It doesn't take much when you hear something as good as the musicianship of Carlyle Barriteau. His guitar playing of every phrase and nuance shows his ability, you feel like you are in the presence of a great stylist. And that's only half of the story, he's also has the vocal presence to go along with his expertise on the guitar.

Carlyle was born on the island of Aruba part of the Dutch Netherlands Antilles. "I first noticed I could sing when I was 5 years old and sang in all my Sunday school plays and concerts, says Carlyle". At the age of 5 he was not able to read the hymn books but could sing every word to every song. At the age of 7 his family moved to the Island of St. Maarten and he stopped singing until he turned 13 years old. At that time he discovered Marvin Gay and Stevie Wonder and was hooked on The American Top40 with Casey Kasem.

While attending high school, one of the teachers asked if anybody would like to sing for the year end concert and of course he volunteered and that is how it started for Carlyle. Some of his high school buddies started a band and he was the lead singer. Later the band needed a guitar player so Carlyle stepped in and learned the guitar. In 1976 when Carlyle heard George Benson for the first time he decided that he wanted to be a musician, "I played my guitar all day, everyday said Carlyle".

Through the help and generosity of some great people and friends in the involved in the music and business community, Carlyle earned a scholarship to MIT and later went on to graduate from Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA.

Carlyle left Boston in 1985, where he then worked all over the east coast in different types of bands making a living doing local and some national TV and Radio spots. In '97 and '98, he did VH-1 with Donny Osmond, since then, he's played for Ben E King, Rose Royce, The Miracles, Patti Austin and Paul Taylor.

Currently, he plays for the great Bobby Caldwell (What You Won’t Do For Love) and doing numerous sit-in situations around the LA area. Carlyle is also working in his studio at home with various artists such as "International Dance Diva Pepper MaShay" and other well-known and up and coming artists.

In 2000, Carlyle decided to release his first album "Native Sun". A mixture of Jazz and R&B in its most, truest form which included two vocal performances which shows pure emotion, the hit "Wildflower" was written by David Foster. It was received a lot of critical acclaim. His 2nd album released in Oct.'09,"Groovin At Sunset" is the result of a jammed-packed set of skillfully crafted songs that showcase both his soulful/pop vocals with "Even Now" penned by Bobby Caldwell, and his straight-ahead no nonsense guitar stylings on such songs as "From Me To You", "My Flava", and the island-filled "Cruisin", and "Irie Strut". The musical package combines the west-coast cool with the Caribbean flavor, and only adds to the excitement of a major player who has finally arrived and takes center stage on the smooth jazz scene.