Scaggs’ first album in nearly a decade, Detour, is out now
Boz Scaggs brought his bluesy jazz (or maybe he prefers the term jazzy blues?) to DC’s Warner Theater on Thursday night (Nov 13th).
Scaggs opened with “It’s Over” and “Rock and Stick.” His storytelling vocals really had a chance to shine through for the first time on “Sierra,” a song that paints pictures of the same desert.
Scaggs is accompanied on stage by six nimble players who are somewhat of musical chameleons. They can turn the dial between jazz and blues with such nuisance, they make it seem like the musical version of breathing.
Scaggs, too, has a voice that can be soulful or chill, pensive or aggressive, switching between the two sometimes within the same song. “Drowning in a Sea of Love” and “The Feeling is Gone” in particular showed the bluesiest side of Scaggs and his group.
Scagg’s horn and key players, in particular, are the key to his sound. They are the ones that morph the most between songs, adding only what’s necessary. The horn player is especially diverse, swapping between a variety of wind instruments, while also managing some synthesizer duties. This creates a bigness to Scagg’s live sound that just builds and builds.
Scaggs is currently touring in support of his first album in seven years, Detour, via Concord Records. A quietly stunning collection of standards and deep cuts from the American Songbook, Detour is a celebration of timeless songwriting and a deeply personal chapter in Scaggs’ six-decade legacy. A vinyl edition of the album will also be arriving on December 5th.
The main set ended with Scaggs’ two biggest hits, “Lowdown” and “Lido Shuffle,” which remain as magnificent a listen as when I first encountered Scaggs in Nashville, as my very first concert at the Ryman.
At 81, Boz Scaggs shows no sign of slowing down in the studio or on the road.
