Lenny Breau

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Lenny Breau (born August 5, 1941 in Auburn (Maine) as Leonard Harold Breau , † August 12, 1984 in Los Angeles ) was a Canadian modern jazz guitarist .

Live and act

Breau comes from a musical family; his francophone parents were active as country musicians . At the age of twelve he began his career in his parents' band in Canada. After instruction from Bob Erlendson , he founded the jazz trio Three with Don Francks and Eon Henstridge in 1962 , which operated from Toronto and recorded an album in the Village Vanguard . Breau then worked as a studio musician for the CBC and had his own Lenny Breau show on Canadian television. On the initiative of Chet Atkins , Breau recorded a studio album for RCA in 1968 with bass guitarist Ron Halldorson and drummer Reg Kellin, which was followed in 1969 by a live recording from Shelly's Manne Hole .

For the next few years he worked again in Canada with his own trio, but also accompanied musicians such as Moe Koffman , Jimmy Dale, Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Anne Murray . He also played solo concerts. From 1974 he played increasingly in the United States, where he worked with his own trio and with Buddy Emmons, Chet Atkins, Phil Upchurch and Buddy Spichersich, and in 1981 he settled permanently in Los Angeles. His career was at times overshadowed by drug problems.

Breau wrote technical essays for Guitar Player magazine ; together with John Knowles he wrote the textbook Lenny Breau Fingerstyle Jazz . He is mainly remembered for his unusual fingerings and fingerings and his eclectic style: According to the Jazz Rough Guide , he transferred “a piano-like style of playing to the guitar by creating wonderful accompanying chords to his improvised lines using classical fingering technique. At the same time he also used some of Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner's , and his musical curiosity extended to other fields, including flamenco . "

Breau was found dead in his swimming pool in 1984, the circumstances surrounding his death have not been established. In 1997 he was posthumously honored with induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame . His daughter Emily Hughes produced the documentary The Genius Of Lenny Breau in 1999 .

Lexigraphic entries

Publications

  • Ron Forbes-Roberts: One long tune: The life and music of Lenny Breau . Univ. of Texas Press, 2006, ISBN 9781574412307
  • John Knowles: Lenny Breau Fingerstyle Jazz . Mel Bay Publ., 1997, ISBN 9780786629565

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Canadian Music Hall of Fame - Inductees. Canadian Music Hall of Fame , accessed August 6, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Breau, Lenny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Breau, Leonard Harold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian modern jazz guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH August 5, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Auburn, Maine
DATE OF DEATH August 12, 1984
Place of death los Angeles