In 1979 and 1980 three world renowned guitarists, recognised as the finest exponents of their individual styles, John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell and Paco De Lucia formed a guitar super-trio and toured Europe. The spell-binding quality of the music that the collaboration created as na ensemble and the dazzling audience reaction to the performances has never been surpassed and has rightfully passed into jazz folklore.
John McLaughlin toured the U.S. during the summer of 2013 with his multi-cultural band the 4th Dimension, which included Gary Husband on keyboards and drums, Etienne Mbappe on bass, and Ranjit Barot on drums. The final concert in Boston, held at the Berklee College of Music, was recorded for live release. This fiery set features pieces from McLaughlin's then-recent albums Now Here This and To the One, but also sees him revisiting one of his classic Mahavishnu Orchestra songs, "You Know, You Know." Steve Leggett
Tracklist :
1 Raju 8:34
John McLaughlin
2 Little Miss Valley 9:15
John McLaughlin
3 Abbaji 6:36
John McLaughlin
4 Echos From Then 8:09
John McLaughlin
5 Señor C.S. 2:49
John McLaughlin
6 Call & Answer 9:05
John McLaughlin
7 Maharina 4:54
John McLaughlin
8 Hijacked 6:38
John McLaughlin
9 You Know You Know 5:52
John McLaughlin
Credits :
Bass – Etienne M'Bappe
Drums, Keyboards – Gary Husband
Drums, Voice – Ranjit Barot
Guitar – John McLaughlin
The fact that Bill Evans' years as a Miles Davis sideman had so positive an effect on him is evident on The Alternative Man -- an unpredictable fusion date that, although overproduced at times, is full of spirited blowing and adventurous composing. Ranging from the reggae-influenced "The Path of Resistance" to the addictive "Let the Juice Loose!" to the angular "Jojo," Evans' material is consistently impressive. A Michael Brecker disciple but definitely his own man, Evans tends to be robust and aggressive on tenor and more reflective on soprano. Guest John McLaughlin (electric guitar) is characteristically persuasive on the poetic "Flight of the Falcon." Alex Henderson
Tracklist :
1 The Alternative Man 5:45
Bass Guitar – Mark Egan
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Electric Guitar – Jeff Golub
Keyboards – Mitchel Forman
2 The Path Of Least Resistance 4:37
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Electric Guitar – Sid McGinnis
Keyboards – Clifford Carter
Percussion – Manolo Badrena
Vocals, Composed By – Clifford Carter
3 Let The Juice Loose 5:40
Bass Guitar – Marcus Miller
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Electric Guitar – Hiram Bullock
Percussion – Manolo Badrena
Trumpet – Lew Soloff
4 Gardiners Garden 4:30
Bass – Mark Egan
Electric Guitar, Composed By – Chuck Loeb
Percussion – Danny Gottlieb
5 Survival Of The Fittest 3:25
Acoustic Guitar – John McLaughlin
Bass – Mark Egan
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Grand Piano – Mitchel Forman
Keyboards – Clifford Carter
Percussion – Manolo Badrena
6 Jojo 6:21
Composed By – Rich Meitin
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Electric Guitar – Sid McGinnis
Keyboards, Composed By – Clifford Carter
Percussion – Manolo Badrena
7 The Cry In Her Eyes 5:41
Bass Guitar – Marcus Miller
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Electric Guitar – Dave Hart, Hiram Bullock
8 Miles Away 5:24
Bass Guitar – Marcus Miller
Drums – Al Foster
9 Flight Of The Falcon 7:23
Acoustic Guitar – John McLaughlin
Bass – Mark Egan
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Grand Piano – Mitchel Forman
Keyboards – Clifford Carter
Percussion – Manolo Badrena
Tracklist :
1.Meeting Of The Spirits
2.You Know You Know
3.A Lotus On Irish Streams
4.The Noonward
Personnel:
MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA :
John McLaughlin – Guitar
Jan Hammer – Keyboards
Jerry Goodman – Violin
Rick Laird – Bass
Chick Corea and John McLaughlin share one of the great pedigrees in the music of the 20th century: they were both key sidemen on Miles Davis' seminal albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. They have played together since those heady days, as a duo or as sit-in guests. Five Peace Band was Corea's idea of putting together a dream band to play all kinds of jazz, and he approached McLaughlin. Corea chose the other members in saxophonist Kenny Garrett, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and bassist Christian McBride. The group toured for nearly a year following Corea's Return to Forever reunion tour, and this double CD was compiled from that jaunt. It's true that on paper supergroups are suspicious offerings. Not so here. This band includes three younger -- yet veteran -- musicians who team wonderfully with the two legends on this set. Of the eight pieces included here, five are originals -- three by McLaughlin and a pair by Corea -- along with Davis' "In a Silent Way/It's About That Time" (with Herbie Hancock guesting), Jackie McLean's "Dr. Jackle," and a reading of the standard "Someday My Prince Will Come" (a duet between pianist and guitarist that elegantly closes disc two). McLaughlin's compositions are fairly recent; they were recorded with his 4th Dimension group on his excellent Floating Point and Industrial Zen albums. As one can imagine, this material is played here the way it was there -- only more so -- as extremely engaging 21st century electric fusion. His other piece, "Señor C.S.," is reimagined from the studio version on Industrial Zen. Here it is played harder and faster yet gives away none of its Latin groove, and instead comes off as a new, much more technically ambitious mutation of samba.
