Larry
Carlton (born 2 March 1948) is an American jazz guitarist, dividing his
recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with more
popular bands. Over his career Carlton has won three Grammys
for his performances and compositions, including the theme music for the
hit television series, Hill Street Blues (1981).
Carlton started learning to
play guitar when he was six years old. Taking an interest in jazz whilst at
high school, his playing style was most influenced by guitarists JoePass, Wes Montgomery,
Barney Kessel, and B.B. King. Saxophonist John Coltrane has also made a
notable impression on Carlton, and Carlton's live albums have featured
cuts from Miles Davis's hallmark Kind of Blue
During the
1970s, Carlton was a busy session musician
in Los Angeles, appearing on up to
500 recordings a year, including albums by Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell and
Quincy Jones. His loopy, dazzling guitar work on Steely Dan's "Kid
Charlemagne" from their 1976 LP The Royal Scam has been listed
as the third best guitar solo on record by Rolling Stone Magazine. From
1971 to 1976 he played with the jazz-rock group The Crusaders. In 1977 he
signed with Warner Bros. Records for a solo career. Although still relatively
unknown outside his fan-base, Carlton produced six albums
from 1978 to 1984, during which his adaptation of Santo Farina's
"Sleepwalk" climbed the pop and adult contemporary charts and his
1983 LP Friends garnered a Grammy nomination.
His solo
career took a twist in 1985 when he signed with MCA Master Series for an
acoustic jazz album. The result was Alone/But Never Alone, which
featured sparse but emotive arrangements, including a rendition of The
Lord's Prayer. From 1985 to 1990 Carlton did various solo projects, the
1986 live Last Nite being one of his best recordings and winning
another Grammy for his cover of Michael McDonald's "Minute By
Minute" from the successful LP Discovery.
