In the liner notes accompanying Red Dust & Spanish Lace, Acoustic Alchemy's 1987 debut recording on the MCA Master Series, Nick Webb wrote of the promise he and Greg Carmichael held for the rhythmic, sweetly melodic chemistry between their steel and nylon string guitars: "If our basic ingredients began with 2 acoustic guitars, then who's to say where it might end."
At the time, the possibilities for their unique style seemed limitless. Thick, machine generated urban grooves seem to underlie most of what passes for smooth jazz these days, but in the early days of NAC Radio, Acoustic Alchemy's dynamics - which ran from simple New Age subtleties to more dramatic ventures into be-bop, reggae, flamenco, African and Latin music - helped define the genre. While the format to this day still plays classic cuts from 1988's Natural Elements, 1989's Blue Chip and the duo's 1990 GRP debut Reference Point, their five subsequent Nineties albums demonstrated a commitment to their core sound in the midst of the changes around them.
Webb, who died of pancreatic cancer in London on February 12 at the age of 43, summed up his and Carmichael's philosophy in an interview for their second GRP disc, Back on the Case, in 1991: "Our real challenge each time out is to maintain a balance between approaching different, uncharted styles and making them work to form the musical whole which is Acoustic Alchemy. Our whole band concept is not to appeal only to guitar buffs. Part of that is that I never much liked pure guitar albums. We felt if we were going to make a lot of albums with nylon and acoustic strings, we better break it up once in a while with other instruments. We like sharing with other musicians."
Along with several hundred of Webb's family, friends and business associates, many of those musicians were on hand at a small chapel funeral service in Western England. "After the eulogies, some of the songs from Red Dust came on over the loudspeaker," says David Steffen, Senior VP and General Manager of GRP. "When those familiar strains appeared, you couldn't stop being moved and appreciating Nick's many talents. He and Greg brought to NAC a sound wholly their own, unique and not derivative, far from the same old same old. They had a real point of view. In that moment, the larger loss of his passing really crystallized."
As related by Steffen, the last year of Webb's life can be a source of strength and inspiration to friends, fans and truly, anyone who ever found it hard to find grace within adversity. Even after his diagnosis, which came not long after their Arcanum album was released, Webb sat down with Carmichael and planned his final work - the perfectly titled Positive Thinking, to be released in May. The two rented out a small manor house down the road from Bath, England for the duration of the writing and recording process, so that when Webb grew low on energy, as became more and more frequent, he could rest in one of the bedrooms. Carmichael would leave for the night, while Webb would stay and conserve his strength. He knew he had one final thing to do for the million or so fans worldwide who'd ever seen AA live or bought one of their recordings.
Acoustic Alchemy lore has Webb and Carmichael literally playing their way to America in 1986, performing ten minutes out of every hour on a Virgin Airlines flight from London to Los Angeles. Carmichael fully intends to keep the music flowing with the rest of the band on a Positive Thinking tour this summer - a tribute to his partner's zest for life and the great music that is his legacy.
"Greg is obviously devastated as his loss," says Steffan, "and yet, he wants this music, their final work together, presented, not to get lost. At a nearby pub after the funeral, Greg said, 'We're going on tour.' There is no doubt he meant that Nick's spirit would be as much a part of the show as it was during his life."
Posted 3/12/98