Sunday, July 8, 2012

Lenny Breau



For today, my second favorite guitar player of all time - Lenny Breau. Unfortunately he's no longer among us, having been strangled to death after years of drug use, aged 43. His wife was the main suspect, but the case was never solved.

What he left was a legacy of records, in his unique style of playing that has inspired people, and will continue to do so for many years.

As a fingerstyle player he combined a walking bass, with two/three note chords, with a melody or improvisation on top. Sprinkled on top were aspects of his country/flamenco background, as well as his interest in mysticism.

As a music recommendation I've chosen his take on Yesterday. Often when he was performing for young people he would start with jazzy covers of songs they knew, by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, etc, and move towards what they should be listening to.


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