Chieli Florez

Alan Scott
A1 final project
01/30/16

Chieli Minucci
I was named after the composer Chieli Minucci. He is part of a family line that is into
music and composing. 1* Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated guitarist Chieli Minucci said,
Every day I am grateful for the gift of creative energy. He has 21 CDs released. On top of that
he has collaborated with a numerous amount of people including Celine Dion, Lionel Richie,
and Jennifer Lopez. These are just a few of the many people he has composed and played for. He
hopes that others can feel the same emotion listening to his music, as he does writing it. He
wants his music to relate to the people listening and hopes they can take something from it. After
reading interviews and bibliographies about him, he truly inspires me to be creative and really
embrace the emotion of any music.
His early life started in Huntington, New York. He was born on April 17, 1958. He is of
Italian descent. Chieli is the son of Catherin, and Ulpio Minucci. As well as having a sister by the
name of Nina. His father introduced the piano to him and also pushed him to compose at age 6.
Chieli watched his dad composed day after day. 1* He said that he feels the influence of his
father will always be with him. During his teens he taught himself how to play the guitar which
had always been a dream of his. At age 13 Chieli formed a group by the name of Taurus. A year
later he performed with his friends on a cruise ship. He enjoyed composing with friends, meeting
girls, and being independent. He fell in love with the music business from there on out.
At age 23 he was performing at nightclubs in New York. He was being paid $50 a night.
As well as playing in clubs he played in a duo called Gumbo. He went to Ithaca College in
upstate New York to study. While in college he was introduced to Jazz. He was lucky to receive
valuable training from the BB & Q Band which is a NYC-based R&B group. Percussionist
George Jinda and Chieli formed Special EFX after meeting in 1983. It's been over three decades
since their group started and they are still playing. Their group travels to many places across the
US and the world including Asia. Currently he has his own studio in Manhattan.
Like I said in my introduction he has 21 CDs released that he has both composed and
produced for. Many solo CDs have been released as well. He has composed for many talented
well know singers, and TV/ movie tracks. Many of his collaborations are between 1998-2000. He
composed and produced tracks for Thomas and Friends live, and Dora the Explorer live. Having
the privilege to play the guitar in songs for Jessica Simpson, Marc Anthony and The Backstreet
Boys. The opportunity to compose music for Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America
and American Idol came his way. He has composed for many more people and television shows.

Honored, he has ten Emmy Award Nominations. He won the three Daytime Emmys in 1998,
2007 and 2008. A record breaking 33 weeks is what his song My girl Sunday charted for. Having
really made a name for himself and been very involved and devoted to his music.
Without you was released in 2010. When he composed Without you he tried writing an
essay about it. 4* He states that the music was flowing better than he could with the pen. He
could put down his thoughts in the words like he could with the music. He was trying to tell a
story about how a musician that is under the radar such as himself compared to a pop star. How
both can create such a wonderful career while creating the same kind of instrumental music.
He mainly plays jazz music. He has enjoyment in playing his guitar. The pieces he
usually composes are instrumental. He is still living in New York City. He has a son named
Gianluca Minucci who is in his twenties and is a famous guitarist as well. Their family has three
generations who play instruments and compose. 7* He has said how blessed and fortunate he is
for his career and opportunities. This was about as much as I could find out about his personal
life. Much of his personal life isn't shared with the public.
1 *Chieli says his career has come about from following his heart, and going where the
music takes him not worrying about boundaries. One of his many inspirations are the Beatles for
their approach on record production and songwriting. Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Duke
Ellington he credits as arrangement influences. Lastly Peter Gabriel, Pat Metheny and John
McLaughlin influenced chieli with their ability to add a combination of culture to their producing
and writing.
Chieli is a well-known composer and producer. He works hard and consistently while
staying busy with his music. Continuing to be successful, he always goes where the music take
him and it has gotten him very far in his career. His career still continues to goes places and
expand. Although he has potential to expand his solo career he rather continues performing with
his special EFX group. Connecting his musical pieces to his life experiences and the emotions he
is feeling, his hope is that others can understand the emotion behind his music and take
something from it. Over all I feel that Chieli is a very inspiring person.

Bibliography

1.
2.
3.
4.

http://chielimusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Biography-2013.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulpio_Minucci
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chieli_Minucci
http://www.jazzmonthly.com/jazz_interviews/jazz_artists/h_p/chieli_minucci/chieli_minuc
ci.html
5. http://chielimusic.com/cds-dvds/other-cd-projects/
6. http://chielimusic.com/media/listening-room/
7. http://www.jacquespetrus.com/minucci.htm