Laurence Juber

Laurence Juber playing his Martin OMC-28M Laurence Juber Custom Signature Edition guitar
Laurence Juber
Born (1952-11-12) 12 November 1952
Stepney, East London
Genres Pop, rock, folk, country, blues, jazz
Occupation(s) Guitarist
Instruments Guitar, lute
Years active 1967–present
Associated acts Wings, Al Stewart
Website Official website
Notable instruments
Guitar
Lute
External video
Oral History, Laurence Juber plays his Martin signature guitar and shares the thought process that went into the specs on it. Interview date June 14, 2003, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library

Laurence Juber (born 12 November 1952) is an English-born musician. Often considered most famous for playing lead guitar in Wings from 1978 to 1980, he has since had a distinguished career as a solo fingerstyle guitarist and studio musician. He is married to Hope Juber and they have two daughters, Nico Juber and songwriter Ilsey Juber.

Biography

Born in Stepney, East London, Juber was raised and went to school in North London. By his own account, he began playing guitar the week that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles was released.[1] Beginning on a cheap acoustic guitar, he learned to read music early, figuring out the system of music notation for himself. He began to earn money playing the guitar at 13, and began to study classical guitar at the age of 15. Enraptured by the sounds on records of the mid- to late 1960s, he set his sights on becoming a session guitarist in London's music studios. While playing with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, he earned his music degree at London University's Goldsmith's College , where he expanded his horizons by playing the lute. Upon graduation, he immediately began work as a session guitarist, working on his first project with producer George Martin on an album for Cleo Laine. Amongst other studio work, in 1977, Juber was booked by London-based orchestral contractor David Katz along with session drummer Peter Boita to go to Paris for a week to record in Barclay Records' studios to make an album with Charles Aznavour. Sung entirely in French, the album, Je N'ai Pas Vu LeTemps Passer, went on to become one of Aznavour's biggest selling French language albums of all time. Perhaps most famously, Juber played the James Bond theme for the movie The Spy Who Loved Me.

He gave up a lucrative and successful studio career when invited to join Paul McCartney's band Wings in 1978. Juber later said that he agreed to join immediately "because you don't turn down that kind of job".[2] He played on the band's Back to the Egg album (1979), as well as their subsequent UK tour. In 1980, he garnered his first Grammy Award, when Wings' track "Rockestra Theme" won the award for Best Rock Instrumental. He was miscredited as Lawrence Tuber on the sleeve for Ringo Starr's album, Stop And Smell The Roses. From this period dates his first solo album Standard Time (only released on vinyl). McCartney and former Wings guitarist Denny Laine played on the track "Maisie".[3]

After Wings disbanded in early 1981, Juber moved to the United States. In New York City he met his future wife, Hope, and soon moved to her native California. He subsequently resumed work as a studio musician and played guitar for numerous television shows, including Happy Days, Family Ties , "Home Improvement" and "7th Heaven". He composed the music for A Very Brady Christmas (1988),"'World Gone Wild'" (1988) and "Little Sweetheart" (1990). He played guitar on Belinda Carlisle's "Mad About You", Eric Carmen's "Make Me Lose Control" and "Time of My Life" and "She's Like The Wind" from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack.

In 1990, he released his second solo album, Solo Flight. During the next decade he would begin to explore altered tunings, especially "DADGAD". In 2000, Juber released the solo album LJ plays the Beatles and The Collection and in 2003 the album Guitarist was released to critical acclaim. Juber's credentials as a top-tier fingerstyle guitarist continue to grow. Having been voted "Guitarist of the Year" by readers of Fingerstyle Guitar magazine, as well as one of the top acoustic players of all time by Acoustic Guitar magazine, Juber is an ambassador for his instrument as well as his own music. He has released many critically acclaimed solo albums, and has earned a second Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental for his solo guitar arrangement of "The Pink Panther Theme" on the CD Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar. Juber has also released a series of instructional CDs that teach basic music theory and arrangement techniques for guitarists and has three folios of his arrangements of pop songs published by Hal Leonard.

In addition to his own recording and performances, Laurence Juber has produced, arranged and played on Al Stewart's albums Between the Wars (1995), Down in the Cellar (2000), A Beach Full of Shells (2005) and Sparks of Ancient Light (2008), and occasionally performs with Stewart.

In 2014 he released a 'photo memoir' Guitar With Wings (published by Dalton Watson Fine Books) which featured previously unpublished pictures of his time working with Paul McCartney.

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence, Robb. (2008). The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy 1915–1963. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-634-04861-9.
  2. ↑ McGee, Garry (2003). Band on the Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-87833-304-2.
  3. ↑ "Collaborations Paul McCartney – Laurence Juber – Standard Time". Beatleshelp.topcities.com. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.