Sept. 5, 2010

Larry Carlton, the seemingly quiet guy with the very talkative guitar, who always sets about draining your soul and energy with blistering hot licks and bluesy riffs that often leave you literally or figuratively (or both) in sweat, comes with quite the story.  The accomplished guitarist began taking guitar lessons when he was six years old. 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 (ya think??).  He was also influenced in a major way by the sax of the legendary John Coltrane.

Carlton honed his guitar-playing skills in the clubs and studios of greater Los Angeles. He attended a local junior college and Long Beach State College for a year until the Vietnam War ended.

The guitarist toured with the R&B/pop group The Fifth Dimension in 1968. He also released his first solo album, With A Little Help From My Friends, then.

In 1970, he began doing studio sessions. His early session work included studio dates with pop musicians like Vicki 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. During his tenure with The Crusaders,  Carlton performed on 13 of their albums, often contributing material. In 1973, Carlton released his second solo project, SinginglPlaying, on Blue Thumb Records ­ aptly titled, as he not only played guitar, but also performed vocals on eight tracks.

Carlton’s demand as a session player was now at its zenith, he was constantly featured with stars from every imaginable genre, ranging from Sammy Davis, Jr., and Herb Alpert to Quincy Jones, Paul Anka, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia and Dolly Parton. At the same time, he was still performing more than 50 dates a year with The Crusaders.
 
Before he transitioned completely to a solo career, Carlton became one of the most in-demand studio musicians of the past three decades. Carlton’s catalog of work includes film soundtracks, television themes and work on more than 100 gold albums.

Ultimately, Carlton began scaling back his session work substantially, while continuing to perform and record with the Crusaders. He shifted his emphasis to the challenges of arranging and producing, and built his own studio-Room 335-in his home. During this period he arranged and produced projects for Barbra Streisand, Joan Baez and Larry Gatlin, as well as producing and co-writing the theme for the hit sitcom Who’s The Boss and co-writing (with Michel Columbier) and arranging the acclaimed movie soundtrack for “Against All Odds.”

As his association with the Crusaders began to draw to a close, Carlton signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1977. Between ‘78 and ‘84, Carlton recorded six solo albums for Warner Bros. Records: Mr. 335: Live In Japan, Friends; Eight Times Up; Sleep Walk; Strikes Twice; Larry Carlton. The latter self-titled album was released hot on the heels of his debut session with rock supergroup Steely Dan. Rolling Stone magazine lists Carlton’s tasty ascent on Steely Dan’s Kid Charlemagne as one of the three best guitar licks in rock music.

With more than 3000 studio sessions under his belt by the early 1980s, Carlton had picked up four Grammy nominations. In addition to winning a Grammy (‘81) for the theme to “Hill Street Blues” (a collaboration with Mike Post), he also was voted NARAS’s “Most Valuable Player” for three consecutive years. NARAS then named him “Player Emeritus” and retired him from eligibility.
 
In 1985, he was approached by the newly formed MCA Master Series to consider doing an acoustic jazz album. His first release for the new label was Alone, But Never Alone, a consensus No. 1 album on the Radio & Records and Billboard Jazz charts. The twelve months of 1987 brought some of the biggest highlights in Carlton’s solo career. In addition to winning the Grammy for “Minute by Minute,” Carlton received a Grammy nomination for “Best Jazz Fusion Performance” for his live album Last Nite. Coming off of the success of two acoustic albums and one live album, Carlton was on a hot streak and entered the studio to work on his next project, On Solid Ground. The all-electric project was nominated for a Grammy in 1989. The actual release of On Solid Ground came almost one year after Carlton was brutally shot in a random act of violence outside his Los Angeles studio.

In 1990, MCA acquired GRP Records and placed their jazz artists under the GRP moniker. Immediately, GRP issued a greatest hits package of Carlton’s work on MCA, called Collection. In 1991, Carlton entered the studio to record a blues-based album with John Ferraro, keyboard man Matt Rollings, bassist Michael Rhodes and harmonica player Terry McMillan. Interrupted by label and consumer demands for another jazz offering, Carlton temporarily shelved what would become Renegade Gentlemen and recorded and released Kid Gloves in ‘92. A pop-oriented Jazz collection of lilting acoustic ballads and biting electric workouts, the album marked the first time Carlton had included both acoustic and electric tracks on a single solo project.
 
In between touring, Carlton resumed work on the bluesy Renegade Gentlemen. Taking the original six tracks to Nashville (his first time to record in that city), and joining up once again with Michael Rhodes and Terry McMillan, plus drummer Chris Layton (from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s band Double Trouble) and keyboard wizard Chuck Leavell, he recorded four tracks, plus did additional production and mixing on the blues rocker in time for a ‘93 release.

Carlton toured extensively that year and the next with jazz superband Stanley Clark And Friends (Stanley Clark, Larry Carlton, Billy Cobham, Deron Johnson and Najee). The quintet released Stanley Clark and Friends Live A t The Greek in ‘94.
 
Larry & Lee, Carlton’s 1995 collaboration with guitar great Lee Ritenour, garnered him his eighth Grammy nomination. This was followed by The Gift in ‘96 and Larry Carlton Collection Volume 2 in ‘97. That same year, his virtuosity and reputation secured him a place in the award-winning  supergroup Fourplay, when member Lee Ritenour left to head his own label. Carlton doubled the fun by signing to Wamer Jazz as a solo artist at the same time. On June 3, 1999, Carlton was inducted along with Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Jimmie Vaughn on Hollywood’s prestigious Rockwalk.

Here in 2010, the guitarist’s presence as a constant member of Fourplay, now on Heads Up International, has come to an end, however.  Twelve years and seven albums later, we find Carlton bidding adieu to the supergroup as he continues to pursue his solo career, making room for guitarist Chuck Loeb to fill his slot.  There is no doubt whatsoever in the minds of many, I’m sure, that both Carlton and Fourplay, each extremely personable,  will continue to soar to even higher heights of smooth.

Portions obtained from Larrycarlton.com