James Booker - NICE JAZZ FESTIVAL JULY 1978 (Solo & Band)

James Booker – Live at the Nice Jazz Festival (July 1978)
Filmed in Nice, France

This rare video captures two extraordinary performances by New Orleans piano genius James Booker at the 1978 Nice Jazz Festival — both filmed during his legendary European tour. The concerts took place in the stunning Arènes de Cimiez, a Roman amphitheatre in the hills above Nice, offering a majestic backdrop for one of Booker’s finest filmed appearances.

00:00 Let’s Make a Better World
03:34 Please Send Me Someone to Love
09:23 Classified
12:53 Let Them Talk
17:25 Put Out the Light
20:35 Malaguena à la Louisiana
24:05 The Man I Love / True
33:59 So Swell When You’re Well
39:38 Let’s Make a Better World
42:20 Chains of Love
50:13 Junco Partner / Come Back Baby / Let Them Talk

🎹 Solo Set – July 14, 1978
Filmed for French television by visionary director Jean-Christophe Averty, this intimate 30-minute solo performance showcases Booker in peak form, weaving New Orleans R&B, gospel, and classical flourishes into a hypnotic set. With no band behind him, Booker holds the festival crowd spellbound with nothing but a piano and a microphone.

🎤 Band Set – July 1978
Also recorded during the festival, this unique jam finds Booker joining forces with Chicago blues legends Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Phil Guy. The result is New Orleans piano meeting electric Chicago blues in front of a roaring Côte d’Azur audience.

🎞️ Original master tapes are held by the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA), the French national audiovisual archive.

#SoSwellWhenYoureWell #Classified #LetThemTalk #Malaguena #PutOutTheLight
#ComeBackBaby #ChainsOfLove #LiveJazz #NewOrleansPiano #PianoLegend #BuddyGuy #JuniorWells #NiceJazzFestival