Muddy & Mick's All-Star Jam

<p> An ageless talent with a voice that was smoky yet hard, like a shot of the smoothest scotch, Muddy Waters was a commanding figure in the spotlight. He was a gracious host one November night in 1981 when the Rolling Stones dashed into the South Side Chicago club where he held forth. The moon-faced bluesman, resplendent in tie and vest and seated on a high bar chair, invited Mick Jagger on stage during “Baby Please Don't Go.” And before you knew it, Keith Richards and Ron Wood were up there, too, with borrowed guitars and cigarettes glued to their lips. Before night's end, Ian Stewart was behind the piano and the club's owner, Buddy Guy, took a turn at the mike. </p> <p>The new Muddy Waters &amp; the Rolling Stones DVD-CD set, <em>Live at the Checkerboard Lounge Chicago 1981</em>, documents that memorable evening, which began with Waters' veteran band warming the stage, continued through the old master's proclamation of the emotional verities of the blues in a voice that had lost none of its truth, and climaxed in an all-star jam. As usual, Jagger looked a bit silly doing his chicken dance in the presence of an artist who influenced him, but he sings gamely, and Richards and Wood stepped into their roles with great aplomb, executing fine solos in the midst of so much well-worn talent. </p>