By David "Chet" Williamson Sneade
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| Guitarist Johnny Rines |
He was a
guitar player’s guitar player. Not one to wow you with flashy licks, but give support with choice chordal accompaniment. He was a selfless player
whose styling and phrasing made many a soloist sound great.
He was
Johnny Rines. Although not publicly well-known, jazz guitar players throughout
the Central
New England
recall lessons learned from hearing him play.
Rines was
a stage name. His real name was John P. Rynkowski, and according to the 1940 US
Federal Census, he was born in Webster , MA May 12,
1919 .
Spanning his
40 year-career, the guitarist worked with local ensembles, regionally with
territory bands, and with a score of national acts. He was best known for his
22-year-stint with Emil Haddad and the Noteables.
 |
Clockwise
from top left, Eddie Defino, Emil Haddad, Johnny Mason
and Johnny Rines.
|
Rines was
also a highly regarded teacher. The Webster Times once reported that, “a
generation of young guitarists studied under him.” For years he taught at Perry
Conte’s studio on Front Street 14
Portland Street Worcester
“I
studied with him now and then, occasionally, when I was in high school,” said
guitarist Steve Cancelli. “Most of my studying with John, however, was talking
to him and going out to hear him play on the bandstand.
 |
| Guitarist Steve Cancelli |
“Like, on
the break I’d say, ‘What is that chord you played on that song.’ So, on the bandstand
he’d play that chord and look right at me. I’d say, ‘Okay.’ So, I learned a lot
from him just by listening.”
According
to Cancelli, Rines mostly played an L5 with the P90 pickups with the black covers. “It’s
a real collector’s item today,” he said. “He played through an Ampeg Jet amp.
It was the best sound. He later went on to a Guild Artist Award.”
 |
| Guitarist Rines here with Epiphone Delux and a vintage Sano Amplifier |
Virtually
a lifetime member of the Worcester Local Musician’s Union , Rines’ early work was doing
general business dates throughout the Webster area. He also played in local
nightclubs such as the Happy Hour and the Top Hat with boyhood friend, Tony
Lada Sr., a trumpeter. His son Tony Jr., a respected Berklee College of Music
educator, also recalls Rines as “a fine player, very knowledgeable and
well-respected.”
“He loved
George Van Eps, the seven string player,” Cancelli said. “He actually introduced
me to his great record called the Mellow
Guitar. George was a master of playing inside, moving voices within the
chord structures. John was into that. He used to move the voices like good a
pianist. Beautiful. That was the first time I heard anybody locally do that.”
 |
| George Van Eps |
Band
leader and trombonist Dick Bellerose gave the guitarist his stage name, Johnny
Rines. Bellerose played in the Jimmy Dorsey band and later with Hines in the Gene
Broadman Orchestra, a territory band the barnstormed throughout the Southern New England region. Rines was a teenager at
the time.
According
to Webster’s Edward Mrozinski, it was the Broadman band that was scheduled to
play at the fabled Mohegan Dance Pavilion the week it burned down.
During
WWII, according to The Webster Times,
Rines, “served in the U.S. Navy. He was assigned to a Navy band, backing many
name acts that entertained service men at Navy bases around the country.”
After the
war, Rines, using the G.I. Bill, enrolled in the Schillinger House, which later
became Berklee College of Music. He also continued his gigging schedule
locally, including with the Worcester-based Dol Brissette Studio Orchestra, a
band that was featured regularly on WTAG – AM 580.
In 1950,
Rines joined a trio, led by accordionist, Johnny Mason. In 1953, he helped to
form the first version of the legendary Noteables, with Mason, trumpeter Emil
Haddad, bassist Eddie Defino, and drummer Eddie “Sham” Shamgochian.
The
Noteables were one of the more successful bands the Worcester
 |
| Rines, Haddad, and Defino in action |
The most
consistent line up of the group featured guitarist Rines, Defino, Mason, and
Haddad, who sang and played trumpet, a little bass, and cocktail drums.
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| The Noteables and unidentified singer |
According
to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette
reporter Walter Crockett, the Noteables began working at the Red Top on Rte. 9
in Shrewsbury Park
Avenue ….
The Note-ables spent three years and a month at the 371 Club. Then they were
off to Nicolena's on Shrewsbury Street Framingham
During their
impressive shelf-life, the band played a number of rooms up and down Rte. 9. Webster
trombonist Tony Lada, Jr. recalls seeing them at the Framingham Motor Inn. “I
was playing Monticello Inn just to sit-in with Emil.”
Another
Rte. 9 venue was the Indian Meadows in Westboro. Radio announcer Johnny Most,
known as “The Voice of the Boston Celtics,” and player/coach K.C. Jones were
regulars.
In the book,
High Above Courtside: The Lost Memoir of
Johnny Most, the broadcaster recalled how he and Jones would visit various
nightclubs in the greater Boston
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| Jones (front row, nearest to the camera during his playing days |
“As we
sat listening to the Noteables, a jazz trio from Worcester
,+Emil+Haddad+and+KC+Jones.jpg) |
| Paul Holmberg (standing), Haddad, Jones and unidentified woman |
“Finally
KC went up and performed a couple of ballads. At the end of each song, he
received a standing ovation and even did an encore at the insistence of Haddad
and the entire audience. From that night on, KC became a welcomed, regular,
non-paid performer at the Meadows.”
The
Noteables would often invite guests to sit-in with the group. And no doubt,
because of Rines’ self-less support and musicality, the accompaniment was more
than complimentary.
 |
| Bill Leavitt |
Rines was
very good friends with the late William Leavitt, who was a longtime Berklee educator.
He wrote a series of instructional books that continues to school countless
guitar students both in and out of the school.
“If John
couldn’t make a gig, they would get Bill Leavitt,” Cancelli said. “He was a
very smart player. One night when John was playing Bill Leavitt came to see
him. After listening to him for two sets he said to Johnny Rines, ‘You know
I’ve been analyzing your playing and you play everything like an arrangement.
It’s very deliberate.”
After
leaving the Noteables in the early 1970s, Rines worked in a trio with Defino for a
couple of years and later formed a trio with Ken Barrett called, the Bermuda
Triangle.
“I never
heard anyone do it any better than Johnny,” Cancelli said. “John could play a
few notes and just knock you out, because he played the right notes. He was
really unique. He had a different style. He was a very much underrated player
in Worcester
Rines
died in Worcester March 24, 1977 . He was 57. He is buried in St. Joseph Old Worcester Road
This is a work in progress. Send all comments to: walnutharmonicas@gmail.com.
This is a work in progress. Send all comments to: walnutharmonicas@gmail.com.
Resources
A special thank you to Carla Manzi of Olde Webster for her kind assistance.
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing blog that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free.
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Chet! Stories about the incredble guitarist and good friend, Johnny Rines! Wonderful reading! Thanks! -harry sheppard
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