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Jeff Beck playing my 1943 SJ


jt

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I just returned home from a lovely week in London. I spent my first day at the BBC with Suzi Quatro, who will be narrating BBC Radio 2's hour long documentary about my book, hung with family and friends, and then concluded my stay with a performance at the legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott's with, gulp, Mr. Jeff Beck sitting in the front row.

 

Here's a clip from my performance (as the camera pans left, you can see Jeff):

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXbounDqjEo&feature=youtu.be

 

Afterwards, Jeff hung out with my family and me:

 

IMG_0168_zps74cb67c6.jpg

 

IMG_0176_zps86dec754.jpg

 

And then did some monster fingerpicking on my went-to-WWII SJ. Here's a short clip:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFiThudJ9do&feature=youtu.be

 

An astounding night for me ... and my SJ!

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Great stuff, JT!

 

 

It is also great to see someone like JB interested in guitars still. He looks as keen as you.

 

When blu-Ray players came out a couple of years ago, one of the best live disks in HD was Jeff at Ronnie Scott's.

 

I guess the next instalment will be "JB and JT live unplugged at Ronnie Scott's"............

 

 

BluesKing777.

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I'd also like to add , that while Jeff's playing was fast and showy offy and very Jeff beck , yours was none too shabby. Any moron with a priceless banner gibson that puts himself in the right place can meet jeff beck , but getting to perform onstage at Ronnie Scotts ? Now that's special !

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Thanks for the kind words about my playing, all. Everyone on the bill got about 15 minutes. I'd been invited to do my Kalamazoo Gals schtick. Beck already had the book and the event's host, Lizzie Ball, told me when I arrived for soundcheck, "Jeff is coming tonight to see you." I talked for about 10 minutes, or so, and played just the one tune. I wanted to play something really simple that I couldn't mess up. Everybody else who played was an amazing musician, members of the London Philharmonic (hence those music stands), Beck's band,etc.

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That was very cool, John!

 

This could be my one and only Lassie-moment. I have held in my hand and picked a couple of chords on the same very SJ as John AND Jeff Beck. Now, that's one for the grandkids one day

 

John, do you know any details about when and in which format the BBC thing will air?

 

Lars

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This could be my one and only Lassie-moment. I have held in my hand and picked a couple of chords on the same very SJ as John AND Jeff Beck. Now, that's one for the grandkids one day.

 

And hopefully, Lars, you'll make it over to the States or I'll return to Sweden, so you can play it again!

 

John, do you know any details about when and in which format the BBC thing will air?

 

It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 sometime after April this year. I'll post about it as soon as I know. The BBC will also archive it. I think it will be exceptional. I spent 3 or 4 days with the BBC in Kalamazoo in September. We interviewed surviving Kalamazoo Gals, I spoke about the project while standing in the basement of the old Gibson factory and handling the very equipment the Gals used to build the guitars, we recorded music in the very spots where some of the Gals worked, etc. Teh producer has amassed more than 20 hours of recording and will edit it down and Suzi will narrate.

 

As the producer told me in London, having me meet and chat with the narrator will really help to make the result special. Suzi loves teh book, we hit it off, and I think that she's perfect for the project.

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Ok, geeky question JT, but the "Over There" guitar being as kind of precious as it is, must travel first class, right? How do you transport it back & forth over the pond?

Dan,

 

I've got a Hiscox flight case (I used to use Calton cases, but I'm just too old to carry something that heavy anymore) for it and usually get it into the airplane cabin but sometimes have to gate check it. On my return flight from London on Air Canada, for the first time in over a decade, I forced to check the guitar with the other luggage (and treated very rudely -- I'll certainly never fly Air Canada again). I've now taken it to Europe/UK at least 3 times and all across the US. At least 20 flights since I acquired it a little over a year ago and more on the horizon.

 

Yes, I do get a bit nervous, especially as it becomes part of the Gals' story. But, I figure that's it's mission in life and if something happens to it, well, at least I made good use of it. So, I'll keep traveling with it.

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