Chuck Loeb

Charles Samuel "Chuck" Loeb (December 7, 1955 – July 31, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist and a member of the groups Steps Ahead, Metro and Fourplay.

Chuck Loeb
Chuck Loeb
Background information
Birth name	Charles Samuel Loeb
Born	(1955-12-07)December 7, 1955 Nyack, New York, U.S.
Died	July 31, 2017(2017-07-31) (aged 61) Hastings on Hudson, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, jazz fusion, smooth jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer, record producer, arranger
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1970s–2017
Labels	Pony Canyon, DMP, Shanachie, Heads Up
Formerly of	Steps Ahead Metro Fourplay

Early years and education

Loeb was born in Nyack, New York, near New York City. At a young age, he listened to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. According to a 2005 JazzTimes article, the first song he learned on guitar was Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", which he would later play at a guest appearance with Dylan. He discovered jazz when he was sixteen through the music of guitarists Wes Montgomery, George Benson, John McLaughlin, and Pat Martino. At that point, Loeb chose to become a musician and "never thought of doing anything else".

He studied with local music teachers, then traveled to Philadelphia and became a student of jazz guitarist Dennis Sandole. In New York City, he learned from Jim Hall. For two years he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, then left in 1976 to seek professional work in New York City.

Groups

In New York, Loeb played with Chico Hamilton, Ray Barreto, and Hubert Laws. Starting in 1979, he was a member of Stan Getz's group. Getz later became the best man at his wedding to singer Carmen Cuesta. Loeb and Mitchel Forman, who was also in Getz's group, formed the jazz fusion band Metro (1994). In the 1980s, he was a member of the group Steps Ahead, which included Michael Brecker, someone Loeb credits as an influence. He replaced Larry Carlton as guitarist in Fourplay (2010).

Loeb and his wife recorded together, with Cuesta providing vocals on his albums and Loeb playing on Cuesta's albums, and their daughters Lizzy and Christina contributing vocals.

Solo career

Loeb began a solo career in 1988 with his debut album My Shining Hour on the Japanese record label Pony Canyon. He released subsequent albums on DMP Digital Music Products among them Life Colors (1990). Loeb ultimately achieved commercial success with Shanachie Records on The Music Inside (1996). The title song from the album held the number one position on the jazz charts for six weeks. Later, he produced Moon, the Stars, & the Setting Sun (1998), Listen (1999) In a Heartbeat (2001), and All There Is (2002).

Loeb's music has appeared on TV shows, commercials, and movie soundtracks, including The Untouchables, You've Got Mail, and Hitch.

His composition Logic of Love was nominated for a Grammy in 2015.

Death

Loeb died of cancer on July 31, 2017, at the age of 61.

Discography

Studio albums

#	year	title	label	notes
1	1989	My Shining Hour	Pony Canyon, Jazz City	with John Patitucci, Dave Weckl
2	1990	Magic Fingers	DMP	with Andy LaVerne
3	1990	Life Colors	DMP
4	1991	Balance	DMP
5	1993	Mediterranean	DMP
6	1994	Simple Things	DMP
7	1996	The Music Inside	Shanachie
8	1998	The Moon, the Stars and the Setting Sun	Shanachie
9	1999	Listen	Shanachie
10	2001	In a Heartbeat	Shanachie
11	2002	All There Is	Shanachie
12	2003	eBop	Shanachie
13	2005	When I'm With You	Shanachie
14	2007	Presence	Heads Up
15	2009	Between 2 Worlds	Heads Up
16	2011	Plain 'n' Simple	Tweety	with Pat Bianchi, Harvey Mason
17	2013	Silhouette	Shanachie
18	2014	Jazz Funk Soul	Shanachie	with Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp
19	2015	Bridges	Shanachie	with Eric Marienthal
20	2016	More Serious Business	Shanachie	with Jeff Lorber, Everette Harp
21	2016	Unspoken	Shanachie

With Metro

#	year	title	label	notes
1	1994	Metro	Lipstick
2	1995	Tree People	Lipstick
3	2000	Metrocafe	Hip Bop/Koch
4	2002	Grapevine	Hip Bop/Koch
5	2004	Live At The A-Trane	Marsis Jazz
6	2007	Express	Marsis Jazz
7	2015	Big Band Boom	Jazzline	with WDR Big Band Cologne

With the Fantasy Band

#	year	title	label	notes
1	1993	The Fantasy Band	DMP	with George Jinda, Dave Samuels
2	1994	Sweet Dreams	DMP	with George Jinda, Dave Samuels
3	1997	The Kiss	Shanachie

With Fourplay

#	year	title	label	notes
1	2010	Let´s touch the sky	Heads up	with Bob James, Nathan East, Harvey Mason
2	2012	Esprit de Four	Heads up
3	2015	Silver	Heads up

Compilations

year	title	label	notes
2004	Jazz for Couch Potatoes!	Shanachie	by The Couch Potato All-Stars (Chuck Loeb with David Mann, Eric Alexander, Randy Brecker, Dave Samuels, Mike Ricchiuti, David Finck, Ron Jenkins, Mike Pope, Brian Dunne, David Charles)
2007	The Love Song Collection	Shanachie	compilation
2009	No. 1 Smooth Jazz Radio Hits	Shanachie	compilation

Live albums

year	title	label	notes
2003	Live 1994	AA (Japan)	with Adam Holzman, Paul Wertico

With Stan Getz

• Billy Highstreet Samba (EmArcy, 1981 [rel. 1990])

External links

• Official website
• Chuck Loeb discography at Discogs
• Chuck Loeb at IMDb