B.B. King – B.B. King in France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival
Deep Digs Records DDD03
https://www.elemental-music.com/
14 songs – 79 minutes
If you love and miss B.B. King, he gets to live again with this never-before-released concert album. Originally recorded by France’s national radio agency, it captures B.B. in front of 3,000 fans in Nancy, a city tucked into the northeastern corner of the country.
The 79-minute tapes sat in storage for about 45 years before they were discovered by Zev Feldman, an internationally acclaimed producer who’s devoted his life to uncovering lost and unknown sessions and serving them up for new audiences. Released in cooperation with the B.B. King estate, this is the second CD on his Deep Digs label, following Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s Live in France, which debuted last April.
At that point in his life, B.B. was already an established star and in his early 50s. But his career was in transition. This disc is his first without backing from drummer Sonny Freeman and the Unusuals, the band that had been touring and recording with him since the early ’60s. They were the sensational unit captured on three of King’s biggest hits: Live at the Regal, Live in Cook County Jail and Blues Is King.
This foray to France featured a new unit, which quickly evolved into the B.B. King Orchestra who propelled him through the final 40 years of his career. The band was led by B.B.’s nephew, trumpet player Walter King, with a lineup that included Walter King, B.B.’s nephew and bandleader, Cato Walker III on alto, Eddie Rowe on trumpet, James Toney on organ, Milton Hopkins on guitar, Joe Turner on bass and Calep Emphrey Jr. on drums – an ensemble that was already as skintight as skintight can be.
Opening act Son Seals had already given the audience a heaping helping of Chicago blues before B.B.’s orchestra eased into action with a cover of Thelonius Monk’s instrumental, “Blue Monk” King’s rich, powerful fretwork joins in mid-tune and transitions the organization into an uptempo take on “Caldonia,” giving space in the mix for Walker and Walter to work out between the familiar vocals that made the tune a permanent part of B.B.’s repertoire.
An extended, languorous, quiet and sweet six-string workout gives the King original, “Sweet Little Angel,” a definitely different feel that later audiences received. It spans more than three minutes before the band joins in and things heat up and then another 90 seconds before B.B. starts to sing. The crowd roars in encouragement before he launches into “I Like to Live the Love,” his voice lilting as the horns provide accents throughout. King takes time to speak to the audience mid-tune and,= invites them to join in on the chorus. And the early arrangement serves up a different feel than later recordings.
Penned by Brook Benton, “It’s Just a Matter of Time” follows and eases out of the gate slowly, gradually building in intensity as it flows, giving the instrumentalists plenty of space to shine over the course of its nine-minute run. B.B.’s fluid runs are sensational throughout. A spirited “Why I Sing the Blues” is up next, flowing into “I Got Some Outside Help (I Don’t Really Need)” and “The Thrill Is Gone” before tasty, extended takes of “I Need My Baby” and “Sweet Sixteen.”
An untitled instrumental kicks off the final segment of the set before King serves up a take on Stevie Wonder’s “To Know You Is to Love You” follows with “When I’m Wrong” and “Have Faith” before another instrumental brings the action to a close.
Even the most ardent fan of B.B. will find something fresh here. Give it a listen – and play it loud!
