LIVE: Murali Coryell @ the Van Dyck, 10/17/09

Murali Coryell, the blues-playing son of jazz guitar legend Larry Coryell, made a stop at the Van Dyck last Saturday night, and it wasn’t long before the Schenectady nightspot was hopping. Fronting a trio featuring bassist Steve Aldin and Dorian Randolph sitting behind the traps, Coryell wrestled his Strat’s fretboard, bending strings and sending notes screaming out into the audience.

Blues-drenched tunes from Coryell’s about-to-be released “Sugar Lips” CD featured prominantly throughout two powerful sets that mixed originals tunes with other songs written by, among others, Buddy Guy. The highlight of the evening’s performance was friendly guitar battle between Coryell and special guest George Boone on Z.Z. Hill’s “Down Home Blues.”

Playing for more than two hours over the course of the night, Coryell wrapped up the evening with a riveting and soulful version of the old Curtis Mayfield classic, “People Get Ready.”

Review and photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk