LEGENDS 1997

No one with the slightest interest in rock or blues music is likely to forget the name of Eric Clapton. But the world's most famous living guitarist has, in the past, made great efforts to disguise his identity. Calling his post-CREAM band DEREK And The DOMINOS is the most famous example of how the unassuming guitar hero has gone incognito, while in 1997 he recorded an album with keyboardist / programmer Simon Climie and released it as TDF (short for TOTALLY DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY), adopting the individual pseudonym of X-Sample. It was his first album of all-new material since 1989s 'Journeyman', and preceded his next 'proper' album, 'Pilgrim', by a year. Clapton had other things on his mind in '97, though. He'd play a benefit concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in September for the volcano-hit islanders of Montserrat, while on nearby Antigua he was busy setting up the Crossroads Centre, a rehabilitation facility for those with drug and alcohol problems. But the siren call of music could not be denied, and July had brought the chance to play a part in one of the most low-key, short-lived yet highly prestigious outfits he'd ever work with. The concept for Legends came from bassist Marcus Miller, the multi-instrumentalist who found fame in 1986 as producer and co-creator of Miles Davis's Tutu' album. He recruited a band, also featuring alto saxophonist David Sanborn, keyboardist Joe Sample and drummer Steve Gadd, to make an 11-date tour of major European jazz festivals - including, naturally, Montreux where they graced the first night of the 1997 event. Appropriately for a four-fifths American outfit, this fell on July 4th. Not only was Clapton merely a band member, but the repertoire he and his cohorts agreed upon would be almost unfamiliar to the many thousands who each year queued for tickets for his Albert Hall residency. The emphasis would be on the sum of the parts, and Eric, for all his rock-star fame, would simply be one legend among many. It's clear from the dress-down clothes, stubbly chins and the broad smiles between the musicians that this is a show where the music was the only message. Maybe it took Clapton back over three decades to his early days with the Yardbirds and the Bluesbreakers where playing guitar had been more or less his only concern. Butthis kind of improvised, spontaneous music was something else again. Each band member had the finest of individual pedigrees: Gadd had played for top rock and jazz acts like Steely Dan, Bob James, Chick Corea and Paul Simon, whose '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover' was just one track to bear his signature. Joe Sample, whose career started in the late 1950s, was the senior Legend. He is best known for being co-founder of the Crusaders, whose career helped launch the likes of Larry Carlton and Randy Crawford. Finally, aside from his many jazz accomplishments, saxophonist Sanborn's clients in the rock field had included David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones. The musicians involved had found their careers intersecting more and more frequently over the years. Sanborn and Clapton's collaborations had begun over a decade previously, in 1986, when they jointly scored the soundtrack for the first Lethal Weapon film. They went on to score three more films in the series and Gadd played on one of the sessions. Gadd and Miller had been stalwarts of the New York session scene since the 70s and played together on many occasions. Clapton met Miller when Sanborn used them both at a recording session, while Gadd joined Clapton's band in 1994 and has toured and recorded with him since. Musically, the stuff of Legends is jazz and blues, with the emphasis on the instrumental. Not until track five, 'Going Down Slow', do we have either a traditional guitar blues or a vocal. It's easy to see, though, in the four numbers that precede it, how much the musicians are enjoying their collaboration: the extended soloing on 'Snakes', the irresistible Steely Dan-esque 'Groovin" and the sensitive guitar and keyboard interplay on 'Ruthie' are all a joy. This is tweed amp, not Marshall stack, territory, and the volume is turned even lower with 'In Case You Hadn't Noticed'. Here, Clapton's signature Martin acoustic underpins lead lines from Marcus Miller's just-donned six-string bass. After the sax showcase of 'First Song'/Tango Blues' comes a joyous cover of the Crusaders' 'Put It Where You Want It' for which, appropriately enough, the spotlight falls on Sample. "Joe - set us up, take us home," commands Marcus Miller, and the keyboardist happily obliges. You may have heard the Average White Band's vocal version of this track: now it has a rival. Encore time sees a solo Sample romp through Jelly Roll Morton's 'Shreveport Stomp' prior to Marcus Miller's return with bass clarinet in hand. The version of 'Layla' that follows is surely unique by any standards before the ensemble plays out with 'Every Day I Have The Blues', a number Clapton performed on his first Montreux appearance in 1986 as special guest of Otis Rush. Talking to Guitar Player magazine four years later, Eric revealed that the Legends tour had restored his confidence in his musical intuition. 'All the time that I knew I could play blues, I was still very insecure about my standing as a legitimate musician. I didn't feel I could sit and have a conversation with a jazz player about music because they were on a higher level than me. Yet I've found over the last few years that I can approach any kind of music and bring a unique point of view to it. For example, when I toured with the Legends band, I thought I wasn't worthy to play with them. But even though I felt I wasn't in their league, when we talked about music I realized, "Hey, I do know enough to stand alongside these guys and play."' And while 'Pilgrim' was to be a song-based, computerized progression from his TDF experiment, echoes of the Legends experience were evident in 2001 's 'Reptile', an album that, in the guitarist's words, "visits more mellow and subtle musical areas." This was Eric Clapton's fourth Montreux appearance. Steve Gadd made his bow as far back as 1972 with Chuck Mangione, while Sanborn and Miller made their debuts together behind Al Jarreau and Randy Crawford in 1981. Yet even for these seasoned festival veterans Legends would remain an unique experience, and one highly coveted by fans as this is the first official document of the teaming to be released. Enjoy a band that lives up to its name - five times over!

