Emmett Chapman
{{Short description|American jazz musician (1936–2021)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Emmett Chapman
| image = Emmett chapman 1969.jpg
| caption = Chapman in 1969
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|9|28}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|11|01|1936|9|28}}
| genre = Jazz
| occupation = Musician, songwriter, inventor, luthier
| instrument = Chapman stick, guitar
| years_active = 1969–2021
}}
Emmett Chapman (September 28, 1936 – November 1, 2021)[https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/emmett-chapman-musician-inventor-chapman-stick-dies-85/ Emmett Chapman, musician and inventor of the Chapman Stick, dies at 85] was an American jazz musician best known as the inventor of the Chapman Stick and maker of the Chapman Stick family of instruments.
Career
Chapman started his career as a guitarist, recording and performing in the late 1960s. He played with Barney Kessel and Tim Buckley before leading his own band.{{cite book|last=Underwood|first=Lee|title=Blue melody: Tim Buckley remembered|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=steqIP0oa78C&pg=PA170|accessdate=March 26, 2012|date=October 1, 2002|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9780879307189|pages=170–}}
In 1969, Chapman modified his homemade nine-string "Freedom Guitar" to accommodate his "Free Hands" tapping method. Although some guitarists had done two-handed tapping with the fingers of the right hand parallel to the strings, Chapman's method used the fingers of both hands perpendicular to the strings. This culminated in the creation of the Electric Stick, which he renamed the Chapman Stick. He founded Stick Enterprises in 1974 and has made more than 6,000 instruments. He held fourteen patents for various aspects of the Chapman Stick. During the 1970s, Chapman toured extensively to promote his music and the instrument.
He was influenced by Barney Kessel, then John McLaughlin.{{cite book|last1=Yanow|first1=Scott|title=The Great Jazz Guitarists |date = 2013 | publisher = Backbeat | location =San Francisco|isbn=978-1-61713-023-6|page=217}}
In 1985, he released a solo album, Parallel Galaxy. The song "Back Yard" was used in the 1984 version of the film Dune. An aesthetically modified Chapman Stick was used as the baliset musical instrument, described in the novel, and is performed by Patrick Stewart in the director's cut of the film.[https://www.stick.com/about/history/emmett/ About Stick Enterprises - History - Emmett Chapman]
Chapman died at his home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, on November 1, 2021, at the age of 85, after a long battle with cancer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/emmett-chapman-stick|title = Emmett Chapman, pioneering musician and inventor of the Chapman Stick, dies aged 85|date = November 3, 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.emmettchapman.net Biographical website]
- [http://www.stick.com Stick Enterprises]
- [http://archive.guitarsessions.com/Dec05/guitar_maker.asp Interview at Mel Bay Guitar Sessions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215101640/http://archive.guitarsessions.com/dec05/guitar_maker.asp |date=February 15, 2011 }}
- [http://www.chapdoc.com/ Documentary] by Dan Chapman
- [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/emmett-chapman Emmett Chapman Interview] at NAMM Oral History Collection (2011)
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Category:American jazz guitarists
Category:Chapman Stick players
Category:20th-century American guitarists