Larry Carlton might be best known for his work with Steely Dan, but his star turn on She’s Out Of My Life by Michael Jackson, the stunning solos on Mike Post’s Hill Street Blues theme, and I Really Don’t Know Anymore from Christopher Cross’s debut album, are just three of the hundreds of tracks to feature his exceptionally tasty, liquid jazz-blues style. Carlton mixes jazz language and blues phrasing seamlessly – perhaps why his solos are so memorable.
Lick 1 has a distinctive technique of Larry’s that has been used by such greats players as Drew Zingg, the musical director for Steely Dan at the time they did their live album in the ’90s. Here, I bend the second string from the 10th fret (A) up a tone to the 5th of Em7 (B) and then tap the 18th fret – this would normally sound the note F, which would be a very dissonant b9 on the Em7.
