Michael Landau

Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer.

He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Seal, Michael Jackson, James Taylor, Helen Watson, Luis Miguel, Richard Marx, Steve Perry, Pink Floyd, Phil Collins on "Two Hearts" and "Loco in Acapulco", Roger Daltrey, Stevie Nicks, Glenn Frey, Eros Ramazzotti, Whitney Houston, and Miles Davis.

Landau, along with fellow session guitarists Dean Parks, Steve Lukather, Michael Thompson and Dann Huff, played on many of the major label releases recorded in Los Angeles from the 1980s–1990s.

He has released music with several record labels, including Ulftone Music and Tone Center Records, a member of Shrapnel Label Group.

In addition to his session work, Landau has led several bands, including Raging Honkies and Burning Water.

In the early 1980s, he was in the band Maxus with Robbie Buchanan, Mark Leonard, Jay Gruska, and Doane Perry.

Landau was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.

At age 19, he was touring the globe with Boz Scaggs, and the following year, he began performing in studios on the recommendation of his friend Steve Lukather.

Landau cites influences including the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Cream, the Band, Weather Report, Pat Martino, and Jaco Pastorius.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Landau used a rack switching system made by Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics.

Other notable users of such systems were Steve Lukather and Eddie Van Halen.

Solo releases

With Blue Horn

With Renegade Creation

With Hazey Jane

With Stolen Fish

With the Raging Honkies

With Burning Water

With Rita Lee

With James Taylor

• Richard Marx (1987)

• Repeat Offender (1989)

• New Moon Shine (1991)

• Rush Street (1991)

• Flesh and Bone (1997)

• Days in Avalon (2000)

• October Roads (2002)

• A Christmas Album (2004)

• My Own Best Enemy (2004)

• James Taylor at Christmas (2006)

• Covers (2008)

• Sundown (2008)

• Emotional Remains (2008)

• Other Covers (2009)

Landau has a signature single coil guitar pickup with Suhr Guitars called the 'ML.' In 2013, Fender announced that they would be collaborating with Landau on a signature Stratocaster.

• Beautiful Goodbye (2014)

In 2015, Fender released the Michael Landau Signature amplifier, a modified version of Hot Rod DeVille III.

• Before This World (2015)

With Michael Bolton

With Richard Marx