Night Lights Classic Jazz Radio Program and Jazz Blog with David Brent Johnson

Night Lights is a weekly one-hour radio program of classic jazz hosted by David Brent Johnson and produced by WFIU Public Radio. Night Lights airs on WFIU HD1 Saturday at 11:05 p.m.

March 31, 2007

Emily Remler: a Musical Remembrance

By David Brent Johnson

EmilyRemler Emily Remler was a rising-star jazz guitarist in the 1980s whose style, influenced by Wes Montgomery, fused hard swing and lyricism with Brazilian and other forms of music, making her one of the most compelling newcomers around. Remler did not let the notoriously sexist barriers of the jazz world deter her from her passion for playing music, and early on she landed a contract with Concord Records. Her ultimate obstacle, however, proved to be fatal: an addiction to heroin. Remler died in Australia on May 4, 1990 at the age of 32. In this program we’ll hear music from her albums East to West, Take Two, and This Is Me, as well as collaborations with Larry Coryell, Ray Brown, and Susannah McCorkle. We also talk with drummer and Remler friend Robert Jospe, who knew and worked with Remler in the mid-1980s while she was staying in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Watch Emily Remler play “Moanin’”:

One of Remler’s last performances--”How Insensitive” in Australia:

A solo performance of “Afro Blue”:

Photo: Ed Deasy

Previous Post: Here Comes the Sun: Nina Simone on RCA
Next Post: Jazz, Spiritually Speaking

Tags

Emily Remler

jazz guitar

women

Duncan

I took a so-called "master class" with her in the late 80s, when I was about 15. I put quotes around it because a lot of the people in the class, me included, were a long way from mastery. She was pretty patient with us ;). She was really impressive, and she inspired me to work harder (and taught me some slick stuff as well). Hard to believe she was almost 10 years younger then than I am now- she had a commanding presence when the guitar was in her hands.

I hadn't realized that heroin was involved in her death- I always thought it was just one of those freak things. I remember seeing a quote from her about being, in reality, a heavyset black man, a la Wes. I wonder if the mystique she had around jazzmen of the past led her that way. Anyway, people of her calibre don't come along that often. Such a shame that she died so young.