Denny Earnest - Jazz My Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:41
Size: 134.3 MB
Styles: Cool jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:28] 1. Jazz My Blues (Feat. Mike Gillan & Alan Faugue)
[3:38] 2. Zenato (Feat. Alan Faugue, Mike Gillan, Pat Felitti & Bill Watson)
[3:51] 3. Put It There (Feat. Mike Gillan, Bill Watson & Alan Faugue)
[5:01] 4. A Loving You (Feat. Alan Faugue, Pat Felitti, Bill Watson & Mike Gillan)
[2:37] 5. Polytone Blues (Feat. Alan Faugue, Bill Watson & Mike Gillan)
[4:13] 6. Copping A Blue Feel (Feat. Alan Faugue, Mike Gillan, Bill Watson & Pat Felitti)
[4:10] 7. When The Sun Comes Up On You (Feat. Bill Watson, Mike Gillan & Alan Faugue)
[3:44] 8. The Way You Move (Feat. Bill Watson, Pat Felitti & Mike Gillan)
[4:50] 9. Only As Strong (Feat. Mike Gillan, Alan Faugue, Bill Watson & Pat Felitti)
[3:59] 10. Piazza Deleon (Feat. Mike Gillan, Alan Faugue, Pat Felitti & Bill Watson)
[4:20] 11. Cool Latin Jazz (Feat. Mike Gillan, Pat Felitti, Alan Faugue & Bill Watson)
[3:19] 12. Single Malt Blues (Feat. Bill Watson, Alan Faugue & Mike Gillan)
[3:54] 13. Carmine Lips & Rouge (Feat. Bill Watson, Mike Gillan & Alan Faugue)
[3:00] 14. Pink Flamingo (Feat. Bill Watson, Mike Gillan & Alan Faugue)
[4:29] 15. Half Tone Blues (Feat. Mike Gillan, Pat Felitti, Bill Watson & Alan Faugue)

New release from composer, guitarist, and vocalist Denny Earnest, treading new territory with "Jazz My Blues" with a free wheeling quartet of veteran Jazz players. From the opening salvo title track, he's trading vocal licks with alto sax player Alan Fauque, "Need some Coltrane with my coffee, if I'm to make it til noon". Through it all, the records satisfying, staying true to the roots of Jazz and Blues, anchored on the bottom end with Mike Gillan's percussive talents, glued together by upright bassist Bill Watson, and weaving through all the traffic like a New York cabbie Pat Felitti on piano. No gimmicks or wasted notes here. 15 new tunes written by Denny in the finest traditions of Jazz improv, Slick Jazz, hot, cool, or whatever your infusion.

Jazz My Blues

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Tina Brooks - Minor Move

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:21
Size: 108.4 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1958/2000
Art: Front

[ 8:49] 1. Nutville
[10:38] 2. The Way You Look Tonight
[ 8:12] 3. Star Eyes
[ 6:37] 4. Minor Move
[ 6:10] 5. Everything Happens To Me
[ 6:52] 6. Minor Move

Tina Brooks' first session for Blue Note was recorded in March of 1958, a month after he appeared on Jimmy Smith's sessions for The Sermon and House Party, but the music wasn't released at the time. The sessions remained unreleased for years, eventually appearing as Minor Move in Japan during the '80s. Listening to Minor Move, it's hard to see why the record was shelved. Not only does it feature Brooks in robust form, but he's supported by pianist Sonny Clark, trumpeter Lee Morgan, bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Blakey -- a first-rate lineup if there ever was one. Stylistically, the music here is no great surprise -- it's straight-ahead, driving hard bop -- but the performances are exceptional. Brooks has no problem keeping up with Morgan and Clark, who both have more than their fair share of fine moments here. He has a rich, full-bodied tone and clever phrasing, keeping the music fresh on standards like "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Everything Happens to Me." His original compositions "Nutville" and "Minor Move" are equally impressive, offering the entire band opportunities to stretch out and improvise vigorously. It is true that Minor Move is right within the hard bop tradition, but fans of that style will find much to treasure here. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Minor Move

