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Anyone know the reason he is calling it quits?Someone told me they read he was tired of playing guitar.Seems unbelievable but i remember seeing him in the late 90"s.He had just come back from a 6 week vacation and he said he did not touch the guitar all that time.That would be like hell for me but apparantly it's different for him.He played a Tele and Les paul that night and you could never tell he hadn't played for 6 weeks.
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06-11-2022 01:57 PM
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Carlton has a very busy tour schedule through September of this year. The title of his early September shows are "The Farewell Tour".
Say it ain't so!
Tour — Larry Carlton
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He's got a couple shows scheduled this year:
Larry Carlton Tickets, Tour Dates & Concerts 2023 & 2022 – Songkick
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The Farewell tour has been going on since last year and looks like it will go on into 2023 from what i read.
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Originally Posted by nyc chaz
Carlton has a fantastic amount of musical achievements ..and the fact he is almost 75..
he has played with many top artists and has a studio resume with thousands of dates .. he played on TV theme songs and worked with Steely Dan, The Crusaders and Fourplay
He has toured for many years with his own group
There is little he has not done as a working guitarist..few have had half his success.
Perhaps he just wants to enjoy the rest of his life.
He is one of my main influences
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Larry is now 75 year old and been very fortunate. Always best to quit before you feel your playing isn’t at its Top Game. And also while you still enjoy being out on the road, Lol!
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Thanks, all, for the headsup. I think LC is doing a solid for his fans, despite the fact that this exercise probably won't be that much fun for him.
I met him a few times, and have personally witnessed some of the crap that he's had to put up with when on tour. Every fan and interviewer asks the same questions (how many times in 50 years can you smile when answering the question "What was it like to play with Steely Dan?"), and every audience wants to hear the same three-ish (SD) songs. While he may be an inspiration and a musical hero to many of us, the promoters and producers of the shows look at him as someone who does not generate the crowds or money that the latest social media darlings might.
A friend of mine set me up with a gig to be LC's personal assistant for a local show decades ago. We hung out a bit before the show, conversing while we walked around the grounds of the venue. It was maybe only 2-3 years after he had almost been killed in a home invasion robbery. I choked up a bit as I told him how happy I was that he survived and was doing well, and that he had been one of my musical heroes for many years. He included a couple of vocal tunes in the set, and his voice was still a bit raspy, something he acknowledged in his remarks after the first vocal tune. He signed my transcription of his solo from Kid Charlemagne, the original penciled version in a musical-stave notebook. Unfortunately, I eventually asked the dreaded "What was it like..." question, to which LC replied with obvious frustration that I could find that answer in his interviews. So we changed the subject, and I asked what he's really into, to which he replied "my son, Travis." At that time, Trav was less than 10 years old and Larry was really into being a Dad.
We got to his trailer and discovered that a third-rate comedian who was one of the opening acts at the all-day, multi-band festival was occupying LCs trailer, despite the fact that the comedian's half-hour set had ended hours ago. LC indicated that he wanted privacy, and the comedian did not want to vacate the trailer. I went to the producer of the show, who replied that Larry wasn't the headliner and he could share the trailer. I responded that Larry was making gold records when that producer was in diapers, and that I was not going to tell Larry to share the trailer. The producer flatly refused to do anything about the situation.
I then went to LC's tour manager and explained the situation, who replied that he would take care of it. The comedian was gone five minutes later.
As LC and I continued to walk the venue, fans would recognize him and shout the names of some of his tunes. At one point, Larry said to me "I wish I had never written that song" because he was REALLY sick of playing it at nearly every show for decades.
Larry and I then looked at the stage setup and LC indicated that he needed another music stand. Despite this show being held on the campus of a large university where music stands were in ample supply just a few buildings away, the producer refused to dispatch someone to pick up a couple extra stands from the locked music building. I drove home and back to supply Larry with my own high-quality Hamilton stand. The drive was 20 mins each way (at illegally high speeds, I might add!) and I got the stand to the stage about 5 mins before Larry was to go on.
