LAURENCE JUBER
By Strings Direct – 29 August, 2023
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
"A spiritual person, with a metaphysical perspective, Laurence Juber is genuinely lost in a world of six strings"
Jeremy Roberts - jeremylr.medium.com
This case study for this instalment looks into a truly underrated and somewhat undiscovered player who’s considered a virtuoso and master of his craft. A versatile rockstar guitarist that hails from traditional classical training methods.
A truly devoted and hard-working musician whose focused ambition has seen him become one of London’s top studio session players; his unique signature style has laid grace on many tracks and many famous soundtracks over the decades.
His stylistic approach fuses folk, jazz, blues, pop, and classical, creating a multi-faceted performance that belies the use of only one instrument. He has gained worldwide recognition as a virtuoso concert performer, recording artist, composer, and arranger. He has distributed 24 albums, including “LJ Plays the Beatles”, which was voted one of Acoustic Guitar magazine’s all-time Top Ten.
Let's enter the world of the incredible Laurence Juber. 🎼
A Classical Craftsman 🎸
An English born musician back in the golden era always has a certain level of nostalgic romanticism, and Mr Laurence Juber is no exception to the rule.
He was born in Stepney, East London on the 12th November 1952. As with many young individuals back then Laurence accredits his first inspirational memory (regarding guitar) with The Beatles - by his own account, he began playing guitar the week that “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles was released. Beginning on a cheap acoustic guitar, he learned to read music early, figuring out the system of music notation for himself.
Reflecting on his initial experiences with the instrument and music itself Laurence paints a truly encapsulating memory:
“RG: Do you remember your first experience with the guitar?
LJ: I vividly remember my first experience with the guitar. It was my 11th birthday. I had been nagging my parents for an instrument and wasn't having much luck. My dad wanted me to play the saxophone. My 11th birthday coincided with the real crest of Beatlemania as we had it in England. We didn't have the Ed Sullivan moment like America did. It was kind of a year-long progression. But I woke up on my birthday to discover a guitar and I just picked it up and never put it down. That was really a transcendent moment for me. I quickly discovered that I had, if not a technical aptitude, I was dedicated to it.
My 15th year, which is the year the psychologists say music truly imprints itself, was 1967. The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper; Hendrix’s Are You Experienced?; Cream’s Disraeli Gears; Pink Floyd’s Piper At the Gates of Dawn; Hendrix’s second album, Axis: Bold as Love – that was all happening at a very formative time for me. I wanted to be a blues rock lead guitar player. But it all conspired, in my ambition to be a studio musician, to just be versatile and understand different styles whether it was a [rock riff] or some kind of jazz thing. It didn't matter to me. It was music. It was guitar. So I got excited about it."
Laurence Juber for Ryanguitars.com
We understand that Laurence, like many, was influenced by a moment in time and a movement within the culture but is also a man of clear focus, dedication, and self-education; his work ethic and motivation displays just why he is a Grammy Award-winning guitarist.
“RG: Do you have an earliest musical memory?
LJ: It's really a succession of memories more than one. My parents had a gramophone, a little portable one. And I think we only had one record. It was a 78 record of “The Happy Wanderer” – some kind of old European folksong. So, I borrowed records. I distinctly remember putting on a Django Reinhardt album for the first time and just being captured by that sound.
I think one of my strongest memories was the John Mayall [and the] Blues Breakers album with Eric Clapton—the one they called the Beano Album. Eric Clapton's tone on that album is just—I mean, it created a market for Les Paul guitars, for one thing.
I remember when Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends came out, learning tunes off of that. Every Saturday I’d go out and buy the new Stones or The Who or The Kinks or whatever and learn those songs and play them with my friends. Of course, the Beatles were probably the most significant early influence, not necessarily because I would learn every Beatle song, but they just loomed so large. “
Laurence Juber for Ryanguitars.com
Guitar Gives You Wings ✈️
“Guitar playing is more than just a career it's my form of self expression”
Laurence Juber - R guitars.com
In the modern age of today's society it's, due to many factors such as popular mainstream 'Reality' TV shows and similar blink-of-an-eye celebrity culture based around a disposable social media and influencer generation it's hard to imagine focusing on your instrument and declaring it as a career choice.
