Today is a Time to Remember a great friend and player, Thomas Chapin who was born on March 9, 1957. He would have been 55 years old.
Happy Birthday, Thomas from all of us who knew you and love you—and miss you!
Just up on the thomaschapin.com website is an important, new article:
“Thomas Chapin and Me, A History and Remembrance" by Bruce Lee Gallanter, NYC downtown music scene insider and unofficial historian/archivist and owner of the Downtown Music Gallery.
Here's the real story from New York City's downtown music insider, Bruce Lee Gallanter, of Thomas Chapin's evolution in the downtown scene that revolved around the (original) Knitting Factory, a club that defined new music and all the fine players for decades in the 80s and 90s. At the very beginning, Gallanter points everyone to Thomas Chapin and the young alto player makes a big splash that catches the attention of the big cats on the scene. Gallanter, who, with owner Manny Maris, ran the famous out record store “Lunch for Your Ears," and who later became owner of “Downtown Music Gallery," knew every inch of the incredibly hotbed and brewing music scene and he puts Chapin at the heart of it.
Some excerpts from Gallanter article:
“At a Rutgers U jazz concert...There was this one goateed cat with a cap who absolutely soared during his brief moment and blew all the others away! [We] were stunned by this guy, knowing that he was special, very special! “Omigosh! Who the hell is that guy???" Several shows later, each with amazing moments from the stylish 'Mr. Goatee,' we found out who he was. His name was Thomas Chapin."
“To me, Thomas' trio was perhaps the finest jazz unit to emerge from the Downtown Scene... Although small in size, they captured the essence and magic of all that modern jazz, whether large or small ensembles, has to offer: soaring, swinging, ultra-tight, always intense and filled with fire. Thomas' music and the trio's playing embodied what was great about the history of jazz."
Praise for Thomas Chapin
“Thomas Chapin, one of the more exuberant saxophonists and band leaders, died of complications due to leukemia on Friday...Mr. Chapin was one of jazz's more extraordinary musicians." —Peter Watrous, The New York Times, 1998
“He will be remembered for the ages as one whose focus and spirit changed the nature of the music and the musicians around him." —Larry Blumenfeld, Jazziz, 1998
“Even when death seemed inevitable, friends say the universally well-liked, philosophical musician somehow kept up his spirits." —Owen McNally, The Hartford Courant, 1999
Happy Birthday, Thomas from all of us who knew you and love you—and miss you!
Just up on the thomaschapin.com website is an important, new article:
“Thomas Chapin and Me, A History and Remembrance" by Bruce Lee Gallanter, NYC downtown music scene insider and unofficial historian/archivist and owner of the Downtown Music Gallery.
Here's the real story from New York City's downtown music insider, Bruce Lee Gallanter, of Thomas Chapin's evolution in the downtown scene that revolved around the (original) Knitting Factory, a club that defined new music and all the fine players for decades in the 80s and 90s. At the very beginning, Gallanter points everyone to Thomas Chapin and the young alto player makes a big splash that catches the attention of the big cats on the scene. Gallanter, who, with owner Manny Maris, ran the famous out record store “Lunch for Your Ears," and who later became owner of “Downtown Music Gallery," knew every inch of the incredibly hotbed and brewing music scene and he puts Chapin at the heart of it.
Some excerpts from Gallanter article:
“At a Rutgers U jazz concert...There was this one goateed cat with a cap who absolutely soared during his brief moment and blew all the others away! [We] were stunned by this guy, knowing that he was special, very special! “Omigosh! Who the hell is that guy???" Several shows later, each with amazing moments from the stylish 'Mr. Goatee,' we found out who he was. His name was Thomas Chapin."
“To me, Thomas' trio was perhaps the finest jazz unit to emerge from the Downtown Scene... Although small in size, they captured the essence and magic of all that modern jazz, whether large or small ensembles, has to offer: soaring, swinging, ultra-tight, always intense and filled with fire. Thomas' music and the trio's playing embodied what was great about the history of jazz."
Praise for Thomas Chapin
“Thomas Chapin, one of the more exuberant saxophonists and band leaders, died of complications due to leukemia on Friday...Mr. Chapin was one of jazz's more extraordinary musicians." —Peter Watrous, The New York Times, 1998
“He will be remembered for the ages as one whose focus and spirit changed the nature of the music and the musicians around him." —Larry Blumenfeld, Jazziz, 1998
“Even when death seemed inevitable, friends say the universally well-liked, philosophical musician somehow kept up his spirits." —Owen McNally, The Hartford Courant, 1999
