Stax

In Session was originally recorded for Canadian television in 1983 and released as an album in 1999. The original recordings were produced by Ian Anderson, and produced for an album release by Bill Belmont. In 2010, for the first time, a dual DVD and CD have been released, spotlighting, for the first time, the visual treat of seeing and hearing the unique collaborations between the late guitarists King and Vaughan—one a long-time bluesmen whose influence covered numerous generations, dying of a heart attack in 1992, and his younger six-string slinger, who would die in a tragic helicopter crash after leaving Alpine Valley Music Theatre where he had shared the stage with Eric Clapton, his brother, Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray on August 26, 1990.

Indeed, both bluesmen continue to inspire and beguile and just plain boggle the mind, and In Session is a superb re-release containing incendiary renditions of “Pride and Joy,” “Ask Me No Questions,” “Overall Junction,” “Match Box Blues,” and “Don’t Lie to Me.” Extended workouts by the duo are paramount on a tight “Call It Stormy Monday” and a loose “Blues at Sunrise.” In between song banter is choice, as well, as you hear King describe his young protégé in fond and affectionate terms while you hear the humble Vaughan respond in kind to the blues master. Accompanying the two guitar greats on this remarkable work were Bus Thornton on bass, Michael Llorens on drums, and Tony Llorens on piano and organ.

In Session has been out for a while—ten-plus years to be exact—but to hear this re-released album again within the context of 2010 is to hear why the blues genre grabbed on to the souls of these two guitar heroes and never let go. Yes, this is timeless music being played here in a very rare collaborative setting, but it is also deep soul music, and you can hear the voices of the generations that came before ringing out from their voices and their instruments, almost as if it is not only spreading the good blues word from the past, but focusing that sound onto a distant point in some far off future.