The stars of the evening were of course Larry Carlton and Robben Ford. While the gathering didn't really lend itself to either of them really taking off while they were playing with the full band, there is a nice added bonus to the disc of an extra cut featuring just the two of them. It's here you get to see them really shine by doing what they are both famous for. Carlton's playing shows his Jazz influences with a fluidity and elegance that you don't normally associate with blues guitar. Yet, he also has enough grit that it stilled retained the earthiness needed for it to have the emotional depth that Blues has as compared to jazz playing.
Robben is a different story as he is a pure blues guitar player. What really impressed me about him was his ability to use rhythm in his leads to give them body and way more texture than I've heard from most gblues guitarists. Like the guys in Autour Du Blues he's another exponent of the less is more theory of leads, and was able to wring some great sounds out his guitar during his solo.
I've seen a couple of other concerts recorded at the New Morning, and like those both the camera work and the sound on this DVD are wonderful. There is great footage of each man's solos and some wonderful shots where you see the interplay between the guys on stage as they are working things out on the fly. As for the DVD itself, it says on the cover it was recorded for HD television originally, but I had no problems playing it through my DVD ROM and a non HD monitor. With widescreen presentation and DTS and Dolby 5.1 surround sound it can be played on any modern system and you'll get great quality audio and video.
The Paris Concert recorded at the New Morning night club featuring Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, and the all star band of French blues musicians, Autour Du Blues, is a great DVD of wonderfully played music. This DVD will put to rest any doubts you might have had of the universal nature of the blues. The man sure was right: Everybody really does have the blues!
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