With an array of talent that would incompass iconic musicians from The Golden Age, i.e., 1967-1977, to contermporary craftsman of the trade, The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts amassed legendary icons Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepard, Brad Whitford, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Eric Johnson, Eric Gales and Chris Layton, among others, to perpetuate a legacy that began during the halcyon days of "Swinging London" in 1967.

From those tumultuous "daze" of psychedelia and "flower power" to the musical revolution and The Counter Culture, one of the most emulated guitar players in the annals of music was born. Augmented by Noel Redding & Mitch Mitchell, The Jimi Hendrix Experience would be but a brief moment in the pantheons of historical moments, yet his influence can be easily verified by emulation and the songs that transcend from generation to generation. Other attempts at digressing to thiose glory days have often fallen on deaf ears as it's always difficult to recreate the magic that permeated the legendary venues and stadiums across the globe when James Marshall Hendrix would saunter across the stage.

In those miniscule moments from 1967 to his demise in 1970, Hendrix would become "rock n' roll" royalty, the pantheons of eternal immortality beckoned and all these years later, he remains as a Shaman to those who know the power of the music. The regality has been tempered by time but for those who grew to "All Along The Watch Tower", "Purple Haze" and other notable tunes of the day, this presentation is as good as it gets. He will be forever young, elegant with his exotic attire and charismatic with a distinct stage presence and this gathering of the musical tribes serves as proof that the music and magic is still alive and well in all of us. Kudos to The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts and the powers that be for bringing such a joyous occasion to the metropolitan Louisville area.

Cheers
Don Aters - 6/4/2008