I had the good fortune of seeing Lenny play maybe 10 times. In Lewiston, ME and Portland, ME back in 1978-1980. He was a very quiet, polite and cordial guy. I'd have him over to my table during breaks and talk guitar with him. I mentioned I had problems with my rather small hands and he told me to place mine up against his. Mine were bigger! It was a joy talking with him and I checked him out whenever he played locally. I learned artificial harmonics from him first hand too! I miss him.
Lenny Breau is one of the greatest guitar players that died to young. It is a shame that not many people have ever listened to Lenny Breau. So Original and such a relaxing guitar player to listen too. I wish I could play like him.
I couldn't believe I found footage of Lenny here. I had the honor of taking some lessons from him when he lived in Queens, NY in the late 70's. I'm not into jazz, but I wish I really learned all the modal stuff he was trying to teach me. Today's shredders can only dream of doing with modes that Lenny could. Amazing player. Tragic death. He was working on what he called "di-tones" before he left for California. A genius.
How cool to see this here. I was browsing Ted Greene's videos and ran across this one. I'm in the audience in this video. Anyway, if it's not known already, this footage is from a master class we had with Lenny at USC back in the early 80's. He was such a musical guy, he really lived and breathed music 24 hours a day. It was a great experience to get to hang out with him a bit back then and witness his musical genius firsthand. So sad we lost him so young and so tragically.
Amen. From what I have observed both Lenny and Chet respected each other, and each style. Both gentlemen were among the best players this planet has ever produced....to call one better than the other is useless, and as my friend TalFactor so wisely states...meaningless. Let's rejoice in the fact that we were able to observe both individuals, and savour their musical taste.... RC
You keep going, you're in the right direction; but you don't need to argue your point with people, we are here to do what we do, not to "convert" others to our thinking, but to share our thought processes. If someone doesn't like, they can move on...
Lennie gave us dreamy sounds that echo in our minds. He is inspiring musicians long after his passing. Softly droning obligatory bass notes, wistful chord melodies, and sparkling chimes of harmonics(wow). I heard him in Boston in a coffee house in Boston. ...and he sang too.
He played!! he died in 1984. The albums to get first are,,"Live at bourbon ST"( the only album recorded with that kirk sand guitar) and "the complete livingroom tapes" Then you may look at his "cabin fever" and "swinging on a 7 string" and the "hallmark sessions"(recorded at age 20) Never heard of Lenny before?! welcome:o)
The guitar in question was a "one-of-a-kind" made by California luthier Kirk Sands. It has a special neck length 58cm in order to enable the .009 string to be tuned to high A. I have made a replica of this guitar which you can see on my web site. Kirk Sands has a web site where-in you can see his works of art. RC
In a pure jazz sense Lenny's single note playing may not have have had as much depth as Wes, but Lenny used Flamenco, Indian, Country, and Classical in his single lines which some might argue gives him more breadth. He also continually threw in diads under his lines which gave him a unique feel in single note work because he wouldn't leave the harmony behind and that would re-phrase his melodies. And we haven't even discussed colour (Lenny's Hammonics), or dynamics but I'm out of words.
i was speaking of past comment about django and his fingers. if you would read the comments and not get knickers in a knot you would see that i did say people should just enjoy Lenny's playing
Lenny had a 10strng ordered, dblnck w/a 7. He had a clear idea what to do w/it, pairing octaves w/bass strngs, like 12strngs, but w/the octvs spaced to pick them separately. This makes me think perhaps he already had a 10strng stashed somewhere. Anyone know of any such music on record?
Chet Atkins referred to Lenny Breau as "the greatest guitarist to walk this earth" - a pretty high commendation. Unfortunately he had his demons and left us far too early but his genius in attempting to explore the ultimate in guitar tones and ability lives on via recordings and film (what little remains).
this is very true, the other two fingers were partially fused together. look at photos and clips of his hands...as Sun Tzu would say, take your weakness and make them your strength. i think most people try to emulate idols insted of developing own style and sound, and therefore it leads to excuses.. he has larger hands then me, he had smaller hands then me, his caravan caught fire and two of his fingers were fused together, i dont have fused fingers therefore.....
hey - amosgarret, you the same guy that did the solo on "Midnight at the Oasis"? I can certainly believe your story regarding Mr. Bachman. I remember reading some of his pretty arrogant comments in an old issue of GP magazine. How he's supposedly "mastered" this style and that style....
