SPOTLIGHT of THE WEEK
"CHIELI MINUCCI AND SPECIAL
EFX"
(New York, NY - When you've been fronting a
band for forty-four years as Emmy-winning guitarist Chieli Minucci has for Grammy nominated Jazz Fusion group
Special EFX, you learn how to read audiences and give them what they want. The music industry has changed dramatically over
those decades and Minucci noticed that since there's now a scarcity of radio stations that play contemporary Jazz, audiences
aren't as familiar with his band's new music as they should be - even when those singles climb to the top of the national
charts. Minucci recognizes that his audiences crave nostalgia and heeding the demand to "play the hits," he assembled
a collection of Special EFX's remastered favorites and seven of their Billboard No. 1 singles along with three new songs that
bode to become hits. "The Hits" is available for pre-orders now ahead of its February 6, 2026 release
from Chieli Music.
Minucci, who founded
Special EFX with Hungarian percussionist George Jinda, curated the 14-song "The Hits" from the band's 25 albums
that has scored eight Billboard #1 hits and a Grammy nomination for 1985's "Modern Manners" album. Even prior to
Jinda's passing in 2002, Special EFX albums have always been all-star projects featuring solos and performances by prominent
recording artists and first-call session musicians. The list of Grammy winners and nominees, chart-toppers, and noteworthy
players on "The Hits" includes Warren Hill, Eric Marienthal, Paul Brown, Michael Paulo, Elan Trotman, Nicholas Cole,
Lin Rountree, Oli Silk, David Mann, Roberto Vally, Greg Vail, Shane Theriot, Ron King, Omar Hakim, and Lionel Cordew.
Musically, "The Hits" highlights Special EFX's distinct brand
of Contemporary Jazz, Fusion, World Music, and Blues. Minucci wrote and produced the album except for "Lavish,"
which Cole wrote and produced.
"The Hits"
opens with a new recording of one of Special EFX's best known songs, the Fusion heavy "Uptown East."
"Blue Lagoon" was the first hit that was performed entirely
by Minucci as a one-man-band. His cool electric Jazz guitar floats amidst an island vibe over a Reggae rhythm.
Playing nylon-string guitar, Minucci's first collaboration with two-time
Grammy Award winning producer Brown is "Cool Summer," which was a Billboard #1 hit last year and appears on an album
for the first time.
Mann's saxophone is a prominent
voice on "Kickin' It Hard," punching and counterpunching Minucci's electric guitar hits.
The first new composition on "The Hits" is "Waterfall," a rousing
fount of cascading melody and excitement inducing rhythms.
Collaborating
with Cole to create "Lavish" came at the suggestion of a record label executive.
The version of "You Make Me Blue" on "The Hits" is a bluesier
version than the original that appears on Chieli Minucci and Special EFX's 1993 "Love Your Smile"
album. Alan Grubner's electric violin issues a searing solo on the single that became a staple on SiriusXM's Watercolors playlist.
"Meant To Be" is the second Minucci-Brown
collab and once again, they created a Billboard #1 hit earlier this year. "The Hits" is the first time the Brown-produced
single appears on an album.
Another Billboard #1
hit, "Dreams" is a sensual dalliance between Hill's sultry alto sax and Minucci's electric guitar.
"Been So Long" is slated to be released as a single early
next year. It's a "new" collaboration between Minucci and "American Idol" finalist Elliott Yamin.
"Marbella" is the first new single released from "The
Hits," which dropped in October. It's the third track produced by Brown, who has produced over sixty Billboard #1 hits.
"Till The End Of Time" was recorded differently. Drummer
Hakim and bassist Brooks laid down the rhythm track after the guitar and keyboards, which was the reverse of Minucci's usual
method. It worked: the single went No. 1 on the Billboard chart.
Closing the collection the same way most Special EFX concerts close, "Cruise Control" ends on a
high note with exuberant energy, relentless funk grooves, and a nasty piano solo from Roger Smith, a longtime member of Tower
of Power.
Minucci maintains a busy touring schedule,
playing Special EFX shows in a variety of settings with a variety of lineups, and European tours with Djabe, a well-known
Hungarian jazz fusion group with whom he will tour next year. A masterful guitar player, Minucci has played or recorded with
Celine Dion, Lou Reed, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Donny Osmond, Jewel, Marc Anthony, Michael Bolton, Rupert Holmes, Anastasia,
and legends Eartha Kitt and Eddie Fisher. In the contemporary jazz space, he's collaborated with Grammy Award winners Kirk
Whalum, Jeff Lorber, and Norman Brown as well as with Maysa, Marion Meadows, Mindi Abair, Rick Braun, Gerald Veasley, Bernie
Williams, and Lao Tizer.
In other media, Minucci
is an accomplished film and television composer having won three Emmy Awards from his ten nominations. He has music on the
film soundtracks for "No Country for Old Men," "Bowfinger," "Legally Blonde," and "Panic."
Minucci also scored live stage productions of "Peter Pan," "Dora the Explorer," "Thomas the Tank
Engine," and others.
"The Hits"
contains the following songs:
"Uptown East"
"Blue Lagoon"
"Cool Summer"
"Kickin'
It Hard"
"Waterfall"
"Lavish"
"You Make Me Blue"
"Meant
To Be"
"Dreams"
"Been So Long"
"Marbella"
"Passions"
"Till The End Of Time"
"Cruise Control"
For more information, visit https://chielimusic.com.
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(Source: Great Scott P. R.)
