LARRY CARLTON

Larry Carlton was born March 2, 1948, in Torrance, California. He was taught by Slim Edwards from age 6 to 14. He studied jazz guitar several times with Joe Pass. After studying at Harvard College in Los Angeles from 1966 to 1968, and California State University, Long Beach from 1968 to 1970, he won first place for soloist at the Southern California Big Band Contest held in San Diego. In 1969 at the tender age of 21 he went on to release his first album. Carlton joined The Crusaders in 1972 and while performing on the album "Crusaders I," he released his own project "Singing/Playing." Carlton's reputation continued to grow as he performed on eight pieces with The Crusaders all the way through "Free as the Wind" (Universal Music). While participating in Crusaders activities, Carlton made a name for himself as a fusion music session guitarist. His participation on many A.O.R. (Adult Oriented Rock) related popular pieces with Michael Franks, Steely Dan, and others only further entrenched his talents in the industry.

In the late 1970's Carlton released such hit albums as "Larry Carlton" and "Sleepwalk" (Warner Music Japan) and in 1981 he was awarded his first Grammy for the soundtrack to the TV series Hill Street Blues. This was followed by a second Grammy in 1987 for his solo album "Alone, but Never Alone" (Warner Music Japan). In spite of nearly dying from gunshot wounds in 1988, Larry Carlton made a miraculous recovery and began his second life. In addition to releasing such works as "On Solid Ground," "Kid Gloves," and "Renegade Gentleman" (Universal Music), he produced a series of popular works with Lee Ritenour, known as "Larry & Lee" (Universal Music). In 1998 Carlton joined the popular group Fourplay which included Bob James and Nathan East, and he participated in recording activities and tours. As a special project he went on world tours in 1998 and 2001 with TOTO's Steve Lukathur. Carlton won his third Grammy for "No Substitution" (Victor Entertainment), a live album recorded in Japan. His position as a star musician was set forever when he was selected in 1999 to the Walk of Fame and placed his handprint in Hollywood's prestigious Rockwalk. After "Deep Into It" (Warner Music Japan, 2001) Carlton's last album with Warner Brothers, he turned his attention to a blues project and released "Sapphire Blue" (Victor Entertainment). In his latest album "Firewire" (BMG Funhouse), he returned to his roots as Mr. 335 and overwhelmed fans with the hard sound he performed. The album was named the Best Jazz/Fusion Album in music magazine ADLIB's Disc Grand Prix (FY2005). Larry Carlton's performance in Japan will be the first in eight months since his performance at Blue Note Tokyo in January 2006.

The official site can be found at http://www.mr335.com/.

Robben Ford

Robben Ford was born in Woodlake, California, on December 16, 1951, and raised in Ukiah. His entire family has a strong musical background: both parents were professional musicians, Patrick, the oldest of four siblings is a drummer, the second son, Mark, is a blues mouthharp player, and the third son, Robben, started his carrier as a sax player. Swept away by the blues of Mike Bloomfield, Robben picked up the guitar at age 13. After high school graduation, he moved to San Francisco and with his two brothers formed the Charles Ford Band, named after their father. After performing with several blues bands, Ford joined the Jimmy Witherspoon Band in 1972. He began his career as a professional by performing at the Monterey Jazz Festival on the West Coast. You can hear how he played at that time on "Robben Ford: The Blues Collection" (Blue Rock'It). In 1974, after moving to Los Angeles, he appeared with sax player Tom Scott's L.A. Express. While moving to the forefront of his profession as tour support for Joni Mitchell and George Harrison, Ford became interested in jazz when he listened to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. In 1976 he began his solo career with his first album "Schizophonic" (Avenue Jazz), in which he also played the saxophone for several numbers.

After releasing "The Inside Story" (Warner Music Japan) in 1979, Ford formed the Yellowjackets with Russell Ferrante and Jimmy Haslip. The trio released the Yellowjackets in 1981 and Mirage A Trois in 1983, which pushed them over the top and into stardom. About this time Robben Ford relocated his act to New York and became a freelance musician, participating in numerous recording sessions with the likes of David Sanborn, Neil Larson, and many others. His career took off in 1986 when he played with Miles Davis Group from April through August. In 1988, Ford released his first representative work in nine years with "Talk to Your Daughter" (Warner Music Japan) in his return to the scene as a solo artist. Keeping in tune with his modus operandi, Ford formed the Blue Line, which released "Robben Ford & the Blue Line" in 1992. He delved deeply into blues with such albums as "Mystic Mile" and "Handful of Blues." After the group parted Ford continued down the blues path with such albums as "su p ern a tu ral" (the albums up to this point are available from Universal Music) and "Blue Moon" (Victor Entertainment). He remained fruitful in other areas at the same time including the release of an album with Jimmy Haslip in the group Jing-Chi. Ford's latest album "Keep On Running" (Victor Entertainment) includes some guest performances by Edgar Winter and John Earl. This is the first time in a year and a half since April 2004 (with Jing-Chi) that he will be performing at Blue Note Tokyo.

Robben Ford's official site is http://www.robbenford.com/.

(The above English titles were taken from overseas editions of his albums.)