The couple had a daughter, Lennys third, whom they named Dawn Marie. It was narrated by Breau's son, Chet. Between 1968 and 1983 he made a series of recordings that are among the most influential guitar albums of the century. Son of the legendary Lenny Breau, (whom Chet Atkins had deemed the greatest guitar player in the world), Lenny Chet Breau Jr. began studying music under his father's guidance at just seven years of age. The electric guitar was made by Kirk Sand, also with the first string being a high A. [12] Breau often adapted Evans's compositions, such as "Funny Man", for guitar. He also recorded for Adelphi Records in New York City. Or All, when I am playing pantonally. Judi Singh, alarmed by his drug use, ended her relationship with Lenny and moved to Edmonton with Emily. The 43-year-old Canadian guitarist, revered by such colleagues as Chet Atkins, was found dead at the Wilshire-area apartment building where he lived with his wife and daughter. STARmeter. Police said the case was under investigation, but no suspects had been arrested. He was the best that ever lived, bar none. No progress in 80 years of jazz guitar building? Take a look for yourselves and imagine how Chet reacted after it was released. He was born in the United States, but Lenny Breau became a Canadian guitar icon venerated by musicians worldwide. In 1967, recordings of Breau's playing from The Lenny Breau Show found their way to Chet Atkins. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. However, they are only going to do that if they think they have a case. Their son began playing guitar at the age of eight. Lenny Breau died at age 43, not too shabby. Please Help Me Choose A High End or Vintage Solid Carved Archtop Guitar, Comparison of tones from 339 vs 335 body sizes. Hi folks. He was a little miracle. St. Germain wishes his killer would be found. Renowned Canadian jazz guitarist Ed Bickert recalls My first reaction was a combination of jealousy, envy, admiration because he was so good and so original. A revered cult figure in the world of jazz guitar, and a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Lenny Breau was a technical genius with a delicate, idiosyncratic style. But she honors his memory today, helping many who face drug and alcohol abuse. The one-hour feature was produced in Montreal by John Klepko. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles. She also wanted to honor his memory by helping others who face drug and alcohol addiction. From the mid to late 1940s they played summer engagements in southern New Brunswick, Canada, advertising their performances playing free programs on radio station CKCW Moncton. Incidentally, another mutual friend, the late Richard Cotten, did exactly that.recorded miles and miles of live performances, most of which Richard accompanied Lenny on bass. Is someone asleep at the wheel or something? Breau made about eight albums under his own name and played on records by other jazz greats. The Signatures or the Broadways - whatever material/gauge you prefer! The Breau family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1957 and their new band performed around the city and province as the CKY Caravan. As the boy wonder star of his parents band, nothing had been asked of him except to play his guitar for adoring fans and enjoy the inevitable applause and praise that followed. Nearly 200 people were interviewed for the book which includes a thorough analysis of Breaus music and an extensive comprehensive discography of his recordings. Can you please give me an estimate? The person I emailed was Joan A. Gallo, VP. The tracks on his album Live at Bourbon Street with bassist Dave Young were recorded at one of these dates and show Lenny at the top of his game. I actually KNOW who killed him. The very basis of Lenny's innovation was grounded in the fact that he himself continuously strove towards growth through inventiveness. #6. Thanks also for the contact names. Some are pressed spruce and some are maple laminate. Lenny Breau was a guitarist with staggering technique and a mind for innovation, . Plus, he was an incredible guitar player. The studios owner, Al Hawkes, often recorded Lenny playing solo and with other musicians for his own enjoyment between sessions. 70,116 listeners. His death under mysterious circumstances cut short a life dedicated to transcending the apparent limitations of the guitar to create a sublimely expressive musical voice that was uniquely his own. Live! [5] He sought out local jazz musicians, performing at Winnipeg venues Rando Manor and the Stage Door. "We live peacefully in our hometown and ask nothing of anyone. Attempts at beating his addiction were short-lived and ineffective even after a court-ordered stay in rehab in Winnipeg where he was busted for heroin possession. Clearly not enough evidence. 