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"I have known Jack Cecchini for 45 years. He is a dedicated teacher and gifted Performer. He is one of the very few that can play both classic and jazz guitar with artistic conviction. He brings to performance and teaching an insight and expertise that comes only with many years of experience. His legacy is the inumerable guitarists that have benefited from his talent, vast knowledge, and wise guidance."
-Johnny Smith-
"Jack is one of the finest musicians I have ever met. He has it all, experience, taste and the ability to transcend the instrument"
-Jimmy Bruno-
"To speak about Jack Cecchini means recalling a good deal of the first memories of my American life. Together with Jim Norris Jack introduced me to Chicago and its musical background, still fully alive in the Sixties. His jazz playing showed me what was for me an unusual and somehow longed for aspect of guitar playing.I was destined to avoid it in favour of the classical style, which was what my folks, faithful to European musical tradition, almost imposed me to do. To see Jack go from the finger technique and what was familiar to me as far as sound and phrasing to a rhythmic pulse, in which the music flowed, almost shamefully free of constraints, was as hard to accept as the renouncement to something alike that I had accepted, in a time not so long before. The wound was, so to speak, still sore and I would listen to him (as I still do today, if I have the chance to walk into a lesson of his, and hear him show a young aspiring jazz guitarist how "Nuages should be done with certain amazement and a kind of awe. He has the magic capability to fill the room with what does not really exist! In fact, during the time separating a phrase from the other, I seem to hear an imaginary echo of the drums, the bass. But only because he makes them exist in his musical space, and I am a lucky one who can perceive that! I think he's a very lucky man, who has been able to sample and master both sides of our instrument. That great Jazz, that made Chicago famous in the Thirties, was the most fertile ground where to grow his Italian roots and carry on the seeds of what finally grew, out of this combination becoming his own guitar".
- Oscar Ghiglia -
"I know of no other guitarist or educator that has inspired so many players…Jack is the best"!
-Bob Benedetto-(Chairman Benedetto Guitars, Inc.)
"I have known Jack for over 30 years. Our association has been an enrichment to my life that goes much further then just the music. His knowledge of the guitar and classical music has stretched my boundaries far past anything I would have ever imagined. I could write a book about Jack".
-Phil Upchurch-
"In all my travels as a professional guitarist throughout the U.S. and abroad, and in all my academic studies and research, I have never met anyone who knows more about Jazz & Classical Guitar than Jack Cecchini of Chicago! He has a wealth of knowledge concerning both fields and can execute with the accuracy, depth and authenticity of a specialist. What is even more inspiring is his passion to pass this legacy on to students of all levels".
-Buddy Fambro-
"Jack Cecchini is a magnificent musician, gifted with an original, courageous mind. On classic or jazz guitar you hear solid links to the great traditions of western music and art, unadulterated by the ambiguities of the present day. He is a totally brilliant educator who understands the responsibility of the teacher to ask the questions and the responsibility of the student to find the answers, rather than the reverse. As a human being, no one who knows him has failed to be touched by his sincerity, his inability to compromise that which is true, and his unceasing curiosity. I’ve never met anyone else remotely like him. I am so proud and so fortunate to have been his student."
-Frank Portolese-
"Jack Cecchini has had a brilliant career as a performer. This is due - quite simply - to the fact that he's a great guitarist, a master of his chosen instrument. Certainly there have been other guitar masters. But Jack not only knows how to do it - he also knows how to teach,and this is an extremely rare gift. Jack is able to communicate to his students on the same deep and personal level that he communicates on his guitar. No wonder his students are so devoted to him- a born communicator who plays - and teaches- at all times straight from the heart."
-Joshua Breakstone-
"Jack Cecchini is a teacher with a vast knowledge of the guitar and repertoire necessary to students of any level. He is a true lover of the guitar and music. Studying with Mr. Cecchini would be a once in a lifetime experience."
-Frank Caruso- (Jazz Studies Professor/Elmhurst College/North Central College)
"Jack Cecchini’s middle name should be "Guitar"…his existence and legacy is all about music. I’ve known him for many years, played with him many times, enjoyed his warm friendship. I have realized his great talent as a musician and teacher.
-Bobby Lewis-
"I’ve known and played music with Jack Cecchini for many years. He is not only a great musician, but an excellent teacher. I know this because I have heard many of his students perform magnificently, proving my point."
-Frank D’Rone-
"I’ve been following the artistic career of Jack Cecchini for many, years. His abilities as a teacher and performer are undoubtedly of a "world class" stature. Listening to his students playing in concert (along with Guitarist, George Benson and Pianist, George Shearing) was further proof of his amazing talent as a teacher. Jack’s as good as it gets in our world of music. Highly recommended!".
-Ron Anthony-
(Guitarist with Frank Sinatra for 9 years and George Shearing for 6 years).
To my friends in music, and colleagues everywhere:
It is my pleasure to address you with a few words about one of our country's foremost performing artists and educator of the Jazz and Classical guitar. Jack Cecchini is an important presence in the continuing evolution of knowledge and pedagogy in the study of the guitar.
His breadth of understanding of all aspects of the idiom, coupled with his instinctive ability to inspire the student and to instill in the student the spiritual essence, the majesty, and the intrinsic meaning of music itself make him unique among the ranks of artists in America.
As a student of Jack's (and I will always consider myself to be a student of Jack's), it has been my privilege to embark upon a rich and rewarding career in music.
I began the study of jazz guitar technique with Jack Cecchini in 1976, when I was 25 years old. I have gone on to tour the world as an instrumentalist, and to perform in the orchestras of the original Broadway productions: "The Lion King", "Les Miserables", "Tommy, and Evita", to name a few shows.
Then, I began to pursue a career as a symphonic conductor and composer. It has been my honor to conduct The London Symphony Orchestra, The Polish National Orchestra, The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Krakow Sinfonietta under Christoph Eschenbach,and many other great European and American orchestras.
Throughout my life, I have always been thankful for the opportunity to study with Maestro Cecchini at the outset of my career. My success can, in great part, be attributed to the high level of education I received during my time in Maestro Cecchini's studio.
So, it gives me great pleasure to offer this small testimonial letter to all of my colleagues in the world of music, and to offer my thanks to Jack Cecchini, a true maestro and a national treasure in the pantheon of American artists.
With all due respect, and in the spirit of Music.
Sincerely yours,
Professor of Music Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, Robert Tomaro, Ph. D.Music Director and Conductor
Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra