Larry Carlton my Father's

This live set is one of Larry Carlton's best recordings because the guitarist stretches himself. Joined by keyboardist Terry Trotter, bassist Abraham Laboriel, drummer John Robinson and percussionist Alex Acuna (and an occasional three-piece horn section), Carlton plays five- to eight-minute versions of four originals (including "The B.P. Blues"), plus Miles Davis's "So What" and "All Blues." Recorded at the Baked Potato in North Hollywood in California, Carlton is heard throughout at his very best, making one wonder why he has recorded so few albums of a similar spontaneous nature in his career.

Carlton's debut was 1968's With a Little Help From My Friends, a respectable if not boring effort of him playing popular songs of the time. As the guitarist for the Crusaders, he helped to personify their commercial and fulfilling West Coast sound from 1971-1976. During the end of his tenure, it seemed like the group was limiting what he could do on his own. In many respects, Larry Carlton renews the artist. Unlike many efforts of the time, Carlton enlists a small, accomplished band with bassist Abe Laboriel, drummer Jeff Porcaro, and Greg Mathieson on keyboards. "Room 335," an ode to the studio in L.A. where this was recorded, all but sets the stage for the style of his early solo work.

The Jazz King record is the result of a composition Carlton wrote for H. M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. The Jazz King project was initiated to celebrate the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol's accession to the throne as well as his 80th birthday in 2007. Carlton was commissioned to write this composition by the Royal Project Foundation and Rotary Club of Bangkok. These compositions were released on CD only in Thailand.

Larry Carlton & Steve Lukather - No Substitutions: Live in Osaka (2001) {Favored Nations FN2060-2 rec 1998}
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© 2001 Favored Nations / Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather | FN2060-2
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Contemporary Jazz / Blues Rock / Guitar

One of the more underrated guitarists in rock is Steve Lukather. Best known for his work with Toto, Lukather is a highly sought-after session player, having played on countless albums by other artists, and has no problem adapting his playing to a wide variety of different styles. Lukather also finds the time to sporadically issue his own solo albums, and in 2001, he issued a live collaboration with fellow session guitarist Larry Carlton, No Substitutions: Live in Osaka. As expected, plenty of guitar showcases for each player are provided, especially on a pair of over-14-minute tracks – "The Pump" and "All Blues" – as well as an album-closing rendition of the Carlton classic "Room 335." Not exactly a groundbreaking jazz-rock guitar release, but fans of each guitarist should enjoy hearing each show their stuff on-stage.

Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour have had parallel careers, but this CD is their first joint meeting on record. The two guitarists complement each other well and there are hints of Wes Montgomery along with a tribute to Joe Pass ("Remembering J.P."), but the songs (all of them their originals) are little more than rhythmic grooves most of the time with the usual fadeouts. The consistently lightweight music is reasonably pleasing but never too stimulating.

For several years, decades in fact, a lost gem issued originally not just in the US but in the UK as well (and our vinyl pressings were always much better than their US counterparts), on Chrysalis records who, for a while, had some very good material in this genre, for example the two Auracle albums (and wouldn't lots of us like to get those on CD). But finally it's now reappeared on CD and how very nice it is to be reacquainted with it in that format. Anyway, this album ~ his second, as far as I know ~ features a host of jazz luminaries of the day (Hancock, Erskine, Pastorius, Carlton, Ritenour, Gadd, etc.) and its only failing is its mildly raw upper registers, though thankfully there are no vocals to pollute the proceedings and Jaco Pastorius' electric bass work is of truly sterling calibre. On this album, if anywhere, you can hear why he was held in such very high esteem by his contemporaries.

After a period of recording with Fourplay in the late '90s, Larry Carlton comes back under his own name with a collection that is typically both tantalizing and frustrating. It's tantalizing in that you get flashes and streaks of what this extremely gifted and eloquent guitarist can do when the material is good enough to inspire him. It's frustrating, however, because there isn't enough of it; Carlton can only do so much with the weak-to-middling tunes that take up the majority of the disc. Nevertheless, the title cut is a fine example of the smooth jazz genre at its most ingratiating, with a nice groove and tasty guitar work. "Slave Song" is even better, spangled with intriguing instrumental touches (including the multitracked saxes of Kirk Whalum); some great, funky octave work right in the pocket; and most unusually in the smooth jazz arena, a passionate instrumental chorus on the way to the fade.

Larry Carlton - Four Hands & A Heart Volume One (2012) {335 Records 335-1209}
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© 2012 335 Records, Inc. | 335-1209
Jazz / Blues / Guitar

This record is something special to Larry’s heart. He reviewed these previously recorded solo albums, “Larry Carlton”, “Strikes Twice”, and Sleepwalk” and picked tracks from them that really meant a great deal to him and recorded new electric/acoustic guitar versions of these classic Larry Carlton Tunes. I discovered Larry Carlton in 1978, when I bought his "Larry Carlton" lp. I was blown away by his virtuosity and his electric guitar tone. But there was something else, quite difficult to pin down. I finally read somewhere that Joni Mitchell described his playing as "like fly fishing." And that's it. It just makes you feel well; listening to his playing took me to a higher plane. This album does that in spades. The format here just gives you his naked guitar playing, and it's just beautiful. Less is more, indeed.