Larry Carlton / Tak Matsumoto

Larry Carlton / Tak Matsumoto: Take Your Pick

by John Kelman
September 5, 2010

It's a shame that artists' careers are reduced to oversimplifications of who they are and what they're capable of. Guitarist Larry Carlton, for example--despite releasing kick-ass blues-centric records like Sapphire Blue (Bluebird, 2004) and, more recently, the exciting yet unfailingly tasty Live in Tokyo (335 Records, 2007), not to mention delivering iconic solos on Steely Dan albums like The Royal Scam (MCA, 1976) and Gaucho (MCA, 1980)--is, more often than not, associated with the smooth jazz of albums like Alone/But ...