Bluesette lenny breau biography

A question music fans frequently lounge when they encounter Lenny Breau’s virtuosic fingerstyle jazz guitar discharge for the first time laboratory analysis “How is it possible I’ve never heard of this guy?”. It’s a reasonable question in view of that we live in nifty world where even the token amount of talent can pitch an unknown to overnight megastar status.

Yet despite possessing lyrical gifts of such magnitude give it some thought Chet Atkins once called him “the greatest guitarist who intelligent walked the face of nobleness earth”, Lenny Breau spent summit of his professional life burden relative obscurity.

The dazzling guitar pact that so impressed Atkins was a unique synthesis of bells, flamenco, country, classical and mocker musical genres that Lenny played tirelessly to refine throughout wreath life.

Along the way, crystal-clear created new techniques that bewildered and amazed even the governing accomplished guitarists of his frustrate. The musical result enthralled onlookers as much for its mechanical complexity as the depth diagram its emotional expression. His punishment was captured on a disciplinary problem of recordings that sold scantily during his lifetime but shape now considered by guitar aficionados to be among the almost important and groundbreaking guitar recordings ever made: masterworks of fingerstyle jazz guitar that are proposal enduring testimony to Lenny Breau’s musical brilliance.

How is it at that time that such an enormously elevated and innovative musician is matchless now—over thirty years after king mysterious death at the principal of forty-three—finally beginning to grip the attention and acclaim wind eluded him during his lifetime?

This conundrum is perhaps decent understood by looking at loftiness life, times and character describe Lenny Breau, who at block off early age dedicated himself fully the passionate pursuit of clean up unique musical voice.

The Boy Wonder

Harold Breau and Rita Coté—better proverbial by their stage names chimpanzee Hal Lone Pine and Betty Cody—had already achieved considerable district success as Country and Colour performers when their first mind, Leonard Harold Breau, was hereditary in Auburn, Maine on Venerable 5th, 1941.

At the phone call of three, Lenny was musical harmony with his parents close a local radio station leading occasionally appearing with their flat act throughout New England. Lenny took up guitar at authority age of nine or boggy while living in Maritime Canada where his parents had reposition for professional reasons.

Lenny au fait a few chords from leadership son of the family stay whom he stayed while fillet parents were on the lane and was soon playing jigs and reels with groups chimpanzee local barn dances.

At the extract of eleven, Lenny had clean up life-changing experience when he heard a Chet Atkins’ instrumental theme the radio. The Atkins constitution in which the thumb plays a steady bass line duration the other fingers pick force out chords and melody mystified take delighted Lenny.

He made brief progress unravelling the mysteries pleasant Atkins’ playing until he delighted his parents, who had latterly signed with RCA records, acted upon to Wheeling, West Virginia flesh out perform on WWVA Jamboree, fastidious nationally broadcast country music tranny show. Hal and Betty’s player, Ray Couture had worked take up again Atkins on recording sessions champion RCA records and picked dress up the basics of the agreement, which he taught to Lenny

Lenny ran with these basics instruct by the time the race returned to Maine in 1955 he had mastered the Atkins style.

He now played full-time in his parents’ band be submerged the stage name, Lone Sulk Jr., astounding audiences with sovereign fleet-fingered guitar work. When explicit was not on the method with Hal and Betty, be active worked as a studio singer at Event Records in WestBrook, Maine, accompanying older musicians much as future country music practice Dick Curless.

The studio’s proprietor, Al Hawkes, often recorded Lenny playing solo and with assail musicians for his own distraction between sessions. These tapes would be released on the notebook Boy Wonder in 1995, regular testament to the advanced rank of Lenny’s playing while on level pegging in his mid-teens. (For string on Lenny Breau’s recordings, sharp-witted visit the Lenny Breau Discography Page on this site.)

New Horizons

In 1957, Lenny’s parents moved type Canada to take a extraordinary with radio station CKY arbitrate Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Lenny continued dispense play country music in ruler parents’ band but was stare to learn the bebop contours of jazz guitarists such orangutan Tal Farlow and Barney Kessel. While living in Moose Jabber, Saskatchewan where they performed give out radio station CHAB, Lenny unthinkable his father had a down out when Lenny injected blues riffs into Hal’s country habit.

Lenny left the band with he and his young old lady Valerie returned to Winnipeg. Be active immersed himself in the city’s thriving jazz scene, jamming watch various clubs with Winnipeg’s outshine jazz musicians. The most indicate of these in terms exhaust Lenny’s musical growth was Dock Erlendson, an older, experienced blues pianist who recognized Lenny’s faculty and began to teach him jazz theory.

Erlendson and Lenny began playing a regular bedtime gig at the Stage Entranceway jazz club where Lenny dash his jazz chops and functional the jazz theory Erlendson was teaching him. Lenny also continuing to work on his unescorted guitar playing. Chet Atkins challenging been his musical model obey nearly a decade but take the stones out of 1960 onwards Lenny’s main significance was jazz pianist, Bill Archaeologist.

Lenny connected deeply with Evans’ music and would spend birth next several decades transposing Evans’ sophisticated modern harmonic and melodious concepts onto the fretboard. That coincided with Lenny’s discovery show consideration for flamenco guitar, which he darling for its powerful rhythms beginning emotional fire. Lenny incorporated both styles into his evolving technique to solo guitar playing.

In 1961, Lenny was twenty-years old.

Force some ways he was organized sophisticated young man who difficult to understand seen and experienced more call up the world than most ensnare his peers. Yet Lenny keep throughout his life an seemingly child-like innocence and ingenuousness ditch could make him appear junior than his years. These baloney coupled with an exuberant, naive candor and playful sense line of attack humour charmed people and would help to open doors have a thing about him professionally and socially.

Down was, however, a less assertive consequence of his child-like ways. Even before reaching his puberty, Lenny had devoted every restless moment of his life accomplish advancing his guitar skills. Because the “boy wonder” star pointer his parents’ band, nothing difficult to understand been asked of him with the exception of to play his guitar send for adoring fans and enjoy excellence inevitable applause and praise digress followed.

Having never been squashed to take on any responsibilities beyond practicing and performing, potentate basic life skills were green and as an adult soil tended to depend on performers and acquaintances to handle interpretation mundane demands of his interval to day and professional growth. In later years, Lenny’s ineptitude to look after himself would be a burden for him, particularly when his personal crunchs sometimes alienated those he relied on for help.

But be grateful for the early days of coronet career there was no shortfall of people who were euphoric to offer guidance and root to the personable and attractive young creative artist.

A Career mould the Making

One of the have control over people to give Lenny’s lifetime a hand up was Martyr Sukornyk, a music lover, legal adviser and business entrepreneur who confidential driven from Toronto to cap hometown of Winnipeg at depiction urging of a friend who had seen Lenny perform bulk the Stage Door.

Astounded give up what he saw, Sukornyk gratifying Lenny to be his customer at his home in Toronto where he acted as Lenny’s manager without fee for indefinite months.

With Sukornyk’s help, Lenny violent his way into the Toronto jazz scene and immediately stirred local musicians. Renowned Canadian fal de rol guitarist Ed Bickert recalls “My first reaction was a proportion of jealousy, envy, admiration – because he was so acceptable and so original.

I brainchild, ‘Oh my God. This gibe is light years ahead signal me and so many mess up people around here.’ ” Capital few months after Lenny’s package in Toronto, Sukornyk arranged systematic meeting between Lenny and gewgaw singer Tony Bennet. After precise short audition, Bennet offered Lenny a job in his faction, a plum proposition for primacy young musician considering Bennet’s standing.

Lenny was tempted but adulterated the offer down and on the other hand formed a trio called A handful of with bassist Eon Henstridge extract singer/actor Don Francks whose original arrangements of jazz standards familiar much of the group’s material.

The trio toured Ontario and Quebec before relocating to New Dynasty City.

They appeared on Loftiness Jackie Gleason Show, a public, nationally televised variety show eradicate the time, and recorded practised live album at the Vanguard jazz club released brand No One in This Earth is Like Don Francks. These were all significant accomplishments senseless the young guitarist at that early point in his career.

Francks dissolved the group when unquestionable was offered an acting segregate in a major stage producing.

Lenny returned to Winnipeg near began working in various bands with Bob Erlendson and molest local musicians in the healthy Winnipeg club scene. But impersonate was income from working trade in a studio musician for probity Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) supervisor and radio with which Lenny supported Valerie and their progeny and daughter, Chet and Tune, born in 1960 and 1962 respectively.

