Lenny Breau
Encyclopedia
Leonard Harold "Lenny" Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was a musician, guitar player, and music educator. He was known for blending many styles of music including: jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

, classical
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...

 and flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

 guitar. Breau, inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...

, used fingerstyle techniques not often used in jazz guitar.

Biography

Breau was born August 5, 1941, in Auburn
Auburn, Maine
Auburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan...

, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. His francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

 parents, Harold "Hal Lone Pine" Breau and Betty Cody (née Coté), were professional country and western musicians who performed and recorded from the mid-1930s until (in Hal Breau's case) the mid-1970s. Their son began playing guitar at the age of eight. When he was twelve years old he started a small band with friends, and by the age of fourteen he was the lead guitarist for his parents' band, billed as "Lone Pine Junior", playing Merle Travis
Merle Travis
Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and musician born in Rosewood, Kentucky. His lyrics often discussed the life and exploitation of coal miners. Among his many well-known songs are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues" and "Dark as a Dungeon"...

 and Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...

 instrumentals and occasionally singing. Breau made his first professional recordings in Westbrook
Westbrook, Maine
Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 17,494 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area.-History:...

, Maine at the age of 15 while working as a studio musician. Many of these recordings were released posthumously on a CD appropriately titled Boy Wonder.

The Breau family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, in 1957, and their new band travelled and performed around the city and province as the CKY Caravan. Their shows were broadcast live on Winnipeg's CKY
CKY-FM
CKY-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts a adult contemporary format on 102.3 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is owned by Rogers Radio, and shares studios with sister station CITI-FM. CKY-FM competes with Hot 103 and Energy 106.-History:...

 on Saturday mornings from various remote locations. One of their regular listeners was Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...

, who was sixteen years of age at the time. On one occasion Bachman bicycled to a Caravan performance in his West Kildonan
West Kildonan
West Kildonan is a residential suburb of Winnipeg, Manitoba, lying on the west side of the Red River, and immediately north of the old City of Winnipeg in the north-central part of the city...

 neighborhood and ended up meeting Breau. Breau and Bachman soon became friends, and Breau informally began teaching Bachman, who has since described those lessons as "...the beginning of my life as a guitar player."

Around 1959 Lenny Breau left his parents' band after his father slapped him in the face for improvising on stage, and sought out local jazz musicians, performing at Winnipeg venues including "Rando Manor" and the "Stage Door". He met pianist Bob Erlendson, who began teaching him more of the foundations of jazz. In 1962 Breau left for Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and soon created the jazz group Three with singer/actor Don Francks
Don Francks
Donald Harvey Francks or Iron Buffalo is a Canadian actor, vocalist and jazz musician.- Life and work :Francks was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a drummer, poet, native nations champion, motorcyclist, author and peace activist...

 and Eon Henstridge on acoustic bass.

Three performed in Toronto, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Their music was featured in the 1962 National Film Board
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...

 documentary Toronto Jazz. They recorded a live album at the Village Vanguard in New York City and appeared on US-network television on the Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...

 and Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...

 shows. Returning to Winnipeg, Breau became a regular session guitarist recording for CBC Radio
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 and CBC Television
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

, and contributed to CBC-TV's Teenbeat, Music Hop
Music Hop
Music Hop is a Canadian music television series which aired on CBC Television from 1963 to 1967.-Premise:Pop and rock music was featured in this series for youth, essentially a Canadian version of American Bandstand.-Production:...

, and his own Lenny Breau Show. To many Canadians, Breau's jazz is still an evocative memory of the sound of CBC in the sixties.

In 1963 and 1964, Breau appeared at David Ingram's Fourth Dimension at 2000 Pembina Highway in Fort Garry, a suburb of Winnipeg. Every Sunday night was a hootenany open to all. Another regular at the club on Sunday Nights at the same time was Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

 and his band with Vancouver CKNW's Rick Honey as his drummer.

