Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic
guitarist and
composer.
He has won one Grammy award and thirteen nominations. Klugh was awarded the “1977” Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” for his album “Finger Painting” by “Swing Journal” a Japanese jazz magazine.
Biography
At the age of six, Klugh commenced training on the piano until he switched to the guitar at the age of ten. At the age of thirteen, Klugh was captivated by the guitar playing of
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...
when Atkins made an appearance on the
Perry Como Show. Klugh was a performing guest on several of Atkins' albums. Atkins, reciprocating as well, joined Earl on his ''
Magic In Your Eyes'' album. Klugh also appeared with Atkins on several television programs, including ''
Hee Haw
''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...
'' and a 1994 TV special titled "Read my Licks". Klugh was also influenced by
Bob James,
Ray Parker Jr
Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...
,
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...
and
Laurindo Almeida
Laurindo Almeida (September 2, 1917 – July 26, 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He and Bud Shank were pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Gra ...
. His sound is a blend of these jazz, pop and
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
influences, forming a potpourri of sweet
contemporary music original to only him.
Klugh's first recording, at age fifteen, was on
Yusef Lateef
Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in America.
Although Lateef's main instruments ...
's ''Suite 16''. He played on
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...
's ''White Rabbit'' album and two years later, in 1973, joined his touring band.
For their album ''
One on One'', Klugh and
Bob James received a
Grammy award for
Best Pop Instrumental Performance
The Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...
of 1981. He has since received 12 Grammy nominations, millions of record and CD sales, and continues touring worldwide to this day.
Klugh has recorded over 30 albums including 23 Top Ten charting records—five of them No. 1—on Billboard's Jazz Album chart. With 2008's ''The Spice of Life'', Klugh earned his 12th career Grammy nomination—his second nomination and release on the independent Koch label.
Each spring, Klugh hosts an event called Weekend of Jazz, featuring jazz musicians at the
Broadmoor Hotel & Resort in
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
. Jazz greats including
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five gold records and three Grammy Awards in his career. His album '' The ...
,
Patti Austin,
Chuck Mangione
Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer.
He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother ...
,
Bob James,
Joe Sample
Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...
,
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer.
In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''.
He was also nominated in ...
,
Roberta Flack
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...
, and
Arturo Sandoval
Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his f ...
have all performed at the annual event. In November 2010, Klugh brought the 'Weekend of Jazz' to Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.
Discography
Studio albums
Earl Klugh Trio albums
Duet albums
Soundtrack albums
Video
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Klugh, Earl
1954 births
Living people
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American guitarists
American jazz guitarists
African-American guitarists
Grammy Award winners
MNRK Music Group artists
Smooth jazz guitarists
Return to Forever members
GRP Records artists
Fingerstyle guitarists
American acoustic guitarists
American male guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians
20th-century African-American musicians
21st-century African-American musicians