Lenny Breau • The Legendary Lenny Breau... Now!

 

 

Review
by Paul Kohler
Recorded with the help of guitar master Chet Atkins, this record showcases Breau in the solo guitar spotlight. A few tunes feature him soloing against a seperate rhythm guitar track that he also played. Breau's version of McCoy Tyner's "Visions" is astounding!!
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-legendary-lenny-breau--now%21%21-mw0000875119



Biography:
Leonard Harold Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used fingerstyle techniques not often used in jazz guitar. By using a seven-string guitar and approaching the guitar like a piano, he opened up possibilities for the instrument.

Early life
Breau was born August 5, 1941, in Auburn, Maine, and moved with his family to Moncton, New Brunswick in 1948. His francophone parents, Harold Breau and Betty Cody, were professional country and western musicians who performed and recorded from the mid-1930s until the mid-1970s. From the mid to late 1940s they played summer engagements in southern New Brunswick, advertising their performances by playing free programs on radio station CKCW Moncton. Lenny began playing guitar at the age of eight. When he was twelve, he started a small band with friends, and by the age of fourteen he was the lead guitarist for his parents' band, billed as "Lone Pine Junior", playing Merle Travis and Chet Atkins instrumentals and occasionally singing. He made his first professional recordings in Westbrook, Maine at Event Records with Al Hawkes at the age of 15 while working as a studio musician. Many of these recordings were released posthumously on the album Boy Wonder.

The Breau family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1957 and their new band performed around the city and province as the CKY Caravan. Their shows were radio broadcast live on Winnipeg's CKY on Saturday mornings from remote locations.

Jazz career
Around 1959 Breau left his parents' country band after his father slapped him in the face for incorporating jazz improvisation into his playing with the group. He sought out local jazz musicians, performing at Winnipeg venues Rando Manor and the Stage Door. He met pianist Bob Erlendson, who began teaching him more of the foundations of jazz.

In 1962, Breau briefly performed in the Toronto-based jazz group Three with singer and actor Don Francks, and Eon Henstridge on acoustic bass. Three performed in Toronto, Ottawa, and New York City. Their music was featured in the 1962 National Film Board documentary Toronto Jazz. They recorded a live album at the Village Vanguard in New York City and appeared on the Jackie Gleason and Joey Bishop television shows.

Returning to Winnipeg a few months later, Breau became a session guitarist, recording for CBC Radio and CBC Television, and contributed to CBC-TV's Teenbeat, Music Hop, and his own The Lenny Breau Show filmed in Winnipeg. In 1963 and 1964, Breau appeared at David Ingram's Fourth Dimension at 2000 Pembina Highway in Fort Garry, a suburb of Winnipeg. Every Sunday night was a party open to all. Other regulars at the club on Sunday nights included Neil Young and his band The Squires, and Randy Bachman, who was heavily influenced by Breau, in particular in the jazz guitar style of his The Guess Who hit "Undun".

In 1967, recordings of Breau's playing from The Lenny Breau Show found their way to Chet Atkins. The ensuing friendship resulted in Breau's first two albums, Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau and The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau – Live! on RCA, accompanied by fellow Winnipegers Ron Halldorson and Reg Kelln. Breau did not record again for nearly 10 years, though he continued to do session work in Winnipeg.

Breau left Winnipeg in 1976 and spent the last few years of his life in the United States, living in Maine, Nashville, Stockton, California, and New York City, eventually settling in Los Angeles in 1983. These years he spent performing, teaching, and writing for Guitar Player magazine. A few more solo albums were issued during his lifetime, in addition to albums recorded with fiddler Buddy Spicher and pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons.

Breau had problems with drugs beginning in the 1960s which he managed to control during the last years of his life. On August 12, 1984, his body was found in a swimming pool at his apartment complex in Los Angeles, California. The coroner reported that Breau had been strangled. Breau's wife, Jewel, was the chief suspect, but she was not charged. He is interred in an unmarked grave at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.

Posthumous honors
Many live and "lost" recordings have been issued since Breau's death, and most of his previously released albums have also been reissued. Due to efforts by Randy Bachman of Guitarchives, Paul Kohler of Art of Life Records, Tim Tamashiro of CBC Radio and others, a new generation of listeners has access to his music.

A documentary titled The Genius of Lenny Breau was produced in 1999 by Breau's daughter, Emily Hughes. This Gemini Award-winning film includes interviews with Chet Atkins, Ted Greene, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Leonard Cohen, and Bachman, as well as family members. George Benson said, "He dazzled me with his extraordinary guitar playing... I wish the world had the opportunity to experience his artistry." The biography One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau by Ron Forbes-Roberts was published in 2006 containing interviews with nearly 200 people and a comprehensive discography.

CBC Radio presented a documentary on Lenny Breau titled On the Trail of Lenny Breau (the title is in reference to Breau's parents' song "On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine"). It was first broadcast on September 13, 2009, as part of a regular weekly program called Inside the Music. It was narrated by Breau's son, Chet. The one-hour feature was produced in Montreal by John Klepko.

Breau was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

Technique and guitars
Breau's fully matured technique was a combination of Chet Atkins's and Merle Travis's fingerpicking and Sabicas-influenced flamenco, highlighted by right-hand independence and flurries of artificial harmonics. His harmonic sensibilities were a combination of his country roots, classical music, modal music, Indian, and jazz, particularly the work of pianist Bill Evans. Breau often adapted Evans's compositions, such as "Funny Man", for guitar. Breau said in relation to this, "I approach the guitar like a piano. I've reached a point where I transcend the instrument. A lot of the stuff I play on the seven-string guitar is supposed to be technically impossible, but I spent over twenty years figuring it out. I play the guitar like a piano, there's always two things going on at once. I'm thinking melody, but I'm also thinking of a background. I play the accompaniment on the low strings."[citation needed]

He had two custom seven-string guitars made, one classical and one electric. At the time, no company made a string that could be tuned to the high A on his classical guitar. Breau used fishing line of the correct gauge until the La Bella company began making a string for him. The electric guitar was made by Kirk Sand, also with the first string being a high A.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Breau

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Reseña
por Paul Kohler
Grabado con la ayuda del maestro de la guitarra Chet Atkins, este disco muestra a Breau como guitarrista solista. En algunos temas, Breau interpreta un solo sobre una pista de guitarra rítmica que él también toca. La versión de Breau de "Visions" de McCoy Tyner es asombrosa.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-legendary-lenny-breau--now%21%21-mw0000875119



Biografía:
Leonard Harold Breau (5 de agosto de 1941 - 12 de agosto de 1984) fue un guitarrista estadounidense-canadiense. Combinó muchos estilos musicales, como el jazz, el country, la música clásica y el flamenco. Inspirado por guitarristas country como Chet Atkins, Breau utilizaba técnicas de fingerstyle poco frecuentes en la guitarra de jazz. Al utilizar una guitarra de siete cuerdas y acercarse a la guitarra como a un piano, abrió posibilidades para el instrumento.

Vida temprana
Breau nació el 5 de agosto de 1941 en Auburn, Maine, y se trasladó con su familia a Moncton, Nuevo Brunswick, en 1948. Sus padres francófonos, Harold Breau y Betty Cody, eran músicos profesionales de country y western que actuaron y grabaron desde mediados de los años treinta hasta mediados de los setenta. Desde mediados hasta finales de los años 40, actuaban en verano en el sur de Nuevo Brunswick y anunciaban sus actuaciones con programas gratuitos en la emisora de radio CKCW de Moncton. Lenny empezó a tocar la guitarra a los ocho años. A los doce, formó una pequeña banda con amigos, y a los catorce ya era el guitarrista principal de la banda de sus padres, llamada "Lone Pine Junior", tocando temas instrumentales de Merle Travis y Chet Atkins y cantando ocasionalmente. Realizó sus primeras grabaciones profesionales en Westbrook, Maine, en Event Records con Al Hawkes a la edad de 15 años mientras trabajaba como músico de estudio. Muchas de estas grabaciones se publicaron póstumamente en el álbum Boy Wonder.

La familia Breau se trasladó a Winnipeg, Manitoba, en 1957 y su nueva banda actuó por la ciudad y la provincia con el nombre de CKY Caravan. Sus actuaciones se retransmitían en directo por la emisora CKY de Winnipeg los sábados por la mañana desde lugares remotos.

Carrera en el jazz
Alrededor de 1959, Breau abandonó la banda de country de sus padres después de que su padre le abofeteara por incorporar la improvisación de jazz a su forma de tocar con el grupo. Buscó músicos de jazz locales y actuó en los locales de Winnipeg Rando Manor y Stage Door. Conoció al pianista Bob Erlendson, que empezó a enseñarle los fundamentos del jazz.

En 1962, Breau actuó brevemente en el grupo de jazz Three, de Toronto, con el cantante y actor Don Francks y Eon Henstridge al bajo acústico. Three actuó en Toronto, Ottawa y Nueva York. Su música apareció en 1962 en el documental Toronto Jazz de la National Film Board. Grabaron un álbum en directo en el Village Vanguard de Nueva York y aparecieron en los programas de televisión de Jackie Gleason y Joey Bishop.

De vuelta a Winnipeg unos meses más tarde, Breau se convirtió en guitarrista de sesión, grabando para CBC Radio y CBC Television, y colaboró en Teenbeat, Music Hop de CBC-TV, y en su propio The Lenny Breau Show filmado en Winnipeg. En 1963 y 1964, Breau actuó en David Ingram's Fourth Dimension, en el 2000 de Pembina Highway, en Fort Garry, un suburbio de Winnipeg. Cada domingo por la noche era una fiesta abierta a todos. Otros habituales del club los domingos por la noche eran Neil Young y su banda The Squires, y Randy Bachman, muy influido por Breau, en particular en el estilo de guitarra jazz de su éxito de The Guess Who "Undun".

