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In this ill-conceived,poorly constructed and mean spirited article, Al Diamon has maligned a world class artist, insulted his family and ridiculed his admirers. All this published in a magazine calling itself Maine At Its Best. It is pity that Mr.Diamon doesn't spend his time listening.It is a disgrace that DownEast provided him a forum.

Jerry Breault

Perhaps Diamon just hadn't listened to Breau in the right setting. The first time I heard it, I was sitting in Brad Terry's living room. The entire time, through the improvised sweeps and joyously unplanned silences, Brad was smiling because the music still had magic in it. Years, familiarity, and personal tales of drug abuse or marital trouble or whatever else had nothing to do with Lenny's genius and could never take a chip from that block. His genius did not go untapped — I've heard it. While Diamon attempts to shed light on a point that I very much agree with — that is, that Lenny is a much under-appreciated guitarist and jazz titan — this is lost in a series of ambiguous attacks that may or may not have affected his playing. That his drug addiction makes you believe that he could have been better doesn't make listening any less magnificent. And even for Terry, who very much knows about Lenny's personal battles with drug addiction and marriage, the music is the thing. The smiles while listening are just as fresh as the moment the music was improvised, and the richness of Lenny's ear is clearly beyond that of any other jazz guitarist and just about any other jazz musician, if I can sustain the claim. There were times when Lenny's addiction had a terrible impact on his playing, but the recordings we have don't touch on those moments, and the jazz world would very much benefit from a collection of Breau's best (that, Diamon got right, though his point was not made very convincingly or enthusiastically). Let's just hope that in the brilliant times when Breau was unhampered by addiction — when his genius truly shined — that he does not now, after his death, find his potential listeners and fans Diamon-addled. Darren Fishell

Mr. Diamon's article was brought to my attention while I was hosting one of the guitarists who will be featured on the second documentary on Lenny made by Lenny's daughter, Emily. I thought that it would be a nice article to share, but after reading, quickly dismissed it as a hack piece written for a backwater journal. Apparently, the Downeast magazine is valued by some former subscribers as a worthy magazine. The fact that they ran this article by Mr. "Daemon" *twice* does not lend much credence to this opinion. The article barely qualifies as a book review (I suspect that Mr. Diamon at least skimmed the sad and difficult story), and barely touched on the most important element of Lenny's life, his music. As a former Torontonian during the periods that Lenny spent there, I can attest to the fact that Lenny was a significant and well-known presence on the jazz scene. His legacy continues to influence and challenge many talented guitarists and his music remains a joy to those who care to take the time to listen. Mr. Diamon begins his article intimating that he is a fan of Lenny Breau, but a closer read indicates that his praise was merely a feint.

All the best,

Mark Guest
Jazz Guitar
www.markguest.net
www.cdbaby.com/cd/markguest

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without."
Confucius (c.551-479 BC)

One wonders what motivates a writer to attack a man so long dead. One further wonders about the credentials of the attacker.

Care to offer any?

Terry MacDonald
Portsmouth, NH

It is both ironic and absolutely pathetic that Al Diamon recently (on the Down East website) chastises and insults the Portland Press Herald for so-called journalistic transgressions ---

“… haphazard assortment of loudmouths…”

“The Press Herald has stopped, either intentionally or due to lack of oversight, consistently running corrections on the Web.”

“… the Maine Sunday Telegram continues to run stories that desperately need more and better reporting and significant rewriting.”

“…the e-version of the story wasn’t fixed, so, as of this afternoon, it still features the wrong information in its first sentence.”

--- when he is guilty of the exact same issues in his amateurish, inaccurate, vindictive rant on Lenny Breau.

To second the opinion of another sage blog poster elsewhere on the Down East site, Al Diamon is irrelevant. Is this the best Down East can offer? Print and electronic media is chock full of vapid gasbags who add nothing to the discourse beyond empty bluster and inaccurate, uncorrected blather. Diamon defines this type of “entertainment-sans-substance” form of pseudo-journalism, and Down East claims him as their very own. Sad.

Please, Down East… hire someone who can actually write with authority, clarity and substance, in order to offset the boring, useless, idiotic, constantly regurgitated ramblings of Al Diamon.

This slander is a poor book review.
Jaded journalism at best.
Lenny Breau was a genius.
Al Diamon is not.

As a young guitarist of 17 years, I never once had the chance to meet Lenny, or see him in a live setting. And yet each and every day I listen to, analyze, and play Lenny's music. Lenny has quickly become in just 1 short year the single most important influence in my playing.

I have spent so much time learning Lenny's technique that I have had cubital tunnel syndrome, not once, but twice in my left arm.

"From Edgar Allen Poe to Jackson Pollock to Judy Garland to Charlie Parker, their personal lives proved to be mere footnotes to their art.

Not so with Breau."

If this had even an ounce of truth to it, then there is absolutely no way that I would be spending my summer locked in my room practicing Lenny's complex melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic style.

It was almost exactly one year ago that I first heard Lenny's playing. Since that day, I have focused almost entirely on playing jazz. It was not Judy Garland, Miles Davis, or John Coltrane that swayed me. It was only Lenny.

I find it very odd that in spite of the countless musicians and fans that will show their undying adoration for Lenny, you choose to make Barney Kessel the definitive voice on what is innovation. I realize this was a direct quote, I have read the book, but it was not emphasized as a final answer in the way you inserted in into your article. Ask Pat Metheny, Brad Terry, Steve Grover, Steve Vai, Bob Thompson, Tony Gaboury, or George Benson, and they will tell you what innovation really is. It is Lenny. In fact, if you could John Coltrane and George Van Eps the same question, they would give you the same answer. All of these people have been documented as either appreciating, studying, envying, fearing, and most of all loving Lenny's music.

While my peers are out smoking pot, drinking, not producing anything for themselves or others, I'm hunched over my guitar learning what is probably the most difficult guitar style yet. And it took a heroin addict to make me do it.

How's that for a legacy?

Eli Gilbert

I have to say I was looking forward to reading the email I received from Brad Terry today titled "Lenny". As a guitarist who has spent the better part of the past twelve years studying, and wondering in, the music of Lenny Breau I was looking forward to a new story of Brad's or possible even a new CD on the horizon. Unfortunately Brad forwarded me this review.

There has been much negative response to the article and I do not feel I need to add to that. Because to me, and I can only speak for myself, Lenny Breau is an overwhelming positive force in my live and in the lives of many others. His music is the reason why I am a professionaly musician and music professor. When I am frustrated with my music or I am looking for inspiration, Lenny is always there. I would not be doing what I do if it were not for Lenny's constant inspiration.

I hope that anyone who reads this article will skip over the text and read the ample comments from people below. The comments reflect a man who was inspirational, though with faults, but one who cared deeply about his art and about people, though this was sometimes hard to see for those that did not know him.

I hope that the lesson everyone takes from this is that nobody can take anything away from Lenny or the legacy he has left to us all. He was a musical genius and I can't wait until I can sit my grandchildren on my knee and tell them "you want to hear the best guitarist in the world, check out this cat Lenny Breau."

Matthew Warnock

Down East Magazine

Camden, Maine.

Dear Mr. Doiran,

I think I can safely say that I share the feelings of outrage of many at the publishing of Al Diamon’s loathsome “review” of Ron Forbes Robert’s book, “One Long Tune” about Lenny Breau.

I would like to know what steps Down East Magazine is taking to try and nullify the the harm done by this inaccurate, misleading, hateful, hurtful, insensitive display of non-journalism.

I would think a public apology in the next issue directed to Lenny’s family would be the very minimum; then something to the countless numbers of the “drug addled acquaintances” who have been crudely so labeled.

Brad Terry

Bath, Maine.

The beginning of this article by Diamon hints of some "personal axe to grind". I cannot imagine what that would be, but the slanderous tone set by the toxic verbiage used seems unnecessary in making his point....even if you agree with his point. My heart goes out to everyone who loved Lenny, and especially the Breau family, for having to see this in print such as it is. Regarding Diamon's line "it's easy to dismiss Breau's genius as a myth perpetuated by drug-addled acquaintances"/ Diamon might recognize some of those "drug-addled acquaintances"........ Chet Atkins(The Country Gentleman), Pat Metheny and George Benson, to name a few. These revered talents had much praise for Lenny's music and his unique approach to the guitar.
It's ironic that the beauty of Lenny's creative spirit would be impugned by the ugliness of Diamon's feeble notion that creative spirit.
b harnois

One is at a loss to understand how a column that is ostensibly a book review crosses the line into vituperative personal attacks on the creative genius that was the essence of Lenny Breau. That the comments made are also inaccurate impugns the credibility of Mr. Diamon, and I know no musicians that I respect who would concur with the opinions unfortunately published again in Downeast magazine.

Regarding The Cellar Door/No Tomatoes gigs that Lenny played, a short anecdote of a magical moment might lend some perspective to what is at stake here from an artistic point of view. That the role of an artist is to take the internal and make it universal was so easy to see with Lenny… The story: One night while Lenny was playing, among the patrons was a softball team enjoying some beers after the game. Lenny began to play the Gershwin composition “I Loves You Porgy” and the entire place went completely silent. At the end of this communicative, original, and moving performance, Lenny ended the tune with a single low f on the guitar. He held that note until the sound finally faded, and no one spoke, moved, or made a sound until the note was completely gone. The softball team had been mesmerized by what had happened, as was everyone else in the place. This was not about a musical appraisal, although if ever there was a golden opportunity for one this was it! No, this was about a supremely talented and insightful artist moving other people by giving of himself.

I was asked to play at Lenny’s memorial concert in Portland after he died, and as luck would have it, I went first. I played My Bells by Bill Evans in his memory. Once, when I was at Lenny’s apartment, he played me this tune in three styles to show how his new 7-string guitar allowed more complex and rich harmonies. The first version was a traditional treatment of the tune, the 2nd was done using banjo picking techniques, and the last was played using all harmonics – stunning, inspiring and completely original.

Finally, to Betty, Dennis, and all of Lenny’s family, I’m sorry this wound has been re-visited, As I see the comments from Steve Grover, Brad Terry, Harvey Reid, Bob Thompson, Dave Dempsey, and others, I hope that comments from those who knew Lenny, and understood his unique contribution to the musical fabric we revere, will mitigate the misguided remarks from Al Diamon.

Bob Charest
Westbrook, ME

For those who listen with the intention of hearing the other, Lenny's legacy is not murky.
For those with an understanding (formal or otherwise) of harmony, melody, rhythm, and guitar technique, Lenny's legacy is quite clear. He was a master inventor, innovator, interpreter, guitarist, and musician. Lenny was an artist, and as such risked, soared, sometimes crashed, an unquestionably touched the hearts and souls of those who listened. That is a true artist's legacy.

Teg Glendon

When I was made aware of this review I obviously expected just that: a review of the book. It is not. It comes off as a vendetta of some kind, an attempted character assassination. Along with many other reactions (anger, disbelief, etc.) I found myself asking why. That is, it seems so vehement that it surely must be coming from some personal grudge, etc. Well, it's irrelevant really, as there is no justification or excuse for it. As someone close to Lenny I refute it totally.

I prepared to respond overall, but reading the many excellent comments/responses I feel that everyone has spoken for me as well. This kind of outpouring from so many tells the true story (no greater love). So I don't think I could say any better what everyone has expressed so eloquently. But I will offer a few words in response to the personal reference to myself.

The quote (by yours truly: fellow, uh, heroin addict), like almost every other excerpt from the book, was taken out of context and twisted to fit the reviewer's negative purpose. To clarify: if Lenny remembered little from any past period it was because it wasn't important to him. He spent very little time looking back, always moving forward creatively (which is what did matter to him).
But true to form the review interprets the comment as more evidence of a dysfunctional life. Quite a stretch really... unfortunately most of the writer's other assumptions and pronouncements are more direct and heinous (and all equally bogus).

If Lenny was restless and sometimes a bit lost (but never creatively) it was because his heart was so huge that it was difficult for him to map a course through a dissembling, indifferent, often treacherous world: certainly not a safe and narrow course. For me (and I imagine for everyone that knew him) Lenny's lack of pretense and beautiful spirit was a rare and precious thing.

I feel no need to make excuses or justification for Lenny's or my own history of addiction. No one lives in a vacuum and things happen, I don't spend a lot of time on regrets. For some artists the price is higher than for others; it takes as well as gives and we gotta balance the scales somehow. What Lenny paid along the way can't be measured by any scale. What he created and contributed is also beyond measure, and it endures and flourishes in his music, with all of his intelligence, humor and grace. Stephen D Anderson

I am shocked and outraged that such a mean- spirited,slandorous,and inappropriate "book review" would be published by Down East Magazine.
It is my understanding that this is a rerun of this article. Garbage smells worse the second time around.
I googled Lenny Breau and was not surprised by the number of hits or by the wonderful words that described him such as, legend and genius. Why at this time (25 years after his death)would anyone want to tarnish the memory of such a legend as Lenny Breau?

Nikki H. Bath,Maine

...it would die of loneliness.

That's got to be one of the worst article I have ever read. What a waste.

I will not be renewing my subscription to Downeast magazine. I don't pay hard-earned money to read character assassination.

I assume that Mr. Diamon has no understanding of music or talent to play it to have created such an abomination.

What a hack. How is this guy even published?

Terry Jones.

I am a full-time guitarist and former national fingertyle guitar champion who lives in Maine, and I knew Lenny Breau briefly in the late 70's when I lived in Nashville. I think I am a lot more qualified to comment on the music and legacy of Lenny Breau than Al Diamon is. I am sure that plenty of people have chimed in to refute the slanderous remarks in your article about Lenny's character, and even though I knew him to be a quiet, thoughtful and very gentle person, I just want to make a few comments about Lenny's musical "legacy." In my professional world of highly skilled guitarists, everybody knows who Lenny Breau was, and to be honest, most of them (including me) are somewhat in awe of Lenny's guitar skills. If somebody can pull off a performance of a Lenny Breau piece, real guitarists stop talking and pay attention.

Lenny Breau did not inspire legions of wanking teenager guitarists to copy his style for a number of reasons: 1) they never heard of him because of the teen-focused, monopolistic stranglehold that multi-national entertainment comglomerates have on airplay and press in this country 2) he was so good and his playing so complex they would never have been able to play any of his music 3) his music was not "popular" music.

Lenny Breau was unquestionably one of the guitar geniuses of the 20th century, and Diamon's main point that the recordings he made do not constitute a legacy needs to be refuted. That Lenny's records did not fit into any established marketing niche and were not financially profitable for the record labels is more of a comment on the music business and the strategy of music marketing than it is on Lenny. It's not his fault that some of his greatest recordings are out of print. If it's anybody's fault it would be that of the people who own the recordings. Had Breau been born a generation later he might have done very well in the more indie-based, DIY music business where I make my living. I doubt than many of Down East's readers have ever heard of me either, and I have sold an impressive number of recordings on my own label "under the radar", and played over 6000 concerts over the last 35 years. I consider myself to be very successful: I own a nice house and have a beautiful family and I make a respectable living playing my own music the way I want to play it. I know that Lenny would pack people in and do very well at the kinds of guitar festivals and concert series that did not exist 30 or 40 years ago when Lenny was at his best. He would probably be a web phenomenon and his videos might have circulated in YouTube had it been possible when he was alive. There are very good reasons why a lot of us musicians now stay away from New York and Nashville and the "music industry" and it should not diminish our art because we chose not to play or failed at the bogus game of showbiz stardom.

The list of truly great musicians who did not achieve popular mythic status is a very long one, and this is just accepted as a fact in the underground world of "un-commercial" music. The Rolling Stone Magazine list of 100 greatest guitarists of the century that I was recently looking at on their web site is a perfect example of how miniscule the public knowledge is of great musicianship. The number of gigantically important guitarists who were not in their list and the number of lame ones that were included illustrate my point better than I could explain it myself.

It's no surpriise to me that neither Mr. Diamon nor the editors at Down East have enough understanding of the busness and cultural framework that surrounds the music of Lenny Breau to discuss him properly, but maybe the controversy this seems to have generated will stir up some interest and awareness.

HARVEY REID (York, Maine)
hreid@woodpecker.com

Al Diamon,
I read the first two paragraphs and stopped. You obviously don't appreciate genius. Let the shear number of comments remind you that the only person Lenny's music hasn't inspired is you.

And (i've skimmed now)while you criticise Lenny for being irresponsible, you forget the fact that he practiced nearly eight hours a day. Do you know how much discipline and self control that takes!? Problly not, cause you're an idiot.

And to the editors and what-nots of Down East: Really? This article is not journalism. Journalism informs the reader. This just misses the point and then some. Read the comments--those are the real experts. You owe Lenny, his familiy, friends and fans an apology. Hell-- you owe all of jazz an apology. I'm unsubscribing.

The shallow character assassination under the guise of a book review by Mr. Diamon first came to my attention a year or two ago. At the time, I was hesitant to reply to it because I thought it would give a renewed life to something that I was sure would only be read by a few and then fade into oblivion, never to be read again. I was wrong; it has been resurrected in- of all places- Down East magazine. Those who are moved by Lenny Breau’s art are compelled to respond. Those who knew Lenny are required to stand up for him.

That he was a person ensnared by powerful, debilitating addictions is common knowledge among those who may have heard of Lenny’s life, but those who have heard his music also recognize the depth of his art. Ron Forbes-Roberts in his book “One Long Tune” paints a vivid, fair and probing portrait into what drove Lenny to create such an innovative, impossibly daunting conceptual purpose for modern guitar while simultaneously descending into such a self-destructive state. It is a paradox that continues to confuse and sadden those of us who knew him. I believe Forbes-Roberts, in his thoroughly researched biography, got as close to unraveling this paradox as one could hope for. Although there are small inaccuracies in spelling (pointed out in some of the responses) and some of the details are harmlessly misleading, this book is a great achievement.

Not so for Mr. Diamon’s so-called review, which thrives on its sensationalist opening two paragraphs. Others here have pointed out Mr. Diamon’s penchant for self-aggrandizement while creating a diminutive portrait of someone he obviously doesn’t know very well musically. But it is also misleading to rhetorically ascribe his shoddy opinions to the point of view of the author of “One Long Tune”. Furthermore, those of us acquainted with Lenny- musicians, friends, and most importantly his immediate family in Maine, including his mother and brothers- knew Lenny as a humble, friendly, funny, caring, spiritual soul. We were all frustrated and saddened by his inability to extricate himself from the immense problems surrounding his day-to-day life. It was not for lack of effort. At the end, his decisions toward self-improvement were not enough. He was victimized. Those close to Lenny who loved him were deeply hurt by this enormous and unnecessary tragedy. It is purposeless for someone like Al Diamon to gratuitously reopen the wound of hurt incurred by his family with an article that can only be described as mean-spirited and wrong.

As far as Lenny’s music is concerned, it has been gratifying to see the number of recordings issued since his death, mostly on Randy Bachman’s label Guitarchives and more recently on Art of Life Records. Virtually all of them are available on iTunes now. The most recent release is a DVD of Lenny and Brad Terry at The Maine Festival in 1980, which is great. It also includes some audio performances and a discography, which apparently Mr. Diamon could use.

Masterpieces? “The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau Live!” was a paradigm-shifting recording in the guitar world, when it was released in 1969. It is easily one of the best guitar recordings of any genre. “Lenny Breau and Dave Young Live At Bourbon Street”, one of his last recordings, reveals the maturity of Lenny’s approach, and expresses a kind of perfectionism all the more daunting when you consider that Lenny had only been playing the 7 string guitar (with a high ‘A’ string) for a couple of years at that point. And I would have to include “The Living Room Tapes”, which provide a colorful aural picture of Lenny joyfully interacting with another highly interactive player- Brad Terry- in a highly spontaneous musical setting. Furthermore, the solo pieces Lenny performs, like “You Needed Me” and “Remembering The Rain” are as beautiful as they are musically thrilling and inventive, and you also get a chance to hear Lenny play country music on “Nine Pound Hammer”, the Merle Travis standard.

There are more great recordings, and I hope that those new to the name Lenny Breau will not be put off by the misleading commentary provided by Al Diamon. It is the fervent wish of myself and those who are moved by Lenny’s music that they will check out his recordings, read “One Long Tune”, and decide for themselves.

Steve Grover

So Mr. Al Diamon: what is your opinion of the book? Is that not what a book review is meant to disclose? I think this is written much in the style of a fourth grade book report for Mrs. Johnson's American Lit class.
It is obvious that Lenny was not perfect, but who is? Maybe someone will put that retrospective of his music together so that Mr. Diamon can pull his head out of the dark hole it is lodged in...but then again, who cares about Al. Lenny's music should be cherished. Like many of the greats, he was doing things on his instrument that people are still trying to figure out today.

The article starts out with "It's not easy being a Lenny Breau fan." I am personally a fan, and it's one of the most cherished experiences of my life. Skewer me if you will, but I knew Lenny personally, studied guitar under him, and was treated as a friend by him. To be more polite than Al, It disappoints me to read his high profile detailed attack on Lenny. And especially to know it was recycled for a 2nd time?! I've read plenty of Mr. Diamon's work over the years, some of which was humorous and rightfully pointed at the lackluster politicians of the day. I'd guess I never heard him write anything complimentary about anyone, so maybe I shouldn't be shocked. This piece should have gone with all those old Casco Bay Weekly's I've started fires with.
Losing Lenny the way we did was a tragedy of unresolved grief for Maine's music community. We've all hung on every shred of Lenny's memory, collected recordings, books, articles, films, learned to play better. We've searched for ways to honor him and understand why he died so unfairly. I read Ron Forbes-Roberts' biography twice with fascinated interest and then had to rebandage my wounds over the sorrow that Lenny did not live longer to outgrow his troubled times. He spent countless thousands of hours crafting his gift, gave it freely, with passion, humor, charm & beauty. This unbalanced, uninformed assault on Lenny's character is the polar opposite of those qualities. It feels like a slap in the face to the many friends, family, and fans of an artist who was about love and encouragement to us. Lenny was a pioneer of the guitar who wanted nothing more than to break all previous standards of excellence in the playing of his instrument.
It will be a long time, if ever, that I bother reading another issue of DownEast, or writing of Al Diamon's.
Dave Daniels
Full Time Music Teacher & Freelance Musician
Maine resident since 1977

Is this a book review or a character assassination? Lenny Breau suffered from demons, surely; but the Forbes-Roberts biography builds a portrait of a complete person who was undeniably a musical genius. This review, by contrast, portrays a drug-addicted, underachieving reprobate. Others have weighed in here, but I'd like to make just one additional point: If Breau's "legacy" is murky (which is not the sense I got from the book, despite the cherry-picked quote), that's because what he could do with a guitar was VERY NEARLY INIMITABLE. --Monica Wood

As a guitarist who is trying his hardest to follow in Lenny Breau's footsteps I feel as if I've been slapped in the face.

Lenny's music inspired me to pick up a guitar, to play jazz, and to push myself in musical directions i never knew existed.

Every time I listen to "The Claw" or "Stella By Starlight" from the living room tapes i hear something new in it. I relive the wonder i had when i first listened to the album on my fathers old record player. I was 12 and instantly decided "I want to do THAT!"

