Emmett Chapman

Biography

Emmett Chapman (born September 9th, 1936) is a jazz musician best known as the inventor of the Chapman Stick and maker of Chapman Stick family of instruments. Originally a guitarist, Chapman began recording and performing beginning in the late 1960s. He played with several different popular artists, including Jazz guitarist Barney Kessell and popular singer/songwriter Tim Buckley, before taking his own band on the road. In the late 1960s Chapman modified guitars to accommodate his new "Free Ha...

Emmett Chapman (born September 9th, 1936) is a jazz musician best known as the inventor of the Chapman Stick and maker of Chapman Stick family of instruments.

Originally a guitarist, Chapman began recording and performing beginning in the late 1960s. He played with several different popular artists, including Jazz guitarist Barney Kessell and popular singer/songwriter Tim Buckley, before taking his own band on the road.

In the late 1960s Chapman modified guitars to accommodate his new "Free Hands" tapping method. While some guitarists had done two-handed tapping with the fingers of the right hand parallel to the strings, Chapman's method had the fingers of both hands perpendicular to the strings. This culminated in the creation of the Chapman Stick, with the first Stick manufactured in 1974. Chapman holds 14 patents for various aspects of the Chapman Stick. During the 1970s Chapman toured extensively to promote his music and the instrument.

In 1985 Chapman released a solo album titled Parallel Galaxy. This included Chapman playing with a drummer and without, and with harmonica and vocal accompaniment. According to Chapman, his musical style is influenced by jazz guitarist John McLaughlin. One track from the album, Back Yard, was used in the "Alan Smithee" version of the 1984 film Dune. A Stick that was painted gold was used as the baliset musical instrument, described in the novel.

In 1987 Chapman released a performance video titled Hands Across The Board. These days Chapman still performs, though not as much, and primarily in the Los Angeles area, where he lives. He also continues to head up Stick Enterprises, the company that makes Chapman Sticks. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.