Acoustic Alchemy guitarist Greg Carmichael had a big extended family when he was growing up. And with family reunions came jam sessions.
"We weren't like other families," Carmichael said during a phone call from England. "When we'd get together, we wouldn't put on a record. We'd pull out our instruments and play live music."
His family's musical abilities made Carmichael realize that he wanted nothing more than to become a professional musician.
"The time came for that decision when I became 18," he said. "That was the time that anyone realizes they are going to go on to school or get a job. I went in to the school careers master and told him I wanted to be a professional guitarist."
So the careers master told Carmichael to study classical guitar.
"I didn't want to study classical guitar," said Carmichael. "I wanted to play in a band with other musicians. I didn't want to sit and play these difficult pieces alone."
However, the lessons paid off. At that time there weren't a lot of jazz guitarists that had a good, solid classical technique.
That was about the time he met up with guitarist Nick Webb.
"We got together and he was ahead of his time," said Carmichael. "He had the intuition to put classical guitars in his style of steel string jazz, and it worked."
Playing anywhere they could — including providing the entertainment on Virgin Airlines flights from England to America — the duo signed a recording contract. And after more than a decade of success with the band, tragedy struck.
Nick passed away in 1998 from pancreatic cancer. "It was a partnership. And I felt at that time that I could have easily stopped everything," said Carmichael. "But we had been in the middle of recording an album and I felt duty-bound to finish it."
After the album "Positive Thinking" was released, Carmichael decided to get another Acoustic Alchemy line-up ready for a tour.
"I felt it was what Nick would have wanted," he said. "And I've got a sort of Phase 2 going."
With the addition of guitarist Miles Gliderdale, drummer Greg Grainger, bassist Frank Felix and keyboardist Jaimie Norton, Carmichael said he is really enjoying playing music again.
"To think that I've been around 20 years and still playing is a great reward," he said. "We are now in the process of recording the 15th Acoustic Alchemy CD and we're enjoying life on the road."
Throughout Acoustic Alchemy's career, the band has landed three Grammy Award nominations, a Gibson Guitar Award, a Jazz Trax Album of the Year Award for the 2001 release "Aart," and a 2003 National Smooth Jazz Award nomination for Group or Duo of the Year.
With all these recognitions, Carmichael said he only has two wishes for the future.
"First, I'd love to win a Grammy," he said with a laugh. "We've been nominated three times and I would love to say before our time is up that we have won a Grammy.
"The second thing I'd love to do is write a song that becomes a cross-over hit," he said. "I think back to Chuck Mangione's 'Feels So Good' and want to write something that would do as well as that song did on all the different charts.
"Those are my goals."
If you go . . .
What: The Fidelity Investments Park City Jazz Festival
Where: Deer Valley Resort
When: Today, Saturday and Sunday
How much: $45
Phone: 467-8499 or 1-800-888-8499
Web: www.parkcityjazz.com or www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com