To me that album marked a turning point and changed my entire life. That to me makes it an Unqualified Success. Wes Montgomery and Charlie Christian were great guitarists and have their places in my record collection but lenny's music has always and will always mean more to me.

I suppose I am a product of lenny's "murky" legacy.

To malign such a great musician especially after his death under the guise of a book review is unconscionable.

Lenny's music touched and inspired me to play music and love jazz, this article only inspires me to remove all the issues of downeast magazine from my home and waiting room.

Alex Adams

To the Editor,

I am a longtime Down East subscriber, former (and hopefully future) Maine resident, and proud former member of the U. Maine Augusta jazz faculty.

It's always seemed that Down East prints wonderful, informative articles, factually solid and enjoyable. That's why I am surprised that you have (perhaps unwittingly?) published an article that totally misses the point in understanding Lenny Breau and his music.

The most important fact is that Lenny is known among musicians the world over as an almost superhuman guitarist. He's as well-known in the New York City jazz community where I live as he is in Maine.

Lenny often sounded like two players because of his singular technical prowess, his ability to accompany himself with chords while playing the most beautiful, acrobatic melody lines. His music had the qualities of the greatest art: he was a technical master who played music that few others can achieve, yet his music reached a wider audience because it was so accessible and bluesy.

Al Diamon's article concentrates on his lifestyle, substance issues, and the horrible circumstances of his death - but totally ignores the central issue of his worldwide reputation. I hope your readers can somehow get the whole picture.

Best regards,

David Demsey
Wayne, NJ

Al Daimon's article will be read, ridiculed for it's stupidity, recycled in a few weeks and soon forgotten. Lenny Breau's music will still be inspiring people a hundred years from now, probably longer. Downeast Magazine should not have published this drivel.

Stew Guernsey

To continue...

>> Eventually, he returned to Auburn, where he spent his time drinking with his alcoholic father, although he played occasional gigs at the Cellar Door and No Tomatoes. During this period, Stephen Anderson, a fellow guitarist — and fellow heroin addict — said Breau told him, “he’d almost given up playing after his first two records. But when I asked him why, he didn’t seem to remember much of what had happened.”

Stephen Anderson (another of Mr. Diamon’s aforementioned “drug addled” myth proponents) kicked the heroin habit years ago and has become one of the leading exponents (albeit a “failure” like Lenny because he hasn’t sold thousands or recordings or toured world-wide) of Mr. Breau’s style. He is a completely professional, highly creative player and expert instructor of the highest order. To feel the need to stress Anderson’s heroin issue is again useless sensationalism that holds no merit as related to the review of the book. Diamon’s predisposition to constantly relate to drug and alcohol abuse is obsessive.

>> “During a relatively sober spell in 1979, he cut the album The Legendary Lenny Breau . . . Now for an obscure label that sold it only through magazine ads. Generally regarded as his finest recording, it’s long out of print. At about the same time, he played several gigs in central and southern Maine with clarinetist Brad Terry, who recorded many of the shows and informal jam sessions at his house. Terry eventually culled two posthumous albums, released as The Complete Living Room Tapes, from those hours of tape. Even with so much material to choose from, the discs are uneven, mixing moments of brilliance with bouts of alcohol-induced mediocrity”.

One man’s “mediocrity” is another’s creative genius. It all rests on the level of artistic awareness of the observer, especially in the musical realm. If a garage band, three-chord guitarist or a middle-America housewife thinks that Lenny Breau’s music is a bore, does that make it a fact? Lenny’s recordings, regardless of their ups and downs, nevertheless hold high levels of creative value to those who understand what he was striving for. By the way, the albums are called The Living Room tapes for a reason, Mr. Diamon. The key word here is “informal”. Again, the use of such purposefully mean-spirited and unsubstantiated terms as “alcohol induced mediocrity” only serves to inflame and also bolster the sense of fixation he has on this subject.

>> “Breau’s legacy is equally murky”.
If Mr. Diamon had a single clue about what is going on in the world of modern jazz guitar, he would realize how utterly ridiculous this statement is. This comment is not worth a rebuttal.

>> “And Forbes-Roberts admits that “unlike Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, and Wes Montgomery, Lenny didn’t leave behind a significantly large school of jazz guitarists who have adapted and personalized his idiosyncratic style.”

Again, Mr. Diamon’s absolute ignorance of Breau’s capabilities and reputation comes through here. Diamon’s use of the word “admits” is calculated to infer that there was some failure where blame needs to be assigned, and so he continues to paint an inaccurately colored negative image on Forbes-Roberts comment. Let’s get this straight… the reason there is not a “large school of guitarists” who have adapted the style is because it is virtually impossible to do so. There are thousands of extremely impressive Wes, Django Christian, and Hendrix, et.al., clones in the world. This is because these master’s approaches, as innovative and magnificent as they are, reflect quite accessible and predictable constructs. Difficult to acquire? Yes, most definitely. But then there is Lenny, who stands apart from the entire collection of top guitarists in terms of harmonic complexity and technical difficulty. Lenny’s systems are virtually impossible to reproduce at the levels he employed them. Had Mr. Diamon performed appropriate research beyond writing a sophomoric, semi-pro hack job, he could have possibly avoided implying such a pompous and dim-witted inference.

>> “From this rough outline of his story, it might be easy to conclude that Breau’s passions and addictions had overshadowed his artistic contributions, but Forbes-Roberts actually makes a strong argument to the contrary. Until somebody assembles the definitive collection of Breau’s music, One Long Tune will have to serve as the guardian of his legacy”.