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, California. It wasnt a popular thing to be Lenny Bruces daughter.. At the time, no company made a string that could be tuned to the high B on his classical guitar. Holey Moley and Wow. Three performed in Toronto, Ottawa, and New York City. Just kidding, actually I just play the melody over and over, gradually accumulating errors until it turns into Got it, and thank you. My brother is really into his stuff, I find it interesting. IMO, Chet felt horrible about the whole thing and the way it was portrayed and I think that made him suicidal. Thanks, guys. A new Westbrook restaurant named in his honor, a Canadian music award nomination last year and a planned . Dudley DoRight didn't get his man, it would seem. Click here to learn more about the project. This Gemini award winning documentary was produced and created by Lenny Breau's daughter, Emily Hughes. Featuring archival footage, and interviews with Chet Atkins, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Andy Summers, Randy Bachman and Steve Vai. I wish the world had the opportunity to experience his artistry. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service, SIGN UP to receive updates on news and merchandise. Lenny returned to Winnipeg and began working in various bands with Bob Erlendson and other local musicians in the thriving Winnipeg club scene. He was striving to accomplish what he wanted to do as a player. This attitude did not endear him to RCA or his manager Dee Drew. Along the way, he created new techniques that baffled and amazed even the most accomplished guitarists of his time. Now with two albums on a major label and regular work with some of Canadas top jazz musiciansMoe Koffman, Peter Appleyard and Don Thompson among themhe seemed poised to make a significant professional leap forward. This conundrum is perhaps best understood by looking at the life, times and character of Lenny Breau, who at an early age dedicated himself to the passionate pursuit of a unique musical voice. Kids were not allowed to play with me, she said. He was great looking. Its a reasonable question considering that we live in a world where even the smallest amount of talent can catapult an unknown to overnight celebrity status. For the next five years Lenny moved sporadically from one Canadian city to another, playing small gigs where and when he could find them. -7 C, Light freezing drizzle. A question music fans frequently ask when they encounter Lenny Breaus virtuosic fingerstyle jazz guitar playing for the first time is How is it possible Ive never heard of this guy?. Would you trust a rather unknown luthier who How many tonalities or colors do you try to utilize in a tune? Binge-worthy entertainment news and celebrity interviews. A follow-up jazz EP is currently in the works. He told me that Lenny has become a widely known legend as he certainly deserved to be. He made little progress unravelling the mysteries of Atkins playing until he and his parents, who had recently signed with RCA records, moved to Wheeling, West Virginia to perform on WWVA Jamboree, a nationally broadcast country music radio show. Richard Lewis talks About Lenny Bruce at the national comedy center pic.twitter.com/HmIgtbMsnR, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 Will Begin to Explore What Led to Lenny Bruces Death, So, I started the Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation in 2008, she shared. I think, man, this guy should have been an absolutely major star because he had everything going for him. Atkins was then Vice President of RCA Records and immediately offered Lenny a recording contract. More than a dozen Mexican musicians were murdered between 2006 and 2008; motives are shadowy, but it's suspected that some were killed for what they sang. The overdose death of a close musician friend compounded his unhappiness over the split with Judi and sent Lenny into a deep depression, which he dealt with by increasing his intake of drugs. In round figures, what would that cost be? He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Returning to Winnipeg a few months later, Breau became a session guitarist, recording for CBC Radio and CBC Television, and contributed to CBC-TV's Teenbeat, Music Hop, and his own The Lenny Breau Show filmed in Winnipeg. Whether it is his landmark jazz sessions, his early country recordings, his flamenco stylings or his many inspired collaborations, Lenny Breaus discography remains essential listening for music lovers and guitar aficionados alike. [16], Breau's fully matured technique was a combination of Chet Atkins's and Merle Travis's fingerpicking and Sabicas-influenced flamenco, highlighted by right-hand independence and flurries of artificial harmonics. Hey there, time traveller! In 1966, Lenny hosted his own eponymously named TV show, which often featured his by now highly evolved solo guitar work. Interesting. When he wakes up the next day, hes combative and angry instead of grateful she peeled him off the pavement. Jazz guitarist George Benson once said of Lenny, Theres such a thing as being ahead of your time. This may well be the case because over the past twenty years there has been ample evidence the music world is catching up with Lenny Breau. Lenny Breau (4) Lenny Bruce (2) Lenny White (2) Leo Sayer (11) Leon Bridges (3) . The trio toured Ontario and Quebec before relocating to New York City. February 11, 1997 9 Songs, 52 minutes 1997 Guitarchives Music Inc. Lennys wife, Jewel, became their main suspect. Thanks Nearly two years ago, Lenny Chet Breau found himself in the hospital with his life hanging in the balance. He met pianist Bob