Other performers on that show included Bobby Caldwell, The Rippingtons, and a couple other popular late-80s jazz-fusion acts. I honestly don't recall who may have been peaking on the charts more than Larry at that time and was therefore "the headliner" but as far as I and many others attending that show were concerned, Larry was and always would be the Godfather in that house.
IIRC, LC basically brought his guitar, some charts and maybe an amp. The Rippingtons' bassist (Kim Stone) and drummer were Larry's rhythm section. I seem to recall that LC did bring his own keyboard player (not Terry Trotter, tho) instead of using the uber-capable Russ Freeman of the Rippingtons; in other words, it wasn't totally a pickup group, but everyone was reading, including LC - he had some charts that opened to four pages wide, which was why he needed two stands.
So... despite a storied career and impeccable chops, someone like LC can be treated like royalty or like shit, can have good or bad days, and some dates (maybe a lot of them, after decades on the bandstand) can be like playing in a cover band doing tunes that he happened to write. I can see why perhaps the thrill is gone. He is doing us all a favor by putting himself through the stress of one last tour. I wish him all the best.
SJ
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I saw LC a few weeks ago and he sounded great.
He hinted at the end of the show that he wasn't fully retiring, just limiting the number of dates and types of venues that he would be playing- maybe no smaller clubs like the Blue Note in Napa, where I saw him.
Larry's playing has changed through the years and he seems to prefer cleaner playing to the saturated tone he had in the '70's. Maybe it isn't as fun for him to play in that older style now, although he did play the solo to Kid Charlemagne for the crowd. He told a funny story about playing with Steely Dan live a few years ago and when they came to that song he flubbed the solo. The LA press made a big deal about it, but he was able to laugh at it in hindsight.
LC has certainly earned the right to dial it down at this stage of his life.
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Barbra S had several "farewell" tours and kept coming back.
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More power to him. LC has been a force in a lot of popular music for decades and, as noted above, there are few musicians who can stack up a similar résumé to his. But, man, at 75 who wants to still be dealing with trying to fly with a guitar, the logistical hassles, promoter and venue BS, etc., etc. That sort of thing wears musicians down.
Doesn't this belong in "The Players" topic.
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Chet Atkins quit playing just a few years before he died. Said he'd lost his passion for the guitar. Seemed impossible for his fans. But when you think about a guy having a guitar in his hands nearly everyday for 60+ years, I'd say he's entitled to say "I've had enough of this" at some point.
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Hi va3ux de kc4xu)
Saw LC in Sayreville NJ on his On Solid Ground tour, first after he came back after the shooting.
First he plays this wild rousing blues thing with all fingerboard pyrotechnics… really amazing. After it he says to the audience ‘how many of you are guitar players? Raise your hands’. So of course nearly every guy in the place has their arm up, including jk.
Then LC goes..’ OK that was it for all you players, now Im going to play for the rest of the crowd and went immediately into Bubble Shuffle.
Many laughs!
If you’ve not heard him on the Tal Farlow ‘All Strings Attached’ concert do Misty, do search it out. I can’t find a link that will copy. Wow! LC swings so effortlessly. (LC, Scofield, Coryell, Abercrombie. But, poor exhausted Tal had that afternoon flown into LA from Norway. No, not his best night.)
jk
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Howard Alexander Dumble's passing may be a factor. Nobody to service his Dumble amps that are so much part of his sound now should they fail. May as well retire.
Last edited by Jabberwocky; 06-12-2022 at 07:15 AM.
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More power to LC. If he’s 75, he overdue to park it and relax. It seems many top musicians literally work until they keel over. Stated differently, many have to work at advanced age because of finances. It’s eye opening how many actually died on the road. I hope LC gets the opportunity to sit on the back porch with a cold lemonade and watch the butterflies skip across the pasture.
AKA
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I hope you are kidding for this being his reason to retire and Carlton has been using a Bludo Drive for years now. Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
LC has been playing Bludotone amps at least since 2014.
