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Lionel Victor Chamberland (13 September 1940 – 24 June 1987) was an American
jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines that is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist (rhythm guitar) and soloist in small and large ens ...
born and based in Norwalk, Connecticut. After playing with The Orchids in the 1960s, he stopped touring, became a private teacher, and performed regionally.


Career

Beginning around 1962, Chamberland was the leader of an R&B band called The Orchids. Bad experiences discouraged him from touring again. In 1971 he joined the band Sawbuck. The band's members included
Frank Vicari Frank Vicari (April 11, 1931 – October 20, 2006) was a jazz saxophonist. Career After serving in the Air Force from 1951–55, where he played in service bands, Vicari returned to New York City and played in bands until he joined Maynard Fergus ...
(who replaced
Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...
),
Pee Wee Ellis Alfred James Rogers (April 21, 1941 – September 23, 2021), known as Pee Wee Ellis due to his diminutive stature, was an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. With a background in jazz, he was a member of James Brown's band in the 19 ...
,
John Gatchell John E. Gatchell (November 27, 1945 – July 9, 2004) was an American jazz trumpeter who was prolific in New York City recording studios from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. After serving in the U.S. Navy in the late 1960s, Gatchell became one of ...
, John Eckert, Schuyler "Sky" I. Ford, Chris Qualles, and Jimmy Strassburg. A year later the band was renamed Gotham and recorded an album for
Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
. Chamberland died from
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
at age 46 on June 24, 1987, in New York City.


Guitars

Chamberland played a 1953
Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...
. In his search to get exactly the sound he wanted from the guitar, Chamberland modified it. From the top down, the guitar had Grover heads, a 1957
Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporati ...
neck The neck is the part of the body in many vertebrates that connects the head to the torso. It supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that transmit sensory and motor information between the brain and the rest of the body. Addition ...
, Humbucker pick-ups, and a
Gibson Gibson, Gibson's or Gibsons may refer to: Business * Gibson Appliance, a former American refrigerator manufacturer * Gibson (guitar company), an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Greetings, ...
bridge and tailpiece. The bottom portion of the
body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anim ...
was milled out to fit these last two things. Chamberland also modified the internal wiring. He had his bridge set abnormally high, raising the strings far off the
fingerboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The stri ...
. This gave him his very distinctive clean tone, an example of which can be heard in his playing on "The Cat's Meow" (1965, The Orchids). The raised bridge required additional finger strength, particularly on high notes. In its original version, the Telecaster had the stock Fender bridge and
tailpiece A tailpiece is a component on many stringed musical instruments that anchors one end of the strings, usually opposite the end with the tuning mechanism (the scroll, headstock, peghead, etc.). Function and construction The tailpiece anchors t ...
. In order to get the height on the strings that he wanted, Chamberland stuck popsicle sticks under the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
to raise it higher. According to
Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American businessman, record executive, television producer, theater producer, film producer, investor, and serial entrepreneur. Mottola is the chairman of Mottola Media Group, co-founder of Nter ...
, other guitarists couldn't play Chamberland's Telecaster because of the way he modified it. He replaced the E-string, the bottom one, with a banjo A-string that he bent almost to the top of his Telecaster. Mottola said there was no way to bend a guitar string like that because of the tautness. But the banjo string was so thin that it allowed Chamberland to create his R&B style. Mottola said, "Nobody, nobody, nobody had a sound like Linc's." The Telecaster became the property of Bob Maclauglin, one of Chamberland's students. In 1975 Chamberland purchased a 1960s
Gibson L-5 The Gibson L-5 is a hollow body guitar first produced in 1923 by the Gibson Guitar Corporation, then of Kalamazoo, Michigan. One of the first guitars to feature F-holes, the L-5 was designed under the direction of acoustical engineer and desi ...
from Arthur Betker and recorded two jazz albums for
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
. The L-5 became the property of guitarist Paul Sullivan, one of his students during the 1970s.


Praise

Tommy Mottola, who in 1990 became the Chairman and CEO of
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
, called Chamberland "one of the greatest guitarist of all time." In his 2013 book, ''Hit Maker,'' Mottola said, "You won't find any mention of Linc when ''Rolling Stone'' magazine does a cover story listing their top hundred guitarists. Take it from me. In 1966, you never heard anything like Linc."
Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being " At This Moment", a US number 1 ...
, in his 2017 autobiography, referred to Chamberland as "the Telecaster genius."


Discography


As leader

* ''A Place Within'' (Muse, 1977) * ''Yet to Come'' with
David Friesen David Friesen (born May 6, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. He plays double bass and electric upright bass. Career Friesen began playing bass while serving in the United States Army in Germany. He played with John Handy and Marian McPartl ...
(Muse, 1983)


As sideman

*
Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a ...
, ''Light'n Up, Please'' (A&M/Horizon, 1977) * The Orchids, ''Twisting at the Round Table with the Orchids'' (Roulette, 1962) * The Rascals, ''Peaceful World'' (Columbia, 1971) *
Ernie Wilkins Ernest Brooks Wilkins Jr. (July 20, 1922 – June 5, 1999) was an American jazz saxophonist, conductor and arranger who spent several years with Count Basie. He also wrote for Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Dizzy Gillespie. He was musical direct ...
, ''Hard Mother Blues'' (Mainstream, 1970)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberland, Linc American male jazz composers American jazz educators American jazz guitarists Swing guitarists 1940 births 1987 deaths Jazz musicians from New York (state) Musicians from Norwalk, Connecticut 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Connecticut Guitarists from New York City Deaths from leukemia in New York (state) American male guitarists Educators from New York City Jazz musicians from Connecticut 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American jazz composers