Erlendson, who began teaching him more of the foundations of jazz. I play the accompaniment on the low strings. [15], Breau was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997. I thought, Oh my God. Lenny's francophone parents, Harold "Hal Lone Pine" Breau and Betty Cody (ne Cot), were professional country and western musicians who performed and recorded from the mid . My mother's father was a famous Weimar-era composer, Ernst Toch. A close friend and mentor for many years, Lenny greatly influenced Stephen's approach to the guitar. Considering the sublime music that he gave us, he clearly realized his goal. Is someone asleep at the wheel or something? But he's such a tasty player too. We had a swimming pool but there was no water in it., Lennys comedy was extremely controversial, which impacted his daughter. Where is the justice?? After a short audition, Bennet offered Lenny a job in his band, a plum proposition for the young musician considering Bennets stature. And while her fathers career made life harder, she said Lenny was a loving father. Honey Jollif and Lenny Bruce with Daughter (Image Source)Honey Harlow was born Harriett E. Jolliff on August 15, 1927, in Manila, Arkansas, the United States to unmarried teenage parents, while she was a toddler, her father died as a result of a tuberculosis-related case, leaving her to the care of her mother. [3] Every Sunday night was a party open to all. His harmonic sensibilities were a combination of his country roots, classical music, modal music, Indian, and jazz, particularly the work of pianist Bill Evans. Lenny Breau was a genius - inspired and really loose. He paid him $20,000 to do it. Kitty described childhood as a lonely time. My publisher told me about it and said I had a right to know what they are saying. Where is the justice?? I play the guitar like a piano, there's always two things going on at once. On one occasion in Nashville, Lenny had taken out a restraining order to keep Jewel at bay. This led to Upchurchs label offering Lenny a recording contract and a tour with Upchurch was under discussion. The couple had a daughter, Kitty, born in 1955 but the couple divorced in 1957. A year later, at Chet Atkins urging, Lenny returned to Nashville and began playing a nightly restaurant gig that Atkins had arranged for him. Clearly a non-musician's perspective of a life of a great jazz musician. Adelphis founder Gene Rosenthal had heard Lenny play in a small Nashville club called Mississippi Whiskers. A documentary entitled The Genius of Lenny Breau was produced in 1999 by his daughter Emily Hughes. Around 1959 Breau left his parents' country band after his father slapped him in the face for incorporating jazz improvisation into his playing with the group. Part of what I love about him is he maintains that raw blues feeling without a lot of window dressing. This coincided with Lennys discovery of flamenco guitar, which he loved for its powerful rhythms and emotional fire. All rights reserved. Lenny always wanted to take risks and we were raw and emotional. Doug. Returning to Winnipeg, Breau became a regular session guitarist recording for CBC Radio and CBC Television, and contributed to CBC-TVs Teenbeat, Music Hop, and his own Lenny Breau Show. After a stint at Bourbon Street in 1980, Lenny flew to Winnipeg to kick off a five-city Canadian tour in large, soft-seat venues. It was only something like $25 for the clinic. Although he had produced a book with the help of guitarist John Knowles explicating his guitar style and written many columns for Guitar Player Magazine, his unique approach to fingerstyle jazz and the techniques he developed were not being carried on by a new generation of upcoming jazz guitarists, most of whom had never heard of Lenny. :nonchalance: This was my experience with the 1979 175/CC also. They recorded a live album at the Village Vanguard in New York City and appeared on US-network television on the Jackie Gleason and Joey Bishop shows. He toured with Anne Murrays band in 1972 but Murray fired him when his drug use interfered with the bands performances. Copyright 2022 - Jazz Guitar Online - All rights reserved - Privacy Policy. Lennys techniques, particularly his chordal harmonics, began to show up frequently in the playing of guitarists such as fingerstyle virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel who said of Lenny To this day, there is no one in the world who can do what Lenny did and we are all indebted to his legacy. Lenny was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997 and nominated for a Juno AwardCanadas equivalent of the Grammyin 2015. Through making the documentary, Hughes discovered the life of a father she never knew. Biography - A Short Wiki. After graduating from the Los Angeles . "[citation needed], He had two custom seven-string guitars made, one classical and one electric. Choosing an Archtop for Pasquale-esque tone. Cheers MELODY LYNN BREAU April 14, 1960 - November 26, 2014 Melody Lynn Breau, daughter of Valerie St. Germain and legendary jazz guitarist Lenny Breau, passed away on November 26, 2014 at her home. Chet Atkins had been his musical model for nearly a decade but from 1960 onwards Lennys main influence was jazz pianist, Bill Evans. The Signatures or the Broadways - whatever material/gauge you prefer! GST will be added to each payment. LA Bootleg 1984, a recently released live recording made just two months before his murder, has been nominated for best solo jazz album of the year . I always knew that Randy Bachman worshipped Lenny Breau and got lessons from him, but I never fully appreciated just how good he was. His second album, a blues EP recorded with his newly formed band, The Lenny Chet Breau Band, was released in 2016. He also played with his own trio, fronted by singer Don Franks, in Toronto in the mid '60s. . One of my former teachers and fellow Las Vegas jazz guitarist Raj Rathor, who helped write Lenny's bio, and who housed Lenny in his final days, told me it WAS his wife, and out of jealousy and metal anguish. Andy Summers, Guitarist The Police. On both albums Lenny played electric and nylon string guitar as well as a modified 12-string electric guitar. Lenny was hesitant but eventually went to New York to recorded material for three albums: Five OClock Bells, Mo Breau and Last Sessions. Tonalities per take? . To continue reading, please subscribe with this special offer: *Pay $19.00 every four weeks. This included two excellent albums recorded in Chet Atkins home studio The Legendary Lenny Breau: Live and Standard Brands, a duet album with Atkins. After clearing up legal hurdles with help from his old friend Don Francks, Lenny returned to Toronto to play a string of successful dates at the Bourbon Street jazz club. A documentary entitled The Genius of Lenny Breau was produced in 1999 by Breaus daughter Emily Hughes. Just for Laughs (July 14, 1983 - present); This Hour Has 22 Minutes (October 11, 1993 - present) He met pianist Bob Erlendson, who began teaching him more of the foundations of jazz. When he was twelve, 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 and Chet Atkins instrumentals and occasionally singing. Son of the legendary Lenny Breau, (whom Chet Atkins had deemed "the greatest guitar player in the world"), Lenny Chet Breau Jr. began studying music under his father's guidance at just seven years of age. I said I dont care. Lenny incorporated both styles into his evolving approach to solo guitar playing. During his lifetime, Lennys ability to play the guitar has been described in many ways. After graduating from the Los Angeles Musicians Institute of Technology, Lenny Jr. founded the Lenny Breau School of Music in Winnipeg, Canada. Leonard Harold Breau (August 5, 1941 - August 12, 1984) was an American-Canadian guitarist. His mother worked at a music store and his father was an electrician. A lot of the stuff I play on the seven-string guitar is supposed to be technically impossible, but I spent over twenty years figuring it out. Every Sunday night was a hootenany open to all. Pop audiences found his music too jazz-oriented and his musical eclecticism was off-putting for many old-school jazz purists. This article was published 10/10/2009 (4848 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. But when you listen to him play, you hear what kind of guy he really is. A documentary entitled The Genius of Lenny Breau was produced in 1999 by Breau's daughter Emily Hughes. In 1976, he did managed to kick heroin with the help of musician friends while living on a commune in Ontario. Lenny Breau was a guitarist with staggering technique and a mind for innovation; he played with an evocative style that effortlessly jumped between genres. Leo T. Sullivan Jazz Websites | Non-Profit/Educational Jazz Websites. Doug. My father's mother was the head of the Vienna Conservatory's piano department. If Chopin could have played the guitar, he would have sounded like Lenny Breau. And respected guitar great Danny Gattin once said, Lenny Breau played more great stuff at one time than anybody on the planet, with feeling and tone. It has Claro walnut top and back, with a Mahogany core, and the neck is maple and walnut. CBC Radio presented a documentary-soundscape on Lenny Breau entitled On the Trail of Lenny Breau (the title is in reference to Breaus parents song On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine). He did have a daughter, who revealed later in life that she wished her dad had a regular job. . In 1980, documentary movie maker Lorenzo DiStefano asked Lenny to appear in his film about Tal Farlow. Featuring archival footage, and interviews with Chet Atkins, Pat Metheny, George Benson, Andy Summers, Randy Bachman and Steve Vai. Don Harvey Francks [1] was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his birth. Promotion and ticket sales were excellent and a large crowd turned out to welcome their home town hero. She gets him into her cab and takes him back to her apartment where he sleeps off his intoxication in her childrens bedroom. A year later, he managed to get a tape of one of his shows into Chet Atkins hands in Nashville. He learned from Lenny and is quoted in the book. Is someone asleep at the wheel or something? In 1995, Randy Bachman, a fellow Winnipegger and long-time fan of Lennys formed Guitarchives, a recording company devoted to finding, remastering and distributing Lenny Breaus unreleased or out-of-print recordings. Most of his albums were either out-of-print or difficult to find. He