magazine's year end countdown in the U.S. Special EFX also released their
positive up-tempo "Party" album highlighting saxophonist David Mann
in 2003. Read part one of our interview
with Chieli Minucci.
Chieli
Minucci, on 'Sail' in January!
November
18, 2003 - Chieli Minucci tells Smoothjazzcanada that his upcoming gig on the
Smooth Cruise 2004 is "part work and mostly play" he hopes! He's performing
four times on each cruise using Kirk Whalum's band as his back up. Minucci says,
"I'm really excited because there are so many opportunities to have the other
artists hop on stage with me to jam along and it ought to be fantastic for the
audience that's for sure!" Sounds like smooth jazz fans wouldn't want to
miss this boat. For more information check out Chieli's site at www.chielimusic.com - by Liz
Rivard
Special
EFX "Party" in New Direction
October
14, 2003 - Having just released their seventeenth album "Party," Chieli
Minucci and Special EFX have a new direction. The idea is to feature one bright
new unknown Smooth Jazz star on each new release. Minucci says he wants Special
EFX to be a "writing workshop" for him and the "Party" album's
bright new star? It's saxophonist David Mann who has worked with Minucci on both
his solo and band projects. We talked to Minucci via phone on October 7, 2003
from his home in New York. Read
the Interview.
Review
- Chieli Minucci - Night Grooves
September
3, 2003 - Chieli Minucci has been a busy boy in his career he's played guitar
on Backstreet Boys, Marc Anthony, Jewel and Celine Dion records. If you're a true
blue Smooth Jazz fan it's hard not to have heard of Minucci. In 1982 the guitarist
along with percussionist George Jinda (Died in Jan. 11, 2001) formed Special EFX,
a band who consistently record what I call "race horse albums" - reliable,
strong and with good legs. Those legs translated to albums that never sound dated
and the early ones are still being played on Smooth Jazz radio today. Also, every
Special EFX album has at least three punchy radio tunes and Minucci uses the same
formula on his solo material. Read
more
Chieli
Minucci Launches New Website
July
15, 2003 - He's one of the best in the business and at last he has a brand new
website. Guitarist Chieli Minucci has just launched www.chielimusic.com.
Minucci has been in the Smooth Jazz field since that first Special EFX album back
in the early eighties. By the time the N.A.C format (an early version of Smooth
Jazz) was launched Special EFX was already a seasoned band. The website will occupy
space for both the band Special EFX and his solo career. Minucci's former partner
in the band percussionist George Jinda passed away on Jan 11, 2001 after a stroke
that lead to several years of poor health
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