Does anyone know much about this guitar? It has quite a short scale. Lenny and his guitar maker must've experimented with how long they could keep the scale to keep some decent bass along with a high 7th that wouldn't snap. I'd love to know exactly how long this scale is.
Lenny is so great but ironically hard for me to listen to as his style is so deeply sad and melancholy. Watching this I am reminded of another underrated guitar genius by the name of Jack Wilkins. Guitar fans check him out!
Yeah, you can't do most blues/rock bends or hard attacks. Apparently even Lenny had a similar problem until he had a short scale guitar built. He doesn't mention how short. Scale length affects tone a -lot-, so it may not be a good tradeoff for some stylists.
The scale is 23 5/8ths inches or 580 C.M. instead of 660 C.M. Almost like removing the first 2 frets....there is no other guitar on the market that has this scale. 8string
Some of the stuff in Visions by Stephen Anderson is not too hard; also the ones in guitar player magazine like Danny Boy are not too bad. But yeah the real stuff is very difficult. He plays triplets over quarter notes lots of far out original things. The Mel Bay book has some very difficult stuff. His picking hand is very advanced the way he improvises with tremolo is so cool. No other jazz player does that. Even Martin Taylor doesnt do the tremolo.
One of the greatest players ever.. I would add George Van Eps as another genius at that level... in terms of “mastering” the guitar-if it can actually be mastered, these guys got the closest I think.
Why do people think shredding is harder than this? I'm in an argument of what's harder, I know how to do both, I travel from style to style of music... Learning more... I have 7 years of playing guitar and this guy says he has 27 years and took music university and learned that metal is the way to go and is the most difficult therefore the best... And I'm like "wtf? you don't know shit do you!" and he replied "shut up you only have 7 years of experience!" I guess that that guy is a troll...
They're all great, technically some guys are better, but Stevie had soul and feel. So does Lenny. The trick is who has equal doses of both technique and technical mastery, and the elusive soul/feel factor ? Answer: No one I can think of. Study one at the expense of the other and you're sunk as a guitarist.
How ridiculous, Randy Bachman is not making a thing off Lenny. Bachman has made so much off of his rock stuff what makes you think he needs this? Maybe you should do a little research and find out that he actually is 1)a huge fan 2) took his first lessons from Lenny when he was about 14.
its stupid to say one is "best" or one is better then someone else. different styles and also different genres of music, now, if lenny at end of song pulled a Pete Townsend and smashed crap outta the guitar, then screw it, Lenny da man! hey, no guitar smashing at end, sorry Lenny... sheesh peeps, why cant people just enjoy the music and ability to listen to different styles and techniques on you tube and enjoy it, hall, pass, wes, les, johnny smith, farlow,chet atkins could outplay us all,
It's too bad that a gentle genius like Lenny should have to endure the banter written above. I could have removed the idiot comments, but I will not...the mental midgets that have written above look all the more stupid...in fact if you notice...not one of them can even compose a real sentence...pitiful...pitiful
There is no best...there is no competition, there is no who's first and who's last and who's got what stats. Once you figure that out, you can start to see where these guys walked in life. Just enjoy the fuk'n music he's soul'n out ffs.
No he could not play like Lenny Breau. Lenny came along with his own tecnique. One diftrenc is Lenny playing with his little finger, Chet could not do that. Another difrence is Lenny Had a much deeper knowledge in jazz music. For many yeares he did not listen to other guitarplayers he was listening to piano players. To play like Lenny you must have deep knowledge. Ofcorse Chet had knowledge,,but not Like Lenny.
your handle/username has just become the laughing stock in the guitar community. Please, just stay in your room playing your Charvel or Ibanez..or I should say 'playing' sweeps and arpeggios ad nauseum.
I had the good fortune of seeing Lenny play maybe 10 times. In Lewiston, ME and Portland, ME back in 1978-1980. He was a very quiet, polite and cordial guy. I'd have him over to my table during breaks and talk guitar with him. I mentioned I had problems with my rather small hands and he told me to place mine up against his. Mine were bigger! It was a joy talking with him and I checked him out whenever he played locally. I learned artificial harmonics from him first hand too! I miss him.
