Ron Anthony video blog with some guitar tips and tricks for beginner, intermediate and advanced players. Ron speaks to Robert, a 20 year old college student, about his experiences trying to learn to play the guitar. Ron also plays “Someone to Light Up My Life” by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

We’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving, 2008, and while we have many things to be grateful for, we also are concerned about the turmoil and suffering going on all over the world. Amidst all that, I’ve been trying to write a book of stories about the experiences I’ve had with a number of people in the world of entertainment. The people involved are mostly musicians, singers, actors, and comedians whom I’ve encountered in my more than fifty years in this wonderfully insane business. My friends, family and peers have been encouraging me to put these stories down, while these recollections are still clear in my mind. I will probably need permission from those who are still among us (many are passed on), but most of the comments are complimentary, funny, romantic and sometimes enlightening. Just to stir your interest, I’ll mention a few of the artist whom I’ll be writing about. Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Bob Hope, Charlton Heston, Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen, Betty Comden, Frank Sinatra, (Sr.and Jr.) Bill Evans, Nelson Riddle, and Antonio Calos Jobim. I will be doing more blogs on the book and keep you appraised of it’s progress. At this time I do not have a title.

Los Angeles is not only “The City Of The Angels”, but inhabits many of the world’s greatest Jazz Musicians. Some who’ve come from far away places and cultures, and decided LA was the place where they could achieve their goals, and enjoy the comforts of the beautiful weather and the good life that goes along with it. Not as expensive as New York City, (certainly not cheap) but many opportunities for those equipped with the talent and the perseverance to withstand the competition and the usual highs and lows of the music industry. This historical event was conceived and put together by a team of faculty and Jazz enthusiasts at the UCLA Jazz Department headed by two of the finest musicians in the world, guitarist, Kenny Burrell (who is the head of the Dept.) and Trumpeter/Teacher, Bobby Rodriguez. I was invited to be a part of the huge photo shoot (many) along with my close friend, guitarist, Barry Zweig. We also did a remote radio interview for the Jazz station KJAZZ (88.1FM) with Bubba Jackson, which was short and sweet. I’ll try to describe what the day was like.

Barry and I arrived at the UCLA Campus around 2 PM. After greeting many of our fellow musicians and singers, we were escorted into the remote KJAZZ studio, and waited for out turn, along with Composer, Lalo Schriffen and many others. If I start naming names, I’ll end up leaving lots of people out. ( I guess I’ll have to do this in installments). Quincy Jones, vocalist, Bill Henderson, singers, Pinky Winters, Barbara Morrison and Sandy Graham, Pianist, Art Hillary, guitarist, Grant Geissman, Bassist, Jim Hughart and so many guys I haven’t seen in a lot of years.

This fantastic event was inspired by the famous photo, “A Great Day In Harlem” by the magnicent photographer, Bill Claxton, who was scheduled to shoot this one, but died shortly before the event. There was food and drink and bands playing throughout the day. Barry and I didn’t get a chance to play, as we had to leave for an engagement at the famous LA Jazz club, “Charlie O’S”. I’ve been living in Los Angeles since December, 1965. It’s been terrific traveling the world with many bands, singers and entertainers ( I’m still doing it), but I don’t think I ever felt that much love and pride in one place as I did that day. Viva “A GREAT DAY IN LA’!! (More to follow in future Blogs).

Dear Friends & Fans,

My trip to Brasil with Frank Sinatra Jr. and his orchestra was unquestionably, the best tour I’ve ever done since I started playing professionally in 1952. (Ouch!) That’s 56 years. Wow! I guess you’d like to know why.—Here goes!

The music; Frank’s band, the Brazilian musicians(our orchestras, (7), and the people we heard performing. The food, the language (Portuguese), the gorgeous people, and the musical souls that are inherent in the different flavors of this amazing country! We flew from New York to Sau Paulo, but our first performance was in Manaus. There we spent an afternoon seeing the Amazonian Rain Forests. The wild monkeys, the dolphins being fed by the people brave enough to swim with them (there were many), and the historically exotic atmosphere in that area. The cities we performed in were Salvador, Brazilia, Curitiba, Sau Paulo, Rio De Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.

I’m sure many of you have visited Brazil on the internet, which is just enough to motivate you to go. If you’re not on a group tour, or with someone who knows there way around, the hotel people will advise you of the precautions you should observe (especially in the larger cities).

Let me acknowledge some of the people we traveled and performed with on this great tour. Frank usually carries around 10 key musicians with him, including a Conductor and Concertmaster, (Terry Woodson and Brazilian Violinist, Claudio Cohen). The rest of the orchestra is booked by Contractor & Producer, Paul Malin along with the section leaders. Then there is a tech crew that sets up the stage and instruments and sound systems, ect;.That is really the tough part of the “gig”. Believe me, they are the top people in the industry and Frank is respecful and appreciative of that.Trombone, Eddie Morgan; Saxes, Mike Smith & TyroneAnthony; Bass, Drums, Piano & Guitar, Paul Rostock, Bob Chmel, Ron Feuer, Ron Anthony; Walt Johnson, Lead Trumpet. Our manager is Andrea Kauffman, our interpreters were Andrea Picou & Lourdes Johnson. Tech guys are Joe Picuri, Ron Farino and security, David Castro. The Brazilian singers with us were Gal Costa & Marina Dela Riva, both fantastic! The Producer was Raphael Reisman and his great crew. A wonderful family of new friends whom I know will some day be old friends. Contact me for any furher info at <ranthonyjazz@gmail.com>, or thru my website <ronanthonyjazz.com>. (There will be more articles about this and other trips). We also did a TV Show for “AMAURYJR” in Sau Paulo, Brazil with Marina Dela Riva and Gal Costa with Frank Sinatra Jr. ( A great interview with Amury and Frank)!

