Lenny Breau (1941 - 1984 )
Lenny Breau grew up in a household where both his parents were country musicians. It was a matter of time before young Lenny would pick up a guitar and amaze everyone with his natural talent. By age 15, he recorded his first album Boy Wonder one year after joining his father’s band as a lead guitarist. In the mid 1950’s, his family moved from his natal Maine to Winnipeg, Canada. In Winnipeg, while still a teenager, he became known in the jazz scene while continuing his learning process with the help of the local jazz musicians. By age 21, he moved to Toronto and started his own band. He gained notoriety during this period, as he would play in the east coast as well, including New York and appearing on US television too. In the mid 1960’s he moved back to Winnipeg and became a regular in Canada’s national network, CBC. During this period he met Chet Atkins and they also played together a few times.
Guitar Style Although Lenny Breau could play in several ways, his main feature is finger style jazz guitar. He takes the influence of Chet Atkins and complements it with his own talent. His approach to guitar is a combination of classical, flamenco and jazz. He would play finger style technique with a thumb pick. His guitar approach covers bass, harmony and melody at the same time in pretty much the same way classical and flamenco guitar are intended. In some recordings, he even plays classical pieces such as Bach’s Bouree in E minor. He would play in a traditional jazz trio setting or solo guitar, with an extensive chord voicing style. He was able to sound full with only one guitar, although when playing in a trio he would have more freedom and his execution seemed more fluent. He also experimented with a 7-string guitar, being the album Swingin’ on a Seven String the only studio recording with this instrument. The 7-string guitar has an additional bass string, usually tuned in a low B or C. It seems his seven string guitar had instead a high A, which became a challenge from a guitar making perspective. One of his most challenging technical aspects is the use of Harmonics in melodies and arpeggios. He developed a technique where he would place his right hand fingers in a way that resemble the chord he was playing on the left hand and then attack the strings, generating very fluent arpeggios consisting of harmonics. This is extremely challenging for any guitar player and is something that many other jazz legends tried to emulate afterwards.
Album Highlights
Videos This video shows a young Lenny playing his characteristic finger style and chord voicings. Here you can notice the use of the thumb pick, which he uses with two purposes. One, to accentuate the bass lines when playing chord harmonies and voices. Secondly, to attack the strings when playing one-note phrases in the same way one would use a regular pick. Lenny Breau playing on a seven string guitar. In spite of the quality of the video, one can appreciate Lenny’s unique style. In this case, the seventh string is a high A. In this video, Lenny plays his trademark harmonics arpeggios too. By looking at his right hand, one can notice he is a self-taught finger style guitar player. Had he had classical training, the position of his hand would have been more static during attacks (instead it "jumps" a little) and there wouldn’t be any gap between his fingers. Well, had he had classical training, all his creativity and freedom would have been killed! (no offence intended for all those classical players out there)
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