Laurence Juber
Encyclopedia
Laurence Juber is an English-born guitarist who currently lives in California
. Born 12 November 1952 in Stepney
, East London, he was raised and went to school in North London. Often considered most famous for playing lead guitar in Wings
from 1979 to 1981, he has since had a distinguished career as a solo fingerstyle guitarist.
was released. 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-60's, he set his sights on becoming a session guitarist
in London's music studios. He earned his music degree at London University (Goldsmith College) where he expanded his horizons 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
.
Juber gave up a lucrative and highly successful studio career when invited to join Paul McCartney and Wings. He played on recordings that were to become Back to the Egg
, as well as the subsequent tour. From these sessions he garnered his first Grammy Award
, winning Best Rock Instrumental for the track "Rockestra Theme
" from Back to the Egg. He was miscredited as Lawrence Tuber on the album sleeve. From this period dates his first solo album Standard Time (only released on vinyl). Ex-fellow Wings members Paul McCartney
and Denny Laine
played along on the track Maisie.
When Wings disbanded, Juber moved to the United States of America. 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
and Family Ties
, and for movies, perhaps most famously playing the James Bond
theme for the movie The Spy Who Loved Me
.
In 1990, he released his second solo album, Solo Flight. During the next decade he would begin to explore altered tunings. 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 nineteen critically acclaimed CD's to date, 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 CD's that teach basic music theory and arrangement techniques for guitarists.
In addition to his own recording and performances, Laurence Juber has produced 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.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Born 12 November 1952 in Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
, East London, he was raised and went to school in North London. Often considered most famous for playing lead guitar in Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
from 1979 to 1981, he has since had a distinguished career as a solo fingerstyle guitarist.
Biography
By his own account, Juber began playing guitar the week that "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
was released. 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-60's, he set his sights on becoming a session guitarist
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
in London's music studios. He earned his music degree at London University (Goldsmith College) where he expanded his horizons playing the lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
. Upon graduation, he immediately began work as a session guitarist, working on his first project with producer George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
on an album for Cleo Laine
Cleo Laine
Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth, DBE is a jazz singer and an actress, noted for her scat singing and vocal range...
.
Juber gave up a lucrative and highly successful studio career when invited to join Paul McCartney and Wings. He played on recordings that were to become Back to the Egg
Back to the Egg
Back to the Egg is the seventh and final studio album by Wings, released in 1979. It is also Wings' first album for Columbia Records after leaving long-time United States distributor Capitol Records in 1978...
, as well as the subsequent tour. From these sessions he garnered his first Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, winning Best Rock Instrumental for the track "Rockestra Theme
Rockestra Theme
"Rockestra Theme", one of Paul McCartney's harder-rocking songs, was recorded on October 3, 1978, at Abbey Road Studios by an all-star collection of musicians dubbed "Rockestra", although the song is technically credited to Wings...
" from Back to the Egg. He was miscredited as Lawrence Tuber on the album sleeve. From this period dates his first solo album Standard Time (only released on vinyl). Ex-fellow Wings members Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Denny Laine
Denny Laine
Denny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and lead singer of The Moody Blues' 1965 debut album "The Magnificent Moodies"; and, later, best known for his role as co-founder of Wings...
played along on the track Maisie.
When Wings disbanded, Juber moved to the United States of America. 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
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
and Family Ties
Family Ties
Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
, and for movies, perhaps most famously playing the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
theme for the movie The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me (film)
The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
.
In 1990, he released his second solo album, Solo Flight. During the next decade he would begin to explore altered tunings. 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 nineteen critically acclaimed CD's to date, and has earned a second Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality instrumental albums in the pop music genre...
for his solo guitar arrangement of "The Pink Panther Theme" on the CD Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar
Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar
Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar is a compilation album of popular works by Henry Mancini, produced by James R. Jensen and released through Solid Air Records in 2004. Jensen asked guitar players on his record label to contribute some of their favorite compositions to the album...
. Juber has also released a series of instructional CD's that teach basic music theory and arrangement techniques for guitarists.
In addition to his own recording and performances, Laurence Juber has produced and played on Al Stewart
Al Stewart
Al Stewart is a Scottish singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician.Stewart came to stardom as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s, and developed his own unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history.He is...
'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.
Discography
- 1982: Standard TimeStandard Time (album)Standard Time is the debut album by former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber, released in 1982 on vinyl and never re-released. Some of the songs where recorded when Laurence was still a member of Wings. Fellow Wings-members Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Steve Holly also performed on the album.-Track...
- 1990: Solo FlightSolo Flight (Laurence Juber album)Solo Flight is the second album by former Wings guitarist Laurence Juber, released in 1990.-Track listing:All songs by Laurence Juber# "A Bit of a George" - 2:40# "Breath of Air" - 2:50# "The Stepney Two Step" - 2:13# "Tombeau " - 1:54...
- 1993: Naked Guitar
- 1995: LJ (Remastered and reissued in 2002)
- 1997: Winter Guitar
- 1997: GroovemastersGroovemastersGroove Masters is a semi-private recording studio owned by Jackson Browne. Located in Santa Monica, California, the studio has been the setting for many of Browne's recordings. The head sound engineer is grammy-nominated Paul Dieter...
- 1998: Mosaic
- 1999: Altered Reality
- 2000: LJ Plays the Beatles
- 2000: The Collection
- 2001: Different Times
- 2003: Guitarist
- 2004: Henry Mancini: Pink GuitarHenry Mancini: Pink GuitarHenry Mancini: Pink Guitar is a compilation album of popular works by Henry Mancini, produced by James R. Jensen and released through Solid Air Records in 2004. Jensen asked guitar players on his record label to contribute some of their favorite compositions to the album...
(2005 Grammy AwardGrammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality instrumental albums in the pop music genre...
-winning compilation of Henry ManciniHenry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
songs, compilation) - 2005: One Wing
- 2006: I've Got the World On Six Strings
- 2007: PCH
- 2008: Pop Goes Guitar
- 2009: Wooden Horses
- 2010: LJ Plays the Beatles Vol 2.