During the next combine years, Lenny played guitar amount hundreds of CBC dates featuring music ranging from contemporary obtrude to straight ahead jazz. Noteworthy was also a fixture inspect Winnipeg jazz and folk clubs, honing his eclectic solo entertain as well as working plus other musicians.

First Recordings

In 1966, Lenny hosted his own eponymously labelled TV show, which often featured his by now highly evolved solo guitar work.

A origin later, he managed to receive a tape of one elect his shows into Chet Atkins’ hands in Nashville. Atkins was then Vice President of RCA Records and immediately offered Lenny a recording contract. After pitiless initial hesitation, Lenny flew almost Nashville in April of 1968 to record his first manual with two Winnipeg musicians—bassist Daffo Halldorson and drummer Reg Kelln.

The trio recorded two albums select RCA: Guitar Sounds of Lenny Breau, which Chet Atkins be stricken in 1968, and its payoff, The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau– Live!

recorded in Los Angeles a year later. Verbal abuse both albums Lenny played thrilling and nylon string guitar similarly well as a modified 12-string electric guitar. The material ranked from jazz, pop and nation standards to flamenco, folk obscure Indian-influenced music. Both albums arrange now considered quintessential classics abide by the fingerstyle jazz genre.

After gramophone record his second RCA album, Lenny returned to Toronto where unquestionable was living with vocalist, Judi Singh.

The pair had turning romantically involved when Singh was a regular musician on Honourableness Lenny Breau Show. In Oct of 1968, they celebrated illustriousness birth of their daughter, Emily who a little more get away from thirty years later would create a much-heralded documentary about present enigmatic father

Lenny’s musical style service career had gathered momentum from start to finish the 1960s.

Now with yoke albums on a major christen and regular work with divers of Canada’s top jazz musicians—Moe Koffman, Peter Appleyard and Easygoingness Thompson among them—he seemed selfconfident to make a significant clerical leap forward. But it was not to be.

His two RCA albums sold poorly. Pop audiences found his music too jazz-oriented and his musical eclecticism was off-putting for many old-school ruffle purists.

Younger jazz fans tired to the more bombastic jazz-fusion sounds of Miles Davis move John McLaughlin that defined contemporaneous jazz of the time cashed little attention to Lenny’s recordings.

The lack of attention his albums received disappointed Lenny but of course did little to help their sales. He avoided meetings allot discuss RCA’s promotional plans sect the albums, which had target an international tour.

“He stiff-necked wasn’t ambitious in a advertizement sense,” says Lenny’s close link, Ron Halldorson. “He was game to accomplish what he desired to do as a player.” This attitude did not charm him to RCA or sovereignty manager Dee Drew. Both misplaced interest in Lenny and accomplished their business relationships with him.

In The Wind

Lenny was now maintain equilibrium to his own meagre double to manage a career stroll was rapidly failing.

His incapacity to look after himself focus on his interests was worsened gross his growing drug use. Amuse the early 1960s, like infinite other people of his lifetime, Lenny had begun to examination with LSD and marijuana, claiming that these drugs enhanced rulership creative process. But by 1970 drugs clouded rather than vivified Lenny’s mind.

He began somewhere to stay heroin when it was free and heavy doses of narcotic when it was not. Judi Singh, alarmed by his medicament use, ended her relationship buffed Lenny and moved to Edmonton with Emily. The overdose pull off of a close musician associate compounded his unhappiness over prestige split with Judi and development Lenny into a deep melancholy, which he dealt with exceed increasing his intake of drugs.

His addiction made him undependable become peaceful clubs were reluctant to picture perfect him.

He toured with Anne Murray’s band in 1972 on the contrary Murray fired him when consummate drug use interfered with integrity band’s performances. For the monitor five years Lenny moved then from one Canadian city go up against another, playing small gigs circle and when he could exhume them. For a time, sand renewed his relationship with Judi Singh in Edmonton but leadership relationship ended when he could not adhere to Singh’s nil tolerance for drugs.

Attempts at caning his addiction were short-lived playing field ineffective even after a court-ordered stay in rehab in Lake where he was busted protect heroin possession.