Breau's fully matured technique was a combination of Atkins' and Travis' fingerpicking and Sabicas-influenced flamenco, highlighted by extraordinary right-hand independence and flurries of artificial harmonics. His harmonic sensibilities were a combination of his country roots, classical, modal, Indian, and especially jazz, particularly the work of pianist Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...

.

In 1967, recordings of Breau's playing from The Lenny Breau Show had found their way into the hands of Chet Atkins. The ensuing friendship resulted in Breau's first two LP issues, Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau and The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau. Live! on RCA. He lived in various Canadian cities until 1976 when he returned to the United States. He spent the next several years moving between Nashville, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, Stockton, California
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

 and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 eventually settling in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 in 1983.

These years were spent performing, teaching, and writing for Guitar Player magazine
Guitar Player
Guitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...

. During this time, he had custom 7-string guitars made, one classical and one electric. At the time, no company made a string that could be tuned to the high B on his classical guitar. Lenny used fishing line
Fishing line
A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight...

 of the correct gauge, until La Bella began making a string for him. Only a few more solo albums and albums recorded with fiddler Buddy Spicher
Buddy Spicher
Buddy Spicher is an American fiddle player.Spicher started in the late 50s as part of the backing band for Audrey Williams, the widow of Hank Williams, later with Hank Snow, the Charles River Valley Boys....

 and pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons
Buddy Emmons
Buddy Emmons , is an American guitarist.Emmons has been called "The World's Foremost Steel Guitarist" and his talent is greatly admired by fellow steel guitarists...

 were issued during his lifetime.

Death and legacy

Breau had continual drug problems from the mid-1960s, which he managed to get under control during the last years of his life. On August 12, 1984 his body was found in a swimming pool at his apartment complex in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The coroner reported that he had been strangled. His wife, Jewel Breau, was the chief suspect in the case but she was never charged with his murder and the case is still unsolved.

Many live and "lost" recordings have been issued since Breau's death. His studio recordings have also been reissued. Thanks to the efforts of Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...

 of Guitarchives, Paul Kohler of Art of Life Records and others, a whole new generation of listeners have access to his music.

A documentary entitled The Genius of Lenny Breau was produced in 1999 by Breau's daughter Emily Hughes. It includes interviews with Chet Atkins, Ted Greene
Ted Greene
Theodore "Ted" Greene was an American fingerstyle jazz guitarist, music columnist, and music educator active in Encino, California.-Early Days:...

, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...

, George Benson
George Benson
George Benson is a ten Grammy Award winning American musician, whose production career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist....

, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...

, and Randy Bachman, as well as family members. One Long Tune: The Life and Music of Lenny Breau by Ron Forbes-Roberts (University of North Texas Press 2006) is considered the definitive work on Breau. Nearly 200 people were interviewed for the book which includes a thorough analysis of Breau's music and an extensive comprehensive discography of his recordings.

CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

 presented a documentary-soundscape on Lenny Breau entitled "On the Trail of Lenny Breau" (the title is in reference to Breau's parent's song "On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine"). It was first broadcast on September 13, 2009 as part of a regular weekly program called Inside the Music
Inside the Music
Inside the Music is a Canadian radio program, which began airing on CBC Radio One and CBC Radio 2 in 2007. Hosted by Patti Schmidt, the program airs documentaries usually about Canadian musicians. It sometimes covers subject matter from beyond Canada's borders...

. It was narrated by Lenny's son Chet Breau. The one-hour feature was produced in Montreal by John Klepko.

Discography

Lenny Breau made numerous appearances and recordings throughout his short life. An extensive discography is available at his official web site.
  • 1968: Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau
    Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau
    Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau is an album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, first released in 1968.-History:Breau had befriended Chet Atkins which resulted in Lenny's first two LP issues on RCA. Atkins and Breau also collaborated on Standard Brands in 1981...

    RCA
  • 1969: The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau - Live!
    The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau - Live!
    The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau - Live! is a live album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, first released in 1969.-History:After Breau's major-label debut, Guitar Sounds From Lenny Breau was issued the previous year on RCA, producer Chet Atkins arranged for this live recording in Los Angeles...

