An Un-Electric Evening

Joe Bonamassa Unplugs to Record Live at Carnegie Hall

- Jimmy Leslie

“I’M MORE OF A HOBBYIST COMPARED TO acoustic cats such as Tommy Emmanuel and Andy McKee that have all the tricks down,” says electric-blues guru Joe Bonamassa, about his recent Live at Carnegie Hall: An Acoustic Evening [J&R Adventures]. “But I wanted to play Carnegie Hall, and I like the challenge of going as far out of my comfort zone as possible. You may rise to it, or fall flat on your face. The journey and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It’s always fun to do something different.”

Carnegie Hall marks another live-recording landmark on Bonamassa’s list that includes the Royal Albert Hall, the Beacon Theatre, the Greek Theatre, and the Vienna Opera House— where he recorded his only previous acoustic endeavor in 2012. Live at Carnegie Hall: An Acoustic Evening features a stellar band, including Double Trouble vet Reese Wynans on piano, late-night television stalwart Anton Fig on the skins, percussionist Hossam Ramzy (who directed the Egyptian ensemble on Jimmy Page and Robert Plant’s No Quarter), and Eric Bazilian on mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, saxophone, and acoustic guitar. Bazilian also sang backup along with three Australian vocalists—Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins, and Gary Pinto— and Chinese cellist Tina Guo (Hans Zimmer) rounds out the ensemble. Bonamassa actually handed a lot of leads to Guo.

“It made sense, because she had more sustain,” relays Bonamassa. “I wound up doing more two-note, chord-based solos, because single-notes sound pretty plunky and thin on a Martin in front of a mic when you’re used to the front pickup of a Les Paul through a tweedy Twin.”

We all know you have a celebrated collection of electric guitars and amplifiers. What about acoustics?