Chuck Greenberg (March 25, 1950 – September 4, 1995), born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, was an American musical artist, composer and producer. He began his musical career in the Midwest, including a backup band tour with the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

, then relocated to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1978. Though Greenberg's band Shadowfax, first formed in 1972, his success as a producer and artist was marked by his series of recordings, with Alex de Grassi and

Will Ackerman William Ackerman (born November 16, 1949) is an American guitarist and record producer who founded Windham Hill Records. Career Early years Ackerman was born in Palo Alto, California. His adoptive father was a professor of English at Stanfor ...

, beginning in 1982 on the

Windham Hill Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson (née McGilvray) in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The label was ...

label. Shadowfax won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 1988 for Best New Age Performance for ''

Folksongs for a Nuclear Village ''Folksongs for a Nuclear Village'' is the sixth studio album by new-age/jazz group Shadowfax, their first for Capitol Records. It won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 1989. "Folksong for a Nuclear Village" was a 1982 dance performa ...

''. This ground-breaking work combined

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, rock, folk, and world music elements. His work on the

lyricon The Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed. Invented by Bill Bernardi (and co-engineered by Roger Noble and with the late Lyricon performer Chuck GreenbergIngham (1998) p.184), filed for patent on ...

, the first electronic wind instrument, which he helped develop with engineer Bill Bernardi, became the signature sound of Shadowfax. In live performances, Greenberg appeared as a featured artist at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approximat ...

, Ravinia, The Greek Theater,

Wolf Trap A wolf trap (Spanish ''lobera'', Italian ''luparia'') was a chase ending in a pit with trapdoor and stakes used by beaters in hunting wolves in medieval Europe.Towards a History of the Basque Language José Ignacio Hualde, Joseba A. Lakarra, Rob ...

Red Rocks Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind th ...

, and the Universal Theater, among others. His final work was a live Shadowfax recording and full-length concert from

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a pop ...

, in 1995. He died aged 45 on

Santa Cruz Island Santa Cruz Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Santa Cruz'', Chumash: ''Limuw'') is located off the southwestern coast of Ventura, California, United States. It is the largest island in California and largest of the eight islands in the Channel Islands ...

, on September 4, 1995, after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, leaving a wife and three sons.New York Times (Sept 9, 1995)

Discography

* ''From A Blue Planet'' (1991)

With Shadowfax

(see main Shadowfax discography)

References

Sources

* Greenberg, Joy (2006) ''A Pause in the Rain'' * Larkin, Colin (1995) ''The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' * * Rusch, Bob (Mar. 1976) ''Cadence'' Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 44
Sonic Images Press Release
* Yurochko, Bob (1993) ''A Short History of Jazz''

External links

His website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenberg, Chuck American jazz flautists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists 1950 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Shadowfax (band) members 20th-century flautists