Emily Remler

• Name — Emily Remler • Born — 18 September 1957 • Birthplace — Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S. • Died — 4 May 1990 • Place of death — Sydney, Australia • Instrument — Guitar • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Musician • Years Active — 1976–1990 • Label — Concord Jazz

Born in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Remler began playing guitar at age ten. She listened to pop and rock guitarists like Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Winter. At the Berklee College of Music in the 1970s, she listened to jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Herb Ellis, Pat Martino, and Joe Pass. Her primary source of inspiration was Wes Montgomery, as said by her former boyfriend at the time guitarist Steve Masakowski, “She spent a lot of time trying to develop the thumb technique, and playing octaves.”

Remler settled in New Orleans, where she played in blues and jazz clubs, working with bands such as Four Play and Little Queenie and the Percolators before beginning her recording career in 1981. She was praised by jazz guitarist Herb Ellis, who referred to her as "the new superstar of guitar" and introduced her at the Concord Jazz Festival in 1978. In a 1982 interview with People magazine, she said: "I may look like a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey, but inside I'm a 50-year-old, heavy-set black man with a big thumb, like Wes Montgomery." Her first album as a band leader, Firefly, gained positive reviews, as did Take Two and Catwalk. She recorded Together with guitarist Larry Coryell. She participated in the Los Angeles version of Sophisticated Ladies from 1981 to 1982 and toured for several years with Astrud Gilberto. She also made two guitar instruction videos. In 1985, she won Guitarist of the Year in Down Beat magazine's international poll, and performed in that year's guitar festival at Carnegie Hall. In 1988, she was artist-in-residence at Duquesne University and the next year received the Distinguished Alumni award from Berklee. Bob Moses, the drummer on Transitions and Catwalk, said, "Emily had that loose, relaxed feel. She swung harder and simpler. She didn't have to let you know that she was a virtuoso in the first five seconds." Remler married Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander in 1981; the marriage ended in 1984. Thereafter, she had a brief relationship with Coryell following her first divorce. Her first guitar was her brother's Gibson ES-330. She played a Borys B120 hollow-body electric towards the end of the 1980s. Her acoustic guitars included a 1984 Collectors Series Ovation and a nylon-string Korocusci classical guitar that she used for bossa nova. When asked how she wanted to be remembered she remarked, "Good compositions, memorable guitar playing and my contributions as a woman in music...but the music is everything, and it has nothing to do with politics or the women's liberation movement."

Remler suffered longstanding opioid use disorder, which is believed to have contributed to her death. In May, 1990, she died of heart failure at the age of 32 while on tour in Australia. Remler is buried in Block 4, Row 2, Grave 18 (Section 2, Field of Ephron) at New Montefiore Cemetery, New York.

• Year released — Title — Label — Personnel/Notes • 1981 — Firefly — Concord — With Hank Jones (piano), Bob Maize (bass) and Jake Hanna (drums) • 1982 — Take Two — Concord — With James Williams (piano), Don Thomson (bass) and Terry Clarke (drums). • 1983 — Transitions — Concord — With John D'earth (trumpet), Eddie Gomez (bass) and Bob Moses (drums). • 1985 — Catwalk — Concord — With John D'earth (trumpet), Eddie Gomez (bass) and Bob Moses (percussion). • 1985 — Together — Concord — With Larry Coryell. • 1988 — East to Wes — Concord — With Hank Jones (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Marvin "Smitty" Smith (drums). • 1990 — This Is Me — Justice — With David Benoit (keyboards), Jimmy Johnson and Lincoln Goines (bass), Luis Conte, Edson Aparecido da Silva "Café" and Jeffrey Weber (percussion), Jay Ashby (percussion and trombone), Jeff Porcaro, Ricky Sebastian and Duduka Da Fonseca (drums), Romero Lubambo (acoustic guitar), Maúcha Adnet (vocals). • 2024 — Cookin' at the Queens: Live in Las Vegas 1984 & 1988 — Resonance — With Cocho Arbe (piano), Carson Smith (bass), Tom Montgomery and John Pisci (drums).

• Year recorded — Leader — Title — Label • 1981 — The — It's All In The Family — Concord • 1985 — Ray — Soular Energy — Concord • 1986 — John — John Colianni — Concord • 1986 — Rosemary — Rosemary Clooney Sings the Music of Jimmy Van Heusen — Concord • 1989 — David — Waiting for Spring — GRP • 1989 — Susannah — No More Blues — Concord • 1990 — Susannah — Sabia — Concord • 1990 — Richie — Bossa International — Milestone

• 1990: Bebop and Swing Guitar (VHS, reissued on DVD in 2008) • 1990: Advanced Jazz and Latin Improvisation (VHS, reissued on DVD in 2008) • 2005: Sal Salvador, Joe Pass, Mundell Lowe, Charlie Byrd, Emily Remler, Tal Farlow – Learn Jazz Guitar Chords With 6 Great Masters! (DVD, DVD-Video) • 2005: Emily Remler, Joe Pass, Tuck Andress, Brian Setzer, Joe Beck, Duke Robillard – Learn Jazz Guitar With 6 Great Masters! (DVD, DVD-Video)

Emily Remler is recorded as guitarist, composer and musician.