Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) [Live from the Iridium Jazz Club, June 2010]

Jeff Beck is one of rock music’s most mysterious performers. His guitar talents are prodigious. However, he is prone to disappear for years and has never been able to hold a group together. This solitary man came out of his dark cave to celebrate the life and work of Les Paul, who died on August 13, 2009. Beck booked the Iridium, the NYC club where Paul held court every Monday night. Beck and his current backing ensemble, the Imelda May Band, in their most rockabilly-blues mode pulled together an exciting set of standards that were Paul’s specialty (“Cry Me a River,” “How High the Moon”), along with a few rockers of their own, “The Train Kept-A-Rollin’” from Beck’s Yardbirds days, and “Twenty Flight Rock.” Guests ranging from the Stray Cats’ “Brian Setzer, Trombone Shorty and Gary U.S. Bonds take a spotlight here and there. There’s a wonderful nostalgic feel to these old-time numbers, as if Beck and his group of musicians had tapped directly into the ‘40s and ‘50s of Paul’s early life. The guitar work throughout is in beautiful tribute to a legendary creator, craftsman and musician.