Charlie Shoemake

Charlie Shoemake is a major voice of jazz vibraphone was born in Houston, Texas. Charlie studied piano informally with Jimmy Rowles and played in Los Angeles from 1956-63 with Charles Lloyd, Art Pepper and Howard Rumsey‚ Lighthouse All-Stars, among others. Having played the vibes in high school, Shoemake took up the instrument in earnest in the early 60's and subsequently recorded with Lalo Schifrin, Quincy Jones, Nelson Riddle, and Johnny Mandel as a studio musician. In 1966 he joined George Shearing‚Äôs quintet and toured and recorded with that group until 1973 when he opened a jazz improvisation school in Los Angeles that flourished until 1991 when he moved to Cambria.