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Kelley Hurt - Raindance

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:14
Size: 119.6 MB
Styles: R&B, Jazz vocals
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[3:52] 1. Raindance
[2:55] 2. I Can't Help It (If I Wanted To)
[2:46] 3. Do Ya Think I'm Sexy
[4:19] 4. I Can Come To You
[3:27] 5. Let's Get Lost
[3:00] 6. Sweet Dreams Of You
[4:11] 7. Out Of This World
[4:02] 8. The Art Of Love And War
[3:56] 9. How Can I Let You Go
[2:56] 10. You Belong To Me
[4:22] 11. Black Widow
[3:02] 12. Showers Of Blessings
[4:25] 13. Our Day Will Come
[4:55] 14. To Make My Day

Music is a family affair for jazz singer Kelley Hurt. Her heritage takes her back—way back—to songs of the past and sitting around the house singing with her family. “Nothing could compare to hearing all of my relatives raising a hymn together,” she says. “It was about the feeling you got from being together.”

Raindance was produced by Ross Rice and was released October 2003 on Archer Records. Recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Raindance is a fresh mix of Memphis style jazz and R&B. It features Chris Parker on piano, Jonathon Wires on bass, Renardo Ward on drums and Doug Garrison (Iguanas) on percussion.

Her musical accomplishments include winning the Phillips Award for Best New Artist from the Memphis chapter of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. She was a lead vocalist for the band DDT a jazz fusion and funk band featuring Luther and Cody Dickinson, Paul Taylor, Jim Spake and Chris Parker. Kelley has also worked with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, recording the song “Could Woulda Shoulda” which was produced by Jim Dickinson at Phillips Recording Service. She has toured Italy with the Memphis Blues Revue and has also performed internationally with Bruce Willis and the Accelerators.

The rich musical legacy of Memphis has had a big influence on Kelley but she also listened to such national performers as Shirley Horne, Diane Reeves and Cassandra Wilson. Kelley writes her own lyrics, sings the melody and then adds the chords. OnRaindance she wrote “The Art of Love and War”, “I Can Come To You”, “Black Widow”, and “How Can I Let You Go”.

Raindance

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Ben Sidran - Don't Let Go

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 37:09

Size: 85.1 MB

Styles: Soul-Jazz-Funk

Year: 1974

Art: Front

[3:25] 1. Fat Jam

[3:11] 2. The House Of Blue Lights

[2:40] 3. Ben Sidran's Midnight Tango

[3:43] 4. The Chicken Glide

[3:35] 5. She's Funny That Way (I Got A Woman, Crazy)

[1:28] 6. Monopoly

[3:18] 7. Don't Let Go

[3:28] 8. Hey Hey Baby

[3:44] 9. The Foolkiller

[3:29] 10. The Funky Elephant

[3:47] 11. Snatch

[1:16] 12. Down To The Bone

Alto Saxophone – Bunky Green; Bass – Kip Merklein, Phil Upchurch, Randy Fullerton; Drums – Tom Piazza; Drums, Percussion – Clyde Stubblefield, George Brown, Phil Upchurch; Guitar – James P. Cooke, Phil Upchurch; Harmonica – Jerry Alexander; Organ – Jim Peterman; Piano, Vocals – Ben Sidran; Tenor Saxophone – Sonny Seals.

