I was fortunate enough to see the late, legendary American Blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer, B.B. King live in June 2009 at Wembley Arena. He was 89 when he passed away in May 2015, the same age as my late father who also so loved the Blues, so I had to mark the anniversary of B.B.’s 100th birthday on 16th September. Therefore when I saw that Big Dez, aka Philippe Fernandez, was headlining a homage to him at the smallish, seated and intimate Sunset/Sunside Jazz Club in Paris, I knew that this gig would be a special experience. Easy peasy to Paris on Eurostar and not so bad on price provided you book in advance. Which I did!

Big Dez is not only big in stature, but he is also a big award-winning international Blues artist, having played all over the world from Japan to Canada to Chicago to Texas to Europe, and is well worth listening to with a multi-album offering. He lives and breathes the Mississippi and Chicago Blues genre, and of course loves B.B. Indeed, Big Dez's guitar playing sizzles with skill and his Leslie effect pedal produces that perfect blend of tremolo vibrato and Hammond type sound, switching the sounds struts and flow with utter fluency.

Then there are his vocals, blending for me Tom Jones and Elvis Presley in tone. His English is fluent and his tonality unique. Where Big Dez scores so much too is in his choice of skilled musicians to accompany him. He runs the weekly Blues Monday sessions at Le Caveau De La Huchette, while Jo Champ (aka Joseph Champagnon), runs another regular Blues session also in Paris on Thursday's at Le Caveau des Oubliettes. And the standard of musicianship there is usually super high.

So to get these two top MC’s to play together on this B.B. tribute was to witness Blues at not only its Parisian best, but world class best, with both respectfully giving each other space on vocals and guitar during the set. With super bass guitarist Lamine Guerfi holding the rear and newcomer Francesso Marzetti keeping pace on drums, this specially curated set was a delight to hear. As was Gilles Gabisson, who is a well respected French harmonica player, who also joined them on stage. Indeed, my evening was truly complete, and well worth the cost of my Eurostar ticket and hotel accommodation too!

Opening their set with 'Everyday', this was followed by eleven minutes of an utterly 'Stormy Monday' with Jo Champ’s smooth vocals and Big Dez’s guitar deferring to Champ’s lead guitar. Big Dez then led on vocals and guitars on the up-tempo 'Woke Up This Morning', as well as 'Never Make a Move', which I loved. The B.B. classics continued with 'Let the Good Time Roll', 'The Thrill is Gone', '3 O’Clock Blues' and 'Rock Me Baby', before Gabisson joined them on stage for 'Strut', that saw Big Dez using the Leslie effect coming in and out around Gilles' Mississippi sax and notes to superb effect.

The set closed with 'Why I Sing The Blues', of which I loved every minute. And if you catch Big Dez on tour in the UK later this year, such as at the Whitby Blues Rhythm & Rock Festival on Saturday 8th November, you can too sample some of King's iconic sounds in his set! Tonight, I was truly privileged to be here at this gig and to photograph these finest French Blues musician’s homage to the late great B.B. King, proving once again that music and the great Blues has no boundaries and speaks to us all!

Review, Photos and Video: Denise Lester