Standard Roots Greg Chako

• 1 Just Friends 04:44
• 2 I'll Be Around 04:52
• 3 Out Of Nowhere 04:32
• 4 I Should Care 05:11
• 5 It Might As Well Be Spring 07:23
• 6 Ill Wind 05:01
• 7 O Grande Amor 05:17
• 8 Cedar's Blues 04:59
• 9 Triste 06:06
• 10 Solar 04:50
• 11 Star Eyes 08:08
• 12 It Could Happen To You 05:19
• 13 That's All 07:12
• 14 Beatrice (Bonus Track) 04:26
• 15 I'm Old Fashioned (Bonus Track) 06:22
• 16 Triste (Alt. Bonus Track) 05:55
• 17 Just Friends (Alt. Bonus Track) 07:35
• Total Runtime 01:37:52

Info for Standard Roots

Guitarist Greg Chako’s 17th album, Standard Roots, contains over 72 minutes of music, with additional ‘bonus tracks’ on the digital version of the album.

Standard Roots represents a return to what Greg Chako calls his “roots,” because it features the trio format of guitar, bass, and drums that he began his professional playing career with over 30 years ago.

Standards are the feature here, but Greg alternates the time feels of each track between Swing, Latin, and Ballad. Typical swingers like Just Friends, and bossa-novas like Jobim’s Triste are interpreted as expected, where as a couple old standbys like Out of Nowhere and It Might as Well Be Spring are given a fresh, upbeat Latin treatment. Besides the songs typically considered as being from The Great American Songbook, there is a blues: Cedar Walton’s “Cedar’s Blues,” and two modern jazz compositions: “Solar” by Chuck Wayne, and “Beatrice” by Sam Rivers (one of the bonus tracks). Other stand-outs not heard so often are Alec Wilders’ “I’ll be Around” and Arlens’ “Ill Wind.”

In a pro career spanning 40 years and five countries, Cincinnati-born jazz guitarist Greg Chako has released 16 albums and been the subject of a documentary called, “An American Cat in the Lion City,” which is based on his prolific recording and performance career in the Far East where he evolved into a masterful, expressive composer with rich story telling abilities. His varied arrangements and over 70 recorded original compositions merge Mainstream, Hard Bop, Latin & World music. His music has spent time on the Jazzweek, CMJ and RMR Jazz Charts, including multiple Top Ten spots, and has consistently received critical acclaim from the Jazz community.

In 2022, he signed with Mint 400 Records and Raining Music, which has set him on track to exceed his recording success in Asia. He released a brand new album featuring primarily Cincinnati-based musicians, Friends, Old and New in late 2022, and his album released in May 2023, A Place for Bass, has gained glowing reviews from Dave Stryker, Rufus Reid, Peter Bernstein, John Clayton, and many others. Yokohama Live! came out Sept. ’23 and Xmas Time - Live in Izu Nagaoka released Dec. 1st ’23. Greg's newest album is titled Life After 40, which releases January 5th, 2024, and will be Chako’s 16th album.

Greg Chako

Greg Chako
In a pro career spanning 40 years and five countries, Cincinnati-born jazz guitarist Greg Chako has released ten albums and been the subject of a documentary called, “An American Cat in the Lion City.” His most prolific period to-date as a recording and performance artist occurred while he lived in the Far East for 17 years, where he evolved into a masterful, expressive composer with rich story telling abilities. His varied arrangements and 50+ recorded original compositions merge Mainstream, Hard Bop, Latin & World instrumental music.

American Jazz guitarist Greg Chako was a major force in the Singapore jazz scene around the turn of the 21st Century. He led the ‘House' Trio at Raffles' Bar & Billiard Room from 1995-2002.. He released four albums during that time: Live at Raffles, Sudden Impact, Integration & Integration II. He performed throughout the region. Notable shows included: Jazz in the Park, Chi-Jazz and Just Jazz Festivals, and the 2002 Heineken Jazz Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

After relocating to Japan in 2003, he visited Singapore frequently, recording three more albums at Lion Studios engineered by the late John Herbert. Those albums featured a wide variety of players from Singapore and were titled: Paint a Picture, Tell a Story, Where We Find Ourselves, and Everybody’s Got a Name. It’s clear that Chako’s professional career got it’s start in Singapore, and his return to the island after 20 years will be long awaited and much anticipated.

Three of the musicians participating on his records will be joining Greg for what could well be his final live performance in Singapore. They are: Christy Smith on bass, Mei Shuem on piano, and Greg Lyons on sax. Playing drums for this feature performance is a young titan of the modern Singapore scene, Ben Low.

The group will be playing songs from Greg's recorded works, including tracks from his newest 11th album, Friends, Old & New.

He can de-mystify complex musical concepts and facilitate students’ mastery of all the skills and knowledge necessary for them to develop their own personal “voice,” the ultimate goal of any artist or craftsman. He strives to teach you how to fish rather than merely feeding you a fish. As more than just one of his private students have said: “Greg has immense knowledge and knows how to simplify complex ideas into an easy-to understand language. His teaching style is down-to-earth.”

He has invested significant time into developing interpersonal relationships that are based on mutual respect, with awareness, sensitivity and tolerance for our differences. He has a “teacher’s heart,” that is, an innate ability to build rapport with students and lead them towards their highest potential. And importantly, he’s cognizant and grateful for the "two-way street" of communication which should exist between any student and teacher, as each collaborate on the learning process together. Nothing is more gratifying to him than to witness his students find their passion and exceed their initial expectations.

His formal education includes outstanding Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) work at The Eastman School of Music, a Masters of Music (M.M.), and a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) with an interdisciplinary focus on the Music Business and Performance.

This album contains no booklet.