Lenny Breau/Ron Park Quartet- 'Meanwhile Back in LA': Toronto 1969. Carol Kaye Remembers Lenny Breau

If you've enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to The Lenny Breau Archives Channel. We are dedicated to presenting rare, seldom heard/seen, and out-of-print music, TV and film footage, interviews and workshops of the great master guitarist, Lenny Breau Catalogue of Content on Lenny Breau Archives You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@thelennybreauarchives5675/videos Lenny Breau Archives Face Book Page/Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/15000... Please send questions and comments to LennyBreauArchives@protonmail.com History and Song Index Lenny Breau met Carol Kaye in Toronto in March of 1969 when both musicians were working on different projects for producer Doug Riley. They became friends and Carol invited Lenny to stay at her house in Los Angeles when he was in the city in April recording his album 'The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau: Live' at Shelly's Manne Hole. During this period, Lenny and Carol jammed at her house and Lenny later said that he co wrote his tune 'Meanwhile Back in LA' with Carol during one of these sessions. Lenny remained in LA through May to play his first gigs at Dontes (recorded on the out-of-print album 'Live at Donte's') and then returned to Toronto. On June 26th 1969, Lenny performed at George's Spaghetti House in Toronto with a quartet comprising Jerry Fuller on drums, Don Thompson on bass (probably his first live gig with Lenny as he had just arrived in Toronto weeks before this performance) and Ron Park* on saxophone. Ron was a greatly admired, up and coming Toronto jazz musician and he and Lenny had been close friends since meeting in Winnipeg in 1966. At George's that night during the third set, they performed 'Meanwhile Back in LA'. (We will be posting two other tunes from that set in the future) Not only is this recording one of very few examples of Lenny's playing during this highly creative period of his life, it is the only live recording of Ron Park who was a rising jazz talent in Canada at this time. Sadly, Ron died two years after this gig on May 20th, 1971 in Toronto. Lenny was devastated by the death of his friend and returned to Maine for several months to recover. This recording was made by Mark Cohen, a student of Lenny's in the 60s. Mark also took the photo that accompanies the music. 1. Excerpt from Carol Kaye Interview on Lenny Breau 00:22 2. Meanwhile Back in LA 07:05 *We suggest that anyone interested in Ron Park and the Canadian jazz scene of the 50s to 80s in general check out the excellent 'Jazz in Canada: Fourteen Lives' by jazz journalist Mark Miller who is also the author of 'Of Stars and Strings', the only biography on jazz guitarist Sonny Greenwich.

Added 28 Mar 2026