Joe Bonamassa picked up a guitar at age four, could cop SRV and Hendrix licks note-for-note by age seven, and was discovered by B.B. King while still in...
Joe Bonamassa picked up a guitar at age four, could cop SRV and Hendrix licks note-for-note by age seven, and was discovered by B.B. King while still in his pre-teens.
These days, Bonamassa is known for his awe-inspiring electric work, consisting of lethal licks and fist-pumping riffs. He’s hugely responsible for today’s blues-rock resurgence and its rocketing back into the mainstream.
While his electric style could be described as being equal parts Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson and Danny Gatton (his former instructor), it’s Bonamassa’s breathtaking acoustic work—as showcased on his recent all-acoustic masterwork An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House (2013)—that prompts coverage in this lesson. This wholly organic musical event features 21 songs spanning Bonamassa’s career, played by a world-class ensemble wielding fiddle, mandolin, banjo, celeste, accordion, percussion and more.
Let’s delve into some of the many highlights of that evening’s performance, filmed/recorded in the same historic venue that has hosted Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and other such classical music luminaries.
While An Acoustic Evening includes its share of folky, Celtic, world, Delta blues and other styled cuts, it also features unplugged renditions of powerful, electrified songs Bonamassa has recorded previously. Among these is “Sloe Gin,” originally from the album of the same name and a cover of a song actormusician Tim Curry popularized.
FIGURE 1 shows a reworking of its main accompaniment pattern, in open position. Also from Sloe Gin, “Jelly Roll” (a John Martyn cover) is featured early in the set, its signature riff approximated in FIGURE 2. (On the live version, Bonamassa plays the song with a capo at the third fret, but we’ll forego using a capo for this lesson.) Here, Joe’s spirited lines are doubled by banjo, helping to inflect this blues with a