Issued by Blue Thumb in 1974, Don't Let Go was Ben Sidran's third for the label, and his fourth overall. After his 1971 debut on Capitol, Feel Your Groove -- a rootsy, bluesy, and jazzy rock record, populated by everyone from Peter Frampton to Jesse Ed Davis -- Sidran began to indulge his jazz muse, and by 1974 the transformation was complete; he fit right in with Blue Thumb's funky, wide-reaching jazz, funk, fusion, and whatever-else-comes-down-the-pipe-that's-interesting philosophy. After all, this was the label that had issued recordings by Phil Upchurch, Luis Gasca, Mark-Almond, Ike & Tina Turner, the Crusaders, Sun Ra, Dan Hicks, the Last Poets, the Pointer Sisters, Paul Humphrey, Captain Beefheart, and Robbie Basho, among others. The players surrounding Sidran on this session are stellar; some of them had been recording with him since his second album, I Lead a Life. The players here include Upchurch, Clyde Stubblefield, Bunky Green, Sonny Seals (the saxophonist), Tom Piazza, James Curly Cooke, and Randy Fullerton. Musically, the material walks a thin line between funky and straighter jazz and pop with an equal division between vocal and instrumental numbers over its 12 tracks. Sidran was establishing himself as a serious pianist and intricate composer, and as a songwriter with Mose Allison's sophisticated sense of irony. The set opens with the killer, funked up instrumental "Fat Jam" composed by Cooke. One can hear traces of the Bill Cosby television show in Cooke's lyric line, but with its killer shimmering cymbal work, breaks, and the low-slung yet taut bassline, it's something else, too. When Sidran's Rhodes piano kicks into high gear with the Sonny Burke-arranged horns it becomes a smoking intro to a record that, in spite of its wide-ranging ambition, succeeds on virtually every level. Being pushed to this sense of hot groove, Sidran changes up on his cover of the roadhouse standard "House of Blue Lights." It starts with a spoken word hipster rant that abruptly shifts into a fine nearly spoken read of the boogie-woogie crazy original. Sidran's pianism is red hot and rooted in the Albert Ammons stride, and the rhythm section lights it up when he goes into a solo that moves right into bebop. Given how dizzy the proceeding is, this is only the beginning; as it turns out, Don't Let Go contains some of Sidran's most memorable songs, including the darkly cool "Ben Sidran's Midnite Tango," with a fine string arrangement that outdoes Michael Franks at his own game. There is also the slow strutting jazz shuffle "She's Funny That Way" and the proto-uptown soul stepper "Hey Hey Baby." Of the instrumentals, the low-key funky jazz of "The Chicken Glide," and the now infamous "Snatch" are the highlights, but these are all terrific. Don't Let Go only made it onto CD in Japan, but that shouldn't stop you from scoring a legal download digitally or from Verve's out-of-print online store. This is a killer, adventurous record from a magical time that doesn't sound a bit dated in the 21st century. ~Thom Jurek

Don't Let Go

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Joe Venuti, Tony Romano - Never Before... Never Again

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 26:58
Size: 61.7 MB
Styles: New Orleans jazz, Swing
Year: 1954/2012
Art: Front

[3:23] 1. You Know You Know You Belong To Somebody Else
[3:50] 2. Feeling Free And Easy
[2:55] 3. Almost Like Being In Love
[3:42] 4. Autumn Leaves
[3:48] 5. I Want To Be Happy
[2:54] 6. Summertime
[2:27] 7. I Remember Joe
[3:57] 8. Angelina

In today’s world, getting this many Italian-Americans together in one place probably violates some racketeering laws. But back in the early 1950s, come to think of it, was probably a crime too! Violinist Joe Venuti (1903-1978) achieved lasting jazz fame for his duets with guitarist Eddie Lang in the 1920s and 1930s. He worked with Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Bing Crosby, Paul Whiteman, and Zoot Sims. In 1937 he met guitarist Tony Romano. Romano built a career as a guitarist/composer/arranger/singer/actor, touring with Bob Hope’s USO shows from World War II through Vietnam.

This recording is actually two dates. The first eight tracks come from a duo organized by Johnny Mercer in 1954. Venuti and Romano seem to read each other’s thoughts easily sliding into these standards and original tunes. In today’s hip multi-ethnic culture we would marvel at the diversity of Romano’s Italian arrangement of the traditional “Angelina.” Back then, the two friends merely played the familiar. Venuti’s violin playing weaves the European with swing fiddle. No guitar face here, it’s all love.