“Rough outline”? At least Mr. Diamon could review the book accurately, not that it was his intent to actually pen a review in the first place. Judging by the omission of any insightful positive commentary concerning the book, it seems as though Diamon barely read the liner notes. This book reflects the pinnacle of a quality journalistic effort. The content was meticulously researched over a span of many years, accurately synthesizing perhaps hundreds of interviews, expert musical analysis, timelines, and other essential components into a powerful and far-reaching insight into Lenny’s life and music, with no holds barred. It is balanced and fair. Why are these aspects not mentioned in the article? The book “review” consists of the description “rough outline,” according to Mr. Diamon’s “expert” critical literary analysis. Wow!

And it is not just Forbes’-Roberts who makes the “strong argument to the contrary.” concerning Lenny’s legacy. It is tens of thousands of musicians who simply and without personal judgements understand Lenny Breau’s genius. And if one owns all of Breau’s material, then the “definitive collection” is in hand, and that is something I doubt Mr. Diamond owns. The fact that he is completely uninformed concerning Lenny’s entire discography renders his comments concerning Lenny’s music empty, vapid and misleading. So much for journalistic integrity.

Please go back to reviewing bars and beer, Mr. Diamon. It seems that is where your actual expertise resides.

Bob Thompson

Although covered in part by previous posts, here are a few more observations concerning Mr. Diamon's inaccuracies and transgressions.

>> “By 1962, Breau was flirting with the big time. He turned down an offer to play in Tony Bennett’s band, because, as Forbes-Roberts writes, “Lenny’s love of artistic adventure would always overshadow his interest in financial gain and career advancement. Maybe. But Breau also seemed afraid to make the jump. He turned down offers from Chet Atkins, the famed country guitarist, to record for RCA. He made only a half-hearted attempt to break into the Toronto jazz scene”.

Throughout Mr. Diamon’s article, he constantly misrepresents the spirit of the quotes taken from Forbes-Roberts books in order to support his negative portrayal of Lenny. If Mr. Diamon actually understood the musical creative process, he would know that serious jazz musicians frequently chose not to play in certain situations if there was an absence of significant creative opportunity. This has been the hallmark of all master jazz musicians since the inception of the style. The very essence of jazz is based on the constant pushing of the harmonic, melodic, rhythmic and compositional envelopes. In order to become a master of the style, this tenant needs be religiously adhered to, and it dominates all other aspects, financial or otherwise, in order to remain true to the art. This is not a negative – it is the defining purpose of the creative jazz experience. So again, rather than providing a focused and informative book review, Diamon plays the incompetent shrink in an attempt to negatively sensationalize Lenny’s mind-set and motivations.

>> “And he began experimenting with drugs. For a guy with a wife and child to support, these moves could be interpreted less as a fight for artistic independence and more as a flight from responsibility”.

Could be interpreted…?? Unless Mr. Diamon lived inside Lenny’s head, he has virtually no basis to make this judgment. Once again, Mr. Diamon continually inserts his personal brand of prejudicial armchair psychology into what should be a book review (albeit an acclaimed book that has been on the shelves for several years). Leave the psychoanalysis to the pros, please.

>> “Breau eventually accepted Atkins’ offer to record in Nashville. While his first album for RCA is generally regarded as a failure…”

Failure? By whose standards? By sales levels? By critic’s opinions? By Mr. Diamon’s sage musical intellect? As stated in previous posts, his statement is completely erroneous. The tremendous skill exhibited on this recording makes the product one of the most sought after of all of Mr. Breau’s efforts, especially certain tunes that are premier examples of his innovative “pianistic” style. These tunes are the doorway that thousands of players use to begin to assimilate what they can of Lenny’s theory and performance systems. Diamon would do well to actually research a purported “factual” statement for all of its tangential implications before calling it hard fact.

>> “His second, The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau Live!, earned high praise in some quarters. Forbes-Roberts writes that it “changed forever guitarists’ notion of what was possible on their instruments.” But Barney Kessel, one of Breau’s early influences on guitar, told Down Beat magazine it sounded like “more extrapolation than innovation.”

Once again, Mr. Diamon focuses on the negative rather than the overarching positive reality. The Velvet Touch album, in its stylistic diversity and absolutely impossible-to-reproduce techniques and harmonic approaches, is acknowledged by most modern guitar masters as a landmark album on par with that select group of equally stellar achievements by much more famous players. Regarding Kessel’s comment, when a die-hard simplistic traditionalist (not a slight against Kessel at all… he is a respected guitarist) is faced with a radical new set of unfathomable constructs that he is frankly not equipped to understand, one can only expect the comment he made. It is worth mentioning that guitar contemporaries of Kessel’s in the same style but with far superior skills revere and praise the Velvet Touch in interviews and print. But on to the point of Mr. Diamon’s inclusion of the Kessel comment at all. With literally hundreds of accolades celebrating the Velvet Touch, it seems Mr. Diamon’s sole reason for stressing the singular Kessel comment is to continue to heap more trash on the memory of Mr. Breau, for some inexplicable reason.

Bob Thompson

Apologies to Mr. Diamon...
Spellchecker changed the name to "Diamond"
An immediate correct, more than he ever afforded Lenny Breau.

Bob Thompson

Let’s take the gloves off a bit, shall we?

As a hopeful and obviously much needed lesson in journalistic ethics, I will refrain from blatantly indicting Mr. Diamond on any of his own personal shortcomings and private peccadilloes (unlike his vicious treatment of Lenny Breau), and only focus on his skills (or absence thereof) within the craft. It is sad that publications still occasionally use washed-up curmudgeons whose typical and quite tired sole compositional tactic is to fabricate and then spew uninformative ranting and sensationalism sans substance, just to get an emotional rise out of the readership, support a “trouble-maker” reputation, thereby hopefully guaranteeing one more personal paycheck for yet another month.

