Larry Carlton returns to Hong Kong with his legendary jazz solos
In his sixth decade as a gun for hire, guitairst Larry Carlton has lost none of his firepower, writes Robin Lynam
has been nominated for 19 Grammys and won four, he has featured on more than 100 gold albums, and recorded with artists ranging from Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell to Michael Jackson.
His performance on Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne from their 1976 album The Royal Scam won it a place at Number 80 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2008 list of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time.
That fiery yet intricate performance, like many of Carlton's solos, sounds carefully worked out, but, he says, simply came to him in the moment. "I can humbly say I've never worked out a solo in advance. It's always improvised. It's just the way I think - lyrically but playing it on the guitar," he says.
Carlton will be 66 in March, but at a time when he might be expected to be taking things easy, he seems busier than ever.
A former member of The Crusaders, Carlton quit Fourplay, his second hit-making instrumental group, in 2010 because his busy schedule could no longer accommodate the band.
"My management team tries to look ahead one or two years," he says.