Last night I checked off one event from my list of ‘things I must do before I die’ and saw the legendary Les Paul at the classy Iridium Jazz Club. If you don’t know who Les Paul is (and hopefully you do), he is the pioneer of the solid-body electric guitar. He helped design one of the first and most popular electric guitars, the Gibson Les Paul. Developed in the early 1950s, it has become one of the most enduring and popular models in the world. Its design has been left virtually untouched for nearly 50 years.
At 91 years old, Les Paul is still performing and amazing audiences. Though his virtuoso finger-picking style has slowed over the years, he can still capture the senses with impressive solos and carry his backup trio through those classic tunes. Sharp as a whip, Paul kept the audience laughing with hilarious banter, including stopping in the middle of a song to pose for a picture and then proceeding to give the camera ‘the bird’. My particular favorite tune was Caravan, which Paul led with his personal 1972 Gibson ‘Recording’ model guitar.
The Iridium Jazz Club is set up more like a supper club and serves a suprisingly tasty food. At $35 a ticket, the show is not cheap, but it’s a small price to pay to see a living legend. More pictures after the jump.
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i thought this fool was gone. just kidding. must admit, this is one of the things i wanna do in nyc.