The remainder of the disc was from a 1953 session sans Venuti plus a lengthy interview with Tony Romano. Romano displays a deft talent at song, sounding like a Sinatra crooner with a Dean Martin delivery. Back when jazz and popular (pop?) music went hand-in-hand, a good melody or sweet delivery made careers. Guys like Venuti and Romano probably won’t be mentioned in Ken Burns’ PBS jazz spectacle, but they were important pieces in our American story of jazz music. ~Mark Corroto

Never Before... Never Again

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Leonard Cohen - Songs From The Road

Styles: Vocal, Folk
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:17
Size: 154,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:43)  1. Lover, Lover, Lover
(6:09)  2. Bird on the Wire
(3:31)  3. Chelsea Hotel
(5:06)  4. Heart With No Companion
(4:22)  5. That Don't Make it Junk
(8:01)  6. Waiting for the Miracle
(4:17)  7. Avalanche
(3:41)  8. Suzanne
(5:18)  9. The Partisan
(5:23) 10. Famous Blue Raincoat
(7:32) 11. Hallelujah
(6:07) 12. Closing Time

One of the most fascinating and enigmatic  if not the most successful singer/songwriters of the late '60s, Leonard Cohen has retained an audience across six decades of music-making, interrupted by various digressions into personal and creative exploration, all of which have only added to the mystique surrounding him. Second only to Bob Dylan (and perhaps Paul Simon), he commands the attention of critics and younger musicians more firmly than any other musical figure from the '60s who is still working in the 21st century, which is all the more remarkable an achievement for someone who didn't even aspire to a musical career until he was in his thirties. Cohen was born in 1934, a year before Elvis Presley, and his background personal, social, and intellectual couldn't have been more different from those of the rock or folk stars of any generation. Though he knew some country music and played it a bit as a boy, he didn't start performing on even a semi-regular basis, much less recording, until after he had already written several books and as an established novelist and poet, his literary accomplishments far exceed those of Bob Dylan or most anyone else who one cares to mention in music. He was born Leonard Norman Cohen into a middle-class Jewish family in the Montreal suburb of Westmount. His father, a clothing merchant (who also held a degree in engineering), died in 1943, when Cohen was nine years old. It was his mother who encouraged Cohen as a writer, especially of poetry, during his childhood. This fit in with the progressive intellectual environment in which he was raised, which allowed him free inquiry into a vast range of pursuits. His relationship to music was more tentative. He took up the guitar at age 13, initially as a way to impress a girl, but was good enough to play country & western songs at local cafes, and he subsequently formed a group called the Buckskin Boys. At 17, he enrolled in McGill University as an English major. 

By this time, he was writing poetry in earnest and became part of the university's tiny underground "bohemian" community. Cohen only earned average grades, but was good enough as a writer to earn the McNaughton Prize in creative writing by the time he graduated in 1955. A year later, the ink barely dry on his degree, he published his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies (1956), which got great reviews but didn't sell especially well. He was already beyond the age that rock & roll was aimed at. Bob Dylan, by contrast, was still Robert Zimmerman, still in his teens, and young enough to become a devotee of Buddy Holly when the latter emerged. In 1961, Cohen published his second book of poetry, The Spice Box of Earth, which became an international success critically and commercially, and established Cohen as a major new literary figure. Meanwhile, he tried to join the family business and spent some time at Columbia University in New York, writing all the time. Between the modest royalties from sales of his second book, literary grants from the Canadian government, and a family legacy, he was able to live comfortably and travel around the world, partaking of much of what it had to offer including some use of LSD when it was still legal  and ultimately settling for an extended period in Greece, on the isle of Hydra in the Aegean Sea. 

He continued to publish, issuing a pair of novels, The Favorite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966), with a pair of poetry collections, Flowers for Hitler (1964) and Parasites of Heaven (1966). The Favorite Game was a very personal work about his early life in Montreal, but it was Beautiful Losers that proved another breakthrough, earning the kind of reviews that authors dare not even hope for. (Cohen found himself compared to James Joyce in the pages of The Boston Globe, and across the years, the book has enjoyed sales totaling well into six figures.) ...More ~ Bruce Eder http://www.allmusic.com/artist/leonard-cohen-mn0000071209/biography

Personnel: Leonard Cohen (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Bob Metzger (guitar, pedal steel guitar, background vocals); Charley Webb (guitar, background vocals); Javier Mas (12-string guitar, bandurria); Hattie Webb (harp, background vocals); Dino Soldo (harmonica, keyboards, background vocals); Niel Larsen (keyboards); Roscoe Beck (electric bass, background vocals); Rafael Bernardo Gayol (drums, percussion); Sharon Robinson (background vocals).

