Lenny Breau
| Lenny Breau | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Leonard Harold Breau |
| Also known as | Lone Pine, Jr. |
| Born |
August 5, 1941 Auburn, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | August 12, 1984 (aged 43) Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Jazz, country, classical, flamenco |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1956–1984 |
| Labels | RCA, Sound Hole, Adelphi, Genes, Tudor |
| Associated acts | CKY Caravan, Three, Chet Atkins |
| Website | www |
Leonard Harold "Lenny" Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was an American guitarist and music educator. One of the most admired guitarists of his generation in musician's circles in the US, he was known for blending many styles of music including: jazz, country, classical and flamenco guitar. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used fingerstyle techniques not often used in jazz guitar, and with his use of the 7-string guitar and approach to the guitar like a piano, opened up possibilities for the instrument.
Breau was born August 5, 1941, in Auburn, Maine. His francophone parents, Harold "Hal Lone Pine" Breau and Betty Cody, were professional country and western musicians who performed and recorded from the mid-1930s until (in Hal Breau's case) the mid-1970s. From the mid to late 1940s they played summer engagements in southern New Brunswick, advertising their performances playing free programs on radio station CKCW Moncton. Their son began playing guitar at the age of eight. When he was twelve, he started a small band with friends, and by the age of fourteen he was the lead guitarist for his parents' band, billed as "Lone Pine Junior", playing Merle Travis and Chet Atkins instrumentals and occasionally singing. Breau made his first professional recordings in Westbrook, Maine at the age of 15 while working as a studio musician. Many of these recordings were released posthumously on a CD titled Boy Wonder.
The Breau family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1957, and their new band travelled and performed around the city and province as the CKY Caravan. Their shows were broadcast live on Winnipeg's CKY on Saturday mornings from various remote locations. One of their regular listeners was Randy Bachman, who was sixteen years of age at the time. On one occasion Bachman bicycled to a Caravan performance in his West Kildonan neighborhood and ended up meeting Breau. Breau and Bachman soon became friends, and Breau informally began teaching Bachman, who has since described those lessons as "...the beginning of my life as a guitar player."
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