Sapphire Blue

Another fine outing by Mr Carlton

Larry Carlton is terrific. The CD is flawed emitting a high pitch squeal during playback.

This is one of the best guitar CDs I have ever heard. Larry is one of the top jazz guitarists in the world and anyone familiar with his work will be blown away by these instrumental gems. Larry's liner notes state "I have wanted for many years to do a 'blues oriented' CD. For 'Saphire Blue' I had complete creative freedom." I assume his desire for creative freedom has something to do with the fact that this cd is only available as an import. Don't let the price scare you - it's worth every penny.Larry maintains an upbeat jazz/blues focus while showcasing his brilliant dexterity and encyclopedic knowledge of various styles. My personal favorites are "Night Sweats" and "Take Me Down". The former begins with ominous keyboard changes that bring to mind "Come Together" by the Beatles and progesses into slow, simmering jazz groove that could have been lifted from a Steely Dan CD. The later is an acoustic guitar/harmonica exchange between Larry and his old buddy Terry McMillan. I immediately thought of "Black Water" by the Doobie Bros. Other highlights include the title track which has a B.B. King feel to it and the bouncy bonus track "Room 335". The stellar backup musicians include Reese Wynan (formerly with Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble) on B-3 organ, Mark Douthit on tenor sax and excellent horn arrangements by Jim Horn. I would give this CD 10 stars if I could - it's really that good! Can't wait to see him in concert 11/15.

I have several Larry Carlton CDs, this is my favorite. Clear pristine flowing blues. I love it.

I've been a fan of his for years, going back to his searingly hot jazz/rock with Steely Dan and funkier jazz with The Crusaders. I think Larry has always had a strong blues influence, but on this CD he totally immerses himself and it's simply fantastic. If you're looking for the "smooth jazz" side of Larry Carlton, this ain't it (he's good at that, too, but on other recordings). Incredible playing, flawless technique as usual but even more than that -- great feeling. His duet with McMillan ("Take Me Down") is so pure and focused, and the recording is crystal clear, like you are sitting in a small room listening to two superb musicians interacting seamlessly. This is by far my favorite Carlton album, and I wish he would record about ten more like this!

Larry Carlton took his love of, and virtuosity with, pure blues and combined it with the mastery of modern recording he developed with The Crusaders and Steely Dan to produce a very polished, modern blues big band album. He left smooth jazz and progressive pop music in his guitar case, and played pure, modern, electric, instrumental blues in front of one of the most polished rhythm sections and horn sections ever to record the blues.

Pretty good CD enjoy the music.

This is a great CD featuring great musicians. What makes this Cd so special is the absolutely stunning recording of these tunes. This is the standard which all modern recording should be held to...no sense of overly compressed digital blandness here.The sound stage is huge, the percussion powerful and crisp, and every instrument can be heard loud and clear, with textures that are beyond belief. This has become a favorite disc of mine for using as a demo for my home audio system. This is about a close to audio heaven as any blues/jazz CD that I have owned. If your into great sound this is a must have.

I have alot of Larry's recordings, as a guitarist, I admire his mind-blowingly technical style. I therefore, eagerly awaited this new CD and was not disppointed, though somehow, never though I would be. This is a very well-produced piece of work and is particularly interesting as it takes Larry a little off the beaten track, compared with something like Fingerprints, for example; with this album, as he says himself, he is playing the music he wants to play. On the strength of this, it's a direction he should continue to explore. All I can say is that this is the master at his majestic best, for this CD perfectly showcases the fabulous dynamics and sweet tonality that is his trademark and which enhanced many Steely Dan and Crusaders recordings (amongst others). In otherwords, it's Larry Carlton the way God intended - the guitar straight into a mildly-overdriven amp and not an effects pedal in sight. It's sure to please Jazz/blues lovers, but it's certain to stop guitar players in their tracks. This guy is already one of the best players on the planet and it will surely win him many new fans. You don't necessarily have to enjoy Larry Carlton's other recordings to get into this, as I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed with it - this is audio honey. I hope it sells well, it certainly deserves to. All we need to do now is persuade him to tour the UK.....are you listening, Larry?

Nice to listen to some new stuff and this does not disappoint. Heard title track on grooveshark and was blown awa. Best thing he's done in 30 years

The more I listen the more I want to hear

CD as described. Prompt delivery. Issue-free purchase.

Larry Carlton zählt zu den profiliertesten Studiogitarristen in Amerika und hat mit seinem Gitarrenspiel die Alben unzähliger Stars veredelt. Seine eigene Solokarriere hat er dabei nicht aus den Augen verloren, wovon eine lange Reihe von Veröffentlichungen zeugt. Mir waren viele seiner Alben offen gestanden etwas zu smooth oder zu seicht und ich habe daher irgendwann aufgehört, sie mir zu kaufen. Im Sommer 2004 hatte ich die Gelegenheit, Larry Carlton live zu hören und durfte einen bestens aufgelegten Larry nebst einer phantastischen Band erleben, die ihrem Publikum mit ihrer unbändigen Spielfreude ein echtes Konzerthighlight bescherten.Das Album, welches auf dieser Tour präsentiert wurde, war "Sapphire Blue" - für mich Grund genug, einen erneuten Versuch zu starten. Und siehe da - der aktuelle Larry Carlton präsentiert sich auch hier spielfreudig und lebendig, als käme er gerade aus einem Jungbrunnen. Keine Schmalzgeigen, keine Aneinanderreihung von seichten Songs, sondern ein ehrliches Bluesalbum mit ordentlich Power und Improvisationsfreude ist da entstanden. Larry Carlton macht einfach das, was er wirklich kann: Toll Gitarre spielen. Für seine Soli nimmt er sich ordentlich Zeit und kann deshalb auch wirklich etwas aufbauen.Seine Mitmusiker dürfen ebenfalls ordentlich zur Sache kommen und so entsteht ein Album, wo nicht nur ein Solist sich selbst feiert, sondern mit seiner Band homogen zusammenspielt. Apropos Band: Im Booklet ist zu lesen, dass unter anderem Billy Kilson (Schlagzeug), Michael Rhodes (Bass), Matt Rollings (Rhodes-Piano), Terry McMillan (Mundharmonika) und Mark Douthit (Sax) dazugehören, außerdem eine dreiköpfige Bläsersektion.Der Sound ist erdig und ehrlich, auch edel, kurzum einfach gut. Man merkt, dass da Leute zu Werke gegangen sind, die ihr Handwerk verstehen. Auf Plastik-Synthies wird verzichtet, Hammond B 3 und Rhodes Piano reichen vollauf. Der letzte Track ist ein Duett zwischen Gitarre und Mundharmonika - ein echter Leckerbissen. Man wirft sich die Bälle zu, nimmt sie auf und entwickelt den Dialog auf entspannte und doch lebendige Art, bei der ich ich ein Gefühl bekomme, das könnte ewig so weitergehen. Über dem Ganzen liegt ein Lächeln, das sich auch bei dem oben erwähnten Livekonzert auf das Publikum übertrug und beim Nachhauseweg noch in den Gesichtern der meisten Besucher zu sehen war. Wohl dem, der so etwas erzeugen kann.