'I played with Guitar Shorty' is a boast that will surely earn a few free Kentucky bourbons at any Glasgow bar.

And that's exactly the claim to fame of seven Scots musicians who joined the blues legend for a jam in the Merchant City on Saturday.

Bulleit Jamming was the second event in the Bulleit Sessions, a promotional tour which brought the Texan guitar supremo and brother-in-law of Jimi Hendrix to Glasgow for three days from Thursday of last week.

For blues aficionados the 68-year-old needed no introduction on the opening night, but there might have been a few among at Maggie Mayıs, attracted by a deliberately eclectic bill of psychedelic rock trio The Aliens and local heroes Found, who didnıt realise, before hearing his electrifying performance, that the blues pioneer has ranks alongside stars such as BB King and Buddy Guy, Ray Charles and Little Richard. He is also credited with influencing Hendrix, having married his half-sister.

Guitar Shortyıs rocking opener, The Blues Done Got Me, set the tone for a blistering live set, which included a 12-minute version of Hey Joe, and a 15-minute jam while mingling with the crowd. His most recent album album is called We The People and appropriately, on Saturday, blues fans, shoppers and the weekend-lunch crowd were treated to an informal jam session in the Merchant Square, to which budding musicians had received an open invitation.

Six guitarists and a trumpeter took him up on the offer and, with a red tartan tie attached to his left arm by a bystander, he turned the session into a master class in the blues.

Sponsored by Bulleit Bourbon


Back to Video Week