Music review: Joe Bonamassa – 鈥楲ive at Carnegie Hall: An Acoustic Evening鈥�
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice of course. That classic joke certainly seems appropriate for the newest release by Joe Bonamassa. Plenty of practice first got a 12-year-old Bonamassa an opening gig with blues icon B.B. King back in 1989. The New York native has been on a roll ever since.
One of the world鈥檚 most talented guitarists brings his nine-piece band to the legendary New York City concert hall for a spirited acoustic performance recorded during two evenings in January 2016.
I鈥檝e listened to a number of Bonamassa鈥檚 live recordings, and I can honestly state that this stripped-down delivery of passionate blues numbers stands as my favorite.
With a lineup composed of Reese Wynans on piano, Anton Fig on drums, Eric Bazilian handling the mandolin, banjo and saxophone, backing vocalists Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins and Gary Pinto as well as acclaimed cellist Tina Guo and percussionist Hossam Ramzy, Bonamassa鈥檚 six-string wizardry is elevated to another level. As a result, 鈥淟ive at Carnegie Hall: An Acoustic Evening鈥� is one of the defining albums of Bonamassa鈥檚 celebrated career.
The show opens with 鈥淭his Train鈥� from 2016鈥檚 鈥淏lues of Desperation鈥� with Wynans on piano offering up a brief tease of Jethro Tull鈥檚 鈥淟ocomotive Breath.鈥� From there, classic Bonamassa-penned tracks like 鈥淒rive,鈥� 鈥淒ust Bowl鈥� and 鈥淏lue and Evil鈥� serve as brilliant works of musical emotion by a man who knows more than a thing or two about the blues.
Versions of 鈥淏lack Lung Heartache鈥� and 鈥淗ow Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live鈥� are intensely touching, impassioned and even spiritual with Bonamassa鈥檚 vocals standing front and center on these stirring performances.
The set closes with an eloquent cover of Leon Russell鈥檚 鈥淗ummingbird鈥� and a soulful reworking of 鈥淭he Rose.鈥�
With his latest effort, the contemporary blues virtuoso demonstrates that he鈥檚 at the top of his game and deserving to be mentioned in the same sentence, dare I say, as guitar god Eric Clapton.