FOOTAGE: LENNY BREAU MASTERCLASS AT UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. PART ONE

[@JustAGuitarPlayer]

So great to see this again. I was a student at USC at that time majoring in Studio Guitar Performance, and I was in this class that day. One little minor correction. Duke Miller was actually the head of the studio guitar department at USC at that time and I remember him being there that day too, maybe running the video camera, but Paul was teaching there at USC as well and introduced Lenny. Paul LaRose was one of the main teachers/assistant professors at that time and later he did take over after Duke passed away around 1989 or 90, Steve Watson was another one of the main teachers/assistant professors and Joe Diorio gave a class on Saturdays and gave some private lessons and Jimmy Wyble taught some private lessons as well. But yes, Kirk thankfully introduced Lenny to Paul and those of us lucky enough got to attend the class at USC that day. And then some of us, including myself and a couple of others arranged for private lessons with Lenny. I remember one of those lessons being on campus perhaps that same day and then later on a different day I went up to Paul LaRose's house and took another lesson from Lenny. Then at some point, Lenny reached out to me and a couple other students at the time as he seemed to need a place to stay. So he spent a couple nights at my small studio apartment and he also stayed at a couple of the other students at the time. It was amazing to be able to spend some time with him. I remember him kind of teaching me some of the Chet Atkins/Merle Travis style tunes he played. I remember that he played a radio interview of Bill Evans that he had on cassette. I don't think we slept much that night as we were just up talking about music and guitar. I was a bit surprised to see a date put on this of spring of 1984, I thought it was a bit earlier in 1983 cause all of the memories and experiences felt like they were spread out over more months. But whatever the case, it was an amazing experience. And Lenny was very kind and generous with whatever he could help with regarding his guitar playing style. I don't know that he was used to teaching it and putting it into words so much but he certainly was happy to share whatever I and others asked about. I see my old classmates Larry Koonse and Dave Murdy near the front row as Paul walked up to introduce Lenny. Anyway, sorry for rambling, just nice to see the video again. Takes me back. RIP Lenny, Paul and Duke.

[@thelennybreauarchives5675]

Thank you for the correction re: Paul La Rose. We'll make the change. The filming was arranged by Kirk Sand although he may not have filmed it himself. Lenny's daughter Emily Hughes might be interested in your stories about Lenny. Consider getting in touch with her through her website. Cheers

[@tonyfreeman1339]

Mercy!

[@guitarlots]

So interesting watching Lenny play 4ths, minor 7th intervals, and tritones while playing melody on the high 7th string. He takes jazz guitar to new levels

[@samplings]

This is phenomenal, thank you!

[@thelennybreauarchives5675]

This is a segment of the masterclass we put up awhile back. In it, Lenny discusses his new seven string. The post also includes an interview with Kirk Sand about the specifics of the guitar and how he came to build it for Lenny. kzbin.info/www/bejne/naOug5ZnrZaCl9U