"Not surprisingly, Chaquico's guitar style has evolved over the years..." - Grammy

"With a fine rock lineage ands relentless work ethic to boot, guitarist Craig Chaquico is one of the great sales success stories behind Smooth Jazz. It's standard for Craig to sell six figures with each new CD...."
- Gavin

"Already one of Smooth-jazz's best-selling artists, guitarist Craig Chaquico..." -Jazziz

"Since touring the world with Jefferson Starship in the '70s and '80s, Chaquico has made a solo name for himself as one of smooth jazz's most acclaimed players of the '90s..." - Jazziz

"Chaquico is a star on Smooth Jazz radio..." - Gavin

"The keyboard and percussion accompaniment is sparse enough to allow Chaquico plenty of room to exercise his melodic judgment or his warp-speed scales, both of which he does with aplomb..."
- Billboard

"The music places a premium on lyrical melodies, active rhythms and rippling, glistening, fluid tones..."
- Los Angels Times

"Despite his having achieved a remarkable degree of technical prowess, it's the feelings that he elicits that gives his music magic..." - Washington Sunday Times/Los Angeles Times Syndicate

"Whether you liked him as a rocker in the old days or not, Chaquico is pure dynamite now..."
- Music Connection

"There is no doubting the dexterity of the solos... the pretty melodies are executed with flawless, fleet-fingered-ease..." - Washington Post

"Chaquico doesn't completely discard the rock'n'roll esthetic. It's still a part of his music..."
- Desert News/Salt Lake City

Universal Studios City Jazz

Orlando FL
October 13, 2005

The perfect way to hear Craig Chaquico is outdoors under the stars and as far away from a city as you can get. If that's not possible, no problem, because that's where he'll take you regardless of where you actually are.   City Jazz at Universal Studios doesn't exactly have a sitting around the campfire atmosphere.  After all, it is in the middle of a theme park, but it is a great place to hear live music; casual, intimate and classy.  Craig did two shows, and as he always does, he rocked the room.  He hit the stage with the opening notes of "Cafe Carnival" and immediately veered into Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" adding a few Hendrix riffs for good measure, all on acoustic guitar.  That is the essence of his performances.   He may have switched from electric to acoustic in the early 90s and brought that tone and texture into his work, but he didn't quit playing rock guitar.  He just does it with wood and steel now. 

The tone and texture are what has brought him into the smooth jazz realm, though.  After a rousing segue back into an extended Latin-flavored jam with long time collaborator Ozzy Ahlers on keyboard and Kevin Palladini on sax, he went back to the song that defined this phase of his career, "Acoustic Highway," each note pure, clear and haunting. "Dream Date" had him rockin' again and making some blistering speed lead work look totally effortless.  Introducing "Autumn Blue," he spoke of his father, who played sax, and his parents’ romance which was underscored by the classic song "As Time Goes By." "Autumn Blue" started with Kevin Palladini's emotive sax staying close to the original melody.  Then it showcased his skills across a broad range of styles as it shifted into straight-ahead jazz territory and bebop improvisation leading gracefully into "As Time Goes By," and back into the original melody.  Again, so effortlessly the audience didn't know they'd been hit by some deep, complex stuff.  They just knew it felt and that it sounded wonderful.
The next two songs and the stories that surround them have long been the heart of the Craig Chaquico concert experience.  Introducing "Return of the Eagle," he talks about eagles, their close brush with extinction and translating into music the feeling of camping in the shadow of eagles and seeing them soar.  This song and "Gathering Of The Tribes" are driven by clear acoustic harmonies that shape-shift into sizzling rock riffs.  Percussionist Marquinho Brazil and drummer Wade Olson tear it up in the background as the ceiling is covered with a moving starscape and the stage is transformed into a campfire setting, complete with an authentic looking faux-fire.   The whole experience ends with one big drum roll, and before you can catch your breath he is off the stage and working the crowd with his new take on the Starship classic "Find Your Way Back."  He ran from table to table playing to dancing and sometimes screaming groups of fans.  Then he jumped on top of a table near the front and delivered a rousing guitar tour-de-force complete with hair flying and rock star poses.  In my opinion, there is simply nobody else who plays acoustic guitar like him.  Some can play as fast, but the clarity is missing.  Some can hit the power chords but it doesn't sound this natural or effortless.  He is one of our truly original artists, and although he comes closer than most to duplicating his live sound on CD, you have to experience him in a live setting to see exactly how many boundaries he crosses.   He can take you to a lot of places in one perfect set of songs.

- Shannon Wes - smoothviews.com

 

***Guitar Hero to Guitar Healer***

San Francisco Examiner

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