To begin, one must ask the question of why this sordid and purposely provocative and insensitive article pretending to be a critique of Forbes-Roberts book about Lenny Breau was even reprinted. Wasn’t one exposure of Mr. Diamond’s profound ignorance of Breau’s musicianship and life enough to stomach the last time it was published several years ago? This is not a book review, addressing the book’s content, style, depth of research or emotional impact. Was Downeast Magazine, usually a solid, sensitive and intelligent publication, so desperate to fill pages with text that the editors completely overlooked the demeaning insults and inaccuracies hurled at a dead man who isn’t here to rebut the unprovoked attack? When is the last time Downeast Magazine had an article where a revered Maine-born artist of note was unendingly vilified and described as a “doper, drunk, deadbeat, philanderer, and liar?” Does Downeast Magazine care one iota about the feelings of the Breau family in Lewiston, who once again has to endure Mr. Diamond’s cruel rantings about their son, this time in a respected Maine magazine? Both Mr. Diamond and Downeast Magazine owe a public and private apology to the Breau family for bringing this useless and demeaning article to the public for another go-around. Just allow Lenny to rest.

As Lenny’s former friend and student (an experience that profoundly changed my creative life to the positive, along with countless other musicians) I feel a responsibility to respond to Diamond’s attack. Thankfully, Ron Forbes-Roberts, Brad Terry and others who have deep authority on the subject have been eloquent and accurate in refuting Diamond’s trash. On a certain level, it is not even worth wasting the electrons in order to respond to this useless article, lest it add additional credibility to Mr. Diamond’s lack of journalistic integrity. And unfortunately, to completely rebut each of Mr. Diamond’s spiteful comments would take dozens of pages.

Hopefully, readers in Maine (especially the Breau family) have heard the last of Mr. Diamond’s so called reviews of cultural and artistic issues, especially in a magazine of Downeast’s stature. He should stick to politics, where he can foist his inane, tired, useless ranting comments on a disinterest public like he always has, and continue to be a very tiny self-absorbed fish in his very own miniscule and polluted journalistic pond. Perhaps he can get another job mentoring to dopers, drunks, deadbeats, philanderers, and liars. It is obvious that he is completely obsessed with that particular culture. Maybe he can learn a bit about compassion there.

Bob Thompson

When I first came back to Toronto in 1975 to attend university, the legend of Lenny Breau was already being talked about by different musicians around town.
One popular saying was that "Lenny Breau has forgotten more about playing than most most players will ever know in a lifetime".
Legends and rumors aside, when I got my hands on "The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau", I was studying for exams, and I must have played that record over and over again for about 4 days straight. I ended up buying 2-3 more copies of the LP just to be sure that if one copy wore out, I'd have a back-up. Then the "5 O'Clock Bells" album came out, along with an interview about Lenny's slow recovery and return from oblivion to playing and recording. I wore out a copy of that album too!
Lenny Breau's music brought so much awe and joy into my life. It has always been something higher and purer that I could aspire to as a musician.
When Lenny was finally allowed to re-enter Canada for a week of shows at the Bourbon Street restaurant, I finally had a chance to see him live, to shake his hand and tell him how much he has enriched my life.
Yes, much of the circumstances of his later life are sad, tragic, regrettable, etc. but he left behind a fair body of recorded music that stands that test of time.

Even from my distant home in Tel Aviv, Israel, I still manage to gather more and more recordings by Lenny, and to "turn on" more and more friends to his legacy.
Ron Forbes-Roberts is a valuable contribution to my collection and to the legacy of Lenny Breau.

Why is it that people tend to focus on Lenny's addictions rather than his Genius with his chosen instrument. If you listen to his music you will hear everything that this man's soul could muster. Yes he had addictions and they were his to battle not yours. It looks like you got your 15 min's. of fame, but in the process alienated just about every Lenny Breau fan on this planet, me included.

Patrick J merrick

The respected and invaluable Penguin Guide doesn't need any defending from me, but if, as Ron Forbes-Roberts asserts, it is "so riddled with serious omissions, obvious biases and laughable errors that no serious music fan could take them seriously as valid resources," I wonder how those same music fans should regard "One Long Tune." While the Penguin Guide manages to accurately cover the vast majority of the more than 14,000 albums in its current edition, Forbes-Roberts has a much narrower focus and an easier task. Yet, he makes numerous mistakes when it comes to Breau's time in Maine.

For instance, he claims in a footnote that Lenny's father adopted his nickname of "Hal Lone Pine" because Maine is known as the "Long Pine State." That will be news to most Mainers.

He refers to Westbrook in 1956 as a "village," hardly an apt description for a populous mill community that was -- and is -- a city.

Togus, the location of the state veterans hospital, is spelled "Togas" on page 193.

And the Old Port bistro where Breau once played was Caffe Domas, not "Cafe Domas."

Al Diamon

"There have been plenty of great artists who’ve been possessed by their demons, but they still produced a masterpiece or two to remind us why their talent transcended their sin. From Edgar Allen Poe to Jackson Pollock to Judy Garland to Charlie Parker, their personal lives proved to be mere footnotes to their art.

Not so with Breau."

I don't see how it can be held against a musician that he wasn't a prolific or exceptional recording artist (and that's only granting this for the sake of argument.) Recording and commercial output is (it seems silly to even point it out) far from the be-all end-all of music. Every day, thousands of brilliant musical performances are enjoyed by even more people, in all types of venues, events, backyards and basements. These aren't recorded, and they need not be; their effects are recorded in the hearts and minds of people forever.

Our knowledge of a lot of musical history is limited to what is documented. This doesn't mean that judgment should be based solely on what is documented. There's a reason that muscial communities exist everywhere. There's a reason millions of people each day go see live shows. Some of the greatest music I've ever heard was not recorded. Some of it came from people like McCoy Tyner or John Scofield, and some of it from people nobody on this website would ever have heard of. During jams, rehearsals, my own gigs and gigs I payed to see.

I've read and enjoyed One Long Tune several times, and one of the things I liked most about it is how obvious it made the fact that Lenny was truly in love with music, and loved to _play_ music more than he did record, sell and promote it. A quality a lot of musicians wish they had more of. Ted Greene had a very limited recording output, did that make him any less of a musician? I think we should feel fortunate to have recordings of these musicians at all.

