Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan
In Session

In 1983, for the first time, on a Canadian television, a very innovative show for its time aired, which collected recordings of jam sessions in a simple recording studio done by various artists who, for the occasion, collaborated together even for the first time. That show was called "In Session". For the creator and host Ian Anderson (same name only), after having hosted various B.B. King, Don Everly, Johnny Winter, the idea of bringing together the old myth Albert King and the young rising star Stevie Ray Vaughan surely seemed one of the most fascinating and intriguing.   

Previously, the Fantasy Jazz label had planned for Stevie Ray, who had debuted that year with the legendary "Texas Flood" and was on an upward trajectory after years of hard work, the recording of an album together with his great idol Albert King. Now the opportunity was becoming concrete. The old bluesman, however, when he was proposed to participate in the show, was puzzled because he hadn't clearly figured out who his companion would be. He had known him in previous years simply as "Little Stevie" when he went to play in Texas, and accepted only when he realized that this Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was supposed to play with him, was indeed that young guitarist with whom he had the pleasure of playing in the early 70s.   

Normally the performances lasted even up to 2 and a half hours, but on December 6th, when the historic performance finally aired, the recordings lasted less than 2 hours, of which only one hour was put on disk. But in that abundant hour, there are excerpts not aired at the time. Let's get to the point: those 62 precious minutes in which the 2 bluesmen enjoyed playing great pieces from their repertoire and old classics from the long history of blues.   

The beginning is with an interpretation of the great T Bone Walker classic, the true father of the homeland: "Call It Stormy Monday", an expanded and extended version compared to the original, where the characteristics of the performance immediately emerge: great duets and exchanges of rhythm and solo parts between the 2 guitarists in perfect harmony and comfort with each other. While musically a fair division is noted, it will be the great left-handed from Indianola to lead operations most of the time, starting with dialogues and mostly singing and performing pieces from his repertoire, decidedly privileged over those of the young man from Dallas; the only exception is the following "Pride And Joy" which, interrupted by the first brief conversation "Old Times" talking about the first meetings between the two in Austin about ten years before, is not the only pearl of Stevie Ray in the session, but the only one present at the end on the disk.   

The third track "Ask Me No Questions" is a cover of the great B.B. King; now, amidst two other brief "chats" ("Pep Talk" and "Turn It Over"), comes what may be the core of the event, the first piece signed by Albert King: the 15 abundant enchanting minutes of "Blues At Sunrise", an old piece dated 1960, certainly one of the most famous of the old guitarist as well as one of the most famous blues pieces ever, also mentioning Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin with whom the King played a version at the Filmore West in San Francisco. The long instrumental "Overall Junction" and as always, the grandiose "Match Box Blues" complete the trio of pieces from King Albert's enviable repertoire present on disk; after the last piece of conversation "Who Is Stevie", about the story at the beginning of the unrecognized Stevie Ray initially by Albert, this spectacular meeting concludes with "Don't Lie To Me": a re-proposal of an old song by Albert, "I Get Evil", which in turn was a cover of a very old piece by Tampa Red, "You Don't Lie To Me", there could hardly be a better conclusion. Last note for the excellent accompanying musicians: pianist Tony Llorens, his brother drummer Michael, and bassist Gus Thornton; later all three again with Albert.    

This performance was seen as a passing of the torch, listening to the tracks, it's clear the great influence Albert King had on Stevie Ray's sound, and ideally, it’s impossible not to think of a symbolic exchange between the two. It's only a pity for the non-completeness of the disk, which doesn’t detract from the value of the whole, an extraordinary testimony published only 15 and a half years after the event to pay tribute to the two great performers unfortunately already passed away at the time of official publication.    

Albert King: one of the most important and influential bluesmen of all time, perhaps always a bit overshadowed by the rivalry with his coeval friend B.B. King, but certainly not less important than the great "Blues Boy"; Stevie Ray Vaughan: undoubtedly the greatest blues guitarist of the last 30 years, at the time of his impact, he shook this environment like few others; from the union of these two extraordinary personalities (the only recording of the two together alone) came out what, at least in my opinion, is one of those records that every lover of this genre should own. One of those to recommend even to those who only want a few symbolic and demonstrative records of the concept and greatness of the blues, the oldest genre in the world, the one that "even the cave men played" to use Keith Richards' words.    

A record that indeed contains all the fundamental elements of the blues: the unique ability of its interpreters to pay homage to their heroes and prophets, as well as to propose new pieces, perpetuating that unique style and attitude, as Malcolm Young says: "The real punks are the old bluesmen, who lived and died the same way and truly didn’t care about how they dressed", in these cases, there’s little else to add. 

BLUES ON!!!!!