Emmett Chapman (September 28, 1936 – November 1, 2021) was an American

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 ...

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 Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

and

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...

before leading his own band. 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 John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...

. In 1985, he released a solo album, ''

Parallel Galaxy ''Parallel Galaxy'' is the first solo album by American musician Emmett Chapman, released in 1985 on Backyard Records. The album is also one of the earliest to feature the Chapman Stick, a stringed instrument developed by Chapman. (Alphonso Johns ...

''. The song "Back Yard" was used in the 1984 version of the film ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

''. 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. Chapman died at his home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, on November 1, 2021, at the age of 85, after a long battle with cancer.

References

External links

Biographical website

Stick Enterprises

Interview at Mel Bay Guitar Sessions

Documentary
by Dan Chapman
Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Emmett 1936 births 2021 deaths American jazz guitarists Chapman Stick players 20th-century American guitarists People from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles