Outback Concerts presented The Larry Carlton Trio on Wednesday, August 18, 7:30 pm at Nashville's Belcourt Theatre.

In a performance that seemed to transform the Belcourt Theatre into a house of worship, The Larry Carlton Trio inspired an evening of call and reponse, and testifying by those lucky enough to be in attendance.

Playing from the book of Carlton, the three-time Grammy winner treated the near capacity crowd to selections from his prolific body of work, that at times seemed like a a journey through the history of the electric guitar.

After a brief introduction, Carlton entered the stage alone and began the evening with an unaccompanied version of the tune "Song for Katie," written for his daughter, who Carlton noted was in attendance, along with other members of his family.  Carlton's thoughtful and heartfelt playing was full of reflection and feeling that expressed   wonderful memories and a fathers love.

On the next tune, Carlton was joined on stage by his son, bassist Travis James Carlton, to begin a duet of "Blues for T.J.," a song Carlton wrote for his son, and was originally released on his 1983 MCA recording "Friends," featuring B.B. King.  After a soulful journey into the depth of the blues between father-and-son, the duo was joined mid-song by drummer Gene Coye, and the trio completed the selection.

The rest of the concert featured more of Carlton's well known hits, but most stunning, was his rendition of Steely Dan's "Hey 19," on which he originally appeared.  Carlton's signature opening lick, was a joyous reminder of the magnitude of his contribution to popular music.

Larry Carlton¹s career spans over four decades. His work contains multiple genres of music such as pop, rock, jazz, blues, swing, and rhythm & blues. He¹s been a session worker, song writer, producer, and arranger. He has made some wonderful music in amazing bands, and some incredible music as a solo artist. Carlton gained distinction for the unmistakable and often imitated "sweet" sound he delivered with his Gibson ES-335.

As a session man, he¹s worked with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Sammy Davis, Jr., Herb Alpert, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Dolly Parton, and even The Partridge Family  just to name a few. Some of his most well known session work he did with Steely Dan. Rolling Stone magazine lists Carlton's tasty ascent on Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne" as one of the three best guitar licks in rock music.

As a producer and arranger, he has worked with Barbra Streisand, Joan Baez, and Larry Gatlin. He took the group the Crusaders to a whole new level in the 70's, and he became a fixture in the jazz super group Fourplay in the 90's.  Throughout his career, he has been nominated and won countless awards including multiple Grammys. Come take a music journey that spans over four decades of amazing music with the living legend - Larry Carlton.

For more information, visit Larry Carlton's website.