R.I.P.
Born: September 21, 1934, Westmount, Canada
Died: November 10, 2016, Los Angeles, California, United States

Songs From The Road

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Claudia Thompson - Goodbye To Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:16
Size: 88,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:04)  1. Some Of These Days
(2:49)  2. Body And Soul
(3:29)  3. If I Should Lose You
(3:34)  4. Stormy Weather
(2:41)  5. I'm Through With Love
(2:42)  6. The Morning After
(2:44)  7. Goodbye
(2:56)  8. Blue Prelude
(3:10)  9. You Call It Madness
(3:26) 10. Fan Me
(2:50) 11. I Was Yours
(3:46) 12. Gloomy Sunday

Claudia Thompson's 1959 Edsel release Goodbye to Love features playing by Barney Kessel and a collection of smooth standards, including "Stormy Weather," "Body and Soul," "If I Should Lose You," and "The Morning After." An appealingly polished selection of jazzy pop songs. ~ Heather Phares http://www.allmusic.com/album/goodbye-to-love-mw0000083269

Personnel:  Claudia Thompson (vcl), Barney Kessel (g), Benny Carter (as), Joe Howard, Harry Betts, Ed Kusby, George Roberts (tr), Paul Smith (p), Joe Mondragon (b), Alvin Stoller (d), Ted Nash (fl,as), Mike Rubin (b), Nino Rossi (ello), Dick Shanahan (d)

Thank You my Friend!

Goodbye To Love

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Louis Hayes Sextet - Blue Lou

Styles: Straight Ahead Jazz

Year: 1993

File: MP3@256K/s

Time: 65:51

Size: 121,1 MB

Art: Front

( 6:32)  1. Blue Lou

(10:17)  2. Quiet Fire

( 7:15)  3. Honey Dip

( 6:54)  4. Lament for Love

( 9:59)  5. The Walk

( 9:38)  6. Sweet and Lovely

( 7:58)  7. New Endings

( 7:14)  8. Spur of the Moment

Louis Sedell Hayes was born May 31, 1937 in Detroit Michigan. He was always surrounded by music, actually first starting with the piano, before his father gave him a set of drums at age 10. A cousin noticed his talent, took him under his wing and made sure that his approach to the instrument would serve him well. And well it did, for after developing his skills in the fertile musical ground of Detroit in the 1950's with the likes of Yusef Lateef, Kenny Burrell, Doug Watkins and others, Louis found himself at the tender age of 18 in New York as a member of the great Horace Silver Quintet. His first recording with Horace, the classic Six Pieces Of Silver would introduce him to the jazz world as a new force to be acknowledged. Louis continued to enhance his reputation with Horace from 1956 until 1959 when he joined Cannonball Adderley where he propelled the quintet to joyous musical heights and timeless recordings through 1965. He joined piano master Oscar Peterson from 1965-67 during which time he and bassist Sam Jones became known as the "dynamic duo", recognized as the most powerful rhythm duo in jazz. Louis would rejoin Oscar in 1971 for a year. For the next decade or more he became leader or co-leader of a series of electrifying groups which included musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Barron, Junior Cooke, Woody Shaw and Dexter Gordon. Louis also spent several years touring with McCoy Tyner. The Louis Hayes Group with Herald Mabern and Frank Strozier culminated four years of artistry with the album; Variety Is The Spice which received five stars, truly an accomplishment during a period when his style of hard driving, "bebop" was less preferred. He continuously traveled throughout the United States, Europe and Japan making musical history wherever he performed. Louis has played and recorded with jazz greats such as John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, J J Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, Wes Montgomery, Joe Henderson, Cedar Walton, George Benson as well as Ravi Shankar, John Lee Hooker and others. http://www.louishayes.net/about.html

