ONE of the USA's top guitarists shows there really is no limit to talent in The Point, Cardiff Bay tonight.

Carl Verheyen, who has been the guitarist for Supertramp for 17 years, is a veteran of the stage the world over.

He is joined by the equally talented Cliff Hugo on bass (Ray Charles, Supertramp), and Bernie Dressel on drums (Brian Setzer Band), among others.

And they are supported by dependable gigging band Rhythm of Blues. Carl began playing the guitar when he was 10-years-old and lived in Pasadena in Southern California.

He practised every day, which he still does, and has mastered many traditions on the way - from jazz to blues, classical and country music. This diversity and virtuosity has earned him a rich style which lends from all of them without straying too far into one of them in particular. His first taste of the high life came in the 1970s when he got to work with jazz drummer Max Roach.

And after a brief taste of the road, he returned to the Los Angeles area and began leading his own group.

Early in the 1980s he was a sideman in many groups, including the Victor Feldman Generation Band and keyboardist Dan Siegel's group.

He played on five of Siegel's records and was the most prolific song writing contributor to the first three Richard Elliott records especially Trolltown, which contains five of Carl's songs, and Initial Approach which contains the Verheyen penned hit Gretchen's Theme.

Later that decade he recorded a movie soundtrack with Dolly Parton and made a few records with Cher.

In 1985, Carl became lead guitarist for the British rock group Supertramp, replacing the Roger Hodgson.

The band played stadium shows all across the US and Canada and in 1986 the group toured Europe, selling out huge arenas in eight countries. This tour finished with a command performance for Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

His future assured, he slipped into the role of a top session musician in LA commanding top whack fees and having thee pick of the plum jobs. He played on over 200 different television shows from Happy Days to Cheers and LA Law, and contributed to the Oscar winning soundtrack to The Milagro Beanfield Wars.

But due to the anonymous nature of session work, you'd be forgiven for having never heard to name Carl Verheyen.

l Tonight you can change that when Carl plays The Point, Cardiff Bay.