Michael Landau

Musician and composer Michael Landau was born in June 1958 and raised in Los Angeles. He grew up with the music of The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Cream and The Band. His grandfather arranged and played woodwinds during the swing era with the Dorsey Brothers and Benny Goodman. In his early teens, Michael quickly became very interested in jazz and electric jazz music. Weather Report, Pat Martino and Jaco Pastorius were some of his early obsessions. From this diverse blend of influence, his sound and path began to take shape. Landau released a new live album from his Michael Landau Liquid Quartet show at the world-famous Baked Potato Jazz Club in Los Angeles in November 2019. The band includes drummer Abe Laboriel Jr (Paul McCartney), bassist Jimmy Johnson (Alan Holdsworth) and on guitar and vocals, David Frazee (Burning Water). The set featured a selection of new songs as well as some inspired renditions from his back catalogue of Burning Water, Renegade Creation and solo outings. “Abe and I are somehow connected musically, it’s hard to describe but he reads my mind musically, we often play the same exact rhythm phrase together out of nowhere.” Jimmy Johnson and Landau date back to 1990 when he recorded his 1st solo album ‘Tales from the Bulge’ and David Frazee to the late 80s when they first formed Burning Water. “Playing with this line-up at the Potato is always a proud moment for me. No rehearsals, we keep it fresh and let the music take us all for a ride.”