Personnel:  Ronnie Mathews Piano;  Javon Jackson Sax (Tenor);  Eddie Allen Trumpet;  Gerald Hayes Sax (Alto);  Louis Hayes Drums;  Clint Houston Bass; 

Blue Lou

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Tim Warfield - Gentle Warrior

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:49
Size: 150,8 MB
Art: Front

( 6:53)  1. I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face
( 5:17)  2. Adonis
( 6:35)  3. Subliminal Being I
( 5:55)  4. Constant J
( 7:35)  5. Lani
(19:52)  6. The Grim Reaper's Rapture
( 6:02)  7. Time to Let Go
( 7:36)  8. Subliminal Being II

Tenor saxophonist Tim Warfield's third Criss Cross recording represents a positive step in his growth as an artist. On Gentle Warrior, he plays with the same musicians who were on his previous two recordings: trumpeter Terell Stafford, pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Tarus Mateen, and drummer Clarence Penn, with special guest Nicholas Payton sharing the trumpet duties with Stafford. Together they perform five Warfield originals, two different takes of Penn's "Subliminal Being," and the standard "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face," played with a medium slow groove. This song, along with Warfield's ballad "Lani," displays Warfield's romantic big-toned tenor, while up-tempo burners "Constant J" and "Time to Let Go" display a more energetic side of his musical personality. The recording's tour de force is Warfield's "The Grim Reaper's Rapture." It begins with a fierce collective improvisation that segues into a medium tempo, with a six-note repeating phrase played by bass and piano over which the haunting melody is played, and features intense solos by Warfield and Chestnut. This recording is an excellent example of Warfield's versatility as a composer and player, and is one of 1998's best releases. ~ Greg Turner http://www.allmusic.com/album/gentle-warrior-mw0000044018

Personnel: Tim Warfield (tenor saxophone); Nicholas Payton, Terell Stafford (trumpet); Cyrus Chestnut (piano); Clarence Penn (drums).

Gentle Warrior

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Larry Carlton & Guests - All Star Jazz - The Jazz King

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:22
Size: 125,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. Blue Day
(4:20)  2. Candlelight Blues
(5:54)  3. H.M. Blues
(3:53)  4. Love at Sundown
(4:31)  5. Lullaby
(5:45)  6. Magic Beams
(5:44)  7. When
(3:53)  8. Never Mind The Hungry Men's Blues
(7:21)  9. Love Light in My Heart
(4:31) 10. Lullaby (Instrumental Version)
(4:00) 11. Celebration

Like so many other Los Angeles studio musicians, guitarist and composer Larry Carlton was faced with a choice a number of years back: whether to go solo and develop a name for himself, or to continue the less risky, more lucrative existence of a session guitarist, making good money and recording with prominent musicians. Fortunately for fans of this eclectic guitarist, he chose the former, and has recorded under his own name for Warner Bros., MCA Records, GRP Records, and various other labels since 1978. Carlton's studio credits from the ''0s and early '80s include work with musicians and groups like Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Herb Alpert, Quincy Jones, Bobby Bland, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and literally dozens of others. Among his more notable projects as a session guitarist were Joni Mitchell's critically acclaimed Court and Spark album and Donald Fagen's Nightfly album. For much of the '70s, Carlton was active as a session guitarist, recording on up to 500 albums a year. Although he recorded a number of LPs under his own name as early as 1968's With a Little Help from My Friends (Uni) and 1973's Playing/Singing (Blue Thumb), he didn't land a major-label contract until 1978, when he signed with Warner Bros. Carlton began taking guitar lessons when he was six. His first professional gig was at a supper club in 1962. After hearing Joe Pass on the radio, he was inspired to play jazz and blues. Wes Montgomery and Barney Kessel became important influences soon after he discovered the jazz guitar stylings of Pass. B.B. King and other blues guitarists had an impact on Carlton's style as well. He honed his guitar-playing skills in the clubs and studios of greater Los Angeles while he attended a local junior college and Long Beach State College for a year until the Vietnam War ended. Carlton toured with the Fifth Dimension in 1968 and began doing studio sessions in 1970. His early session work included studio dates with pop musicians like Vikki Carr, Andy Williams, and the Partridge Family. In 1971, he was asked to join the Crusaders shortly after they'd decided to drop the word "Jazz" from their name, and he remained with the group until 1976. In between tours with the Crusaders, he also did studio session work for hundreds of recordings in every genre. But it was while he with the Crusaders that he developed his signature, highly rhythmic, often bluesy style. His credits include performing on more than 100 gold albums. 