Lenny Breau is one of the greatest guitar players that died to young. It is a shame that not many people have ever listened to Lenny Breau. So Original and such a relaxing guitar player to listen too. I wish I could play like him.
The revolutionary Genius of the guitar, his music and teaching will always reverberate in my soul.
I couldn't believe I found footage of Lenny here. I had the honor of taking some lessons from him when he lived in Queens, NY in the late 70's. I'm not into jazz, but I wish I really learned all the modal stuff he was trying to teach me. Today's shredders can
only dream of doing with modes that Lenny could. Amazing player. Tragic death. He was working on what he called "di-tones" before he left for California. A genius.
Thank you so much for preserving this video. What a treasure and treat. Thanks again.
He really takes me to new and exciting places. Art like this is such a treasure.
How cool to see this here. I was browsing Ted Greene's videos and ran across this one. I'm in the audience in this video. Anyway, if it's not known already, this footage is from a master class we had with Lenny at USC back in the early 80's. He was such a musical guy, he really lived and breathed music 24 hours a day. It was a great experience to get to hang out with him a bit back then and witness his musical genius firsthand. So sad we lost him so young and so tragically.
Visions is my favourite piece played by Lenny - it is other worldly!
a real tear jerker his chords are like sunshine
His classical tremolo picking is PERFECT!
i agree 100% there will never be another lenny and Live at Burbon the best
gotta be THEE most underrated guitarists EVUH! a true master!
I like your tag! that's how I feel about my playing, espeically after listening to Lenny.
on "Live at Bourbon Street [2-CD Set] " lenny play´s that guitar for more than two hours. The most beauitful jazz guitar album ever..get it
A giant, A Guitar Supreme !
Amen. From what I have observed both Lenny and Chet respected each other, and each style. Both gentlemen were among the best players this planet has ever produced....to call one better than the other is useless, and as my friend TalFactor so wisely states...meaningless. Let's rejoice in the fact that we were able to observe both individuals, and savour their musical taste....
RC
he is one of the most interesting guitarists I have ever heard and to use this space for negativity is a waste of everyones time.
This guy is really great, I'm glad to finally be aware of him and his playing!
I... feel his music! I feel it! He's incredible!
You keep going, you're in the right direction; but you don't need to argue your point with people, we are here to do what we do, not to "convert" others to our thinking, but to share our thought processes. If someone doesn't like, they can move on...
Lennie gave us dreamy sounds that echo in our minds. He is inspiring musicians long after his passing. Softly droning obligatory bass notes, wistful chord melodies, and sparkling chimes of harmonics(wow). I heard him in Boston in a coffee house in Boston. ...and he sang too.
that guitar is a monster! his improv at th end there is so omni-luminouscent! yea.....omni-luminouscent
simply the best
ever
He played!! he died in 1984.
The albums to get first are,,"Live at bourbon ST"( the only album recorded with that kirk sand guitar) and "the complete livingroom tapes"
Then you may look at his "cabin fever" and "swinging on a 7 string"
and the "hallmark sessions"(recorded at age 20)
Never heard of Lenny before?! welcome:o)
if anyone is in the ottawa area their is an amazing one man play called "5 o'clock bells" based on Lenny Breau at the GCTC. It is really good
He played the most beautifulo jazz eletric guitar album with this guitar. Live at bourbon st. Thers nothing like that album,,thers noone like Lenny
He's about the best we had last century, counting Django, Charlie Christian, T-Bone Walker, Wes and Parker!!
Gives me a new perspective on the complexities of playing a 7-string. I have a hard enough time with 6 strings.
The guitar in question was a "one-of-a-kind" made by California luthier Kirk Sands. It has a special neck length 58cm in order to enable the .009 string to be tuned to high A. I have made a replica of this guitar which you can see on my web site. Kirk Sands has a web site where-in you can see his works of art.
RC
is there a recording of his version of The Nearness of You?
This version is awesome and I was hoping it would be on one of his albums?
