The Tragic Life of Lenny Breau

Jazz guitarist Lenny Breau was born in Maine in 1941 to parents who were country music performers. According to Wikipedia, he began playing guitar at age 8 and soon became a member of his parents' band after they moved to Canada. In 1959, his father slapped him in the face for playing jazz improvisation on stage, and Breau left to start his career, living in various Canadian cities. 

In 1976, he moved to the U.S., living in Nashville, Maine and California, and eventually settled in Los Angeles in 1983. A year later, he was found dead in the swimming pool on the roof of his L.A. apartment building—the apparent victim of strangulation. The crime has never been solved. [Pictured above, Lenny Breau and his mother in Maine]

In 1999, Breau's daughter Emily Hughes produced a documentary on her father—The Genius of Lenny Breau. A special thanks to Tony Mottola Jr. for turning me onto the documentary. For information on Emily Hughes, go here.

Now here's the documentary, in seven parts:

Part 1...

 

Part 2...

 

Part 3...

 

Part 4...

 

Part 5...

 

Part 6...

 

Part 7...