Larry Tuttle is a Stick player's Stick player. If you listen to his music or better yet watch him perform you'll know just what I mean. His sound is solid, strong, with little or no effects, just the rich, ringing tone of Stick strings against frets. His compositions are strong too, weaving and turning through a series of harmonic and rhythmic shifts ranging from engaging to entrancing.

His solo album, Through the Gates, is the obvious place to start checking out Larry's music - fourteen solo instrumental originals all played live to tape, no overdubs (except for "The Wings of Angels"). According to Larry, the album is an attempt to provide an answer for everyone who has ever come up to him after a gig and asked, "Well, just what does that thing sound like, anyway?"

Then there is Larry the supporter, the team player. As part of the group Freeway Philharmonic, Larry blended his Stick lines with acoustic guitar, percussion and viola. The result? An eclectic mix of tightly arranged instrumentals that never let the burden of virtuoso musicianship get in the way of creative, joyful music.

Nowhere does Larry's sense of musical supportiveness come through better than when he plays with long time partner, violist Novi Novog. The two met while playing in Freeway Philharmonic almost 20 years ago and have forged a musical partnership that exemplifies the best aspects of collaborations.

This brings us to Larry's latest project, the multi-faced String Planet. String Planet is foremost an album and band featuring Larry on Stick and Novi on viola but it is also the public face of the two's production, arranging, writing and performing services, all featuring-what else-strings and string sections.

And finally, there’s Larry himself, he’s not one to steal the limelight. Actually, that’s not quite right, Larry may not steal the show with a flashy stage persona or an over-the-top display of showmanship but his music just may. Check out his contribution to the Stick Night ’99 video and CD. While all the performances on that compilation are great, and I won’t go so far as to say that Larry 'steals that show’, he does come in and very confidently, very unassumingly lay down four tunes, two of which, "Soliloquy" and "Spanish Mice", I keep going back to time and again.

For more on Larry's music and latest projects, check out:
www.stringplanet.com
"Talking Sticks" interview with Larry and Novi Novog
Larry Tuttle CDs available at Stick Enterprises