Charley Rich

Musician, Composer, Guitarist

About Me

Charley studied privately with Jazz notables Joe Monk and Harry Leahy. At Stony Brook, he focused on composition, studied with Peter Winkler and Richard Dyer-Bennet and then spent a year at Berklee College of Music. After college he played the club scene in NYC, performed for impresario Sid Bernstein, studied classical guitar with Jerry Willard and took a fascinating lesson with Ralph Towner.

Charley has played with many bands and done solo gigs such as opening up the first 20th Century Classic American Guitar Show on Long Island. He spent several years prior to this new CD performing and recording with the Long Island group, “Sun, Moon and Stars”.

My Jazz Story

I started listening to Jazz in high school and have loved it since. Initially, I was attracted to the guitar and organ trios my next door neighbor used to play all the time. They had such a great groove that you just couldn't help from tapping and bopping along with the tunes. In school I played in the Jazz band and began to love the big band sound. Later, in college I embraced the then new Fusion scene, especially the original Mahavishnu Orchestra and the first Chick Corea incarnation of Return to Forever with Bill Conners on guitar. I think I saw that group perform a half a dozen times in one year. Today, I like a lot of different Jazz styles with Miles Davis and Bill Evans in the 1960's as my favorites.