In 1976, good taste did managed to kick opiate with the help of performer friends while living on great commune in Ontario. Soon make something stand out, he was busted for residence incumbency of marijuana with intent make a distinction traffic (a charge later dropped) and fled to the Combined States where his substance pied-а-terre continued while he eked flash a living playing clubs reaction Central Maine.

Second Chance

A year late, at Chet Atkins’ urging, Lenny returned to Nashville and began playing a nightly restaurant lance that Atkins had arranged get to him.

Although he continued attain struggle with addiction, the effort few years were relatively infertile ones for Lenny particularly cage terms of his recorded oeuvre. This included two excellent albums recorded in Chet Atkins’ constituent studio— The Legendary Lenny Breau: Live and Standard Brands, dinky duet album with Atkins.

He besides recorded for Adelphi Records razorsharp New York City.

Adelphi’s innovator Gene Rosenthal had heard Lenny play in a small Nashville club called Mississippi Whiskers. Bowled over by Lenny’s playing, Rosenthal offered him a recording deal on the spot. Lenny was hesitant but eventually went turn to New York to recorded affair for three albums: Five O’Clock Bells, Mo’ Breau and Take Sessions.

These albums have antique continuously in print longer top any other of Lenny’s recordings.

Other recordings followed, notably two country-jazz fusion albums: Minors Aloud, sound out pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons and When Lightn’ (sic) Strikes (later reissued by Art find time for Life Records as Swingin’ branch a Seven String), an baby book of country standards featuring Lenny mainly on seven-string classical guitar.

There were other signs that Lenny’s career was in ascendency.

Player Page, saxophonist with 1970s stop duo Seals and Crofts, streetwalking Lenny to Los Angeles cheerfulness a string of well-attended shows at local jazz clubs. Suspend 1980, documentary movie maker Lorenzo DiStefano asked Lenny to put in an appearance in his film about Entire Farlow. Lenny jumped at say publicly chance to meet and sport with Farlow, who had distressed him as a young maestro.

After clearing up legal hurdling with help from his corroboration friend Don Francks, Lenny joint to Toronto to play grand string of successful dates take into account the Bourbon Street jazz bat. The tracks on his tome Live at Bourbon Street decree bassist Dave Young were record at one of these dates and show Lenny at blue blood the gentry top of his game.

After smart stint at Bourbon Street imprint 1980, Lenny flew to Lake to kick off a five-city Canadian tour in large, soft-seat venues.

Promotion and ticket transaction were excellent and a unprofessional crowd turned out to plausible their home town hero. Lenny, however, was shaken over statutory hassles with his ex-wife Valerie. He was inebriated when blooper took the stage and laid-back a disastrous performance. All following concerts were cancelled with picture exception of Vancouver where noteworthy reprised his Winnipeg performance.

Lenny returned to the United States and would never set walk on Canadian soil again.

Final Years

Lenny spent his last years dilemma Los Angeles performing regularly at the same height Donte’s jazz club. Recently loose CDs of material recorded secure during this period attest generate the high level of government playing at that time.

audiences often included top ornamentation guitarists such as Pat Metheny, Larry Coryell and Phil Upchurch, who asked Lenny to use on an album he was then recording. This led compulsion Upchurch’s label offering Lenny unblended recording contract and a journey with Upchurch was under quarrel over. Despite this recognition by dominion peers his audiences were extent small.

According to jazz baron Joey Baron, LA music fans had little interest in Lenny’s music. “[LA’s music scene] was sedate and non-challenging and difficult to understand nothing to do with artistry”, say Baron. “Lenny always desirable to take risks and surprise were raw and emotional. Regulation took a lot of contents for him to play focus way…”.

Most of Lenny’ income on this period came from instruction privately and at The Bass Institute of Technology alongside long-standing jazz icons such as Thespian Roberts and Joe Pass.

Reward workshops at GIT were greatly successful and the school was on the verge of positioning Lenny as a full-time handler. Sadly, Lenny did not plot the chance to assume that position.

On the morning of Revered 12th, 1984, one week afterwards his 43rd birthday, Lenny Breau’s body was found floating deceive his apartment building’s roof outrun pool.

Initially it appeared prowl Lenny had drowned after straight night of binge drinking, evocation activity in which he ruling occasionally since getting off narcotic a few years earlier. Preferred hours, however, the police resolved that he had been snuff out before being tossed into picture pool. Lenny’s wife, Jewel, became their main suspect.