    RCA, (1994) One Way
  • 1978: Minors Aloud
    Minors Aloud
    Minors Aloud is an album by American pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons and Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, first released in 1978.-History:...

    (Buddy Emmons with Lenny Breau) Flying Fish Records
    Flying Fish Records
    Flying Fish Records was a Chicago-based eclectic blues and country record label. It was founded in 1974 by Bruce Kaplan, former president of the University of Chicago's Folklore Society....

     (2005) Art of Life
  • 1979: The Legendary Lenny Breau... Now!
    The Legendary Lenny Breau... Now!
    The Legendary Lenny Breau... Now! is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1979.-History:The album was recorded in Chet Atkins' home studio in Nashville, Tennessee. Due to Breau's drug problem, he stayed in Atkins' home prior to the session in order to be clean and able to perform...

    Sound Hole
  • 1979: Lenny Breau Direct-Disk Labs, (1985) Adelphi LP (1999) Adelphi-Genes CD (Released as Lenny Breau Trio)
  • 1979: Five O'Clock Bells
    Five O'Clock Bells
    Five O'Clock Bells is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1979.-History:After signing a three-album deal with Gene Rosenthal for Adelphi Records, Breau recorded enough material over a few months in 1977. Rosenthal produced the first sessions which would become Five O'Clock Bells...

    Adelphi Records, (1987) Genes
  • 1981: Mo' Breau
    Mo' Breau
    Mo' Breau is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1981.-History:Breau signed a three-album deal with Gene Rosenthal for Adelphi Records in 1977, the first of which was produced by Rosenthal and was released as Five O'Clock Bells...

    (1981) Adelphi, Genes
  • 1981: Standard Brands
    Standard Brands (Chet Atkins and Lenny Breau album)
    Standard Brands is an album by Chet Atkins and Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1981.-History:Due to Breau's drug problems, the album took nearly two years to complete....

    RCA (with Chet Atkins)
  • 1983: Legacy
    Legacy (Lenny Breau album)
    Legacy is a live album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1983. It was the last album to be released during Breau's lifetime. Recordings from the same performance were also released posthumously on Quietude....

    Relaxed Rabbit Records (also released as Live at Bourbon St. by Guitarchives in 1995)
  • 1984: When Lightn' Strikes
    When Lightn' Strikes
    When Lightn' Strikes is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1984.-History:When Lightn' Strikes was the last studio album Breau recorded before he was killed in 1984 and was released after his death. It contains the only studio recordings of Breau on his seven-string guitar....

    Tudor Records, (2005) Art of Life (Released as Swingin' on a Seven-String)
  • 1985: Quietude
    Quietude
    Quietude is a live album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1985.Originally released on LP in 1985, it was remastered and reissued in 1995 on the Guitarchives label as Live at Bourbon St. with additional tracks.-Track listing:...

    Electric Muse (also released as Live at Bourbon St. by Guitarchives in 1995)
  • 1986: The Living Room Tapes, Vol. 1
    The Living Room Tapes, Vol. 1
    The Living Room Tapes, Vol. 1 is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau and clarinetist Brad Terry, released in 1986.-History:Both solo and duet performances are included in these sessions. They were recorded at the home of Brad Terry in Maine on an informal basis, although both Breau and Terry...

    Livingroom Records (with Brad Terry) (1988) Musical Heritage Society Records (1995) DOS Records
  • 1988: Last Sessions
    Last Sessions
    Last Sessions is an album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1987.-History:After signing a three-album deal with Gene Rosenthal for Adelphi Records in 1977, Breau recorded material over period of a few months. Rosenthal produced the first sessions which would become Five O'Clock...

    Genes
  • 1990: The Living Room Tapes, Vol. 2
    The Living Room Tapes, Vol. 2
    The Living Room Tapes, Vol. 2 is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau and clarinetist Brad Terry, released in 1990.-History:Both solo and duet performances are included in these sessions. They were recorded at the home of Brad Terry in Maine on an informal basis, although both Breau and Terry...

