Combining virtuosic technique with stunning originality, Chuck Anderson projects the soul of jazz to his audience. Original works, jazz classics and jazz blues are all transformed in every performance. The art of spontaneity has always been the hallmark of jazz and this spontaneity has become a trademark of his music.
Chuck is now focused on his concert jazz guitar work and his contributions to music education through master classes, lectures, clinics and workshops. He currently records for the Dreambox Media label.
Practice is that inevitable “dues-paying” time that everyone must invest to pursue music. In the self study approach, the most difficult aspect of practice is the organization of musical and technical principles. Too often the player works in circles not really progressing, not knowing what to practice.
Becoming aware of this lack of progress, he [...]
Modular Phonetic Rhythm represents a significant advance in the teaching and application of rhythm. Eliminating many inefficient aspects of rhythm education, Modular Phonetic Rhythm streamlines the traditional educational approach, resulting in a reflexive reaction to rhythm.
Jazz guitarists have never had a way to organize the subject of rhythm in a way that would systematically benefit [...]
What is the jazz guitar style?
The easiest way to begin is to describe what is not the jazz guitar style. Power 5 chords, simple open chords, steady strums, static chord progressions, a lack of key modulations, heavy bending and vibrato, slinky thin strings, distortion, excessive volume, huge amplifiers … these are a few characteristics that [...]
Contrary to popular opinion, picking is the most difficult technical skill on the jazz guitar. Since the fingering hand is visually impressive, most guitar players think more and work harder on the fingering hand than they do on the picking hand.
Let’s break down picking into its most basic components. There are only 2 pick strokes [...]
Chuck Anderson’s new album ‘Freefall’ establishes him as a major force in jazz guitar.
Chuck Anderson is part of an elite group: world-class jazz musicians who focused their careers not on performing, but on passing the baton to others. Like the late Dennis Sandole and Charlie Banacos before him, Chuck spent his career focused on educating and mentoring students, many [...]
No matter what your involvement is in music, marketing needs to be a way of life. This is true more for the musician seeking to make a living in music but it generally applies to anyone with goals other than pure aesthetics.
What is marketing? Marketing is the entire range of activities that involve increasing your [...]
Talent is a topic that is difficult to pin down. The fact is that talent is a fact in retrospect. After you’ve developed it, it becomes obvious that you have it. The problem is that talent itself is a lot like oil. You’re not sure it’s there unless you drill for it. Drilling for oil [...]
Improvisation is at the heart of jazz. Too many people consider it a mysterious art that they can’t appreciate.
In reality, this art form is simply spontaneous conversation between friends. A listener no more has to understand the intricacies behind it, than they have to understand the details of brush strokes to appreciate a painting.
Just listen [...]
Thoughts and Observations
My first observation was more of a feeling than a thought. The words coming from the pages evoked a feeling of familiarity – not the words themselves but the feelings that came out of the words. The visceral sense of loneliness when you’re conceiving of and pursuing a creative idea which is neither [...]
Since the age of 16, I’ve been fascinated by the Jazz Guitar. I can’t tell you why … why I didn’t want to be a Rock star or the Lead guitar player in a famous Rock, Blues or Country band.
The fame held no appeal to me nor did the promise of money. My interest seemed [...]
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