Music, especially as a career path definitely seems to be pushed to more of a sacred art form. However, back in the days of LJ’s teenage years it was the golden era for guitar music so everything and anything is possible.
As previously highlighted Laurence had already begun to earn money playing guitar at the age of 13! His ambition was to become a session musician and the fact that he taught himself to read notation so early on and focus his practice routines intensely meant his ambition was reached... With guitar in one hand, a degree in the other, accompanied by copious amounts of tenacity and artistry he quickly became a top flight, busy session player.
Here we find Laurence highlighting his guitar journey and points in his career along with a brief introduction to his guitar playing and exquisite guitar style.
An incredible career accompanied by a truly astounding body of work Juber is generally most notably recognised for his work in the band 'Wings' with Paul McCartney.
In March 1978, Juber was on the precipice of one of the lowest points of his life when his father Norman died suddenly of heart failure.
Still grief-stricken one month later, McCartney serendipitously plucked Juber from the studio world, asking him to play lead guitar in what was to become the final incarnation of McCartney’s post-Beatles group. “That was quite a rebound that the universe handed me” admits Juber.
Excerpt - jeremylr.medium.com
Laurence Juber has written soundtracks for a diverse range of documentaries: one was about the children of migrant workers (NBC Dateline: ‘Children of the Harvest’) and another was about baseball (Ken Burns, ‘The Tenth Inning’). In addition, he has written for contemporary video games, Muppets, and with his wife, Hope musicals.
After the British guitarist/composer solidly established himself as an indispensable, session player, he spent the last two years of the 1970s with Paul McCartney and Wings, grabbing his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 1979. He earned a second Grammy for his delightful rendition of ‘The Pink Panther’.
Juber can currently be found gigging in Unitarian Churches, Midwestern Peace Ranches and Canadian Music Fests, performing original finger style solos or nostalgic covers from the great American songbook. Even after nineteen albums under his belt, the prolific, soft-spoken, non-stop artist still sets his sights on an endless array of future projects.
Excerpt - pennyblackmusic.co.uk
A Man Of Monel 🎻
Laurence Juber is a true masterful virtuoso of his instrument, his technical ability and advanced finger style playing is to be marvelled at and thoroughly appreciated.
Looking more closely at his choice of strings we have again discovered that the more traditional, yet more uncommon Monel, a copper, iron and nickel alloy for acoustic guitar is the material of choice.
The following clip sees LJ perfectly explain his string choice and gives us a full overview of his signature set crafted by Martin & Co..
Laurence Juber of course, has his own signature set and this is definitely a signature set with attention to detail! Check out the variations in the gauges and the lower tension this offers the overall set giving it a completely different feel and balance to a standard medium set of 13’s:
We have started to see an increase in the amount of players utilising these strings so there is definitely a movement here and a journey of discovery by guitar players around the world that bronze is not the only option for an acoustic guitar. Check out what Martin & Co. have to say and try set for yourself, you might be unexpectedly pleasantly surprised. 😉
“Martin Retro® strings are the real deal. Not an imitation. With Martin Retro® strings, you get one tough set that offers true, consistent tone and sounds like nothing else on the market. Martin’s solid nickel/copper alloy blend provides a reduced pick attack that allows the guitar’s tonewoods to be heard, not overshadowed. Martin’s proprietary Monel wrap wire is naturally corrosion resistant, so you can play them for a long time with nothing to get in the way of your music. Discover your guitar’s true voice. Retro® strings offer enhanced longevity with warm natural tone, and they sound great plugged in.”
* * * * *
REFERENCES
https://laurencejuber.com
https://www.martinguitar.com/strings/acoustic/retro-acoustic-guitar-strings.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Juber
https://ryanguitars.com/juber
https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/interview/interview-with-laurence-juber/
https://jeremylr.medium.com/versatile-rock-star-laurence-juber-unchains-guitar-with-wings-coffee-table-memoir-4a0902d685a4
https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/artist/laurence-juber/
https://daytrippin.com/2014/09/01/exclusive-interview-laurence-juber-wings/
https://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=2496
https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/Details?id=19932