To remind us of what a concert used to sound like, Montreux Jazz Festival and BMG have put together a cd series of material honed from their 55 years of concerts. These first two capture two of the most soulful ladies of the past century.
Etta James (1938-2002) is caught here on this 2 disc set in a series of foot stomping shows from 1977-1993, and have her backed by a wide swath of musicians including David “Fathead” Newman/sax, Lew Solof/tp, Klaus Doldinger/sax, Rick Wakeman/p and Josh Sklair/g. She’s in a feisty mood each time out, growling with the horns in 1990 on “Breakin’ Up Somebody’s Home” getting down in ’93 on “A Lover Is Forever”, giving some gospel on “77’s “Tell Mama” or putting her heart on her sleeve for a medley including “At Last/Trust In Me/Sunday Kind of Love”. There’s an entire disc of her working the room at the Casino Montreux in July ’75, and she snarls through “Respect Yourself” and an agonizing “Drown In My Own Tears” before searing through “Stormy Monday.” A blue plate of the blues served piping hot.
Nina Simone transformed her career from a classical/jazz pianist to a spokeswoman for social issues. This 2 disc collection ranges from her teams with a small soul group in 1968 to solo piano/vocals in 1987 as well as some duets and jazzy quartets. Her piano is rich and rhapsodic on “Someone to Watch Over Me” and she mixes commentary such as “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free” and “See-Line Woman” with intimate nuances on “Little Girl Blue”. She’s earthy with percussion on “Four Women” and shows how to swing on “My Baby Just Cares for Me’. An entire disc is devoted to her 1968 gig at the Casino Kursaal with the band searing through “Milestones” to open things up, leading into a hip vamp of “Just In Time”, a haunting “When I Was A Young Girl” and some gospel fest foot stomping of “The House of the Rising Sun” before getting down and gritty on “Gin House Blues”. Piano and preaching.