Reflections (CD - 2003)

Personnel: B.B. King (guitar); Doyle Bramhall II (guitar); Toby Baker (Fender Rhodes piano); Tim Carmon (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Joe Sample (keyboards); Nathan East (bass); Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums).

Recorded at Record One, Sherman Oaks, California.

Personnel: B.B. King (vocals, electric guitar); Doyle Bramhall II (guitar); Joe Sample (Wurlitzer piano, Fender Rhodes piano, acoustic piano); Tom Baker (Fender Rhodes piano); Tim Carmon (acoustic piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Nathan East (bass); Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums).

Recorded at Record One, Sherman Oaks, California.

B.B. King was 77 years old when Reflections was released, which perhaps entitled him to reflect back on the song standards the album contained. Despite advancing age, King had already been unusually busy on the recording front for a septuagenarian, turning out the gold-selling duets album Deuces Wild in 1997, Blues on the Bayou in 1998, Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan in 1999, the double-platinum Riding With the King with Eric Clapton and Makin' Love Is Good for You in 2000, and the seasonal recording A Christmas Celebration of Hope in 2002. For Reflections, he again worked with Simon Climie, who produced Riding With the King, and collaborated with a session band including such notables as Joe Sample, Nathan East, and Doyle Bramhall II. The songs ranged from pop evergreens like "I'll String Along With You" and "For Sentimental Reasons" to blues favorites such as Lonnie Johnson's "Tomorrow Night," with oddities like "Always on My Mind" thrown in and even a couple of remakes of the earlier King songs "Word of Honor" and "Neighborhood Affair." The arrangements, which included horn and string parts, left room for King's distinctive blues guitar work, but really supported his always expressive voice. The result was a confident, easygoing album that stylistically could have been made in 1953 as easily as 2003. Blues purists and aficionados of blues guitar would find it only partially satisfying, but it reflected the breadth of musical taste of an artist who always played the blues but never restricted himself only to blues music or blues fans. ~ William Ruhlmann

Having plied his trade for well over a half century, B.B. King kicks back with 2003 outing REFLECTIONS that finds him tackling a baker's dozen worth of pop, jazz, country and blues standards. Teaming up with Eric Clapton producer Simon Climie, King is also joined by a coterie of respected sidemen including jazz great Joe Sample and blues-rocker Doyle Bramhall II. Among the many influential idols this Mississippi native tips his hat to include Louis Armstrong (a stirring "What a Wonderful World"), Nat "King Cole (the snappy "Exactly Like You"), and Frank Sinatra (a lush "I'll String You Along.") Oftentimes in the quest to lend an air of sophistication to a project that leans so heavily on older and more classic material, there's always the danger of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach when it comes to adding additional orchestration. Thankfully, Alan Douglas uses a light touch with his string arrangements on cuts like "On My Word of Honor" and "Neighborhood Affair," a pair of songs previously recorded by King. With REFLECTIONS, this guitar-playing septuagenarian shows he's hasn't lost a step. minimize