Concert Review: Albert Lee at Jazz Alley

What happens when you’re able to see and hear one of the greatest session guitar players in the world? Albert Lee may not be a common name but when researching his body of work, over 60 listings came up on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website and hundreds of recording credits to his name.

Albert Lee has played with Eric Clapton, The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Ricky Skaggs, Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Page, Rosanne Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Klaus Voormann, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley, Joe Cocker, J.J. Cale, Jackson Browne and the list goes on.

And here he was, playing at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley on a Tuesday night in downtown Seattle. Backing him was a stellar band with John “J.T.” Thomas on Keyboard and Accordion, Will McGregor on Bass and Jason Harrison Smith on Drums. This bang up band have backed the likes of Bruce Hornsby, the Pretenders, Pat Boone, Corey Stevens, Exene Cervenka Timothy Leary, John Jorgenson, Julia Fordham, Paul Reiser, Five For Fighting and Paul Keneally. Pretty amazing to say the least!

Albert Lee sang a variety of originals and covers from Richard Thompson, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Glen Campbell, and the Everly Brothers. But his guitar playing was a thing of beauty. This guy can rock with the best of them. A mix of country, blues, rockabilly and twang, he torn up the fretboard. Albert also played several ballads on the piano with a wonderful rendition of Jimmy Webb’s Highwayman” which was made famous by Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson.

To be able to watch Albert Lee tear it up was amazing and he is truly one of the greatest guitar slingers around. Later this year, Albert will be playing guitar with Rodney Crowell and an All-Star band in a tribute to The Everly Brothers being held at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.