Lenny Carlson

Lenny Carlson is a Los Angeles-born guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, and teacher.  He studied guitar with John Collins and Joe Pass.  Lenny has performed at jazz clubs, concerts and hotels and on radio in southern California, Portland, and the San Francisco Bay area.    He is fluent in a wide range of styles, and has worked with many notable musicians including John Carter, Don Preston, Betty O'Hara, Harold Mason, Kenny Kotwitz, Gary Barone, and Larry Blackshere. Lenny produced his first recording of original compositions, Search for the Floor, featuring duets with guitarist Ry Cooder to international distribution in 1978.  He assisted Ry Cooder with guitar parts and solo arrangements on Cooder's Jazz album the same year.  His second recording, In the Mud, included a selection that earned a 1985 Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Composition. Most recently he co-produced, arranged and played guitar on Moonglow, a debut CD for jazz/pop vocalist Millicent Wood, released on the LifeForcejazz label in February, 2004. Lenny  teaches in the Music Department of City College of San Francisco and in the Music/Recording Industry Program at San Francisco State University.