Gaye Delorme

June 28th, 2011

Posted in: None — Tags: None — Admin @ 5:41 pm

Too many good ones are gone.  Gaye Delorme was a guitar master from Edmonton whose career took him from Hollywood film scores, jazz & rock trio club gigs to fronting symphony orchestras on Spanish guitar.  I'd heard of the legend before seeing him play and meeting him.  It can be daunting for a musician, learning there's a monster on the loose.  But in person he was the warmest, most humorous delight.  Everyone knows his hilarious "Rodeo Song", and his work with Cheech & Chong was the comedic side of Gaye.  But his sheer mastery of styles from Jobim Brazilian to jazz and rock was artistry.  Each time I pick up a slide guitar I think of that first night I saw him play in a Calgary club; he was the very best at it; the high-mark.  That he worked with David Foster, Jann Arden and kd lang is a testament to Gaye's musical force.  The music stopped on June 23, 2011 as Gaye was setting up for a gig.  Lord keep him.