Genil
I have to agree...thanks for the kind words
RC
In a pure jazz sense Lenny's single note playing may not have have had as much depth as Wes, but Lenny used Flamenco, Indian, Country, and Classical in his single lines which some might argue gives him more breadth.
He also continually threw in diads under his lines which gave him a unique feel in single note work because he wouldn't leave the harmony behind and that would re-phrase his melodies.
And we haven't even discussed colour (Lenny's Hammonics), or dynamics but I'm out of words.
Genius!
Randy Bachman is the sole reason I'm here. And the reason I'll be visiting his other beautiful masterpieces
Bachman is a douche
uauuuuuuuu!!!!!
muito interessante e fantástico
How I'd wish to play like this guy.
wow... amazing. anyone can tell me the title of the second song he plays?
i was speaking of past comment about django and his fingers. if you would read the comments and not get knickers in a knot you would see that i did say people should just enjoy Lenny's playing
Lenny had a 10strng ordered, dblnck w/a 7. He had a clear idea what to do w/it, pairing octaves w/bass strngs, like 12strngs, but w/the octvs spaced to pick them separately. This makes me think perhaps he already had a 10strng stashed somewhere. Anyone know of any such music on record?
Amazing
yessss 1!good violao !!jazz !!! classico !!
Amazing!!!
Any body who knows about his guitar model?
He ordered his own style guitar to somebody?
Chet Atkins referred to Lenny Breau as "the greatest guitarist to walk this earth" - a pretty high commendation.
Unfortunately he had his demons and left us far too early but his genius in attempting to explore the ultimate in guitar tones and ability lives on via recordings and film (what little remains).
he's the best
thank you mwlijazzguitar.
this is very true, the other two fingers were partially fused together. look at photos and clips of his hands...as Sun Tzu would say, take your weakness and make them your strength. i think most people try to emulate idols insted of developing own style and sound, and therefore it leads to excuses.. he has larger hands then me, he had smaller hands then me, his caravan caught fire and two of his fingers were fused together, i dont have fused fingers therefore.....
hey - amosgarret, you the same guy that did the solo on "Midnight at the Oasis"? I can certainly believe your story regarding Mr. Bachman. I remember reading some of his pretty arrogant comments in an old issue of GP magazine. How he's supposedly "mastered" this style and that style....
Does anyone know much about this guitar? It has quite a short scale. Lenny and his guitar maker must've experimented with how long they could keep the scale to keep some decent bass along with a high 7th that wouldn't snap. I'd love to know exactly how long this scale is.
@LinkBulletBill
you got any vids up on YT of you playing guitar?
greate story,,thanks
Lenny was a genius and one of a kind. He was a sweet soul who died a tragic death. His murder is unsolved to this day.
Hackman - forgotten notes sample ??
@eightstring I agree with all sincerity.
Geosochi, why did you remove the clip?
Fabulous ! : )
Amen
If you play like Breau it'll work. Vai originally wanted to use his 7 for a higher string, but it kept breaking.
Does anyone have a CD of Standard Brands-Chet and Lenny? I need a burnt copy and can send back any guitar related cd in re-payment by mail.
I thought that duo CD on guitar archives was pretty good, the one from Nashville with Lenny playing with the bassist Richard Cotten.
Lenny is so great but ironically hard for me to listen to as his style is so deeply sad and melancholy.
Watching this I am reminded of another underrated guitar genius by the name of Jack Wilkins. Guitar fans check him out!
jack what?
I have tryed to play some Lenny Breau tunes with large hands, not possible:o)
hey.... there is a reason why I took down this particular clip...
Yeah, you can't do most blues/rock bends or hard attacks. Apparently even Lenny had a similar problem until he had a short scale guitar built. He doesn't mention how short. Scale length affects tone a -lot-, so it may not be a good tradeoff for some stylists.
is that amp he has a favorite of jazz cats-i never heard len talk about amps.he could sound like him any way-anybody?
gotta try to transpose this
The scale is 23 5/8ths inches or 580 C.M. instead of 660 C.M. Almost like removing the first 2 frets....there is no other guitar on the market that has this scale. 8string
Some of the stuff in Visions by Stephen Anderson is not too hard; also the ones in guitar player magazine like Danny Boy are not too bad. But yeah the real stuff is very difficult. He plays triplets over quarter notes lots of far out original things. The Mel Bay book has some very difficult stuff. His picking hand is very advanced the way he improvises with tremolo is so cool. No other jazz player does that. Even Martin Taylor doesnt do the tremolo.
malmsteem is greate, and so was Lenny.
