First Stop

Take Your Pick has 12 tracks which have been written and arranged by Carlton and Takahiro. Of them,A Girl From China is the most popular song. The album is a perfect mix of the Western blues and the beats of the East as rock star Takahiro adds the Japanese touch. Carlton earlier received Grammy Awards for the theme song of television series Hill Street Blues in 1981,Minute by Minute in 1987 and his third Grammy for his live performance,No Substitutions: Live in Osaka in 2000.

Best known for his albums like Alone I But Never Alone,On a Solid Ground and Friends,Carlton is one of the major names attached to Jazz Utsav 2010. Despite the talks of jazz’s growing popularity,Carlton feels the jazz music scene has not changed. “I have been playing my kind of music for the last few decades and have not had a chance to listen to other groups,” he says.

After working with the who’s who of the international music industry such as Billy Joel,Michael Jackson,Steely Dan and Robben Ford,Carlton has become an icon of sorts. Yet,he laughs off the ‘star’ status given to him. “I don’t view myself as a star. I am on the road 125 days a year as a passionate musician. On the rest of the days,I am just a common man,” he added.

After his three-day and three-city stint in India,Carlton returns to USA this week to resume work on his next album,Larry Carlton Plays The Sound of Philadelphia. “I wish I could spend more time in India and absorb the music and culture of this city. Unfortunately,I haven’t really heard any Indian music,but I would like to experiment with it one day,” he says.