James Booker Behind The Iron Curtain Plus.... (5-CD)

(RWA Records) 73 tracks - Hardcoverbook (English language, ca. 27 cm x 27 cm)

Grandiose documentation of three European live performances of the legendary rhythm & blues pianist from New Orleans - the five CDs with a total of 73 songs (1976 - 1977) in a 60-page, beautifully designed hardcover book (27 x 27 cm) are released on Richard Weize Archives.

From Jelly Roll Morton to Jon Batiste, New Orleans has arguably produced more great pianists than any other place. James Carroll Booker III (1939 - 1983) might have become the greatest of them all. But when he died in 1983, ill and addicted to drugs, there were just four albums by him.

Since then, his many fans have been feverishly searching for more previously unreleased recordings. While Booker was virtually unknown in the U.S., he had a strong following in Germany and neighboring countries, where he gave over a hundred performances between 1976 and 1978 - at the height of his creative powers. Now, "Behind The Iron Curtain Plus" not only documents three complete live concerts (East Berlin, December 1976, Lausanne, January 1977, Leipzig, October 1977) on five CDs, it also reveals the secret of Booker's affinity for German-speaking countries on 60 richly illustrated pages. The virtuoso pianist, who stylistically effortlessly brought together Ludwig van Beethoven, Ray Charles, Erroll Garner, Fats Domino, Frederic Chopin and Professor Longhair, and also captivated with a dramatic and emotional soul voice, is celebrated here as the genius he was.