His theme music credits for TV and films include Against All Odds, Who's the Boss, and the theme for Hill Street Blues. The latter won a Grammy award in 1981 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Carlton delivered his self-titled debut for Warner Bros. in 1978, shortly after he was recognized for his groundbreaking guitar playing on Steely Dan's Royal Scam album. (Carlton contributed the memorable guitar solo on "Kid Charlemagne.'') He released four more albums for Warner Bros., Strikes Twice (1980), Sleepwalk (1981), Eight Times Up (1982), and the Grammy-nominated Friends (1983), before being dropped from the label. He continued studio session work and toured in between, emerging again in 1986 on MCA Records with an all-acoustic album, Discovery, which contained an instrumental remake of Michael McDonald's hit "Minute by Minute." The single won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1987. Carlton's live album Last Nite, released in 1987, got him a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance. While working on his next album for MCA, On Solid Ground, Carlton was the victim of random gun violence, and was shot in the throat by gun-wielding juveniles outside Room 335, his private studio near Burbank, California. The bullet shattered his vocal cords and caused significant nerve trauma, but through intensive therapy and a positive frame of mind, Carlton completed work on On Solid Ground in 1989. He formed Helping Innocent People (HIP), a non-profit group to aid victims of random gun violence. Despite the tragedy foisted on him in the late '80s after he was shot, with a long period of hospitalization and rehabilitation, Carlton continued his active recording and performing schedule over the next two decades, beginning with a number of albums during the '90s on the GRP label: 1992's Kid Gloves; 1993's Renegade Gentleman; 1995's Larry & Lee (with Lee Ritenour); and 1996's The Gift. Carlton also released the 1995 holiday collection Christmas at My House on MCA. And in 1997 he replaced Lee Ritenour in the popular, contemporary jazz outfit Fourplay, first appearing on the group's 4 album in 1998. 

The 2000s found Carlton as active as ever, recording live and in the studio as both leader and collaborator for a variety of labels. Two albums on Warner Bros. began the decade, Fingerprints including guest appearances by Michael McDonald, Vince Gill, Kirk Whalum, and Vinnie Colaiuta  in 2000, and Deep Into It in 2001. A popular concert draw in Japan, Carlton could be heard as a collaborator on two live recordings from that island country during the decade, Live in Osaka (with Steve Lukather), issued in 2001 on the Favored Nations label, and Live in Tokyo (with Robben Ford) on 335 Records in 2007. Meanwhile, his albums as a leader continued, with Sapphire Blue and Fire Wire released by Bluebird/RCA in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and The Jazz King with Carlton leading an all-star band performing music he composed on commission to celebrate the 80th birthday and ascension to the throne of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej issued by Sony BMG in 2008. In 2009 Carlton appeared as guest guitarist on selected dates during Steely Dan's U.S. summer tour. Take Your Pick (with Tak Matsumoto) appeared in 2010. Always happy to meet with the press, Carlton has a sweet, peaceful personality, and listeners continue to hear it in his unique rhythmic and warm guitar chords and ringing guitar tones. Carlton was featured on and produced vocalist Michele Pillar's holiday album, I Hear Angels Calling, in 2011. Also appearing in 2011 was Larry Carlton Plays the Sound of Philadelphia, followed by Four Hands & a Heart, Vol. 1 in 2012. ~ Richard Skelly https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/larry-carlton/id29989

Personnel: Larry Carlton – guitars;  Abraham Laboriel – bass;  Earl Klugh – guitar;  Tom Scott – sax;  Nathan East – bass;  Abraham Laboriel, Jr. – drums;  Greg Mathieson – keyboards;  Michele Pillar – vocals;  Jeff Babko - keyboards

The Jazz King

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