This superb stereo soundboard master of "Legends," the fusion unit Clapton formed on a whim in 1997, has been released! "Legends" was a one-off fusion unit that Eric Clapton joined in the summer of 1997, when drummer Steve Gadd approached him to join while he was finalizing the album "Pilgrim." The band's members included Gadd, David Sanborn (saxophone), Marcus Miller (bass), and Joe Sample (piano), all of whom were top-notch musicians. Miller and Gadd were discussing an interesting band plan to tour Europe's jazz festivals for two weeks during the summer. Initially, Larry Carlton was mentioned as the guitarist, but Gadd suggested, "Isn't that too obvious? Adding Eric Clapton to the mix would be unexpected and interesting." Clapton, who had connections with Gadd and Sanborn, readily agreed. A supergroup was born, embarking on a two-week limited tour. This release features a complete, official-quality stereo soundboard recording of their debut performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, Switzerland on July 4th. Officially released footage of this performance may not be unusual for an audio source. However, this master is not a simple, crude product that simply extracts the audio from the official footage and turns it into a disc. It is a leaked 24-bit master that was officially recorded separately from the official footage! Naturally, the mix differs from the audio in the footage. The positioning of each instrument is different, and the audience cheers, which were recorded and mixed with ambient microphones, are also different. The sound quality is a "superb" stereo soundboard recording with clear, distinct stereo separation, worthy of an official live album release. At this venue, which was the group's first public appearance, Clapton still exhibits some awkwardness in fusion numbers. Still, this was a time when he was playing the gold-plated Special Stratocaster donated by Fender, and the performance captured the ultimate performance by this exclusive super band, truly worthy of the word "elite." The extremely rare setlist and performance, exclusive to this unit, made the unexpected dream of "Clapton playing fusion music with jazz musicians" a reality. Let's take a look back at the significance of 1997 in Clapton's career. Clapton's activities that year were as follows: February 26: Attended the 39th Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden. Change the World won Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and performed a commemorative performance with Babyface. - July 3rd to 17th: Embarked on a short European jazz festival tour under the name of "Legends," a fusion unit formed with Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd, and Joe Sample (the dress rehearsal (open rehearsal) was held at the Montreux Jazz Festival venue on the 3rd).←★Here★ - September 15th: Appeared alongside a number of other artists at the "Concert for Montserrat," a benefit concert held at London's Royal Albert Hall at the request of George Martin to support victims of the volcanic eruption on Montserrat Island. - September 25th: Appeared on Babyface's MTV "Unplugged" show, filmed at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, and performed with Babyface. October 9th and 10th: Performances in Seoul, South Korea; October 13th-31st: Japan Tour (13 shows in total); December 31st: Hosted and performed at the annual charity concert "New Year's Eve Dance" in Woking, Surrey, England. From the above, we can see that there was no worldwide tour that year, and apart from appearances at spot events and a short tour with this fusion unit, the only official solo tour was a Seoul performance just before the Japan performance, which served as a warm-up for the upcoming Japan performance. This was because Clapton was focusing on recording a memorial album for his late son (released the following year as "PILGRIM"), which he had been working on for six years since 1992. While it's likely that he would have preferred to devote himself to album production, Japan tours had become a tradition "every two or three years," and it's likely that he went ahead with it because he had already booked a 1997 tour during his 1995 visit to Japan. Perhaps participating in this unit was a brief respite during the album's production. In 1997, the album's mixdown hadn't even been completed, but it's worth noting that on this stage, they were already playing "Going Down Slow," which appears on the album, in the same arrangement. Also included were the blues-infused "Third Degree" and, despite the fusion unit's predominantly instrumental sound, "Layla," a vocal track. Considering the band's second encore performance of "Every Day I Have the Blues," by B.B. King, whom Clapton revered and often featured in his own sets at the time, it's clear that the band members paid tribute to the "unexpected guest" Clapton. Furthermore, "Ruthie" was a number Miller wrote specifically for Clapton's daughter. Given these details, the band members were clearly thrilled to be working with Clapton (Clapton would later appear on Miller's album, and Sample was selected as the keyboardist for a subsequent Japan tour). The performance of "Layla," accompanied by Miller on clarinet, is something you'll only hear here. They materialized on this stage. Enjoy this miraculous stage by top-notch musicians, which has never been realized since then, recorded with a newly discovered superb stereo soundboard master. Live at Auditorium Stravinsky, Montreux, Switzerland 4th July 1997 STEREO SBD(from Original Masters) UPGRADE!!! Disc:1 (50:42) 1. Intro 2. Full House 3. Marcus #1 4. Ruthie 5. Snakes 6. Band Introductions 7. Going Down Slow 8. Peeper Disc:2 (57:08) 1. Suggestions 2. Third Degree 3. First Song / Tango 4. Put It Where You Want It 5. Jelly Roll 6. In A Sentimental Mood 7. Layla (encore) 8. Every Day I Have The Blues (encore) Eric Clapton guitar / vocals David Sanborn saxophone Joe Sample piano / keyboards Marcus Miller bass / bass clarinet Steve Gadd drums STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING
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