Chuck Anderson is an amazing musician. Not only is his technique on guitar remarkable, he is also a solid businessman who has made his living from music since he was a teenager. Over his long career, Chuck has worked with the top singers in the music business.
But his steady passion is teaching. Since he was 16, he has taught thousands of students. He instructs them not only on the technique of the guitar, but also how to pursue their musical dreams, whether it is becoming a rock star, a studio musician, or just playing for a lifetime of enjoyment.
In addition, Chuck has written 26 books, the first when he was 21 years old.
I first met Chuck in 1974 when we recorded his first jazz trio album. That was my introduction to the serious jazz idiom. Since then, we recorded a couple of other albums, and recently we did a session where Chuck recorded an entire album of wonderfully improvised compositions in two hours. It’s called “Spontaneity” and it will be available soon after you hear this.
You can hear a sample from the album (24-bit/96kHz) on my podcast web site, www.dougfearn.com Look under "Extras" https://dougfearn.com/Extras/extras.html
In July 2021, Chuck called me to ask if I had any photos from the first project we worked on, a jazz trio album called “Mirror Within a Mirror,” recorded at my studio in 1974. I didn’t, but after talking for a bit, we came up with the idea of recording a new album of solo guitar, entirely improvised in the studio.
Chuck came in late one Saturday afternoon in August, after a full day of teaching, and we produced the entire album in about two hours. Setup took minutes, and we were ready to record almost immediately. Chuck played the Gibson L-5 guitar he has used all his life. I used an AEA R88 stereo ribbon microphone on the studio Vox AC-30 amp, with a pair of Coles 4038 ribbon mics out farther in the room. It sounded great right from the first note, so I never changed anything.
There were no retakes, no punches, and no overdubs.
The recording was done 24-bit, 96kHz sample rate, using D.W. Fearn VT-2 and VT-24 mic preamps into a pair of VT-4 equalizers on the main pickup, with a bit of bass roll-off to compensate for the close mic’ing of the guitar amp. No other eq or other processing was used.
The session was recorded with a Merging Technologies Hapi converter, using Pyramix software. During the mix, a bit of Bricasti M7 digital reverb was added.
A week later, we recorded this interview, using a pair of AEA R44 mics. For Covid safety reasons, we were well separated in the studio.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Chuck talks about his career, his philosophy, and why he still works 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, teaching, composing, and exploring the world of music.
Our conversation will continue in the next episode, where discuss his early albums, the beauty of silence, and some practical advice for people who want to make a living in music.
You can learn more about Chuck Anderson at his web site, https://chuckandersonjazzguitar.com/?v=757e5b5109ed
There you will find interesting information, samples of his music, and links to his social media.
email: dwfearn@dwfearn.com
www.youtube.com/c/DWFearn
https://dwfearn.com/