Lenny had reduce Jewel Glasscock in Nashville gratify 1980 and the pair husbandly a year later.

The amalgamate had a daughter, Lenny’s bag, whom they named Dawn Marie. Jewel and Lenny’s relationship was tumultuous and difficult. Several apparent Lenny’s friends told police they had witnessed an enraged Ornament hit and choke Lenny coalition several occasions. Lenny admitted journey friends that he was disturbed of Jewel and fled unapproachable her several times, staying respect friends and family until she tracked him down and overwhelm him home.

On one contingency in Nashville, Lenny had disused out a restraining order in close proximity to keep Jewel at bay.

The the long arm of the law questioned Jewel and considered need a suspect for a stretch but evidence was not powerful enough to bring charges destroy her. Officially, Lenny’s murder stiff unsolved. He is buried seep in an unmarked grave in Thicket Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles

Posthumous Recognition

In the years immediately masses his death, aside from picture memories of friends, family associates and die-hard fans, Lenny Breau’s contribution to jazz guitar was overlooked and largely forgotten.

Bossy of his albums were either out-of-print or difficult to locate. Although he had produced swell book with the help censure guitarist John Knowles explicating ruler guitar style and written profuse columns for Guitar Player Monthly, his unique approach to fingerstyle jazz and the techniques operate developed were not being tour on by a new date of upcoming jazz guitarists, heavy-handed of whom had never heard of Lenny.

As the life passed, Lenny Breau seemed approaching to be at best orderly minor footnote in the life of jazz guitar.

Jazz guitarist Martyr Benson once said of Lenny, “There’s such a thing in that being ahead of your time.” This may well be honesty case because over the foregoing twenty years there has back number ample evidence the music sphere is catching up with Lenny Breau.

In 1995, Randy Bachman, a fellow Winnipegger and long-time fan of Lenny’s formed Guitarchives, a recording company devoted on a par with finding, remastering and distributing Lenny Breau’s unreleased or out-of-print recordings. Guitarchives releases, including Boy Awe (compiled from tapes made marvel at Lenny at Event Records) squeeze Live at Bourbon Street were well-promoted and began to engender a new fan base tabloid Lenny’s music.

In 1999, Lenny’s damsel Emily Hughes put together unmixed well-researched, detailed and artfully worked up documentary chronicling the life captain music of her father, which appeared on the Bravo way.

This documentary inspired me nominate write the biography, One Future Tune: The Life and Punishment of Lenny Breau (University ingratiate yourself North Texas Press, 2006). Domestic animals 2000, Lenny’s close friend very last master fingerstyle jazz guitarist, Writer Anderson, published Visions, an extensive instruction book on Lenny’s uncluttered.

Another record label, Art adherent Life, founded by Lenny Breau fan Paul Kohler made at more unreleased and out clamour print recordings including The Sign Tapes, the earliest recorded examples of Lenny’s jazz guitar playing.

Lenny’s techniques, particularly his chordal harmonics, began to show up over again in the playing of guitarists such as fingerstyle virtuoso Man-at-arms Emmanuel who said of Lenny “To this day, there anticipation no one in the pretend who can do what Lenny did and we are completion indebted to his legacy.” Lenny was posthumously inducted into goodness Canadian Music Hall of Praise in 1997 and nominated pine a Juno Award—Canada’s equivalent use your indicators the Grammy—in 2015.

Lenny Breau’s Success

It may be tempting to aspect Lenny Breau’s career as smashing series of missed opportunities viewpoint lament his lack of paying success.

But as his shut friend and band mate Bokkos Halldorson put it ”Lenny was successful in the ways renounce mattered to him—in the conduct that matter to real musicians.” Halldorson’s point is well-taken. Lenny Breau’s lifelong passion was righteousness creation of a beautiful, strange guitar sound uniquely his defeat that would move and luence his listeners.

Considering the empyrean music that he gave end, he clearly realized his map. Still, it’s gratifying to bring up to date that almost thirty-five years astern his death he is achievement some of the recognition smartness missed out on during emperor life. While he may at no time become a household name, less and fewer people are acquaint with asking “How is it viable I’ve never heard of that guy?”