- Michael Heatley

RECORDED IN HI DEFINITION AT
THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL, 1997
The Montreux Jazz Festival™
founded and created by Claude Nobs
A Montreux Jazz Festival™ Production

Guitar Vocals
Eric CLAPTON
Bass
Marcus MILLER
Piano
Joe SAMPLE
Saxophone
David SANBORN
Drums
Steve GADD

Chief Executive Director
Claude NOBS
Director Production & Finance
Emmanuel GETAZ
Director
David TAYLOR
Artists Co-ordination
Michaele MAITERTH
Technical Co-ordination
Stephanie A. MAILARD
Lori IMMI
Production Manager
Fraser KENNEDY
Chief Engineers
Ludo KERKHOFS
Peter VANDERGOTEN
Dirk DE BLOCK
Producer for HDTV
Masaki TAZAKUNHI
Vision Engineering
Niele VERNIERS
Koen SEBERECHTS
Yvo VAN SOEST
Camera Operators
John BASTIAN
Henry BEHCLA
Luca DE LUICI
Pascal DUBI
Kevin FRENCH
Alexandre GROSS
Walter HUG
Pierre-Alain JAUSSI
Peter JOHNSON
Brian MADDISSON
Patrick MOLINOULI
Franoo ZECCO
Crew Chief
John OVERTON
Production Assistant
Claire TAYLOR
VT Editor
Kevin TAIT
Associate Producer
Elizabeth TREADWAY
Lighting Director
Laurent ZUMOFEN
Net Designer
Adrian MORETTI
Live sound mixed & recorded by
Justin SHIRLEY-SMITH
on
Voyageur II Mobile
Audio Co-ordination
Andre GAUCHAI
Audio Recording Assistants
Gabriel BASSO
Rene WEIS
Video Co-ordination
Eric GLARDON
Facilities Provided by
OUTSIDE BROADCAST
NHK
SONY
Technical Supervisor
Ludo KERKHOFS
Technical Supervisors for HDTV
Yoshimi ABD (NHK)
Kakuiko OKUURA (NHK)
PA Sound Monitoring
MEYER SOUND
Down Conversion
SNELL & WILCOX
Sound Engineer Auditorium Stravinski
Chris RIDGEWAY
Microphones
SHURE
Video Post Production Montreux Sounds
Eric GLARDON
Audio Post Production
MTX Mastering Studio
Joan RISTORI
Post Production Coordination
Montreux Sounds
Andres BUCHLER
Director Montreux Sounds
Tierry AMSALLEM
Executive Producer for
Montreux Sounds™ SA
Claude NOBS
Consultant for Eagle Vision
Ian ROWE
Production Co-ordinators for Eagle Vision
Claire HIGGINS
Max ROBERTSON
Production Associate for Eagle Vision
Rosie HOLLEY
Melissa ROY
Series Editor for Eagle Vision
Adam DUNLOP
Executive Producers for
Eagle Rock Entertainment Ltd.
Terry SHANU
Geoff KEMPIN
Recorded live in July 4, 1997 at the
Auditorium Stravinski, Montreux Jazz
Festival™ (Switzerland)

1997 / 2004 Montreux Sounds

LEGENDS

Live At Montreux

(1997)