B.B. King

Blues great King has made 19 appearances at the famed annual Montreux Jazz Festival, and his 1993 performance is captured nicely here. It's a no-nonsense, no frills title with banal liner notes and no special features. Still, no embellishments are needed, given that the star is in full form vocally and instrumentally. He's backed by the experienced and skilled eight-piece B.B. King Orchestra, though their unremarkable warm-up numbers could easily have been excised. Once King hits the stage, however, things heat up considerably. His signature rich and fluent guitar sound and big-hearted voice are put to good use on a set list that features such favourites as "Let The Good Times Roll," "Caldonia," "Why I Sing The Blues" and "Rock Me Baby" alongside newer tunes like Robert Cray's "Playing With My Friends." Inevitably, the final song is his signature hit, "The Thrill Is Gone," but it remains as vibrant as ever. For fans of classic blues, the thrill of a B.B. King performance remains.