| When Lightn' Strikes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Recorded | August 12 & 25, 1982 | |||
| Studio | Audio Media Studios, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 35:49 | |||
| Label | Tudor | |||
| Producer | Paul Whitehead | |||
| Lenny Breau chronology | ||||
| ||||
When Lightn' Strikes is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau that was released in 1982. It was remastered and reissued in 2005 by Art of Life Records as Swingin' on a Seven-String.
When Lightn' Strikes was the last studio album Breau recorded before he was killed in 1984. It contains the only studio recordings of Breau on his seven-string guitar. Besides the seven-string, Breau also played classical guitar on the album. There are five duets with bassist Jim Ferguson. Breau and pedal steel player Buddy Emmons had previously recorded together on Minors Aloud . [1]
Originally released on LP in 1982 by the small Tudor Records label, it had neither liner notes nor personnel listed. Tudor ceased business shortly after its release and it quickly went out of print. [2] It was remastered and reissued in 2005 on the Art of Life Records label as Swingin' on a Seven-String with an altered track sequence and one bonus track. The reissue includes a booklet with liner notes by Ron Forbes-Roberts and notes by musicians Ferguson, Emmons, and Kenny Malone. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| AllMusic | [5] |
Writing for AllMusic, music critic Paul Kohler called the album "A lost gem!" [4] In reviewing the reissue for JazzTimes , critic Russell Carlson wrote "Breau created an ambiguous fusion of jazz and country on Swingin', nimbly ducking in and out of pedal-steel guitarist Buddy Emmons' syrupy, starlit melodies while coasting along with drummer Kenny Malone's and bassist Jim Ferguson's straightahead swing propulsion... Breau's mastery of an impressionistic Bill Evans style has him pulling ideas and emotion from country music that a pure honky-tonker could never realize." [6] John Kelman of All About Jazz praised the album and called Breau "a bolt of lightning when he emerged in the '70s out of Manitoba, Canada". Of the album, Kelman wrote: "Breau may not have broken any turf in terms of pushing jazz out of the mainstream, but his interpretive skills and ability to retain a tune's essence while reimagining it in a pure jazz context remains evocative to this day. For those unfamiliar with Breau's magic, Swingin' on a Seven-String is a perfect place to start." [1] Scott Yanow reviewed the reissue, giving it 4.5 of 5 stars and writing " It is a long-overdue joy to have this highly enjoyable music available again, and it is highly recommended to anyone at all interested in Lenny Breau's artistry." [5]
The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play unlimited glissandi and deep vibrati—characteristics it shares with the human voice. Pedal steel is most commonly associated with American country music and Hawaiian music.
Leonard Harold Breau was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used fingerstyle techniques not often used in jazz guitar. By using a seven-string guitar and approaching the guitar like a piano, he opened up possibilities for the instrument.
Jill Sobule is the second album by the American singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, released on April 7, 1995. The disc contained the singles "Good Person Inside", "Supermodel" and "I Kissed a Girl". The album sold 100,000 copies in the US, making it her most commercially successful record.
Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz".
Chance Meeting is an album by jazz guitarists Tal Farlow and Lenny Breau that was released in 1997.
Buddy Gene Emmons was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by the nickname "Big E", Emmons' primary genre was American country music, but he also performed jazz and Western swing. He recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, The Everly Brothers, The Carpenters, Jackie DeShannon, Roger Miller, Ernest Tubb, John Hartford, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price, Judy Collins, George Strait, John Sebastian, and Ray Charles and was a widely sought session musician in Nashville and Los Angeles.
The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau – Live! is a live album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was released in 1969.
Minors Aloud is an album by American pedal steel guitarist Buddy Emmons and Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau that was released in 1978.
Lenny Breau is an album by Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau, released in 1979.
Live at Bourbon St. is a live album by guitarist Lenny Breau and bassist Dave Young that was released in 1995. It was nominated for a 1997 Juno Award in the category of Best Mainstream Jazz Album.
The Living Room Tapes, Vol. 1 is an album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau and clarinetist Brad Terry that was released in 1986.
The Living Room Tapes, Volume 2 is an album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau and clarinetist Brad Terry that was released in 1990.
Last Sessions is an album by Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was recorded in 1977–78 and released posthumously in 1988. This album represents Breau's final studio recordings for Adelphi Records, not his last studio sessions, which were recorded in 1982 at Audio Media Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Hallmark Sessions is an album by the Canadian jazz guitarist Lenny Breau that was released in 2003.
Pickin' Cotten is a live album by guitarists Lenny Breau and Richard Cotten that was recorded in 1977 and released in 2001.
At the Purple Onion is a live album by Don Francks, Lenny Breau, and Eon Henstridge that was recorded in 1962 and released in 2004. They performed as a trio called Three.
Canadian jazz refers to the jazz and jazz-related music performed by jazz bands and performers in Canada. There are hundreds of local and regionally based Canadian jazz bands and performers. A number of Canadian jazz artists have achieved international prominence, including Oscar Peterson, Maynard Ferguson, and Gil Evans.
Friendship is a studio album by American singer and pianist Ray Charles. It was produced by Billy Sherrill and released in August 1984 by Columbia Records and Epic Records. The album peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Steel Guitar Jazz is a 1963 studio album by steel guitarist Buddy Emmons. It was reissued in 2003 by Verve Records.
Ron Halldorson is a Canadian jazz musician, arranger, and producer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, best known for his work with guitarist Lenny Breau. Beginning his career as a country musician in the 1950s, Halldorson switched to jazz in the 1960s and played bass in The Lenny Breau Trio, recording Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau and The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau – Live! on RCA and recording with John Capek in 1976. After playing double-bass with Breau for 10 years, Halldorson worked as a session musician, playing pedal steel guitar and other instruments on recordings by The Guess Who, Wyrd Sisters and others. During the 1980s and 90s, he composed music for a number of film and television shows. In 2019, he released the album Duologue with Julian Bradford.