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Michael Landau

Musician and composer Michael Landau was born and raised in Los Angeles.

He grew up with the music of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Cream and The Band. His grandfather arranged and played woodwinds during the swing era with the Dorsey Brothers and Benny Goodman. In his early teens, Michael quickly became very interested in jazz and electric jazz music. Weather Report, Pat Martino and Jaco Pastorius were some of his early obsessions. From this diverse blend of influence, his sound and path began to take shape. His current group focuses on the improvisation and spontaneity of live shows. "I live for those live moments when the sound and emotion becomes this monstrous force bigger than the individual musicians, it becomes a unique creation and feel, exciting and calming at the same time, difficult to describe but I'm addicted to it." The following is a brief timeline of events over the years.

Michael starting playing guitar at age 11, at age 16 he began playing the L.A. club scene with an R&B band and shortly after he toured the west coast with Robben Ford which included band members Jimmy Haslip and Russell Ferrante.

At age 19 he joined Boz Scaggs for a world tour and by the age of 20 he started to do session work on the recommendation of long time friend Steve Lukather. Some session highlights over the coming years would include Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, BB King, James Taylor, Ray Charles and Rod Stewart. There is a complete session discography at allmusic.com with over 700 records and soundtracks listed.

In 1984 Michael toured again and recorded with Joni Mitchell. This tour was called "The Refuge Of The Roads". The band featured Vinnie Colaiuta, Larry Klein and Russell Ferrante. In 1989 he released his first solo album "Tales from the Bulge", an instrumental record initially released in Japan and on Creatchy records in the US. Wayne Shorter, Steve Tavaglione, Vinnie Colaiuta, Carlos Vega, Steve Lukather and Jimmy Johnson were among some of the players on this release.

In 1991 he formed the band "Burning Water" with brother Teddy Landau, David Frazee and Carlos Vega. They put out 4 discs of original material and toured in Japan and the US. It was also around this time that he started to record and tour with James Taylor. In 1993 he won the readers poll for Best Studio Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine. In 1994 Michael formed "The Raging Honkies", a naughty little trio with Teddy Landau and

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Play This!

Michael Landau: Untitled

Read "Michael Landau: Untitled" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


Guitarist Michael Landau carved out a legendary niche for himself as an L.A. studio ace and an in-demand touring sideman. He created this in part by being able to bridge the divides between Hendrixian power, jazz harmonic savvy and session man finesse. As is evident here on this live track featuring drummer Toss Panos and bassist Jimmy Johnson, that led to forging a guitar style all his own. ...

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Liner Notes

Dewa Budjana: Surya Namaskar

Read "Dewa Budjana: Surya Namaskar" reviewed by John Kelman


There was a time when artists were able to release albums on their own schedule rather than that of the record label. While most jazz artists release, at most, one album a year these days, for some there's an even longer gap between recordings. For the most part, the days when an artist like Miles Davis was releasing two, three, sometimes even four albums in the space of a single year are long gone. There are a number of reasons ...

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Album Review

Marilyn Scott: The Landscape

Read "The Landscape" reviewed by Jim Worsley


Some artists feel obligated to put out a new record every one-point-three years, or whatever their factory warranty calls for (mileage may vary). Others are more interested in quality than quantity. On her first record since Standard Blue (Prana, 2017), jazz vocalist Marilyn Scott has something to say about The Landscape. More than the title track, Scott's concerns with our landscape is the scope and focus of seven original compositions, all co-written with pianists Russ Ferrante or Scott Kinsey. Scott ...

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SoCal Jazz

Michael Landau: The Guitarist's Guitarist

Read "Michael Landau: The Guitarist's Guitarist" reviewed by Jim Worsley


"He is the best guitarist in the world," states guitarist and Grammy winner Steve Lukather. Indeed, Michael Landau is an important figure in the modern era and one of the most widely respected guitar players on the planet. Landau made his mark as an A list session player in the '80s and '90s. He has, perhaps, recorded on more records than any other guitarist in history. I did say perhaps. I don't believe that category is in the ...

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SoCal Jazz

The Michael Landau Liquid Quartet

Read "The Michael Landau Liquid Quartet" reviewed by Jim Worsley


Always free flowing and sometimes raging, The Michael Landau Liquid Quartet is currently traversing through Europe. The tour features stops in Austria, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Italy. I was quite fortunate to see and hear this powerful blues rock influenced band on January 27th in a pre tour show as part of the NAMM Show festivities at The Baked Potato in North Hollywood. Guitarist extraordinaire Landau was accompanied by bassist Jimmy Johnson, ...

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Album Review

Dewa Budjana (with Jimmy Johnson & Vinnie Colaiuta): Surya Namaskar

Read "Surya Namaskar" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


For his seventh solo release, Indonesian guitar master Dewa Budjana garners support from the all-universe rhythm section of Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and Jimmy Johnson (bass). Many of these works equate to a concentrated focus on song-forms, largely comprised of tuneful themes and elevated with a guts and determination modus operandi. Budjana presents the best of both worlds within a jazz rock and jazz fusion realm, where rich melodies and a dynamic slant offer a platform that resonates loud and clear. ...

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Album Review

Dewa Budjana (with Jimmy Johnson & Vinnie Colaiuta): Surya Namaskar

Read "Surya Namaskar" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Guitarist Dewa Budjana's two releases on MoonJune Records in 2013, Dawai in Paradise and Joged Kahyangan introduced a talented musician whose Indonesian roots dovetailed with prog rock, jazz fusion and a melodic pop sensibility; Budjana showed tremendous chops but, as he demonstrates once again, he's perhaps primarily a tunesmith. Budjana draws from a similar well of influences on this recording but in contrast to Joged Kahyangan's charts Surya Namaskar boasts a freer, less constructed vibe with Budjana's solos coarser in ...

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Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Landscape

Blue Canoe Records
2022

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Surya Namaskar

MoonJune Records
2014

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Renegade Creation

Tone Center
2010

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Live

Tone Center
2007

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From: The Landscape
By Michael Landau

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