En 1967, unas grabaciones de Breau en The Lenny Breau Show llegaron a manos de Chet Atkins. La consiguiente amistad dio lugar a los dos primeros álbumes de Breau, Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau y The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau - Live! en RCA, acompañado por sus compatriotas de Winnipeg Ron Halldorson y Reg Kelln. Breau no volvió a grabar durante casi 10 años, aunque siguió haciendo trabajos de sesión en Winnipeg.

Breau abandonó Winnipeg en 1976 y pasó los últimos años de su vida en Estados Unidos, viviendo en Maine, Nashville, Stockton, California y Nueva York, para instalarse finalmente en Los Ángeles en 1983. Estos años los pasó actuando, enseñando y escribiendo para la revista Guitar Player. A lo largo de su vida publicó algunos álbumes en solitario, además de otros grabados con el violinista Buddy Spicher y el guitarrista de pedal Buddy Emmons.

Breau tuvo problemas con las drogas a partir de la década de 1960, que logró controlar durante los últimos años de su vida. El 12 de agosto de 1984, su cuerpo fue encontrado en una piscina de su complejo de apartamentos en Los Ángeles, California. El forense informó de que Breau había sido estrangulado. La esposa de Breau, Jewel, era la principal sospechosa, pero no fue acusada. Está enterrado en una tumba sin nombre en el cementerio Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Honores póstumos
Desde la muerte de Breau se han publicado muchas grabaciones en directo y "perdidas", y también se han reeditado la mayoría de sus álbumes publicados anteriormente. Gracias a los esfuerzos de Randy Bachman de Guitarchives, Paul Kohler de Art of Life Records, Tim Tamashiro de CBC Radio y otros, una nueva generación de oyentes tiene acceso a su música.

La hija de Breau, Emily Hughes, produjo en 1999 un documental titulado The Genius of Lenny Breau (El genio de Lenny Breau). Esta película, ganadora de un premio Gemini, incluye entrevistas con Chet Atkins, Ted Greene, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Leonard Cohen y Bachman, así como con miembros de su familia. George Benson dijo: "Me deslumbró con su extraordinaria forma de tocar la guitarra... Ojalá el mundo tuviera la oportunidad de experimentar su arte". La biografía One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau, de Ron Forbes-Roberts, se publicó en 2006 con entrevistas a casi 200 personas y una completa discografía.

CBC Radio presentó un documental sobre Lenny Breau titulado On the Trail of Lenny Breau (el título hace referencia a la canción de los padres de Breau "On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine"). Se emitió por primera vez el 13 de septiembre de 2009, como parte de un programa semanal regular llamado Inside the Music. Fue narrado por el hijo de Breau, Chet. El programa, de una hora de duración, fue producido en Montreal por John Klepko.

Breau ingresó en el Salón de la Fama de la Música Canadiense en 1997.

Técnica y guitarras
La técnica plenamente madura de Breau era una combinación del fingerpicking de Chet Atkins y Merle Travis y el flamenco influenciado por Sabicas, destacado por la independencia de la mano derecha y las ráfagas de armónicos artificiales. Su sensibilidad armónica era una combinación de sus raíces country, la música clásica, la música modal, la india y el jazz, en particular la obra del pianista Bill Evans. Breau adaptaba a menudo a la guitarra composiciones de Evans, como "Funny Man". Breau dijo al respecto: "Abordo la guitarra como un piano. He llegado a un punto en el que trasciendo el instrumento. Muchas de las cosas que toco con la guitarra de siete cuerdas se supone que son técnicamente imposibles, pero he pasado más de veinte años averiguándolo. Toco la guitarra como un piano, siempre están pasando dos cosas a la vez. Pienso en la melodía, pero también en el fondo. Toco el acompañamiento en las cuerdas graves"[cita requerida].

Mandó hacer dos guitarras de siete cuerdas a medida, una clásica y otra eléctrica. En aquella época, ninguna empresa fabricaba una cuerda que pudiera afinarse en el La agudo de su guitarra clásica. Breau utilizó hilo de pescar del calibre adecuado hasta que la empresa La Bella empezó a fabricar una cuerda para él. La guitarra eléctrica fue fabricada por Kirk Sand, también con la primera cuerda en La agudo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Breau

Tracks:
A1 - I Can't Help It 4:34
A2 - Always 3:44
A3 - Our Delight 4:06
A4 - Freight Train 2:55
B1 - Ebony Queen 3:46
B2 - I Love You 4:20
B3 - It Could Happen To You 2:46
B4 - Vision 4:13


Credits:
    Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Lenny Breau
    Mastered By – John Eberle
    Photography By [Cover] – Paul Yandell

Note:
Recorded at C.A. Workshop; Nashville, Tn.; Fall 1977, Fall 1978

Label:    Sound Hole Records – NR10462
Released:    1979
Genre:    Jazz
https://www.discogs.com/release/3999480-Lenny-Breau-The-Legendary-Lenny-Breau-Now

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