A Chicagoist Musical Find

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 14, 2006 4:40PM

So we were tooling around the internets this morning and found this killer video on You Tube. Apropos for a day where we're expecting showers in the area, here's Buddy Guy performing "Stormy Monday" from the 1969 "Supershow" at the Linoleum Factory in Middlesex, England.

The concerts, recorded on March 17-18th of that year, featured Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Stephen Stills, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and others. "Stormy Monday" finds Guy being supported by Bruce on bass and showcases the twisted genius of Rashaan Roland Kirk, simultaneously playing tenor saxophone and stritch (a straighter version of an alto saxophone), who nearly steals the song. Guy restrains the pyrotechnics and ends the song with a smoldering scat vocal. It's also neat to see the clean-cut Guy, pre polka dot guitar, overalls, and jheri curl - which he's since retired for a more distinguished salt-and-pepper elder statesman look - showing the bell-bottomed scruffs onstage how the blues are really played. Enjoy.