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08/14 Saturday
7:00 PM Remembering Charlie Banacos's Birthday 1946-2009
We will be remembering Charlie and celebrating his birthday, August 11th, yearly on the closest Saturday. This year it's August 14th.
More information about this evening is forthcoming.
Raviv Markovitz
Joseph Reid
John Schulman
Steve Lantner
and more players.
BANACOS, Jazz Guru Charlie Of Gloucester, Dec. 8, 2009, 63, passed away following a brief battle with cancer. He was a pianist, composer, author and educator, concentrating on jazz. He created over 100 courses of study for improvisation and composition. His concepts of teaching and his courses have influenced educators since the late 1950s. He is the original author of courses named "Hexatonics", "Intervallics", "Tetratonics", "Superimpositions", "Harps", "Overlaps", "Bitonal Pendulums", "Double Mambos", "Twenty-third Chords" "Tonal Paralypsis", and "Triad Pairs," among others. These and many of his other terms for his courses have become part of the basic lexicon in jazz education. The ear-training methods he devised specifically for the improvising musician are imitated in college courses and ear-training routines by many educators around the world. His exercises have been used at such institutions as Berklee College of Music, The New School, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Longy School of Music among others. At the time of his death, Mr. Banacos was in the process of consolidating many of his courses along with the assistance of his daughter, pianist Barbara Banacos. When guitarist Mike Stern showed his employer, Miles Davis, some of Banacos' ear-training exercises, Davis stated "I know that Banacos. Give me his telephone number. I'm gonna get me some lessons." Michael Brecker once said of Banacos "He's some kind of genius." His students have performed or recorded with Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Maynard Ferguson, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, David Liebman, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker and Joe Henderson, among others. His students and musical associates include Mike Stern, Danilo Perez, Wayne Krantz, Jeff Berlin, Garry Dial, Gerard D'Angelo, Vic Juris, Daryl Rhodes, Michael Brecker, Jerry Bergonzi, Marilyn Crispell, Leni Stern, Rachel Z among many others. He is survived by his wife, Margaret, two sons and daughter-in-law, Peter and Jennifer Banacos of Milton, VT, and Paul Banacos of Glucester; two daughters and son-in-law, Barbara Banacos of Lexington and Christina and Ross Ackley of Dover, MA; 3 grandchildren, George, Julia, and Emily Banacos; brother of Paul & his wife Trish Banacos of Dracut, and Marguerite & her husband George Salpas of Tyngsboro; brother-in-law of Linda & her husband William Welch of Sonoma, CA, and he leaves many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death, besides his parents, by a brother George Banacos.
Memorial donations may be made to "Cancer Research", c/o MGH Development Office, 165 Cambridge St., Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114.
Some Comments about Charlie Banacos
"...Jazz guru, Charlie Banacos."
- Downbeat Magazine
"Charlie Banacos...happens to be one of the finest jazz and harmony / theory teachers in the United States...nobody ever instilled in me the wisdom of music like Charlie did. Charlie is a pianist, but his list of clients also extended to guitar, horn, composers, and bass players - some of whom waited as long as two whole years to come under Charlie's tutelage. Yeah, he's that great."
- Jeff Berlin (poll-winning bassist)
"...take a correspondence lesson from someone like Charlie Banacos, who may be the finest music educator in the United States. There is more music sustencance in a single Banacos lesson then there is in 20 videos played back-to-back..."
- Bass Player Magazine 1994
"The turning point came when I saw the name of [renowned Boston jazz teacher] Charlie Banacos on a Jeff Berlin video. I sent him my records and explained my situation, and he wrote back saying he could help. The discipline of his lessons and the wealth of his knowledge gave me a whole new outlook. It brought the pure love and challenge of wanting to be a real player back into perspective for me."
- Joe Hubbard (professional musician)
"I was studying in Boston with Charlie Banacos, who I'm still studying with through correspondence. He's into all kinds of music...really smokin', and an amazing teacher. He's like an encyclopedia. He's got all kinds of methods of teaching different things. He's sussed out what people are doing and what's the best way of teaching."
- Mike Stern (poll-winning guitarist)
"...el profesor de piano-jazz mas prestigioso de los EEUU (United States of America), Charlie Banacos."
- Newspaper Santiago, Spain 5-29-94
"I studied with Charlie Banacos in Boston, who has a series of chromatic approach-note exercises that really help you learn the fingerboard and get up and down the neck...That came in handy for a lot of Chick [Corea's] chromatic lines."
- James Earl (Professional bassist with Stanley Clark, Freddie Hubbard, and Chick Corea)
"...Charlie Banacos...is a gifted individual. He makes you feel special because he tunes into you. He understands the essence of what things are about. He's an intuitive person and a great teacher because he's an eternal student. I can't say enough about him."
- Jerry Bergonzi (Saxophone Journal Magazine 1992)
"Charlie Banacos...widely revered jazz educator..."
- Boston Globe
"...Charlie Banacos...is the greatest American jazz teacher alive today."
- Bass Player Magazine April 1992