1989 · Album
On Solid Ground
Recorded 1988–1989 · Reprise Records · Produced by Larry Carlton, David Foster
Carlton's Recovery: Resilience on Solid Ground
A guitarist working through trauma, supported by sharp horns and keyboards, making solid if unspectacular pop-jazz.
On Solid Ground arrived in 1989 marked by an unusual shadow: Larry Carlton had been shot in the neck while working on the album, an event that delayed its completion and colored its entire production. The music itself reflects a working musician determined to move forward. Carlton leads a capable ensemble that includes Kirk Whalum on saxophone, a lineup of keyboardists in Terry Trotter, Alan Pasqua, and David Walter Foster, along with Abraham Laboriel and John Peña on bass and rhythm players John Robinson and Paulinho da Costa. The sound is polished electric jazz-funk, closer to the slick session world Carlton knows than to anything raw or experimental.
The album sits comfortably in the mid-tier of Carlton's discography—competent playing, professional arrangements, but without the spark that makes a record linger. AllMusic and the Los Angeles Times both rated it in the middle range, neither condemning it nor celebrating it. Whalum's horn work provides some color, and the keyboard textures add body, but the songs don't grab. This is the work of a craftsman doing his job well rather than an artist taking real risks.
For Carlton listeners, this is an interesting document of a man working through difficult circumstances, not a destination in itself. The album functions as a checkpoint—proof that he could return to the studio and deliver professional work after trauma. It's solid, it's competent, and for most listeners it remains a curiosity rather than an entry point to his catalog.
Who's playing
Abraham Laborielbass
John Peñabass
Larry Carltonguitar
Dean Parksguitar
Kirk Whalumsaxophone
Paulinho da Costapercussion
Michael Fisherpercussion
John “JR” Robinsonmembranophone
Terry Trotterkeyboard
David Walter Fosterkeyboard
Rhett Lawrencekeyboard
Alan Pasquakeyboard
