The Suffolk Presents 4-Time Grammy Award Winner & 19-Time Nominee Larry Carlton

The Suffolk will present 4-time Grammy Award winner Larry Carlton on Friday, September 19.

Like so many other Los Angeles studio musicians, guitarist and composer Larry Carlton was faced with a choice a number of years back: whether to go solo and develop a name for himself under his own name or to continue the less risky, more lucrative existence as a session guitarist, making good money and recording with prominent musicians. Fortunately for fans of this eclectic guitarist, he chose the former and has recorded under his own name for Warner Bros., MCA Records and GRP Records since 1978.

Carlton’s studio credits from the 1970s and early 1980s include musicians and groups like Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, Sammy Davis Jr., Herb Alpert, Quincy Jones, Bobby Bland, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.

Although he recorded a number of LPs under his own name, he didn’t land a major-label contract until 1978, when he signed with Warner Bros. Carlton delivered his self-titled debut for Warner Bros. in 1978, shortly after he was recognized for his ground-breaking guitar playing on Steely Dan’s “Royal Scam” album.

He continued studio session work and touring in between, emerging again in 1986 on MCA Records with an all-acoustic album, Discovery, which contained an instrumental remake of Michael McDonald’s hit, “Minute by Minute.” The single won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1987. Carlton’s live album, “Last Nite,” released in 1987, got him a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance.

Larry Carlton will be at The Suffolk, 118 East Main Street, Riverhead, on Friday September 19, at 8 p.m. Tickets begin at $39. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit thesuffolk.org.