Arthur Rhames - The Forgotten Virtuoso

**dasein** · 09-08-2015, 12:21 PM

i have seen discussions about just about every guitar player on this forum, but never one about Arthur Rhames. i searched the forum for his name, and didn't get a single result.

but then again, it's pretty hard to blame anyone for missing the guy. everything about him was hard to miss. he was never signed. he never played on any major releases. there were a few appearances on some obscure small-label releases, but never anything that was readily in-print.

all we had for years were stories. stories from people who knew him, played with him, saw him play -- stories about an intensely spiritual young man from Brooklyn with a bodybuilder's figure that was a virtuoso on sax, piano, AND guitar. the most terrifying musician they ever came across. a guy who was tragically cut down by the first wave of AIDS and left few traces behind.

i first heard about him in an interview with Vernon Reid in a GP interview sometime in the 90's. over the years, i'd read guys like Joe Lovano or Bill Frisell mention him. he popped up in "Thinking About Jazz." but i never heard the guy.

well, in the last few years, more and more people have been coming out of the woodworks with bootlegs and home recordings. the sound quality is usually pretty spotty, and that's being charitable. but the playing...

oh my goodness.

you can hear the McLaughlin/Mahavishnu influence, but to my ears it's a bit more fluid and the lines more angular.

there are also videos of him playing sax on YouTube.

it seems the legends were true...

**neatomic** · 09-08-2015, 08:49 PM

yea rhames..nyc legend..had an article in guitar player about him back then…but so so obscure..and died so young..he was a kid…nyc was so tough back then

closest guy to that is david sancious…played guitar and keyboards with equal fluidity..still around..cut some fusion albums that were monstrous..and wound up playing for guys like sting & springsteen..for better or worse…hah

great player tho

unknown greats

cheers

ps-rhames 'n rashied ali

**bako** · 09-08-2015, 10:11 PM

I met Arthur briefly. I was taking a class with pianist John Esposito.
John played in Arthur's jazz quartet. Arthur visited with the class one day.
John would have us play songs through key cycles as well as voicings and lines in a similar fashion.
Arthur played mostly tenor and sounded incredible and then sat down at the piano, same deal.
I didn't find out that he played guitar till a year later when I ran into a jazz guitarist friend who told
me he was studying with this amazing guitarist Arthur Rhames.

About a year after he died, friends (including John) from many musical circles organized a tribute broadcast on radio station WKCR. The stories told were the stuff of legends, friends do that at memorials but I believe in this instance the legend was close to reality. I managed to tape most of it on cassette. I would go back to listen intermittently when I felt I could use a reminder of what seriousness of intent looks like.

I lent the tapes to a friend about a decade ago who had played with Arthur in jam sessions at University of the Streets.
I called him after seeing this thread to see if I could get them back. Cassettes don't live in the front of our music storage units these days, but I'm hopeful.

Arthur Rhames Presente!

**dasein** · 09-08-2015, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by bako

I met Arthur briefly. I was taking a class with pianist John Esposito.
John played in Arthur's jazz quartet. Arthur visited with the class one day.
John would have us play songs through key cycles as well as voicings and lines in a similar fashion.

it certainly seems like John Esposito figured pretty prominently in the life of Rhames. i would love to pick his brain sometime

I didn't find out that he played guitar till a year later when I ran into a jazz guitarist friend who told
me he was studying with this amazing guitarist Arthur Rhames.

was it Steve Raleigh, by chance?

**bako** · 09-08-2015, 10:59 PM

Steve Raleigh, yes.

**dasein** · 09-09-2015, 02:48 PM

i had a good long chat with Steve about what it was like to study with Arthur Rhames. it sounded like quite the experience.

**bako** · 09-09-2015, 05:39 PM

dasein, I suspect that you know about the tribute page, but for others.

Welcome To Arthur Rhames.net

**neatomic** · 09-09-2015, 08:39 PM

i would not be surprised if the great wkcr had a tape of that tribute in their archives

cheers

**pubylakeg** · 09-10-2015, 03:06 PM

Astonishing playing in the OP clip. It sounds like a cross between Jimi Hendrix and Pat Martino !

**robertoart** · 09-10-2015, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by pubylakeg

Astonishing playing in the OP clip. It sounds like a cross between Jimi Hendrix and Pat Martino !

Psycho-social context.

It never lies.
Vernon Reid?

**shelleytele** · 09-11-2015, 11:59 AM

Thanks for posting those clips! I'd heard of Arthur Rhames but had never seen him play before...

**Dedalus** · 09-17-2015, 04:46 AM

Thanks for sharing these. I'd never heard of Rhames but will definitely be searching for more. Vernon Reid was one of my favourite guitarists when I was younger, and I can definitely hear Rhames's influence on Reid.

**dasein** · 04-06-2017, 11:40 AM

Another recording of Rhames surfaces. I hope that more and more of this stuff starts to trickle out:

**fasstrack** · 04-07-2017, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by dasein

i have seen discussions about just about every guitar player on this forum, but never one about Arthur Rhames. i searched the forum for his name, and didn't get a single result.

but then again, it's pretty hard to blame anyone for missing the guy. everything about him was hard to miss. he was never signed. he never played on any major releases. there were a few appearances on some obscure small-label releases, but never anything that was readily in-print.

all we had for years were stories. stories from people who knew him, played with him, saw him play -- stories about an intensely spiritual young man from Brooklyn with a bodybuilder's figure that was a virtuoso on sax, piano, AND guitar. the most terrifying musician they ever came across. a guy who was tragically cut down by the first wave of AIDS and left few traces behind.

i first heard about him in an interview with Vernon Reid in a GP interview sometime in the 90's. over the years, i'd read guys like Joe Lovano or Bill Frisell mention him. he popped up in "Thinking About Jazz." but i never heard the guy.

well, in the last few years, more and more people have been coming out of the woodworks with bootlegs and home recordings. the sound quality is usually pretty spotty, and that's being charitable. but the playing...

oh my goodness.

you can hear the McLaughlin/Mahavishnu influence, but to my ears it's a bit more fluid and the lines more angular.

there are also videos of him playing sax on YouTube.

it seems the legends were true...

I'm glad someone brought him up.

I first heard about him in '74, when I was staying in someone's apartment hard by the fringes of Canarsie, Brooklyn. A guy in the building was raving about his teacher---who turned out to be Arthur Rhames.

My friend Charlie played drums with him for years in the street. (You should know that Rhames also played tenor sax and piano---and brilliantly). I saw the two years ago playing on Broadway and 50th street.

Then, suddenly, he was GONE---receded like many others into the mist of legend.

There's a website dedicated to his artistry. You can search and find it. There are a lot of stories and reminiscing by Charlie and his other friends...

**TKO** · 04-08-2017, 12:42 PM

Wow.

This is why the internet rules. You can find these amazing players you never heard of.

**mrcee** · 04-08-2017, 12:53 PM

This is the first that I've heard of him. An amazing player.

**bako** · 04-07-2020, 12:52 AM

Drummer friend Jeff Siegal just posted these clips on Facebook from a cassette tape of a rehearsal.

'82 or '83
Arthur Rhames - guitar
John Esposito - piano
Will Woodard - bass
Jeff Siegel - drums