{"id":1390,"date":"2013-07-30T18:03:26","date_gmt":"2013-07-30T22:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=1390"},"modified":"2013-07-30T18:04:02","modified_gmt":"2013-07-30T22:04:02","slug":"bluesman-buddy-guy-77-years-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2013\/07\/bluesman-buddy-guy-77-years-young.html","title":{"rendered":"Bluesman Buddy Guy @ 77 years young"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BuddyGuy_20130730_160453\"<\/a>

Buddy Guy, right, gets his cake — Iridium 7\/29\/13 — at left, Gary Clark Jr., Quinn Sullivan center, red shirt. Photo by Griffin Lotz for RollingStone.com<\/p><\/div>\n

“People don’t know the blues,” guitarist\/singer\/songwriter Buddy Guy<\/a>, who turned 77 today, told a packed house at Iridium Jazz Club \u00c2\u00a0in NYC last night. The show was video-taped, presumably for a PBS showing next fall. “They say the blues is sad, but when B.B. King sings ‘I got a sweet little angel, I love the way she spreads her wings,’ I don’t know what’s sad about that.”<\/p>\n

Guy’s own set, featuring his tight quintet, two backup singers and guest guitarists Quinn Sullivan (his amazing 14-year-old protege) and Gary Clark Jr., featured songs from his just-released 2-cd album Rhythm & Blues<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>that were\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>much more about exuberance than bad luck and trouble. His main complaint is that there’s little blues on the blues anymore, (pace Bob Porter <\/a>and Steve Cushing<\/a>). Oh, Buddy’s tangled with some tough women, cf “(I Think I Married) The Devil’s Daughter” on the new recording,\u00c2\u00a0but he’s never been one for bleakness and despair. His guitar playing, especially, has always been about breaking out and busting loose, which is\u00c2\u00a0why Jimi Hendrix lauded Buddy as an influence, why Muddy Waters brought Buddy into his band in the ’60s, wby he was house guitarist for Chess and backed up Big Mama Thornton and Little Walter Jacobs on “Hound Dog,” how he balanced the dramatic stage act of his dear departed partner Junior Wells. For proof, see the terrific videos below.<\/p>\n

“We had a whole lot of fun,” Buddy said of Junior with all due rue at Iridium, before launching into their infectious theme song, “Messin’ with the Kid.” On the cd, Kid Rock tries to fill Junior’s shoes, but like too many pretenders, doesn’t distinguish squalling from soul.<\/p>\n

That’s not the case for Buddy. His own vocal chorus on “Messin'” on the record is full-throated and authoritative. Several times last night he sang in his angelic yet not quite innocent upper register, with a broad smile on his face even when he seemed to be pleading. His new album is highly produced — on some tracks there are horns, backup singers and sitters-in Steve Tyler, Joe Perry, Bradford Whitford, Beth Hurt, Keith Urban, Beth Hurt — and the extras don’t blunt the music’s edge. That’s because the spine of it all is Guy’s undiminished guitar genius, which does not stop at his trademark flashy licks, instead frequently reaching for more dissonant clusters, abstract sound effects and keening, zillion-note phrases.<\/p>\n

An American icon who’s received a Kennedy Center lifetime achievement award from President Obama in 2012, an honorary doctorate from Louisiana State University earlier this year, several Grammies etc., Buddy Guy (aka Friendly Chap<\/a>) takes his age and experience seriously, as a point of pride and mastery. When the crowd at Iridium called out “Happy Birthday, Buddy!” he replied, “Don’t push me, I still got a couple hours left.” But in the next moment, he was convincingly staking his claim to relevance and vigor. “There ain’t nothing I haven’t done\/I’ve been a dog and I’ve been a tom cat\/I’ve chased some tail and left some tracks . . .When it comes to lovin’\/I ain’t never done.\/ I feel like I’m 21\/But I’m 77 years young!” He wrote and recorded that as “74 Years Young”\u00c2\u00a0three years ago, and evidently hasn’t lost a step. We should all be so lucky. Here’s hoping — and happy birthday, many more, Buddy!<\/p>\n

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“People don’t know the blues,” guitarist\/singer\/songwriter Buddy Guy, who turned 77 today, told a packed house at Iridium Jazz Club \u00c2\u00a0in NYC last night. The show was video-taped, presumably for a PBS showing next fall. “They say the blues is sad, but when B.B. King sings ‘I got a sweet little angel, I love the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1i3CL-mq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":298,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2010\/02\/what_if_bb_king_and_buddy_guy.html","url_meta":{"origin":1390,"position":0},"title":"What if B.B. King and Buddy Guy played NYC and nobody came?","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"B.B. King, 84 yr old #1 living blues icon of the world, and Buddy Guy, 73 yr old 1st runner-up, concertized in New York City last weekend, but there's been a near-total news blackout. Here's a review from the Financial Times of London. Meanwhile, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, British\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"at_home.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/at_home.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":357,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2010\/12\/seasonal_electricity_jazz_fusi.html","url_meta":{"origin":1390,"position":1},"title":"Seasonal electricity: jazz “fusion” in NYC","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"December 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Fusion, fission, energy and virtuosity reign supreme over coming holiday weeks as jazzers beyond genre constraints fill New York clubs. Starting tonight (Dec. 9) double-necked guitar madman Dave Fiuczynski fires up Iridium with ripping alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa and jam-band idol John Medeski on keybs; jazz sambas and tangos, ex-Milesian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":257,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2009\/10\/jazz_foundation_knows_how_to_p.html","url_meta":{"origin":1390,"position":2},"title":"Jazz Foundation knows how to party","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"October 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"To raise money for musicians' health and welfare, how 'bout a jazz party? In three lofts with river views, a thousand attendees of every age, shape, style enjoyed food 'n' drink 'n' performances including Jimmy Heath playing \"Gingerbread Boy,\" Arturo O'Farrill's teen sons mastering Latin jazz, baritone saxist Hamiet Bluiett\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":297,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2010\/02\/nyc_blues_extra_grammy_winner.html","url_meta":{"origin":1390,"position":3},"title":"NYC blues extra: Grammy winner Honeyboy Edwards @ BB King’s","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"February 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"City Arts, for space reasons, left off the last graph I'd submitted: True blue fans will flock to hear David \"Honeyboy\" Edwards, running buddy of legendary Robert Johnson and recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, at B.B. King's March 11. Edwards is 95, a lifetime achievement for any blues\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2008\/06\/hometownofobama_blues.html","url_meta":{"origin":1390,"position":4},"title":"Hometown-of-Obama Blues","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"June 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The music of Chicago -- gritty urban blues -- is famously about hard times, heartache and struggle. But practitioners of the genre may boast a refreshed if wary air of accomplishment this week, upon favorite son Barack Obama's ascension to\u00a0 Democratic presidential candidate.\u00a0At least, that's my thesis, which I'll test\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "main"","block_context":{"text":"main","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/category\/main"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2007\/07\/delta_blues_on_the_hudson.html","url_meta":{"origin":1390,"position":5},"title":"Delta Blues on the Hudson","author":"Howard Mandel","date":"July 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"John Hammond Jr. impressed me some 20 years ago with his solo blues harp-guitar-vocal act that seemed about as close to the style of Delta blues songster Robert Johnson as exists. He did it again, just last night. 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