Buddy Guy — Newport Jazz Festival, 1994

Full live capture of Buddy Guy at the Newport Jazz Festival, recorded on August 13, 1994, in Rhode Island. The concert catches the Chicago blues master mid-renaissance, riding the success of his album “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues,” which finally brought him mainstream recognition in the early 1990s. A player of the incandescent Stratocaster and a peerless showman, Buddy Guy delivers a scorching electric-blues set: medleys of standards (“All Your Love,” “Five Long Years,” “Mustang Sally,” “Sweet Little Angel”), his anthem “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues,” the Muddy Waters classic “Hoochie Coochie Man” and a cover of “Knock On Wood.” Ferocious attack, dynamics swinging from thunder to whisper, constant dialogue with the crowd: this performance shows the bluesman’s influence on generations of rock guitarists. A historic filmed live concert, essential to understanding Chicago blues and its stage energy.