Lenny Breau - Best songs / recording.

**lumena** · 10-09-2013, 01:25 AM

I have been beefing up my record collection lately and I have looked at a lot of youtubes of Lenny Breau.
Now I am wanting to get a few of the best recordings so I can really focus on them ( listen to over and over)

So I am looking for suggestions on recordings that feature his chord melody side.

Thanks in advance as I know there are lots of people with big record collections on the forum who can help me out here.

**cgratham** · 10-09-2013, 01:35 AM

Hi Lumena,
I can highly recommend Lenny's Cabin Fever Disc put out by Randy Bachman's Guitarchives label. It's all Lenny on solo acoustic guitar. Apparently it was all recorded in a log cabin in Northern Ontario when Lenny was trying to recover from some of his vices.

I find it the recording to be extremely moving and hauntingly beautiful. It's almost like you are there with him in the cabin and can feel his pain.

I found a youtube clip of his warm up leading into Autumn Leaves.
Enjoy, Chris

**Jehu** · 10-09-2013, 01:57 AM

A lot of Breau's stuff will have a lot of CM going on in some form or another... that's kind of an integral part of his style, weaving chords underneath his lines.

Not strictly CM, but I'm partial to his Live at Bourbon St. with Dave Young. (And most definitely check out Cabin Fever!)

**jbernstein91** · 10-09-2013, 08:45 AM

Likewise not strictly CM, but so great:

**Dave70** · 10-09-2013, 10:29 AM

Ah, just get 'em all. There's plenty of worthwhile listening on everything imo.

**lumena** · 10-09-2013, 10:48 AM

Wow, that Cabin fever excerpt is incredible. That one is incredible.

Thanks for the guitar anthology suggestion. The box set is perfect.
L>

**lumena** · 10-09-2013, 10:52 AM

A bit off subject. I was wondering about what type of guitar he was playing and so did a search.
Lenny Breau's personal guitar is up for auction but price is steep.

http://entertainment.ha.com/c/item.z...&lotIdNo=35046

**va3ux** · 10-09-2013, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by Dave70

Ah, just get 'em all. There's plenty of worthwhile listening on everything imo.

I have to agree. Get 'em all.

The Velvet Touch album is very good. Five O'clock Bells is good. Bourbon St is good. And while not jazz, you should try to at least listen to the Boy Wonder album released by Guitar Archives. You'd swear you're listening to Chet Atkins (not an imitator, but Chet himself); but it's actually Lenny when he was 15 years old. Unreal.

**va3ux** · 10-09-2013, 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by lumena

A bit off subject. I was wondering about what type of guitar he was playing and so did a search.
Lenny Breau's personal guitar is up for auction but price is steep.

http://entertainment.ha.com/c/item.z...&lotIdNo=35046

He played a few different guitars in succession. I know he played a Strat in his parent's band. He then moved to an ES-125 in the early 60's (as seen in the CBC clip above) and he stayed with that until it was stolen while he was still living in Winnipeg. It was replaced in Winnipeg by a Baldwin : first a Baldwin flatop with a pickup over the sound hole, then with an electric solidbody Baldwin with the big horns on it. He continued to play that one after he moved to Toronto and it is on the cover of at least one of his albums. The Kirk Sand 7 string was his last guitar but I know there was one (or more) guitars in between the Baldwin from the late 60's/early 70's and the Kirk Sand he was playing at the time of his death in 1984. Lenny was always in trouble with money and therefore never had a big collection of guitars like many players do. I'm under the impression he had one electric and one classical at any one time, but that's about it.

**Swingster** · 10-09-2013, 07:08 PM

I love Lenny. He was fantastic. A true musical genius who died way too soon.

Check this out, he was only 20 years old when he recorded this:

**brashboy** · 10-10-2013, 11:56 AM

Luscious. Thanks to the OP and all subsequent posters.

**Swingster** · 10-10-2013, 05:56 PM

This is amazing:

**Dave70** · 10-11-2013, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by lumena

A bit off subject. I was wondering about what type of guitar he was playing and so did a search.
Lenny Breau's personal guitar is up for auction but price is steep.

http://entertainment.ha.com/c/item.z...&lotIdNo=35046

Wow, that's a pretty famous guitar among the Breau aficionados I'd say! 5k actually dosen't sound too steep to me. What would a Kirk Sand guitar cost new? I'll bet it sells for a lot higher.

**lumena** · 10-11-2013, 10:26 AM

It's a bit much for me but maybe a player here will be into it. Kirk Sands guitars are pretty rare used.

**daveg** · 10-15-2013, 02:00 PM

Recordings:

Don't be without "Minors Aloud".

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...minors%20aloud

DG

**3625** · 10-16-2013, 08:02 AM

+1 on Cabin Fever, my fave Lenny recording, particularly the improv on "What is This Thing?" - I remember buying it as soon as it was released. One of the CD tracks is this guy who helped Lenny out, talking about the background of the recording: It was a commune in the woods, and Lenny went to hang there to get some much needed peace.The guitar used was a borrowed Ramirez flamenco 6 string IIRC. So, Lenny's literally in a cabin in the woods, no running water, playing a borrowed guitar, recording on to a reel to reel powered by a generator. Got a vibe.

**Gertrude Moser** · 10-16-2013, 09:49 PM

I had 5 O'Clock Bells on vinyl back when my cans pointed towards the ceiling. It's a wonderful recording, really makes you feel like he's sitting in your living room, playing just for you.

**lumena** · 10-17-2013, 12:38 AM

I ordered cabin fever and 5 o clock was next on my list. Lots of nice bits on YouTube but nothing beats a real recording.
I ve been thinking about getting a turntable again just for jazz hard to finds. I am thinking it can really work out much more economically to search down the vinyl.

(and then I can collect obscure Sun Ra) !

I am really appreciating all the suggestions and I am looking each one up and finding snippets.
L.

**Ronstuff** · 11-03-2013, 11:12 AM

I would recommend this release with Lenny playing in LA not too long before his death.

Live, great solo set and then trio playing(with a very young John Patitucci on bass).

Very inspired playing, some of his most focused I would say...

http://www.jazzcatrecords.com/

**lumena** · 11-03-2013, 12:52 PM

Nice.

**Daniel Kuryliak** · 11-05-2013, 05:31 AM

Here is one of his best albums;

http://www.discogs.com/Lenny-Breau-The-Velvet-Touch-Of-Lenny-Breau-Live/release/2685770

and this one..one of the best renditions of the proverbial jazz favourite. from his album (Live at Bourbon Street)."all the things that you are".

Lush chord treatment at the intro then he picks up the pace with his combo unique finger/ plectrum picking.....and of course his unique tuning of his 7 string guitar..his improvs are pure genius...
although a bit of a radical departure from what we are used to in main stream jazz..
more avant garde..

His seven string tuning was also very unique and that is why some of his work is so hard to play.

His high string was tuned to a high A (a perfect 4th above the high E string).
His main guitar (I'm pretty sure the one used on that recording, though he had another one before that one) was a solid body electric custom built by Kirk Sands. It also was a shorter scale length than normal (something like 22 1/2"). Both of these factors had something to do with the sustained, chime like sound of those high notes and harmonics.
He did a lot of things that combined harmonics with regular plucked notes, hammer ons and pull offs.

Lenny Breau..a Canadian Jazz Guitarist.... (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984)..gone before his time.

Lenny Breau and his Kirk Sands short scale 7 string electric guitar.
Attachment 9339