    Musical Heritage Society Records (with Brad Terry)
  • 1995: Live at Bourbon St.
    Live at Bourbon St.
    Live at Bourbon St. is a live album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1995.Originally released on LP in 1983 and 1985 as Legacy and Quietude respectively, the original tapes were remastered and reissued on this compilation...

    Guitarchives Records
  • 1997: Cabin Fever
    Cabin Fever (Lenny Breau album)
    Cabin Fever is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1997.-History:Breau had continual drug problems from the mid 1960s, which he only managed to get under control during the last years of his life...

    Guitarchives Records
  • 1997: Chance Meeting
    Chance Meeting
    Chance Meeting is an album by jazz guitarists Tal Farlow and Lenny Breau, released in 1997.-History:While being profiled in a PBS documentary, it was suggested to Farlow that he be paired with a younger jazz guitarist. He suggested Breau and the two guitarists performed this set at a small...

    Guitarchives Records (Recorded live at The Sign of the Times in Rumson, NJ on May 21, 1980)
  • 1998: Boy Wonder Guitarchives Records
  • 2000: Live at Donte's
    Live at Donte's (Lenny Breau album)
    Live at Donte's is a live album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, recorded in 1969 and released in 2000.-Reception:Music critic Stephen Howell was critical of the poor recording and production in his review for Allmusic...

    String Jazz (recorded live, May 1969)
  • 2001: Pickin' Cotten
    Pickin' Cotten
    Pickin' Cotten is a live album by guitarists Lenny Breau and Richard Cotten, recorded in 1977 and released in 2001.Cotten taped a weekend show at the Bluebird Cafe and, after his death, his wife gave the tapes to Randy Bachman of Guitarchives Records....

    Guitarchives (with Richard Cotten. Recorded live at the Blue Bird in Nashville September 23 & 24, 1977)
  • 2003: The Complete Living Room Tapes
    The Complete Living Room Tapes
    The Complete Living Room Tapes is a compilation album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau and clarinetist Brad Terry, released in 2003.The Complete Living Room Tapes consists of the previously released The Living Room Tapes volumes One and Two. and was remastered and issued with additional bonus...

    Art of LIfe (2 CD set with Brad Terry)
  • 2003: The Hallmark Sessions
    The Hallmark Sessions
    The Hallmark Sessions is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 2003.-History:In his first professional solo recording session, Breau recorded these tracks in Toronto, Canada when he was 20 years old. His former manager kept the original tapes for over 40 years before they were...

    Art of Life (recorded 1961)
  • 2004: At the Purple Onion
    At the Purple Onion
    At the Purple Onion is a live album by guitarist Lenny Breau with Don Francks and Eon Henstridge, recorded in 1962 and released in 2004. Breau, Francks and Henstridge performed as a trio called Three.-History:...

    Art of Life (with Don Francks and Eon Henstridge)

Quotations

  • "The sound of silence is intense."

  • "It's got words to it...but it's more of an instrumental - with lyrics." from the song Five O'Clock Bells.

  • "...I approach the guitar like a piano. I've reached a point where I transcend the instrument. A lot of the stuff I play on the 7-string guitar is supposed to be technically impossible, but I spent over twenty years figuring it out. I play the guitar like a piano, there's always two things going on at once. I'm thinking melody, but I'm also thinking of a background. I play the accompaniment on the low strings."

  • "What I'm trying to do is make impressions. I think of myself as a colourist, adding different colours and shades by using different techniques and touching the guitar in different ways. I'd like to play sounds you can see if you've got your eyes closed. I'll always be a student, because I think of music as never ending."

See also

  • Music of Canada
    Music of Canada
    The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...

  • Canadian Music Hall of Fame
    Canadian Music Hall of Fame
    The Canadian Music Hall of Fame honors Canadian musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The ceremony is held each year as part of the Juno Award ceremonies. Members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame represent many of the world's great talents...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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