Caught in the Act: Sonny Landreth at San Jose Jazz Fest

by Michael Shea.

As a photographer and guitarist, I not only try to catch great shots of players, but I find myself watching a guitar player’s left hand and try to catch the chords or scales being played. But while watching slide guitar master Sonny Landreth at the 17th Annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival (August 20,2006), I became captivated by the motion of his right hand.

Sonny wore a slide on his left hand pinky finger and used alternate tunings, but after watching him, I’m convinced that a large part of the amazing sounds he coaxes from his guitar come from his right hand work. He picks with a thumb pick or various combinations of his fingers, and strikes the strings at different angles and areas of the guitar body and fret board. He slaps the strings, dampens and caresses them, and sometimes induces a sound without touching the strings at all!

Check out the following photos, below, for some clues to Sonny’s incredible technique.

Sonny is very focused and serious when he plays. His eyes closed, he appears to be totally concentrating on his playing. The only time I saw him with his eyes open was when he was talking to the audience. Landreth switched between two Strats, one black, the other sunburst. His backup band consisted of a bass and drums.

Sonny’s music can be sampled on his website: www.sonnylandreth.com.

Sonny Landreth. Photo by Michael Shea.

Sonny Landreth. Photo by Michael Shea.

Sonny Landreth. Photo by Michael Shea.

Sonny Landreth. Photo by Michael Shea.

Sonny Landreth. Photo by Michael Shea.