Laurence Canty - Discussion, Memories, Potential Mega-thread

[samo]

Hi Matt, thanks for your reply.

 

So sorry to hear that you're dad passed away. As I said, he was a nice bloke and would have been good to reconnect with him.

 

It wasn't me that bought the ebo copy. That must have been after my time.

 

Take care and remember the good times,

 

Sam

[Ian Tyson]

I was a self taught guitar and  harmonica player, who didn't know any musical theory and rarely played chords.  I wanted to learn an instrument from scratch so that I wouldn't have to unlearn bad habits. I chose the bass guitar and enrolled on a course at Goldsmith College. Your dad was my teacher. He was a nice man and a very good teacher who taught me everything I know when it comes to bass playing (I never place my thumb on the pickup). He also introduced me to James Jamerson and Jaco Pistorius. I might be wrong but I think his book hadn't been out long. I still have it and I have used it to teach others how to play. Sorry to hear about his passing.  All the best. Ian Tyson

[WHUFC BASS]

Apologies for being almost a year late on this thread. I googled Lawrence Canty today and found out he'd passed away. Very sad news and I'd like to add with my condolences to his family and friends.

 

I first met Lawrence in the early 90s at Goldsmiths college. I did his weekly course there and turned up thinking I knew a fair bit about playing. Lawrence soon dispelled that myth for me when he presented me with the notes for the course. He was talking about chords, their structure, their relevance in a progression, what would work and what wouldn't work ... Why would I need to know about chords I thought ? I don't play chords on bass! I stuck the course out right to the end (I think it lasted 6months or so) and I turned up religiously every Saturday. I left with so much more knowledge of the fretboard, harmony, chord structures, progressions and just a huge understanding of music in general. Lawrence was a superb teacher and for someone with my limited learning capacity he made it easy for even me to understand. I will always be in debt to him for teaching me what no amount of reading or self teaching ever could.

I was also supremely impressed with his playing and even to this day, his tone from his finger style playing has never been equalled. It was just perfect. At that time I recall he had a residency gig at a hotel in London and he would always give me a lift over the water to a tube station near his gig. We'd always talk bass and music and also about life in general. He put me onto Joe Meek, James Jameson and many other players who I'd never heard of. 

I can honestly say he was a huge influence on my playing and I'd always quote his name if anybody asked me who I respected as a player. 

 

R. I. P. Lawrence. 😢

Edited 20 hours ago by WHUFC BASS

[lowdown]

2 hours ago, WHUFC BASS said:

Apologies for being almost a year late on this thread. I googled Lawrence Canty today and found out he'd passed away. Very sad news and I'd like to with my condolences to his family and friends.

 

I first met Lawrence in the early 90s at Goldsmiths college. I did his weekly course there and turned up thinking I knew a fair bit about playing. Lawrence soon dispelled that myth for me when he presented me with the notes for the course. He was talking about chords, their structure, their relevance in a progression, what would work and what wouldn't work ... Why would I need to know about chords I thought ? I don't play chords on bass! I stuck the course out right to the end (I think it lasted 6months or so) and I turned up religiously every Saturday. I left with so much more knowledge of the fretboard, harmony, chord structures, progressions and just a huge understanding of music in general. Lawrence was a superb teacher and for someone with my limited learning capacity he made it easy for even me to understand. I will always be in debt to him for teaching me what no amount of reading of self teaching ever could.

I was also supremely impressed with his playing and even to this day, his tone from his finger style playing has never been equalled. It was just perfect. At that time I recall he had a residency gig at a hotel in London and he would always give me a lift over the water to a tube station near his gig. We'd always talk bass and music and also about life in general. He put me onto Joe Meek, James Jameson and many other players who I'd never heard of. 

I can honestly say he was a huge influence on my playing and I'd always quote his name if anybody asked me who I respected as a player. 

 

R. I. P. Lawrence. 😢

 

You were probably at Goldsmiths around the same time as my younger brother. My brother loved his time there with LC.

A friend of my mine was also teaching Bass there at the time, John Deemer.

[WHUFC BASS]

1 hour ago, lowdown said:

 

You were probably at Goldsmiths around the same time as my younger brother. My brother loved his time there with LC.

A friend of my mine was also teaching Bass there at the time, John Deemer.

 

There were some very good players there when I was there, and I recall the jazz pianist Howard Riley (who I've just learned died this year too) had a jazz workshop in the afternoon. I used to sit in and occasionally attempt to play (yeah I was crap ) 

[Matthew Canty]

@WHUFC BASS 

 

Thanks for taking the time to write down these memories. You never know when words or thoughts may take you back to someone you loved so much.

 

The gig was at the Tower Hotel. There are some frankly excellent bootleg recordings of this gig online. I recall him saying the piano was recorded via a shoddy plastic microphone found in the office drawer…

 

https://soundcloud.com/matthewcanty1988/sets/tower-hotel-1991/s-sDtnDbnGwrA
 

As you say, it was some tone he had!

Edited 5 hours ago by Matthew Canty