Jazz Articles about Michael Landau

The Michael Landau Group: Organic Instrumentals

by John Kelman
March 16, 2012

What do Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Neil Diamond have in common? Well, aside from being amongst the more important singer/songwriters of the past forty years, they've all recruited Michael Landau at one time or another. Between hundreds of recordings and plenty of high profile tours, it's more than a little surprising that the guitarist hasn't become a household name. Still, success needn't be measured solely on popular recognition; Landau's already achieved plenty as a guitarist's guitarist--a musician's musician whose ...

Michael Landau / Robben Ford / Jimmy Haslip / Gary Novak: Renegade Creation

by John Kelman
September 1, 2010

While by no means an absolute, there's a strong case for great jazzers making great rockers: Larry Carlton with Steely Dan and Michael Jackson; drummer Steve Gadd with Eric Clapton and Paul Simon; and saxophonist Michael Brecker with Billy Joel and Blue Oyster Cult. Renegade Creation's four artists may possesses a broader jazz vernacular, but it's all in service of the grit and grease of an unequivocal rock record, from the Bo Diddley beat of “What's Up" and slow grind ...

The Michael Landau Group: Live

by John Kelman
January 11, 2007

Michael Landau has been a major force on the Los Angeles studio scene for 25 years: a musical chameleon playing on hundreds of albums by artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, Julio Iglesias and Dolly Parton. In the jazz world, he's played with Joe Sample, Tom Scott and George Duke... even Miles Davis (Amandla, Columbia 1989).

But in all those years the guitarist has released only a handful of solo albums on small labels. ...