Larry Carlton-Sleepwalk (1981)

Larry Carlton is one of the most versatile jazz guitarists, with a career that reaches thirty albums, in addition to composing music for film and TV, which earned him the Grammy Award with the main theme for the series "Hill Street Blues".
Throughout his professional life Larry Carlton has also been a highly sought-after studio musician who has participated in thousands of recordings, some of such important people as Steely Dan, Al Jarreau, John Klemmer, Michael Franks, Spyro Gyra, Randy Crawford or Barbra Streisand by quote a few.
In 1968 he recorded his first solo work called "With a little Help From My Friends" and which was enthusiastically received by the public and critics. Shortly after he would sign for The Crusaders with whom he would record up to 13 works until 1976, even contributing with his own compositions and above all, with that soft sound he got with his Gibson ES-335 guitar. That guitar would give Carlton a nickname, known since then as "Mr. 335", he even created his own recording studio which he would call "Room 335".
At the end of his relationship with The Crusaders, Carlton signed with Warner Bros Records for whom he would record a series of great albums between 1977 and 1984 such as "Larry Carlton" (1978), the direct "Mr. 335: Live in Japan" (1979), "Sleepwalk" (1981), "Strikes Twice" (1981), "Eight Times Up" (1983) and "Friends" (1983).
In all of them, Carlton, in addition to his subtle guitar touch, provides sensational arrangements and exquisite productions, full of nuances and full of different styles, from jazz to rock through funk, soul and blues.
In 1985 with his album "Alone but never Alone" he achieved number one on Billboard Jazz, and even got another Grammy for "Minute by Minute" and received a nomination in the category of "Best Jazz Fusion Performance" for his live "Last Nite " With a successful halo on his back, Carlton prepares to record his next work. It will be a more electric album than the previous ones and it will be called "On Solid Ground". But one day leaving the recording studio Larry Carlton is brutally shot by a stranger and is about to lose his life. This dramatic event marked a major turning point as it led to a long period of hospitalization followed by endless and painful recovery sessions. But the guitarist knew how to redirect his career again and although his live appearances began to dramatically decrease from that moment on, he soon continued with his participation as a studio musician, now totaling more than three thousand.
In recent years the guitarist has been essential in the consolidation of the "Fourplay" project, a band initially formed by keyboardist Bob James, bassist Nathan East, drummer Harvey Mason and guitarist Lee Ritenour, who was replaced by Carlton from his fourth work "4" released in 1998. Fourplay currently has 10 albums on the market, the last one "Energy" from 2008.