With regard to the five points made by Ron Forbes-Roberts, I have no issue with his contention that Breau was ambivalent about success, and I probably should have mentioned that.

As for his time in Toronto, I do take issue with Forbes-Roberts' claim that he was "at the absolute center of the Toronto jazz scene." I base this assessment on the following excerpts from Forbes-Roberts' book:

Page 89: "[Breau] had no real employment prospects in Toronto beyond the twenty-dollar-a-night jobs he had been playing since arriving in the city a year earlier."

Pages 120-1: "Lenny had left Toronto five years earlier with a sense of failure and defeat, rebuffed -- as he saw it -- by a city that had promised much and delivered little."

Page 157: "[Breau] would make forays into the Toronto music scene, inevitably succumbing to the temptation of drugs and wiping out whatever gains he had made."

As for Forbes-Roberts' third point, I should have made it clear that the album "Guitar Sounds of Lenny Breau" was a commercial failure. It's artistic merits are widely documented.

On the matter of "The Living Room Tapes," I think the first disc has a generally high quality level, while the second is far sketchier. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, eighth edition, gives the set an average rating and includes a warning they are "For specialists only." It's worth noting that the ninth edition of the Penguin Guide doesn't even bother to list Breau's albums.

As for Forbes-Roberts' contention that Breau has "a dozen excellent albums in print," I'm at a loss to name them. "Guitar Sounds" and "Live at Bourbon Street" are clear stand-outs, with "Lenny Breau Trio" and "The Hallmark Sessions" not far behind. Other than that, I'm unaware of other readily available Breau recordings I'd recommend to anyone but a fanatic completist.

Al Diamon

The reviewer's characterization of Lenny Breau as the purveyor of "alcohol induced mediocrity" is sheer idiocy and a more heinous lie than any that Lenny ever told. I am a so-called "classical" musician, concert organist and improviser whose acquaintance with jazz is marginal, but I have read "One Long Tune," and find it doesn't pull any punches about Breau's problems with substance abuse, nor his occasional inability to function fully in his most impaired state, but my improviser's ear is in awe at the inventive and collaborative genius of both Lenny Breau and Brad Terry in "The Complete Living Room Tapes," and I hear absolutely nothing mediocre therein. Did this slanderer call Brad Terry to ask whether Lenny was impaired during the making of these tapes? If not, why not? Terry is still very much alive and at age 72 is as much of a creative jazz genius as ever. His name and number are in the phone book. But the only guardian of Lenny Breau's legacy (or of Terry's either) is the proof afforded by knowledgable and sensitive listeners. Mr. Damon is obviously neither. —William James Ross

Is this a review of the book or some sort of misinformed critique of Lenny Breau's playing by a jazz dilettante? This reviewer seems to have at least read the book but culled from it only the negative aspects of a man's life and not the fact, because it is indeed fact, that Breau made significant and indelible changes to jazz and jazz guitar. Any positive statements about Breau's contribution in this review "of the book" are always qualified or questioned. I've taught jazz guitar at a world renowned college for 18 years, have recorded with some of the best jazz musicians in the world, practiced every day for 35 years and on my best days I've never come close to the creativity and genius Lenny Breau was able to conjure. Yes, he had his demons but so did Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Lee Morgan, etc. If Breau had played another instrument more popular in the jazz world such as trumpet, saxophone, piano, etc. it's quite possible he would have had much more success both commercially and artistically but unfortunately, success in jazz is not measured artistically but by sales. I suspect the vitriol in this review has something to do with a musical or personal inadequacy of some kind on the part of the reviewer.

I'm the author of One Long Tune and read with your interest your review of my book. I'd like to address a few of your points:

1. Although I did say that Lenny's interest in artistic adventure outweighed his career ambitions, I stated on more than one occasion in the book that his enormous ambivalence about success was also responsible for holding back his career.

2. You state that " [Lenny] made only a half-hearted attempt to break into the Toronto jazz scene." I'm not sure where you got this information but it's completely inaccurate. As I make clear in my book, Lenny was at the absolute center of the Toronto jazz scene during the late 60's and was one of its most celebrated members.

3. You state that Lenny's first album was "a failure." Nonsense. That album, currently in print and selling well, is generally regarded as one of the best fingerstyle jazz albums ever made despite poor sales. His second album is a masterpiece which still inspires young fingerstyle jazz guitarists forty years after its release.

4. Re. your comments on The Living Room Tapes: I'd appreciate it if you'd point out examples of the "bouts of alcohol-induced mediocrity" you claim the album contains As a lifelong professional guitarist, I fail to hear them.

5. If Lenny's personal difficulties did overshadow his artistic contributions, why is it that 25 years after his death he has over a dozen excellent albums still in print, two recent DVDs of his performances and two books on his guitar techniques (with a third on the way)? Are the people who are buying his CDs and DVDs and studying his guitar work doing so because he was a drug addict and failed to live up to his potential as a musician? No. They're aware of Lenny's shortcomings and personal problems, which were not so different from of those of hundreds of thousands of unfortunates dealing with substance abuse issues. However, Lenny's fans are able to make a distinction between the incredible beauty manifested in Lenny's playing and the sad circumstances of his life. Unfortunately, you don't seem to have these powers of discernment. In other words, your judgemental attitudes regarding the details of Lenny's personal life have clearly overshadowed your capacity to enjoy Lenny's exquisite music without trivial bias. For this reason, you have my sympathies because you're missing a great deal.

Respectfully,

Ron Forbes-Roberts

Having worked with Lenny at The Cellar Door in 1977 & 78 I must disagree with most of Mr. Diamons' conclusions. It appears that he chose not to speak with any of the folks in Maine who knew Lenny, family members or musicians. It sounds like he was out to sling some mud and therefore only spoke to people who could aid him in that objective. I'm sorry to see such an imbalanced and illiberal perspective reappear. I think Downeast Magazine and its' readers deserve better.
Dan Hall