Now a name mostly floated in guitar nerd circles, Emily Remler was on her way to becoming a major star of jazz guitar before her untimely death in 1990 at age 32. Fortunately, she recorded and toured prolifically before then, leaving behind much music to be discovered. Produced by self-styled “jazz detective” Zev Feldman and guitar-focused writer Bill Milkowski, Cookin’ at the Queens: Live in Las Vegas 1984 & 1988 presents two Remler sets from two different years at the 4 Queens Casino.
Though a composer as well as a player, she sticks to standards for both shows, mixing the tried-and-true (“Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Someday My Prince Will Come”) and less well-known (“Samba de Orfeu,” “Out of Nowhere,” her hero Wes Montgomery’s “West Coast Blues”). Regardless of position, though, Remler puts her own stamp on everything, ripping through Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin’” and Sonny Rollins’ “Tenor Madness,” swinging hard through the immortal “Autumn Leaves,” and filtering Pat Martino’s “Cisco” through her own lens to both pay tribute to a key influence and show off her viewpoint. Her imagination really comes through on a pair of medleys: the melding of Tadd Dameron’s “Hot House” with the standard “What is This Thing Called Love?” and Miles Davis’ “So What” with John Coltrane’s “Impressions” show a keen and clever musical mind at work.
Remler’s aided in her quest for fire by a crack band: bassist Carson Smith (who turns in several stunning solos of his own – where is this guy now?), pianist Cocho Arbe (the ‘84 show only, and also a superb soloist), and drummers Tom Montgomery (‘84) and John Pisci (‘88). With these guys at her back, Remler really shines as player, arranger, and bandleader. If you’re looking for a window into the story of an underrated jazz talent, Cookin’ at the Queens is wide open.
