Larry Carlton

Carlton is the quintessential studio guitarist, adding tasty solos to hundreds of albums by major stars including Michael Jackson, Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. His solo on Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne" is still analyzed and memorized by ravenous Berklee students eager to learn how Carlton pieces together complex harmonic ideas, jazz chops and bluesy Soul into a perfectly phrased improvisation. He's released many solo albums featuring slick solos over laid-back Smooth Jazz beats. You've heard him play on television and movies whether you know it or not -- on the Hill Street Blues theme, for example. Regular touring since the 1970s with classic bands like the Crusaders and Fourplay has showcased his live abilities. In the late 1980s Carlton was wounded in the neck in a purposeless shooting, but has since recovered and continues to grace easygoing jazz tracks with his inimitable playing.