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Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, March 25, 2009In November of 2007, legendary guitarist Jeff Beck took on the stage of London’s Ronnie Scott’s, a notorious jazz club with a rich history. Unfortunately, given the size of the venue, only a few were lucky enough to see him and his band - Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Jason Rebello (keyboards) and Tal Wilkenfeld (bass) - perform. This Blu-ray disc offers twenty one songs that were played by Beck and his band throughout the course of the concert. They cover a variety of genres including rock, jazz, blues, fusion, and even rockabilly. To the delight of the audience, during a few of the songs, Beck was also joined by Joss Stone, Imogen Heap as well as his former Yardbird’s bandmate Eric ClaptonWhat truly impresses in this show is the musical versatility Beck and his band showcase. They easily skip through a number of different genres that have been a key part of their music throughout the years (interestingly enough, even though Beck has been performing with Vinnie Colaiuta and Jason Robello for only a few years now, they very much sound as if they have been together for a very, very long time). Unsurprisingly, from the moody Pink Floyd-esque Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers (with a fantastic solo by Tal Wilkenfeld) to the to the funky Led Boots, to the classic People Get Ready with Joss Stone , to the terrific new arrangement of Blnaket with Imogen Heap, to the outstanding Little Brown Bird and You Need Love with Eric Clapton, this concert offers a little bit of everything for everyone. Technically, Jeff Beck performing this week…Live at Ronnie Scott’s is also a terrifically put together project. As revealed by Beck in the long interview offered on this Blu-ray disc, plenty of adjustments had to be done so that a number of acoustic limitations which Ronnie Scott’s presented, mostly due to the size of the venue, are dealt with adequately. Fortunately enough, the final product is simply fantastic.The concert was also recorded with a number of strategically positioned HD cameras that allow us to not only follow the musicians on the stage but see the reactions of the thrilled audience as well. For example, Beck’s long solos during the first half of the concert are recorded as if he is simply practicing alone, somewhere where no one could see him. On other hand, when his guests begin appearing on the stage during the second half of the concert, the camera spends much more time following the musicians from afar, thus making it very easy for us to see how they interact with each other.
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