The Guitar

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Before my academic career, I made a living as a guitar player. I studied what was then entitled ‘light music’ at Newcastle College in the early 80s, which was then one of only two institutions in the UK where this was possible (the other was Leeds College of Music). During this time and before then, I started playing as a semi pro on the northern club circuit and also in original bands-performing all sorts of music in countless venues. There is not much evidence of this period, but below is a rare photo of my heavy rock days, followed by a recording session with my fellow guitarist Paul Brown.

Below are some recordings of demos recorded on a Tascam recording studio of some of my earliest jazz funk compositions. They were recorded with some of my mates from music college – who were really great players. All of these tracks feature the great Rick Taylor on Trombone, who was just about to play Live Aid at Wembley Stadium.

A Short One (1985)

Generations (1985)

Timescape (1985)

When I was approaching graduation at Newcastle College, I was offered my first professional gig – in Dubai of all places. This turned out to be the stepping stone of me eventually moving to London – which I had thought about for a number of years. So, between 1985 and the early 1990s, I made a living as a freelance guitarist. During this time I was fortunate enough to perform with some of the most well respected musicians in the UK popular music scene, including Steve White (The Style Council), Phil Gould (Level 42), Geoff Gascoigne (Jamie Cullum), and Lawrence Cottle, to name but a few. Additionally, my work as a member of the James Taylor Quartet gave me the opportunity to perform at some of Europe’s most prestigious venues, including Ronnie Scots, and countless international festivals such as the Nice Jazz Festival.

Towards the end of my professional career, still in my 20s, I was fortunate enough to record an album of ‘up and coming’ talent for Polydor records. The track below featured ex Miles Davis saxophonist Bob Berg – who at that time was touring with Mike Stern.

After doing a week’s residency at Ronnie Scotts promoting the album in 1990, I made the decision to move away from life as a full time guitarist and move towards what was to be my academic career. Since then, I have played sporadically, but did record a solo album as part of my PhD

Carr 2 Guitar Duo

A Jazz Guitar Duo me and my son have formed. We specialise in ‘dinner jazz’ and Bossa Nova. Get in touch for availability.