The guy who made that guitar for Lenny is Kirk Sands. He mentioned that he was working on a double neck with 7 lower and 12 string upper, just prior to Lenny's death. Lenny wanted to have the spaces between the 12 string wide enough to pick them independently with his right hand. Imagine what he could have done with that kind of arrangement!
He is among the ten best jazz guitarists for sure, but he had something more... Something indescribable, a special soul, a deepness, a fragility, with a mistery cloud emanating from his music as well as his personality. Tal Farlow had this aura to my sight too. Well, it's just my perception.
Lenny is the greatest pound for pound guitar player of all time… boy genius to hallmark sessions … no one combined, chet and flamenco with hard be bop with such musicality and harmonic depth
He used to play at a little bar called The Cellar Door in Auburn, Maine, late 70s/early 80s. My girlfriend and I looked old enough to drink and could get away with it there. We didn't know who he was. Just this little French guy, kinda drunk-ish, sitting on stage and playing just like in this video, for hours. Sometimes clarinetist Brad Terry would join him. Everyone in the place would become transfixed. It's crazy to be right up close to a genius like Lenny Breau while he's playing. He had a very light touch, looked like he his hands floated over the guitar. The bar was a pretty relaxed place and I believe this was reflected in his performances. Just playing w/out any pressure.
I saw this cat when I was fourteen years old in a church in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lenny Breau was the chalk for guitarists. If you don't believe me ask fellow Winnipeggers, Neil Young and Randy Bachman who were regulars at his gigs, when like me they were teenagers and aspiring musicians. RIP, Lenny.
I grew up in Canada where I used to see him on TV from time to time. I attended a concert of his in 1970 at the Le Hibou coffee house in Ottawa. I still remember him being introduced as "Here's Lenny Breau and his 40 magical fingers" : )
I saw Lenny twice . Once in 1980 and in 1981 at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston. 😮 I have the first one recorded on an old cassette . What you and hear is what you get . Virtuoso magic . R.I.P..
It's always too soon when a great dies, but in Lenny's case particularly, he'd continued a steep learning curve his entire career. We had the opportunity for Tal to show us what he could do. In Ted's death, the greatest loss was losing him as a teacher. With Lenny gone, I believe we've been deprived of ever hearing his best work, which could be, (at least, considered by fans like me), to be the best guitar playing ever.
Lenny died 5 hours before i was born, found him on one of those who died on your birthday google searches. And goddamn i'm sad he died, but if he hadn't a croaked it when he did, i would never have heard him.
***** He reminds you of Bill Evans because he was influenced by his harmonic approach and replicated it on his 7 string. I love the story when Lenny played in LA the first time and all the top guitarists including Joe Pass came to see him and walked out in total awe.
Just incredible to see the complete mastery of his insturment and the gorgeous music that results, Just thrilling and moving to watch and listen. The man was an artist of the highest order.
Lenny made a few appearances in an after hours Jazz Club that I attended in the 1960's on 124 street, his stage presence was awesome Lenny played, we all listened and learned.
Most of us mere mortals have a hard enough time with 6 strings,but I guess Lenny wanted some difficulty so he had another string added. Finger picker Thom Bresh called Lenny a monster guitarist,he was dead on with that assessment.
small world! saw him at Hibou, bank st, 2nd floor, about '63 or '64 with Don Francks and Ian Henstridge on bass. My first exposure to a true genius artist. Bloody cold winter night, typical ottawa.
I was there a few years later watching Peter Jermyn play the Hammond B3 with the Modern Rock Quartet. Saw Soft amachine there, too. I'm talking 1968-69.
Lenny was the guitar man that I loved most as a young boy in Toronto at Georges,as a lot of us old boys hung out, terrific.Meanwhile back in L.A ( Lenny's new tune), with Don Thompson on Bass and Terry Clarke on Drums and Doug Riley on Keys.A great performance, and obviously memorable to this day. This was before Steve Kennedy and his lovely wife had their first baby.
I would have luv'd to have seen him tackle Debussy's Clair de Lune. With these harmonics and chromatic scales stuff he does he would have been epic. R.I.P. Just discovered him tonight. Amazing talent. Thx.
I was wondering what pickups Lenny Breau used in his custom 7 string guitars? Humbuckers of some kind but I wonder if he had his pickups designed special. He was a guitar genius my favorite jazz guitarist. Too bad Lenny struggled in life and couldn't be alive today he was the best.
Breau had this guitar made specifically for him. I read that it had a problem: the seventh string had a tendency to break because it was essentially a standard high E string raised an interval of a fourth, by winding up the tension Without this string, it was a "normal" guitar.
bminorscales if you pick up the DVD of this full master class Lenny speaks of the difficulties he had making it with more detail. Really something else. Can't believe he died so soon after finally getting the guitar from Kirk Sand
Watched a band in 1966 with an amazing guitar player Donny Thompson. Asked him who the best guitar player in Winnipeg was and he said Lenny Breau. Guess he was right!
@martinaxman, am a bit familiar with Lenny's history, his personal struggles, his mind-boggling tragic end. I love this statement he made: "I'd like to play sounds you can see if you've got your eyes closed." Lenny was an astoundingly gifted artist and a genius - so original, I'm just glad his recordings survive.
true true, he had some rough times, drug and wife issues, his life made his music so maybe this geneous was bound to die early.. I dont know, I hear this sadness in his music and I like it a lot :). Oh what I wish to see Lenny play one more time.. Or ask him some questions :)
Yipieee! I just got the DVD from Amazon! This is truly one of the crappiest quality videos I own, but well worth the money to learn more about Lenny. I recommend it to anyone who loves this clip. Here's another interesting fact. Lenny was unhappy with most guitars and so ordered a specific 7 string instrument to get what he needed. He got the ax he's holding that very day and as you see, mastered it and blew everyone away.
@nerddog this was filmed at the University of Southern California its from the DVD Lenny Breau - Master Class . the dvd says, Lenny died shortly after this was filmed, and its the last known flim of him. Lenny Died August 12, 1984 (aged 43) Los Angeles, CA
I know you mean that in a good way. Actually though, Lenny is rare among guitar savants, in that horn geeks and piano geeks and bass geeks and drum geeks generally adore him too.
i found an old vynl record by lenny (thats actualy what brought me here) and id be listening to it now but the cartridge on my turntable is busted, what a buzzkill eh? anyway just like to say thanks to this random find i am now a fan. very happy to discover this
Actually, he's the man who invented great harmonics. Lenny is/was a legend and a brilliant musician. If you get a chance, check out any history or biography material you can find on him. He's really amazing considering he started out in country music.
@martinaxman, I always appreciate someone who has a comment that is truly interesting. Didn't know Lenny started out playing country - no doubt it's why he had admired Chet Atkins and played with him. Thanks.
Only someone like Lennie Breau would develop a style with the a 7 strong guitar with the extra string being above the high E (A I presume). I'm glad I got to see and hear him live when he was based in southern California in the 80s.
@philipatoz Actually if memory serves, he used to play with his parents C&W band when he was 14. He got seriously into music and moved to more challenging styles. Kind of reminds me of John Fahey the way he just saw a way and followed it. Check WIki. There's a pretty good biography there.
so genius..I thought tommy Emmanuel was better with the harmnics than lenny,..but seeing this I was mistaken...one of the best guitarists to ever live....
indeed...yes it feels like he lived every note he plays or something....it's just magic...and on that seemingly crappy Yamaha solid state amp....my friend had one of those and it sounded terrible....
His tone is *NOT* coming from the amp, as amply proven by his marvellous sound on spanish guitar. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kdABJpQ4xzw.html
@@JazzCatzs sorry if I seemed flippant, I just try to sing the melody and start from there, not easy in the more complicated songs. The keys used in versions of Fly me to the moon or autumn leaves are obviously easier to find. PS Most agree his 7th string was a top A
@@jasonmudgarde286 No worries- I’ve put this arrangement on hold for a while-yea I have a high A- it’s not even a debate - everyone knows that who studies Lenny- all the best :-)
Lenny was in same class as Allan Holdsworth. Inventors that had no others choice than to play the guitar. All other normal people would have found a "real" paying profession;-)
