Larry Carlton

Larry Carlton

Larry Carlton is an American guitarist and composer from Torrance, California, born in 1948. He works across jazz, jazz fusion, jazz rock, jazz pop, blues and progressive pop, and is closely associated with smooth jazz and guitar-led instrumental music. He records under his own name and through Larry Carlton Productions.

Career beginnings

Carlton starts guitar lessons at the age of six and plays his first professional engagement in 1962 at a supper club. He is inspired to move towards jazz and blues after hearing Joe Pass on the radio, and later cites Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel and B.B. King among the players who shape his style. He studies at a local junior college and Long Beach State College for a year, and hones his playing in the clubs and studios of greater Los Angeles.

He tours with the Fifth Dimension in 1968 and begins studio session work in 1970. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he becomes one of Los Angeles’ most in-demand session guitarists, working on hundreds of recordings across many genres and, at his busiest, appearing on as many as 500 albums a year. His studio credits include work with Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, Sammy Davis Jr., Herb Alpert, Quincy Jones, Bobby Bland, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and many others.

Work with the Crusaders and major session credits

In 1971 Carlton joins the Crusaders after they drop the word “Jazz” from their name, and remains with the group until 1976. He develops the rhythmic, often bluesy approach that becomes central to his playing during this period. Among his best-known session contributions are Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark and Hejira, Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam, and Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly.

He also performs on more than 100 gold albums. His television and film theme credits include Against All Odds, Who’s the Boss and the theme from Hill Street Blues, which wins a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1981.

Solo recordings

Carlton releases early solo records in 1968 with With a Little Help from My Friends and in 1973 with Singing/Playing. He signs to Warner Bros. in 1978 and issues his self-titled debut the same year, after gaining wider recognition for his guitar work on The Royal Scam, including the solo on “Kid Charlemagne” and the opening guitar part on “Don’t Take Me Alive.”

He goes on to record four more albums for Warner Bros.: Strikes Twice (1980), Sleepwalk (1981), Eight Times Up (1982) and the Grammy-nominated Friends (1983). After leaving the label, he continues with session work and touring.

In 1986 he appears on MCA Records with the all-acoustic album Discovery, which includes an instrumental version of Michael McDonald’s “Minute by Minute.” The single wins a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1987. His live album Last Nite follows in 1987 and receives a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance.

While working on On Solid Ground, Carlton is shot in the throat in a random gun attack outside his private studio near Burbank, California. The injury damages his vocal cord and causes nerve trauma, but he completes the album, which is issued in 1989 after a long period of treatment and rehabilitation.

Later work and related projects

Carlton forms Helping Innocent People (HIP), a non-profit group that supports victims of random gun violence. His later recordings include Collection (1990), Kid Gloves (1992) and Renegade Gentleman (1993) for GRP Records, followed by Playing/Singing (1995, Edsel) and two 1996 GRP releases, Gift and With a Little Help from My Friends.

He is a member of Fourplay, the Larry Carlton Quartet and the Larry Carlton-Steve Lukather Band. His niece is singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton.