Jazz Articles about Albert King

Albert King: Born Under A Bad Sign (SACD)

by Doug Collette
May 13, 2023

Originally released in the psychedelicized year of 1967, the altogether earthy blues recording that is Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign may have gone over the heads of those succumbing to flower power during the Summer of Love. Nevertheless, it made an impression on those who were learning to dote on the genre, many of whom were musicians who not only acted upon the inspiration they found in the music, but also tendered dutiful homage to the artist. Cream ...

Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign

by C. Michael Bailey
April 4, 2013

First things first. Left-handed blues guitarist Albert King played a right-handed, right-strung guitar turned upside down. Left-handed blues guitarist Jimi Hendrix played a right-handed, left-strung guitar upside-down.That said..When Albert King came to Memphis and signed with Stax records in 1966, no parties knew exactly what effect King's blues sensibilities would have on the Southern soul of house band Booker T. and the MGs nor how the band's well-established southern-fried credentials would inspire King. The result, captured ...

Albert King: Talkin' Blues

by Todd S. Jenkins
October 25, 2003

Electric blues giant Albert King recorded this excellent live set in Chicago in February 1978. It’s unfortunate that no one documented the musicians with whom he was playing that night, but in the end King’s overpowering presence almost renders any other sounds moot. The sheer power of his guitar sound and commanding vocals dominated most every show he ever played a part in, and this disc is no exception.

For a board mix, the sound quality of these old tapes ...

Albert King: Talkin' Blues

by AAJ Staff
May 12, 2003

There's little need for explanation when it comes to Albert King. Though he never had a profile near that of B.B., the “other" King, he has been incredibly influential on generations of blues musicians. Like fellow lefty Jimi Hendrix, he played a right-handed guitar upside-down and backwards. More than most blues musicians, he lingered on stretched notes to provide emotional emphasis. And rather than aiming for blues purity--which would have been perfectly in character given his Delta and Arkansas origins--he ...

Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan: In Session

by Ed Kopp
November 1, 1999

In 1983, blues legend Albert King scheduled a TV appearance on In Session, a program produced by CHCH-TV in Hamilton, Ontario. The show matched like-minded musicians in hour-long jam sessions. In advance of the show, the 60-year-old King was only told that he’d be jamming with another guitarist. His collaborator turned out to be 29-year-old Stevie Ray Vaughan, fresh from recording his first album Texas Flood.This recording of the King-Vaughan summit is not only historic, it's a guitar-lover’s ...