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And I think he used a tweed Deluxe on KC. Originally Posted by Doug B
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Larry can do whatever he wants in my book. He’s been an inspiration to countless players, including me. With all he’s accomplished musically, and all he has overcome personally, what’s one more gig in Cleveland?
I hope Larry enjoys a long and fulfilling retirement.
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Just imagine Wes’ output if he had lived to be 75. He’d likely have retired by 60.
LC has had a superb career. Sooner or later one has to hang it up. I’m shocked he’s still been gigging at 75. I can’t imagine the road grind at that age. He’s got nothing to prove to anyone.
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The poets tell how Martino fell, Originally Posted by maxsmith
And Larry's living out of chain hotels.
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold,
And so the story ends we're told.
Old Pat needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Larry too.
He only played what he wanted to,
And now he's growing old.
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LC: 75
Geo Benson: 79
Scofield: 70
John McLaughlin: 79
and….
Kenny Burrell: 90
(jk 69 till 08/05)
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I myself, in my minor accomplishments, have lost interest in playing the same ol' same ol'. How many times do I have to ______ ______ _________ ?
For some of us, music can be very repetitious, and therefore become boring. It happens.
Hard to imagine any new mountains climbed by LC, he's done so much, and so well.
Sometimes I believe that there is too much music. Mostly because it can be so repetitious (and derivative)
Sure there is new stuff, new sounds, and new ways to produce.
And, I did not care for LC's tone on the Bludotone's, just not as evocative, a lot of blurred tones (the bit I heard).
He can do whatever he needs to do, relaxing is a good thing, maybe he'll re-surface with great new stuff.
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He had a great interview on Cory Wong's channel:
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I haven't had time to get through more than the first 8 minutes or so... BEFORE the actual interview... but this dude is HILARIOUS and his band is super in-the-pocket! Thanks for posting. Looking forward to what Larry has to say and play... Originally Posted by sm80808
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UPDATE: Saw the rest. Agreed, a great interview. Thanks again @sm80808! Cory, Mark and Larry cover a lot of interesting ground. Larry says at one point "I'll never retire." As bluejaybill suggests, perhaps this is just the end of big tours but Larry may still play less formal gigs in more intimate venues... personally, I'd love to see him stretching out on some of the Miles and Trane and blues he loves. Hoping we'll have the chance to experience that as circumstances permit. Thanks again for all the inspiring music over the decades, Larry!Last edited by starjasmine; 06-18-2022 at 01:17 AM.
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" I can’t imagine the road grind at that age. " 2bornot2bop
"For some of us, music can be very repetitious, and therefore become boring." Jimmy Mack
For those among us who have played steady gigs over the years, the above comments ring very true. Playing the same tunes, night after night, to diverse audiences that range from disinterested to fools can lose its charm quickly. Playing popular tunes you absolutely detest is, for me, the greatest challenge. I played sax for years in a variety of R@B bands where we were very loose in what we played every night and the songs were usually called by the lead vocalist based on how he felt that evening. It always worked because he had an intuitive sense of the crowd and we knew a ton of tunes. Then, when Jazz-Rock Big Bands became popular, I got an offer from a working band I couldn't refuse. However, every night, we did a full set of the group Chicago's top hits, and psychologically I was exhausted at the end of the set because I did . . . and still, detest their music. I played with that group for almost 2 years and it was the set from Hell for me. However, it was one of our most popular sets with the crowd and many came specifically for that music. So, back to Larry, I never listened to much of his music since I considered it smooth Jazz/Rock-based and it was never my cup of tea. But, he also had a prolific studio career playing a wide range of music. So, he was the quintessential working musician in his long and diverse musical career, and hopefully, unlike others less fortunate, he can retire completely or, perhaps, play the music he really loves.
Marinero
P.S. The above quotes remind me of the period when Miles turned his back to the audience when he played. Many, at the time, questioned: "why?" The inoffensive/official answer offered at the time was that he wanted to focus on the music and give direction to his bandmates. The real reason was simple: he was deeply into drug use and, largely, detested the audience.
M
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