Next to playing Jazz Guitar or reading a great book, movies have played a huge part in making my life more interestingly satisfying. Tonight I saw a wonderful new French, romantic murder mystery called “Roman de Gare” from Claude Lelouch. It’s full of plot twists and suspense  that the french do so well ( of which Lelouch is one one of the grand masters). The writing, acting and direction  are impeccable,  with plenty  of  “stylistic panache”. I urge you to see it as soon as possible in a theatre, as it probably won’t be around too long. After a night of improvising Jazz, playing the guitar or teaching, good movies are my favorite way to unwind. What’s yours?

Currently I’m reading the sequel to Ken Folletts’s “Pillars of the Earth”, “World Without End”. Two terrific novels about twelth century life in England and the lives of the Monks, Royalty and peasants involved in the building of some of the great Cathedrals of the world. I can’t put this one down any easier than I could the first.  Thank you Mr. Follett and Mr. Lelouch for many enriching (my soul) hours! Cheers and Bravo!

Ron Anthony

“For people who remember beautiful moments in the past, are concerned about the future, but wisely live in the Present”

I appreciate all the good things that have made my life to date, an interesting roller coaster ride, and pray that the future will continue to fascinate and challenge what the fates have in store for me. I’m still trying to be a better Jazz Guitarist, Singer/Songwriter, Teacher and Story Teller. I am once again doing a daily Blog. I hope that they are amusing, and keep you entertained enough to keep coming back for more. I want to thank Joe Mariano (<egeniuses@gmail.com>) for inspiring my return to this wonderful format , and I will do my best to avoid disappointing you. Please stay in touch (<ranthonyjazz@gmail.com>) and let me know your feelings about my efforts.

Gratefully, Ron Anthony

Dear Subscribers and Friends,

A few weeks ago on Wednesday, December 19,  2007, I was invited to play  Solo Guitar for a Christmas party at the home of the late Sammy Cahn.  The party was hosted by Mrs. Tita Cahn,  a very gracious hostess. In attendance were a few close friends, who seemed to love the wonderful great American standards, of which Sammy was one of the great contributors. The reason for the very extreme nostalgia that happened for me was that the creation of “It’s Always four A.M.” (a song I collaborated on with Mr. Cahn) was composed in this same room some 40 years ago. I started playing my custom D’Angelico guitar as a kind of background for the party. Tita started singing some of her favorite songs along with the guitar and was, unbeknownst to me, a pretty good vocalist. (She would be the last to admit it)! Soon after a fantastic dinner by Frankie (of “Frankie’s” on Melrose in West Los Angeles) the guests started joining in and singing. What a delight to hear Tony Danza and James Darren (actor/singers) sing a duet of fantastic standards, later to be joined by the great character actor, Robert Loggia. (Tony also played very good Ukelele).  What a beautiful and fun evening it turned out to be. I could feel a strong spiritual presence of Sammy Cahn, surrounded by all the historic photographs and memorobilia in that glorius room. I can’t thank Mrs. Tita Cahn enough for letting me share in the love and friendship of this holiday celebration.It was certainly a night I’ll never forget!

Ron Anthony

    One of the reasons for increasing the range of  my new Website is to be able to perform in larger venues, widen the range of my audience, explore new media exposure and hopefully add to my gross income. I discussed the idea with my Nephew, Joey Mariano,    (<e-geniuses.com>and  thus came the creation of  this wonderful site <ronanthonyjazz.com>. This is still a work in progress, but the intention is for me to use all the aspects of my creative abilities; playing Jazz Guitar, Singing (standards and some original compositions), telling stories involving well known artists along with relatively funny life experiences (at times connected). I would love to hear from anyone who might help me to fulfill this adventure. A video presentation will be forthcoming! (Please subscribe to my site so you can share in the development of these projects. Click on the icon to the right of “Yelp”, (orange with white curved lines) if you want to be a free subscriber. “Til next time….. Ron A.

I have been attending and performing at “Spazio’s Guitar Night”, (the current venue) for about ten years. Many “world class” Jazz guitarists participate along with John Pisano, (the resident host/guitarist), one of the finest and most respected musicians, among his peers. For me, it has been a great learning experience, as well as food for my soul, every time I attend. The guitar is unquestionably one of the most difficult instruments to master. To watch these artists reach those skillful peaks with such imagination, spontaneity and taste, is a rare treat. Usually, at the end of the evening, I can’t wait to get to my studio at home to try what I’ve heard on my guitar. That is one of the many joys of being a musician and looking forward to that different chord, idea or approach from my fellow guitarists. I’m very grateful to be a part of that!

Dear Friends,

I’m looking forward to playing with two wonderful musicians tonight. Pianist, Dave Mackay,  whom I’ve known and played with for 40 years, and Bassist, Jim Hughart, a great musician who seems to get better with each performance. the music begins at 7 P.M., and around 11 P.M. we’ll be playing some kind of closing Jazz. Dave and I will talk over some song titles this afternoon, and the material will be the best standards and Jazz classics we can think of. Probably some solo Piano and Guitar pieces that highlight the two instruments. Jim will be playing his beautiful bass lines with that great pulse that he generates. There will be lots of  magic and  suprises. Maybe  a vocal or two from Dave or myself, to change the pace a little. We hope you’ll drop in to share in the fun and good vibes, along with the beautiful ambience that seems to be a part of the Spazio evenings. No cover, a 2 drink minimum, and great food add to the party atmosphere. We look forward to  meeting you and sharing some stories with you.