Photo credits: Carol Friedman.
Mr. Earl Klugh (pictured) entered this world on September 16, 1953, in Detroit, Michigan. Klugh is an accomplished jazz guitarist, with one Grammy and thirteen nominations to his name.
For his album “Finger Painting,” Klugh received the “1977 Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” from the Japanese jazz publication Swing Journal. Klugh started playing the piano when he was six years old and continued lessons until he was 10 years old, when he made the transition to the guitar. When Klugh was thirteen, he saw Chet Atkins on The Perry Como Show and was immediately taken by his guitar performance. Klugh made appearances as a musician on numerous albums by Atkins.
In turn, Atkins contributed to Earl’s Magic In Your Eyes CD. Klugh and Atkins co-appeared in various TV shows, including Hee Haw and a TV special called “Read my Licks” from 1994. Bob James, Ray Parker Jr., Wes Montgomery, and Laurindo Almeida were all important to Klugh. His music is a unique fusion of jazz, pop, and rhythm and blues, with a modern, melodic feel that is all his own. [
Klugh made his recording debut on Yusef Lateef’s “Suite 16” when he was just 15 years old. He first worked with George Benson in 1971, appearing on his White Rabbit record, and then, in 1973, becoming a member of Benson’s touring band. Klugh and Bob James’ 1981 album “One on One” won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Since then, he’s been nominated for 12 Grammys, sold millions of records and CDs, and continues to perform all over the globe.
Klugh has released almost 30 albums, with 23 reaching the Top Ten and five reaching the top spot on Billboard’s Jazz Album list. Klugh received his 12th Grammy nomination for 2008’s The Spice of Life, his second nomination and release on the indie Koch label. At the Broadmoor Hotel & Resort in Colorado Springs, Klugh holds a “Weekend of Jazz” concert series every spring. Jazz greats including Ramsey Lewis (who unfortunately died away not too long ago), Patti Austin, Chuck Mangione, Bob James, Joe Sample, Chris Botti, Roberta Flack, and Arturo Sandoval have all graced the stage during the yearly event.
Klugh’s “Weekend of Jazz” concert series debuted in South Carolina’s Kiawah Island Golf Resort in November 2010.
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