Eric Clapton Announces New Live CD/DVD With Wynton Marsalis

One of Eric Clapton's latest star-studded collaborations, a concert with jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, is chronicled in the upcoming  CD and DVD 'Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues - Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center,'due out Sept. 13.

Clapton and Marsalis came together from two different musical fields to converge on a subject that they're both intimately familiar with -- the blues. They were joined by members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for three April shows, which included one benefit gala and two public concerts.

Marsalis is the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center and worked with the orchestra to arrange the material planned for performance, nearly all of which had been selected by Clapton. The lone outside pick was Clapton's 'Layla,' a request from bassist Carlos Henriquez and rearranged as a “Crescent City dirge.”

They had one key goal for the performances, which were captured on April 7, 8 and 9 at the Frederick P. Rose Hall. Marsalis writes in the liner notes, “We wanted these concerts to sound like people playing music they know and love, not like a project.”

He says the group combined the sound of an early blues jump-band with the sound of New Orleans jazz to accommodate the integration of guitar/trumpet lead, a combination that gave the musicians the latitude to play different grooves, from the Delta to the Caribbean and beyond.

The band worked with a diverse setlist, starting with Louis Armstrong's 'Ice Cream,' offering a wealth of musical education in the 10 tracks featured on the new release. Opener Taj Mahal sits in on 'Corrine, Corrina' and the traditional 'Just a Closer Walk With Thee.' The DVD adds a bonus performance of Mahal performing 'Stagger Lee.'

'Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues - Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center,' Track Listing:

1. 'Ice Cream'
2. 'Forty-Four'
3. 'Joe Turner’s Blues'
4. 'The Last Time'
5. 'Careless Love'
6. 'Kidman Blues'
7. 'Layla'
8. 'Joliet Bound'
9. 'Just a Closer Walk With Thee' – feat. Taj Mahal
10. 'Corrine, Corrina' – feat. Taj Majal

Bonus track on DVD only: 'Stagger Lee' by Taj Majal

Watch Eric Clapton and Wynton Marsalis Perform 'Layla'