Carlton a versatile guitarist for 'any musical occasion'

Friday, October 15, 1999

By KEITH RAETHER
SPECIAL TO THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Guitarist Larry Carlton knows all about the "city of fallen angels," as Joni Mitchell once described Los Angeles. He grew up there. He worked with Mitchell there. He nearly was murdered there, another kind of fallen angel left for dead in a gang initiation rite.

Carlton

The year was 1987. Carlton was working on a recording project in Room 335, his private office and studio in Hollywood Hills. Two teenagers were jogging with their dog near the studio. As they ran along Carlton's driveway, the dog wandered toward the open studio. Carlton went to close the door and explained as much to the kids. One of them answered with a gun, firing once while the other watched. The bullet hit Carlton in the throat, ripping through his vocal cords and causing severe nerve trauma.

"I knew long before (the shooting) that I wanted out of L.A. someday," said Carlton, who headlines the KWJZ Smooth Jazz sixth anniversary celebration Saturday at the 5th Avenue Theatre.

"Messages come in all sizes, I guess."

Carlton recovered from the shooting and finished his record project, "On Solid Ground," in 1989. Four years ago, he and his wife, contemporary Christian music singer Michele Pillar, finally got out of Los Angeles. The couple traded decaying palms for a 100-acre farm in "God's country" -- Franklin, Tenn. -- where he can fish for large-mouth bass and she can ride Arabian horses. "I'm a country boy at heart," said Carlton, who grew up in an eye-blink Oklahoma town called Sardis. "I'm pretty content to go fishing, help Michele with the horses and play my guitar."

Carlton is a guitarist for all seasons. He was long considered one of Los Angeles' premier session players, logging 500 recording dates a year with everyone from Steely Dan to Dolly Parton.

He joined the Crusaders in 1971, shortly after they dropped Jazz from their name. He formed his own groups, recorded under his own name. Now he divides his time between his band and the fusion group Fourplay.

"My first love in music was jazz, but I like it all," he said. "I reacted emotionally to Art Blakey and, of course, to Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery. I was all of 16 when I had my first guitar lesson with Joe. But I never focused on being a bebop player. I loved the harmony, rhythm and phrasing, but I wanted to apply them to my own concept and sound."

Carlton is at home playing jazz, pop, rock, blues and fusion. The trick, he insists, is knowing how to apply the harmonic sophistication and technical demands of jazz to "any musical occasion."

"There are any number of players with extensive jazz backgrounds who haven't been able to fit into other styles," Carlton said. "It all boils down to taste, to playing what's appropriate for the context in which you're working."

Though his days as a session player are behind him, Carlton continues to work hard for the money. Between Fourplay and his group, he logs 150 concert dates a year.

"When you're a young player, I think audiences can make you uncomfortable," he said. "I know I was. Now being on stage is one of the best moments of my day. It's like my son says, 'Dad travels for a living and plays music for fun.'"