Twenty Twenty 2

Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci
Twenty Twenty 2
released 4/22/2022

If you’d like to purchase an autographed CD e-mail us at

[email protected]

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Produced by Chieli Minucci

1. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
2. Gonna Be Alright
3. Slow Hands
4. Showboat
5. Folks Like Us
6. Ceili Music
7. Everything & Anything
8. Novembers Child
9. December
10. Ballerina Dreams
11. I’m Leaving You
12. Kampalino
13. Homeland
14. Words Left Unsaid
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In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
(Forrest Richard Betts) Unichappell Music, Inc.

Lionel Cordew – drums
Jerry Brooks – bass
Jay Rowe – organ
Richie Cannata – flute, saxophone
Mino Cinélu – percussion
Chieli Minucci – acoustic & electric guitars

Occasionally the band unexpectedly bursts into this gem at a concert. I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock music, and the Allman Brothers Band was right up there – Dicky Betts and Duane Allman’s guitars getting under my finger nails day by day. I wanted to change things up a bit, opening the record like this~

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Gonna Be Alright
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

John Favicchia – drums
Jerry Brooks – bass
Chieli Minucci – acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards

A little bit of acoustic blues and a little bit of bluesy Stratocaster for ya, supported by Fav and Brooksman’s driving grooves, propelling the whole jam. Guys on the job, folks working out on the track, steelworkers pile-driving, riveting those steel girders up high.
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Slow Hands
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Joel Rosenblatt – drums
Jay Rowe – electric piano
Lao Tizer – Hammond organ
Gianluca Minucci – bass
Chieli Minucci – guitar, background vocals

A mellow, moody moment – I was inspired by the ambient tone I conjured from my old 1984 Pensa-Suhr. Then the piece just came along, practically out of thin air. Music can like that – inspiration is everywhere.
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Showboat
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Joel Rosenblatt – drums
Ric Fierabracci – bass
Chieli Minucci – guitar, synth, kalimba, arrangements
Nelson Rangell – flute
Lao Tizer – electric & acoustic piano

Showboat was a reaction to my reawakening of Joe Zawinul’s Weather Report and Syndicate projects. The composition, a real romp in poly-rhythms, features the amazing talents of Joel, Ric, Nelson, and Lao. I recorded using my archtop jazz guitar, the beautiful Scharpach Vienna Opus.
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Folks Like Us
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboard backgrounds, shaker
Joel Rosenblatt – drums
Dave Anderson – fretless bass
Lao Tizer – Hammond organ

I wrote and recorded this composition during the early months of the 2020 pandemic, when we were hunkering down and keeping our distances. For me it evokes the ironic peacefulness of that quiet time, and the yearning to move past it.
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Ceili Music
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Mino Cinélu – percussion
Antoine Silverman – violin
Jerry Brooks – bass
Chieli Minucci – acoustic & electric guitars

Named after my Irish twinner, this playful ditty just romps through the day. It was recorded on the same day as “Dance on the Delta” and “Another Day, Another Smile”, from Special EFX, ‘Genesis’.

At the end of the session we all stood in a circle and created an old fashion hand-clap track. Fun!
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Everything and Anything
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Jerry Brooks – bass
Eric Marienthal – saxophone
Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, beats

A brighter tempo remake of, “Anything and Everything”, from my solo CD from the 90s, “Renaissance” – this one features Eric Marienthal doing his melodious thing on alto.
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Novembers Child
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Lin Rountree – trumpet
Oli Silk – piano
Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, beats

Thank you to Oli and Lin for adding their fresh sounds to this piece. I have always enjoyed Top 40 radio, admired the productions and arrangements of contemporary artists like Justin Bieber, Zedd, Max Martin, to name a few. In a roundabout sort of way they influenced my approach to this piece.
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December
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Chieli Minucci – guitars, synths

This is an ambient prelude to Ballerina Dreams~
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Ballerina Dreams
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Jerry Brooks – bass
Joel Rosenblatt – drums
Chieli Minucci – guitar
Jay Rowe – keyboards

Recorded live at the Sirius XM Studios, Washington, DC, back in 2019, here’s a live version of this Special EFX classic from our early GRP period. One of the last concert tours before the pandemic came along and put us back in the practice room.
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I’m Leaving You
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards
Dave Anderson – fretless bass
Joel Rosenblatt – drums

Inspired by the beautiful, brand new blue Fender American Performer Stratocaster I bought for Christmas 2020. I was having some fun exploring the sustaining sounds from this wonderful instrument and decided to write a power-ballad. It’s become tradition to include this style of song every once in a while.
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Kampalino
(Mino Cinélu/Chieli Music)

