Randy Reszka's guitar jazz offers sophistication - June 8, 2008
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Randy Reszka's guitar jazz offers sophistication
Justin A. Hinkley • The Enquirer
For the Enquirer
Randy Reszka, shown here, will perform June 11 at Winston’s Pub in Marshall.
IF YOU GO
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/ENTERTAINMENT04/806050309/1044
• WHAT: "Wednesday Nites at Winstons" featuring
Randy Reszka.
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. June 11
• WHERE: Winston's Pub, inside Schuler's Restaurant, 115 S. Eagle St., Marshall MI
________________________________________
Randy Reszka's guitar jazz offers sophistication
Justin A. Hinkley • The Enquirer
For the Enquirer
Randy Reszka, shown here, will perform June 11 at Winston’s Pub in Marshall.
IF YOU GO
• WHAT: "Wednesday Nites at Winstons" featuring
Randy Reszka.
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. June 11
• WHERE: Winston's Pub, inside Schuler's Restaurant, 115 S. Eagle St., Marshall
• INFO: For more information on Randy Reszka, visit www.randyreszka.com. Winston's Pub is featuring weekly live music through the summer. For more information, call Schuler's at 781-0600 or visit www.schulersrestaurant.com.
ON THE WEB
• HINKLEY'S MUSIC BLOG
• WOW on MySpace
• Listen to Randy Reszka's "A Gentle Rain"
MARSHALL — Burned out on the folk-rock scene of 1980s Kalamazoo, Randy Reszka turned to something smoother, calmer, "more sophisticated."
He turned to jazz.
The 50-year-old Gaylord carpenter once roved Kalamazoo-area bars during his Western Michigan University days, playing in a band that did the likes of Bob Dylan and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
"I got real tired of doing that," Reszka said. "I started listening to traditional jazz and some of the masters and just fell for that."
Studying jazz for a spell at Western, Reszka's guitar-playing turned from the relatively simple harmonies of folk-rock to the complex chord structures and busy scale-noodling of traditional jazz.
"With rock and folk ... it's people trying to reproduce the song the exact same way because that's what people want to hear," Reszka explained. "Jazz really opens you up to doing your own thing. I think it offers to the listener a little more sophistication in music. There's a lot going on in jazz, with improvisation and stuff.
"Once you're hooked, it's just the kind of thing that you stick to."
After playing for Western's jazz band for a while, Reszka abandoned music as a career and became a shop teacher instead. When Gaylord High School cut his department in 2000, he went back to music.
Inspired by early jazz greats such as Kenny Burrell, Reszka crafts melodic instrumental solo guitar pieces that keep his fingers flying over multiple harmonies and complex rhythms. Despite the business of the music, its harmonies create a laid-back feeling.
"My music is pretty low-key," he explained. "It's pretty mellow, dinner-like music. Some say it's elevator music, but it's just pretty easy-going."
On his two independently-released albums, 2000's "A Fine Wine" and the 2004 Christmas album, "Snow Day," Reszka uses a guitar synthesizer to create his own backing instruments. Live, in the many wine clubs, fancy pubs, private parties and weddings he plays, it's just Reszka and his heavily-worked guitar.
"I don't even talk," he explained. "I just get up there and play."
"I go instrumental mainly because I don't sing," he added. "My wife always laughs when I sing."
Playing chiefly for the love of music, Reszka said he hopes only to strike a nostalgic chord with his listeners.
"I wanna give people a touch of what the old great guitarists from the past did," he said. "A lot of older folks come up to me and say, 'Oh, you sound like so-and-so we used to listen to. If I can spark that kind of thought into somebody's listening and they can remember, that's what I try to do.
"The ones who are not aware of that sort of thing, I still get compliments," he added. "There's so much going on with my fingers and scales, a lot of younger guitarists look at me and say, 'Oh, I wish I could do that.' Maybe it'll inspire some younger players to think about jazz."
Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 966-0698 or jhinkley@battlecr.gannett.com.
Randy Reszka's guitar jazz offers sophistication
Justin A. Hinkley • The Enquirer
For the Enquirer
Randy Reszka, shown here, will perform June 11 at Winston’s Pub in Marshall.
IF YOU GO
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/ENTERTAINMENT04/806050309/1044
• WHAT: "Wednesday Nites at Winstons" featuring
Randy Reszka.
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. June 11
• WHERE: Winston's Pub, inside Schuler's Restaurant, 115 S. Eagle St., Marshall MI
________________________________________
Randy Reszka's guitar jazz offers sophistication
Justin A. Hinkley • The Enquirer
For the Enquirer
Randy Reszka, shown here, will perform June 11 at Winston’s Pub in Marshall.
IF YOU GO
• WHAT: "Wednesday Nites at Winstons" featuring
Randy Reszka.
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. June 11
• WHERE: Winston's Pub, inside Schuler's Restaurant, 115 S. Eagle St., Marshall
• INFO: For more information on Randy Reszka, visit www.randyreszka.com. Winston's Pub is featuring weekly live music through the summer. For more information, call Schuler's at 781-0600 or visit www.schulersrestaurant.com.
ON THE WEB
• HINKLEY'S MUSIC BLOG
• WOW on MySpace
• Listen to Randy Reszka's "A Gentle Rain"
MARSHALL — Burned out on the folk-rock scene of 1980s Kalamazoo, Randy Reszka turned to something smoother, calmer, "more sophisticated."
He turned to jazz.
The 50-year-old Gaylord carpenter once roved Kalamazoo-area bars during his Western Michigan University days, playing in a band that did the likes of Bob Dylan and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
"I got real tired of doing that," Reszka said. "I started listening to traditional jazz and some of the masters and just fell for that."
Studying jazz for a spell at Western, Reszka's guitar-playing turned from the relatively simple harmonies of folk-rock to the complex chord structures and busy scale-noodling of traditional jazz.
"With rock and folk ... it's people trying to reproduce the song the exact same way because that's what people want to hear," Reszka explained. "Jazz really opens you up to doing your own thing. I think it offers to the listener a little more sophistication in music. There's a lot going on in jazz, with improvisation and stuff.
"Once you're hooked, it's just the kind of thing that you stick to."
After playing for Western's jazz band for a while, Reszka abandoned music as a career and became a shop teacher instead. When Gaylord High School cut his department in 2000, he went back to music.
Inspired by early jazz greats such as Kenny Burrell, Reszka crafts melodic instrumental solo guitar pieces that keep his fingers flying over multiple harmonies and complex rhythms. Despite the business of the music, its harmonies create a laid-back feeling.
"My music is pretty low-key," he explained. "It's pretty mellow, dinner-like music. Some say it's elevator music, but it's just pretty easy-going."
On his two independently-released albums, 2000's "A Fine Wine" and the 2004 Christmas album, "Snow Day," Reszka uses a guitar synthesizer to create his own backing instruments. Live, in the many wine clubs, fancy pubs, private parties and weddings he plays, it's just Reszka and his heavily-worked guitar.
"I don't even talk," he explained. "I just get up there and play."
"I go instrumental mainly because I don't sing," he added. "My wife always laughs when I sing."
Playing chiefly for the love of music, Reszka said he hopes only to strike a nostalgic chord with his listeners.
"I wanna give people a touch of what the old great guitarists from the past did," he said. "A lot of older folks come up to me and say, 'Oh, you sound like so-and-so we used to listen to. If I can spark that kind of thought into somebody's listening and they can remember, that's what I try to do.
"The ones who are not aware of that sort of thing, I still get compliments," he added. "There's so much going on with my fingers and scales, a lot of younger guitarists look at me and say, 'Oh, I wish I could do that.' Maybe it'll inspire some younger players to think about jazz."
Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 966-0698 or jhinkley@battlecr.gannett.com.
