PERFORMING THIS WEEK....LIVE AT RONNIE SCOTT'S

It's hard to avoid comparisons with the Japan-only release at BB King Blues Club of 03, but the sound is quite different and so is the line-up. With a star-studded line-up of Colaiuta on drums, Rebello on keys, Jeff introduces us to teenage redhead girl bass wonder (only 17 years old) Tal Wlikenfield on bass, and does that kid ever rock?.. What is amazing is that Jeff never sounds like he's mentally on a tropical island somewhere around the globe, no the man is in front of you giving the best of himself to his crowd of the moment

Starting on the classic Bolero, the set is mostly oriented towards Jeff's 70's career, but the numerous covers from Cobham and McLaughlin shows that he was never much a songwriter, but is a first class interpreter. Compared to the BB King Japan-only release, this one is a bit mellower, a bit jazzier too, more mature and some of the usual Beck standards are missing, like Freeway Jam. Beck seems to revisit his last three studio albums to some extent, but his Guitar Shop album has well, with a certain success, as these track don't throw us off from what we expect from him. Overall, a cool jazz-rock fusion night that can only bring the 70's spirits without bringing out the unneeded nostalgia. Not superb enough to grace my top 5 of thiis year, but the top 20 certainly?.. I think the DVD should probably get the nod, and not just for Jeff's guitar antics, this time, but Wilkenfield's red hairs as well.