Lenny is one of the very few who like Django and Charlie Christian and Wes, set new standard.
It's called visions.
I think I've discovered the secret to Lenny's magic...he had about 6 or 7 fingers on each hand. That must be it :)
One of the greatest players ever.. I would add George Van Eps as another genius at that level... in terms of “mastering” the guitar-if it can actually be mastered, these guys got the closest I think.
Why do people think shredding is harder than this?
I'm in an argument of what's harder, I know how to do both, I travel from style to style of music... Learning more... I have 7 years of playing guitar and this guy says he has 27 years and took music university and learned that metal is the way to go and is the most difficult therefore the best... And I'm like "wtf? you don't know shit do you!" and he replied "shut up you only have 7 years of experience!" I guess that that guy is a troll...
everybody here is neglecting the greatest woman guitar player in the world leona boyd she met lenny with chet video is there on you tube
I remember Danny Gatton said " Lenny Breau is the greatest, par none" Lenny's death/murder has always bothered me. No one was ever charged.
beautiful!watch my 8 string too.ciao!
gosh,the best...i think...maybe not...dont know...
Jaguars are 24". Cheaper and easier to find than Byrdlands.
Yes Lenny Breau is the man.
I think only Ted Greene comes close to him.
all the dots were in the wrong place lol ya like that would bother you lenny lol
I know, I know, I'm just crazy about his playing, his early death made him be neglected a bit, so... I guess you're right.
I'm not an authority, but he looks around 5'4'' or 5'5''
your right man, jazz pales in comparison to yngwiee malmsteem.
try to play allan holdsworth with small hands, not possible
They're all great, technically some guys are better, but Stevie had soul and feel. So does Lenny. The trick is who has equal doses of both technique and technical mastery, and the elusive soul/feel factor ? Answer: No one I can think of. Study one at the expense of the other and you're sunk as a guitarist.
i think that Breau was a player far more deep, poetic and harmonically astounding than Montgomery, that sounds to me predictable.
Its nice, the only thing I dont like about this kind of music is its lack of continuity. I wish he could revisit some more themes.
How ridiculous, Randy Bachman is not making a thing off Lenny. Bachman has made so much off of his rock stuff what makes you think he needs this? Maybe you should do a little research and find out that he actually is 1)a huge fan 2) took his first lessons from Lenny when he was about 14.
haha :D
tragedy....jazz lost a real giant
its stupid to say one is "best" or one is better then someone else. different styles and also different genres of music, now, if lenny at end of song pulled a Pete Townsend and smashed crap outta the guitar, then screw it, Lenny da man! hey, no guitar smashing at end, sorry Lenny... sheesh peeps, why cant people just enjoy the music and ability to listen to different styles and techniques on you tube and enjoy it, hall, pass, wes, les, johnny smith, farlow,chet atkins could outplay us all,
It's too bad that a gentle genius like Lenny should have to endure the banter written above. I could have removed the idiot comments, but I will not...the mental midgets that have written above look all the more stupid...in fact if you notice...not one of them can even compose a real sentence...pitiful...pitiful
There is no best...there is no competition, there is no who's first and who's last and who's got what stats. Once you figure that out, you can start to see where these guys walked in life. Just enjoy the fuk'n music he's soul'n out ffs.
lol he sounds like jack nicholson
No he could not play like Lenny Breau. Lenny came along with his own tecnique. One diftrenc is Lenny playing with his little finger, Chet could not do that. Another difrence is Lenny Had a much deeper knowledge in jazz music. For many yeares he did not listen to other guitarplayers he was listening to piano players. To play like Lenny you must have deep knowledge. Ofcorse Chet had knowledge,,but not Like Lenny.
your handle/username has just become the laughing stock in the guitar community. Please, just stay in your room playing your Charvel or Ibanez..or I should say 'playing' sweeps and arpeggios ad nauseum.