Sweet Surrender

Sweet Surrender

Chieli Minucci "Sweet Surrender"

Chieli Minucci & Special EFX

(Shanachie/2007)

1. Guitarzzz
2. Mystical
3. Astralcats
4. Sweet Surrender
5. Ascension
6. Chant
7. Cry Of My Soul
8. Play With Me
9. Rush Hour (Dawn)
10. Rush Hour (Rush)
11. Children’s Day
12. New Bop
13. Au Naturale

Produced by Chieli Minucci  6/02-1/07
Executive producer Danny Weiss

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Mixed & Mastered by Paul Wickliffe at Skyline Productions
Recorded by Paul Wickliffe at Charlestown Road Studios, NJ
Additional recording and all pre-produciton by Chieli Minucci at Baci Studios, NYC
Additional recording by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Studios, NYC
Additional recording by David Mann at Studio 107, NYC

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all titles composed & arranged by C. Minucci (ASCAP)
published by Chieli Music (ASCAP)

except Chant, written by Philip Hamilton & Chieli Minucci
published by Milimaya Music (BMI) & Chieli Music (ASCAP)

Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, vocals, programming
Jerry Brooks – bass
Lionel Cordew – drums
Jay Rowe – acoustic grand piano, keyboards
Philip Hamilton – percussion, vocals
David Mann – saxophones, flute

additional musicians
Will Brock – background vocals on Sweet Surrender,
Play With Me, & Guitarzzz
Dave Anderson – fretless bass on Cry Of My Soul & Chant
Wayne Batchelor – double bass on Au Naturale
Ada Luz Jiron, Julietta, Danny Madden – additional vocals on Chant
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1. Guitarzzz
Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Jerry Brooks – electric bass
David Mann – saxophones
Will Brock – background vocals

I wrote this piece specifically for the group, Guitarzz (myself, Chuck Loeb, and Paul Jackson Jr), for our performance at the Capitol Jazz music festival in the Washington, DC area. I always wanted to try to write a song which somehow crossed the style of the Allman Brothers with contmeporary jazz. Anyway, somehow this was the result, with me ending up performing the 3 guitar parts.

2. Mystical
Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Jerry Brooks – electric bass
David Mann – saxophones

This is actually a spinoff of an old Special EFX tune from our 2nd year as a band (1985), but completely rewritten, as well as totally rearranged. I wanted to write something ‘commercial’ , yet which was extremely syncopated as well, and funky, and with a catchy melody. This tune always had been in the back of my mind to recut with a more modern arrangement.

3. Astralcats
Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Jerry Brooks – electric bass
Lionel Cordew – drums
Philip Hamilton – congas

A longshot cousin to ‘Courageous Cats’, from solo CD #1, ‘Jewels’. Astralcats is all about cruising through time and space, at a high speed! A bunch of fusion cats are joined onstage by a jazzy bop nerd, and the results are just crazy!

4. Sweet Surrender
Chieli Minucci – electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, synth bass,
drum programming, melody vocal
David Mann – soprano saxophone
Will Brock – background vocals

The acoustic guitar based arrangement was inspired by guitarist Eric Clapton’s collaboration with crooner Babyface some years ago. A touch of melancholy, but my idea of what contermporary instrumental ‘pop’ should sound like…

5. Ascension
Chieli Minucci – electric guitar
Jerry Brooks – electric bass
Lionel Cordew – drums
David Mann – tenor saxophone
Jay Rowe – electric piano

After we videotaped our live DVD in 2005 I became inspired to record a few more songs which would feature the band cut loose….live in the studio. This is one of those, a fast, light composition, jet-propelled by Lionel’s precise percussive work…

6. Chant
Chieli Minucci – acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Dave Anderson – fretless bass
Philip Hamilton – lead & background vocals
Julietta Cuticonne – additional background vocals

Philip Hamilton’s haunting spiritual vocals inspired the arrangement for this gorgeous epic! The vocal arrangement was originally used for a musical Philip had scored, ‘River Deep’, which ran off-off Broadway in NYC in 2005 & 2006. I took those vocal melodies and moved them around a bit, then added everything else around them.

Oh Lord, I did what you told me
But I’m only a man
and I believe what I see
Oh…

Oh lord, looks like it’s crazy
I know you got a plan, yeah
and I wait patiently…..
Oh Lord

7. Cry Of My Soul
Chieli Minucci – electirc & acoustic guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Dave Anderson – fretless bass
Jay Rowe – acoustic grand piano

This piece originated at a soundcheck from a tour last year in Detroit. We needed a mid-temp groove to test the stage levels, and these 4 chords just did the trick! Later on I remembered those harmonies which inspired this melody! I also wanted to dress it all up as if it was a Pink Floyd kind of piece, slow, yearning, crying…

8. Play With Me
Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, synth bass, drum programming
David Mann – soprano saxophone
Will Brock – background vocal

Originally written with lyrics in mind, this piece is reminicient of the spirit of some of the music on my solo CD from some years back, ‘Renaissance’.

9. Rush Hour a)Dawn
10. Rush Hour b)Rush
Chieli Minucci – electric guitar
Jerry Brooks – electric bass

Jerry and I have been playing this ditty at almost all of our live concerts for a while now. I thought it was time to finally get it recorded in the studio. We often perform this as part of our ‘jazz fusion medley’.

11. Children’s Day
Chieli Minucci – electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, drum programming
Jerry Brooks – electric bass
David Mann – flute
Philip Hamilton – conga, main melody vocals
Jay Rowe – acoustic grand piano
Danny Madden, Ada Luz Giron, Chieli, Philip Hamilton – ‘children’s vocals’

This is in honor of my hometown’s annual ‘Children’s Day’ neighborhood celebration in Forest Hills, Queens, when Greenway North & Greenway South are closed off and the streets become a kind of kid’s carnival every first Saturday in June! As a teenager I performed here with my first junior high school band, year after year. The recording features many musicians, and many instruments…a real ‘classic’ Special EFX kind of world party piece!

12. New Bop
Chieli Minucci – guitars, percussion programmingJerry Brooks – electric bass
Lionel Cordew – drums
David Mann – tenor saxophone
Jay Rowe – electric piano

Another live band song, inspired by the Special EFX DVD performance. There is a lot of play with rhythm figureshere…hemiolas within hemiolas…

13. Au Naturale
Chieli Minucci – acoustic guitar
Wayne Batchelor – acoustic double bass

I met Wayne performing together in ‘River Deep,’ a staged musical adaptation of Tina Turner’s life story, performed in NYC over the last 2 years. The idea was to record an upright bass and acoustic guitar, old fashioned style, no overdubs, no click track.

special-efx-2014-quartet3

Endless Us // Chieli Minucci
  1. Endless Us // Chieli Minucci
  2. Good Times Ahead (from Got It Goin’ On) // Chieli Minucci
  3. Across the Seven Seas (from Deep as the Night) // Chieli Minucci
  4. Garden of Eden (from Deep as the Night) // Chieli Minucci
  5. Sneaking Around (from Gotham GM118) // Chieli Minucci
  6. Mystical (from Sweet Surrender) // Chieli Minucci
  7. Journeys (from Travels) // Chieli Minucci
  8. The Gift (from It’s Gonna Be Good) // Chieli Minucci
  9. One Day (from Just Like Magic) // Chieli Minucci
  10. Yesterdays Memories (from Slice of Life) // Chieli Minucci