lived in various Canadian cities until 1976 when he returned to the United States. What do you prefer in music, originality or tradition? Cheers It certainly didn't make him suicidal, he never saw it. LOS ANGELES -- Guitarist Lenny Breau, found dead in the swimming pool of his apartment building last Sunday, was strangled and his death has been ruled a homicide, the Coroner's Office disclosed . Sadly, Lenny did not have the chance to assume this position. Hal and Bettys guitarist, Ray Couture had worked with Atkins on recording sessions for RCA records and picked up the basics of the style, which he taught to Lenny, Lenny ran with these basics and by the time the family returned to Maine in 1955 he had mastered the Atkins style. These were all significant accomplishments for the young guitarist at this early point in his career. Canadian Reflections (June 10, 1978 - present); q (June 11, 2013 - present); The Filmmakers (July 22, 2017 - present); Hot Docs at Home (April 2020 - present); Movie Night in Canada (March 14, 2020 - present); Undisrupted (2021); Comedy series. The coroner reported that he had been strangled. Lenny Breau (15) Lenny Bruce (20) Lenny code fiction (14) Lenny Kravitz (149) Lenny White (25) Lenny Williams (18) Leny Andrade (25) . Performing alongside many of Canadas finest musicians over the years, he has also had the opportunity to play with the likes of Randy Bachman and Joe Pass. The Breau family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1957, and their new band travelled and performed around the city and province as the CKY Caravan. Jazz and country guitarist who played fingersmith guitar and who was a member of the jazz group Three. All subsequent concerts were cancelled with the exception of Vancouver where he reprised his Winnipeg performance. Who killed Lenny Breau? An addiction that ultimately killed Lenny in 1966. In October of 1968, they celebrated the birth of their daughter, Emily who a little more than thirty years later would make a much-heralded documentary about her enigmatic father. [3] On August 12, 1984, his body was found in a swimming pool at his apartment complex in Los Angeles, California. wistful waltz that Anderson wrote for Melody Breau (Lenny's daughter). Do you constantly hear music playing in your head? It is tuned from low 'E', to high 'A' using the string gauges 46, 36, 24, 19, 16, 12, 8. The Lenny Breau Memorial Scholarship has been established to honor Lenny's musical legacy through the perpetuation of the study of musical performance or related of musical pursuit. On the morning of August 12th, 1984, one week after his 43rd birthday, Lenny Breaus body was found floating in his apartment buildings roof top pool. Includes hours of unreleased footage: only available here! Rent it or add to your collection. "The autopsy" proved that he was strangled????? Breau had problems with drugs beginning in the 1960s which he managed to control during the last years of his life. Thanks to the efforts of Randy Bachman of Guitarchives, Paul Kohler of Art of Life Records and others, a whole new generation of listeners have access to his music. The case has never been solved. His music was captured on a handful of recordings that sold poorly during his lifetime but are now considered by guitar aficionados to be among the most important and groundbreaking guitar recordings ever made: masterworks of fingerstyle jazz guitar that are an enduring testimony to Lenny Breaus musical brilliance. Breau made his first professional recordings in Westbrook, Maine at the age of 15 while working as a studio musician. In 1961, Lenny was twenty-years old. That's how I found this forum. Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com, Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper. Lenny continued to play country music in his parents band but was beginning to learn the bebop lines of jazz guitarists such as Tal Farlow and Barney Kessel. Breaus 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. Who else is into it? Scott Page, saxophonist with 1970s pop duo Seals and Crofts, brought Lenny to Los Angeles for a string of well-attended shows at local jazz clubs. Lenny returned to the United States and would never set foot on Canadian soil again. In the early 1960s, like countless other people of his generation, Lenny had begun to experiment with LSD and marijuana, claiming that these drugs enhanced his creative process. As the years passed, Lenny Breau seemed destined to be at best a minor footnote in the history of jazz guitar. Doug. After starting playing guitar at age 8, Lenny ended up being the lead guitarist for his parent's band at the age of 14. His addiction made him undependable and clubs were reluctant to book him. Biography. Jewel and Lenny's relationship was tumultuous and difficult. While he may never become a household name, fewer and fewer people are now asking How is it possible Ive never heard of this guy?. Atkins, who had toured with Breau's parents, decided to work with the young guitarist in 1968 after hearing tapes of his music. In 1962 Lenny Breau told a Toronto journalist that his . Around 1959, Lenny left the band after his father . He began using heroin when it was available and heavy doses of methadone when it was not.