Mino Cinélu – percussion

The mysterious percussion intro originally written to “Kampala” from Special EFX All Stars (2020), now becomes the intro to the foreign intrigue of “Homeland”.
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Homeland
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Joel Rosenblatt – drums
Jerry Brooks – bass
Antoine Silverman – violin
Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards

Inspired by the Showtime series by the same name, this sneaky odd-meter groove might take you around the world more than a few times. Featuring Antoine’s fiery violin and some pretty slamming drum work by Joel.
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Words Left Unsaid
(Chieli Minucci/Chieli Music)

Chieli Minucci – guitars, keyboards, beats

Also written in the first few months of the 2020 pandemic, I rediscovered the beauty of boardwalk walking, contemplating, ruminating, meditating, exercising! It all happened at Long Beach, NY, definitely one of the pristine beaches in the world.
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Compositions written by Chieli Minucci/published by Chieli Music
except In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Forrest Richard Betts, published by No Exit Music Co., Inc.) and Kampalino (Mino Cinélu)
Mixed by Paul Wickliffe at The Underground, South Orange, NJ
except for Words Left Unsaid, and December, mixed by Chieli Minucci at Baci Studios, Forest Hills, NY

Cover art by Amanda Jo Nagle
Album artwork designed by Renée Gannon
Inside CD-tray photo by Mike Chimeri
https://makeunicornsgreatagain.com
Photographs – Eduardo Simmonds Sr., Paul Wickliffe, Katherine Gilraine/KG Creative Enterprises, KT Jones Photography, others.

Thank you to those of you who contributed photos from our concerts.
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Thanks to all my musician friends for their wonderful and heartfelt performances, and artistic contributions to this 40th anniversary of Special EFX! Inspiration comes from all directions. Most of the music was written and recorded during the pandemic of 2020-2022. Thank you to my musical family – Jerry Brooks, Jay Rowe, Mino Cinélu, Lao Tizer, Eric Marienthal, Joel Rosenblatt, Lionel Cordew, Dave Anderson, Gianluca Minucci, Nelson Rangell, Ric Fierabracci, Richie Cannata, John Favicchia, Antoine Silverman, Lin Rountree, and Oli Silk~
It was back in 1982 that George Jinda and I first recorded music together. I’m grateful every day for this gig! This year marks the 20th year since George left us. His spirit continues to live in our music.

Special thanks to my dear friends, keyboardist (and Special EFX concert agent) Lao Tizer for his vision & tenacity, and Nelly Neben for her decades as my devoted manager. A big shout out to the many wonderful promoters, theater, and club owners who tirelessly work in partnership with us to produce the live concerts which are the real reason for all of this! Gratitude to SiriusXM Watercolors for carrying on the tradition of radio airplay, and thank you to ALL the many radio stations, both terrestrial and virtual, who continue to support music. I got a big taste of traveling as a professional musician early on as a teenager and I knew what I wanted to do ever since.
Gratitude & much love to Stacey Hirabayashi, and to my entire family!

Thanks to music producer Manny Kallins at Gotham Music/Universal, my longtime entertainment attorneys Bob Donnelly and Paul Bezilla at Fox Rothschild, Trippin N Rhythm Records, Shanachie Records, JVC Records, GRP Records, and Keytone Records, where it all started. To my publicists, Amanda Jo Nagle, and Rick Scott (Great Scott P.R.oductions), Wayne Soodek, Burt Rosen, all my brothers from DSG, and… Snowflake and Da Boyz from CV.
As always and forever, enjoy the music!
– Chieli

MANAGEMENT
Nelly Neben/Axis Artists
Management
[email protected]
+1(818) 998-2595

WORLDWIDE BOOKINGS
Lao Tizer Music Inc.
[email protected]
+1(818)590-3163

Little Wing (clip 1) // Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci - All Stars
  1. Little Wing (clip 1) // Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci - All Stars
  2. Till the End of Time (from Genesis) // Chieli Minucci
  3. Hot 100 (from Sweet on You) // Chieli Minucci
  4. Krazy Kats (from Wonderfully Wacky – Gotham Music GM118) // Chieli Minucci
  5. Little Wing (clip 2) // Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci - All Stars
  6. Islands (from Mystique) // Chieli Minucci
  7. The Juice (from Got it Goin’ On) // Chieli Minucci
  8. New Bop (from Sweet Surrender) // Chieli Minucci
  9. Far Away (from Genesis) // Chieli Minucci
  10. Masterpiece (from Masterpiece) // Chieli Minucci