Juber will host birthday bash at McCabes

 Laurence Juber invites fans to his 60th birthday celebration this week at McCabes

Grammy artist Laurence Juber will celebrate a milestone in grand style with a birthday bash at a SoCal institution.

Family, friends, fans and well-wishers are invited to join Juber help ring in his 60^th birthday with a concert performance set for 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, 2012, at McCabes Guitar Shop, 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, Calif. Tickets are $20.

“I always look forward to my annual McCabes gig. I celebrate my birthday as the anniversary of first picking up the guitar,” says Juber. “I can’t imagine a more appropriate place to play than this legendary guitar store and concert venue.”

The former Wings lead guitarist and virtuoso just may be the busiest man in the music industry. In addition to recently playing a part on tribute albums to Bob Dylan and Linda McCartney, Juber performs almost 100 dates a year, has regular session work, conducts professional workshops, performs on soundtracks for feature films and television. His latest effort, “Soul of Light,” was released this past April. Early 2013 will see the release of two new projects: “Under An Indigo Sky” showcases the jazz/blues 'Noir' side of his playing; “Catch LJ Live” is a concert set CD/DVD combo.

A world-class guitar virtuoso solo artist, composer and arranger, Juber fuses folk, jazz, and pop styles and creates a dynamic multi-faceted performance that belies the use of only one instrument. As a studio musician, he can be heard on recent albums from artists as diverse as Barry Manilow, Donovan, Al Stewart and Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks. He is also featured on the soundtracks to hundreds of TV shows and movies including the Academy Award-winning “Good Will Hunting”, the James Bond thriller “The Spy Who Love Me”, the 1987 smash “Dirty Dancing” and most recently, “The Muppets”. He is also featured on the new Paul Williams digital single “Still Alive”, from the documentary film of the same name.

Known to his fans as ‘LJ’, Juber has released 20 acclaimed solo albums. His celebrated arranging skills are featured on two volumes of LJPlays The Beatles, the first of which was voted among the all-time top ten acoustic guitar records. Juber says fans never tire of hearing him play their songs and he remains endlessly fascinated by their catalog.

"Every time I hear a Beatles record I gain a new appreciation for them," Juber said. "Above and beyond the analytical part of it and creating the arrangements, when I start deconstructing Beatles songs, I find unexpected things. I can never listen to a Beatles record twice and hear exactly the same thing. There’s always something that I’ve missed, or a new discovery where you say, 'Wow, what was that little guitar lick?' Or the way in which the backing vocals come in…there’s always something new to discover in their work."

If you go:

What: Laurence Juber

Where: McCabes Guitar Shop, 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10

Information: 310-828-8037 or www.mccabes.com

Juber closes out tour in SoCal

Two-time Grammy-Award winning guitar artist Laurence Juber will close his latest tour with a homecoming concert in Southern California.

Juber will play 8 p.m. Saturday, June 16, 2012, at Boulevard Music, 4316 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. Tickets are $17.50. Juber will also host a two-hour guitar workshop preceding the concert from 4 to 6 p.m. The cost is $40.

The workshop and concert appearance closes out a six-month tour, which started in January.

Known for playing lead guitar in Wings from 1978 to 1981, Juber, known as ‘LJ’, has since had a distinguished career as a solo finger-style guitarist. A world-class guitar virtuoso solo artist, composer and arranger, LJ fuses folk, jazz, and pop styles and creates a dynamic multi-faceted performance that belies the use of only one instrument. 

Laurence has released 20 acclaimed solo albums since Wings folded, including two volumes on The Beatles and one on his former group with McCartney. His latest, Soul of Light, is a retrospective collection of original compositions that span over 30 years of creative work on solo guitar. All newly recorded, some of these tunes may be familiar from being heard on TV and radio, while others have been touchstones of the solo guitar. 

“I started out as a composer for solo guitar and I’ve written well over a hundred tunes. The compositions on Soul of Light reflect a particular mood – one of romance,” Juber says. “Not only pure love songs, but also in the sense of using imagination and narrative to expand and transcend the traditional solo guitar genre. It also serves as a complement to the blues/jazz direction that my current composing and arranging is taking me.”

As a studio musician, he can be heard on recent albums from artists as diverse as Barry Manilow, Al Stewart and Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks. He is also featured on the soundtracks to hundreds of TV shows and movies including the Academy Award-winning Good Will Hunting and Dirty Dancing, the James Bond thriller The Spy Who Love Me and 2011's The Muppets.

For more information visit:

http://laurencejuber.com/

What: Laurence Juber 

Where: Boulevard Music, 4316 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, June 16

Cost: $17.50

Information: 310-398-2583 or http://www.boulevardmusic.com/

Juber to appear at Stargazers in Colo. Springs

Two-time Grammy Award-winning guitar artist Laurence Juber is heading to the Rockies with a Colorado Springs appearance.

Juber will play at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, 2012, at Stargazers Theatre, 10 S. Parkside Drive, Colorado Springs. Tickets range from $15 to $20.

“I played Stargazer’s last year for the first time, sharing the stage with Peppino D‘Agostino. It’s a cool venue and I’m happy to be making a return trip with a solo headline concert,” Juber said. “I’ll be bringing some new compositions and arrangements to this show, so be prepared for few surprises as well as some favorites.”

Best known for playing lead guitar in Wings from 1978 to 1981, Juber, known as ‘LJ’, has since had a distinguished career as a solo finger-style guitarist. A world-class guitar virtuoso solo artist, composer and arranger, he fuses folk, jazz, and pop styles and creates a dynamic multi-faceted performance that belies the use of only one instrument.

Juber has released 19 acclaimed solo albums since Wings folded. His celebrated arranging skills are featured on two volumes of LJ Plays The Beatles, the first of which was voted among the all-time top ten acoustic guitar records.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote of Juber: "He gloriously articulates the melodies and never succumbs to show-off playing. The notes spin out of the songs with such finesse and musical agility, it's hard to believe he has only 10 fingers and six strings. His playing is just short of sleight of hand and, like all magicians, he makes it seem effortless."

As a studio musician, he can be heard on recent albums from artists as diverse as Barry Manilow and Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks. He is also featured on the soundtracks to hundreds of TV shows and movies including the Academy Award-winning Good Will Hunting, the James Bond thriller The Spy Who Love Me and most recently, The Muppet Movie.

For more information visit: http://laurencejuber.com/

What: Laurence Juber
Where: Stargazers Theatre, 10 S. Parkside Dr., Colorado Springs, CO
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, March 10
Cost: $15 to $20
Information: 719-476-2200 or http://www.stargazerstheatre.com