''Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau'' is an album by Canadian jazz guitarist

Lenny Breau Leonard Harold Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used fingers ...

that was released in 1968.

History

Breau befriended

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 s ...

, which resulted in Breau's first two albums for

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. Atkins and Breau also collaborated on ''

Standard Brands Standard Brands was a packaged foods company, formed in 1929 by J. P. Morgan with the merger of: * Fleischmann Company *Royal Baking Powder Company * E. W. Gillett Company of Canada (1929) - Toronto-based baking goods company (maker of Magic Bak ...

'' in 1981. Breau spent much time around Atkins's office in Nashville during and after these two RCA albums. They played clubs regularly.McClelland, John & Bratic, Deyan. (2004) "Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions". Pacific, Missouri, Mel Bay Publications. Atkins helped Breau get his first recording contract after hearing one of his studio tapes. Atkins stated in an interview for ''Frets'' magazine, "Paul Yandell first brought Lenny to my attention around 1966. I immediately knew that here was one of the great players of this world. He had taken some of my fragmentary ideas, and gone on and on into musical areas I had never dreamed of."Atkins, Chet. "The Genius of Lenny Breau". ''Frets'' Magazine. July 1986. The songs were recorded, accompanied by fellow

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

ers

Ron Halldorson Ron Halldorson (born 1943) is a Canadian jazz musician, arranger, and producer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, best known for his work with guitarist Lenny Breau. Beginning his career as a country musician in the 1950s, Halldorson switched to jazz in the ...

and Reg Kelln, during two sessions under the supervision of Atkins. A technical difficulty delayed the release of the album until late winter. Breau was displeased with the track selection and sequencing, preferring the more straight ahead jazz tunes the trio had recorded versus the pop material Atkins chose to include.Forbes-Robert, Ron. (2006). "One Long Tune: the life and music of Lenny Breau". Denton, Texas. University of North Texas Press. .

Reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' reviewer John Burke called Breau's playing "tender" and "understated" and stated in his review: "... part of the fascination in hearing an imaginative player like Breau lies in how he reinterprets each song so that you hear it as if for the first time... Within the pop/country, rock/jazz frame he has set for himself, you feel Breau extend himself to the fullest. A handsome first effort." Music critic Thom Jurek of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called it "an impressive debut as any you're likely to find because of Breau's startling originality on the instrument."

Track listing

#" King of the Road" (

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

) – 2:29 #"Taranta" (Lenny Breau) – 6:51 #"

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962, recorded on November 14 that year, and released on the 1963 album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' and as the b-side of the ''Blowin' in the Wind'' single. The song was cov ...

" (

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

) – 4:31 #" A Hard Day's Night" (

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

) – 4:12 #"

Georgia on My Mind "Georgia on My Mind" is a 1930 song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell and first recorded that same year by Hoagy Carmichael. However, the song has been most often associated with soul singer Ray Charles, who was a native of the U. ...

" (

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

Stuart Gorrell Stuart Graham Steven Gorrell (September 17, 1901 – August 10, 1963) was best known for writing the lyrics for the song "Georgia on My Mind". Born in Knox, Indiana, Gorrell attended Indiana University; there he became friends with fellow student ...

) – 5:21 #"

Monday, Monday "Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas & the Papas, using background instruments played by members of the Wrecking Crew for their 1966 album ''If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears''. It was the group ...

" (

John Philips John Philips (30 December 1676 – 15 February 1709) was an 18th-century English poet. Early life and education Philips was born at Bampton, Oxfordshire, the son of Rev. Stephen Philips, later archdeacon of Salop, and his wife Mary Wood. H ...

) – 2:30 #"

My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 130 ...

" (

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

) – 4:53 #"

Freight Train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

" (

Elizabeth Cotten Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten ( Nevills; January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an American folk and blues musician. She was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down. This po ...

) – 3:31 #"

Cold, Cold Heart "Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and pop song written and first recorded by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky-tonk and an entry in the ''Great American Songbook''. Hank Williams version Williams adapted the melody ...

" (

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

) – 4:44 #" Music to Watch Girls By" ( Sid Ramin,

Tony Velona Anthony Velona (November 16, 1920 – January 31, 1986) was an American author, lyricist, and composer. Velona was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He wrote or co-wrote numerous songs including the 1955 hit ''Domani "Domani" (Italian for "tom ...

) – 4:29 #" Call Me" (

Tony Hatch Anthony Peter Hatch (born 30 June 1939) is an English composer for musical theatre and television. He is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. Early life and early career Hatch was born in Pinner, Middlesex. Encouraged by his mus ...

) – 4:13 Only tracks 1–10 appeared on the original 1968 release. The album was reissued on CD in 2005 by Wounded Bird Records with the addition of one bonus track, "Call Me".

Personnel

* Lenny Breau – guitar * Ronnie Halldorson – bass * Reg Kelln – drums

References

External links

The Genius of Lenny Breau
(PDF document) Retrieved July 3, 2009. {{Authority control Lenny Breau albums 1968 debut albums albums produced by Chet Atkins RCA Records albums