|
||||
g-tar tunes by j.m. dobbs Cafe Alcazar, located in St. Augustine's Lightner Museum, occupies what was once the deep end of the world's largest indoor swimming pool. Five days a week (Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 3 pm) Richard Kuncicky (pronounced "Kun-sis-key") can be heard playing his unique brand of "fingerstyle" guitar, a blend of pop, jazz, classical, Celtic, swing and folk. His latest CD, "Live at the Cafe Alcazar," recorded in November during a typical afternoon session at the cafe, is an idealized snapshot of all the many things Kuncicky can do with his electric classical guitar. From the dreamy beauty of the opening number, the Disney standard "When You Wish Upon a Star," to his ragtime improvisations on Fats WaIler's "Ain't Misbehavin'," the guitarist brings a fresh approach to oft-heard classics. His kinetic take on the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" incorporates Brubeckesque jazz-waltz time signatures - along with embellishments on the basic melody - to create a dazzling soundscape. Elsewhere on the disc, Kuncicky breathes new life into traditional pieces like "Plains of Waterloo" as well as the warhorse "We Gather Together" and the obligatory Irish tear-jerker "Danny Boy" (a.k.a. "Londonderry Air"). Born in Tallahassee and a St. Augustine resident since the late '70s, Kuncicky has spent a lifetime refining his technique. Born in 1952, the self-taught musician picked up the guitar at age 9. "I learned how to play the guitar by going through Beatles songbooks," says Kuncicky. "To this day I still rely on skills I developed during that period, though I find it amusing [that] none of the: Beatles could ever read music." Performing a mix of public and private functions, including one during a visit by the King and Queen of Spain last April, music remains at the center of Kuncicky's life. "On a good day it is my Dharma," he says. "On a bad day, it's still a pretty good job."
J.M.Dobbs / Folioweekly
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This CD, recorded in November 2001 at the Cafe Alcazar in the Lightner Museum, contains a variety of popular, jazz, Celtic, and original songs performed on solo electric classical guitar. Highlights include Kuncicky's versions of "Norwegian Wood", "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Plains of Waterloo", and an original piece entitled "The King's Visit". Kuncicky pens his own arrangements, preferring to make each song his own and performs it in his own inimitable style, derived from jazz, classical, swing and folk influences. This is Kuncicky's third solo guitar release. Kuncicky has been a performer in the St. Augustine area for the last 20 years.
St. Augustine Record Special
|
|
Recorded November 1st, 2001 on electric classical guitar. Includes When You Wish Upon A Star, Ain't Misbehavin', Dreamgift, Lullaby Of Birdland, Norwegian Wood, What A Wonderful World, Plains Of Waterloo, Londonderry Air (Danny Boy), We Gather Together and 3 originals... The King's Visit, Playground and Cafe Blues.
Available on CD -
RK-103, ® & © 2001 Kuncicky.
Use your charge card to ORDER ONLINE with PayPal
Audio samples are 30 second 40K bps mono mp3's.
Richard Kuncicky: I'm a self taught guitarist, an old rock 'n' roller, born in 1952. I started guitar at the age of nine, about the same time that Elvis starting to fade and the Beatles started storming America. It wasn't until the late 1970's that I began learning the art of fingerpicking, what I call "fingerstyle guitar", and I've stuck with it ever since. Prior to working at the Cafe Alcazar, I was at the Milltop Tavern for about 15 years using the stage name of Richard Kyson. Cafe Alcazar: Located at 25 Granada Street, in Old St. Augustine, Florida, the Cafe Alcazar occupies the deep end of the Casino swimming pool (drained, of course) in the former Alcazar Hotel built in 1889 by Henry Flagler. The swimming pool is now part of the Lightner Museum. Since the summer of 1998 the lovely ladies of the Cafe Alcazar and the staff at the Lightner Museum have let me provide music and set up shop selling CDs... for this I am extremely grateful. I have never played a finer venue. Recording: This CD was recorded using a La Patrie "Etude" classical guitar equipped with a Fishman under the saddle transducer played through a Prime CA-30RC Acoustic guitar amplifier. A Sony ECM-717 stereo microphone was placed a few inches from the amplifier and the signal was recorded onto a DAT recorder. Some editing, equalization and a lot noise reduction was done to try to reduce the background noise level and clanging dishes. Credits: Special thanks to Lorie and the Cafe Alcazar crew, the Lightner Museum, and all the Antique Mall shop keepers... they have had to listen to the same old songs day after day. A very special thanks to Bob Patterson for snapping the cover portrait.
© 1999-2002 Kuncicky.
All text, graphics & code are the sole properties of Richard Kuncicky,
Musicby.com
and/or the clients which they
represent. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
|
||