It should be noted that the rhythm section here is nothing less than startling. McBride is equally at home on an electric bass, and his sense of fire, funkiness, and dynamic range is in every note. Colaiuta is simply one of the most talented and exciting drummers out there, and creates an art form of dressing his timekeeping in impeccable and imaginative ways. Corea's tunes are closer to something resembling mainstream jazz -- though the gorgeous and lengthy (it clocks in at over 27 minutes) "Hymn to Andromeda" moves gradually and beautifully to the outside, with beautiful playing by Garrett and McLaughlin, who can still handle non-fusion material with invention, restraint, and taste. Disc two begins with an odd, idiosyncratic reading of McLean's "Dr. Jackle" as an attempt to stretch hard bop toward something (via Corea's arrangement) -- but what it is, isn't quite clear. The version of "In a Silent Way/It's About That Time" with Hancock is the album's high point. He plays an electric piano and creates the necessary incantatory vibe in the ethereal, soft, speculative beginning for Corea to simply caress into being. McLaughlin just floats about as an accompanist to the keys, and when he does play single lines, they become hesitant, soft, direction-pointing exercises toward what is to come. When the tune splits and becomes more aggressive in the latter half, the band gels and he finds himself in the maelstrom as the two keyboardists vie for dominance and the rhythm section creates a sense of pulse and excitement. His solo is brief and to the point yet full of knots and turns -- his trading lines with Garrett is especially tantalizing. Five Peace Band re-creates an extremely ambitious and beautifully executed gig, where all players were firing on all cylinders.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist 1 :
1. Raju (John McLaughlin) – 12:29
2. The Disguise (Chick Corea) – 13:32
3. New Blues, Old Bruise (John McLaughlin) – 14:06
4. Hymn to Andromeda (Chick Corea) – 27:45
Tracklist 2 :
1. Dr. Jackle (Jackie McLean) – 22:53
2. Senor C.S. (John McLaughlin) – 20:15
3. In a Silent Way / It's About That Time (Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul) – 20:06
4. Someday My Prince Will Come (Frank Churchill, Larry Morey) – 7:42
Personnel :
Chick Corea - Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer
Kenny Garrett - Alto Saxophone
John McLaughlin - Electric Guitar
Christian McBride - Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass
Vinnie Colaiuta - Drums, Percussion
Tracklist:
1. Aquamarine (Doug Hall) 4:59
2. Monterey (Danny Gottlieb, Joe Satriani) 4:22
3. The Aviary (Danny Gottlieb, John Abercrombie) 4:39
4. Alaska (Danny Gottlieb, Doug Hall) 6:52
5. Waterfall (Doug Hall) 3:08
6. Being (Mitchell Forman) 6:27
7. Duet (John McLaughlin) 3:28
8. Upon A Time (John Abercrombie) 4:54
9. Peace Of Mind (John McLaughlin) 3:33
Credits:
Personnel:
Bass – Mark Egan (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 9)
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Guitar – Jeff Mironov (tracks: 4), Joe Satriani (tracks: 2), John Abercrombie (tracks: 1, 3, 8), John McLaughlin (tracks: 7), Steve Kahn (tracks: 1)
Keyboards – Mitchell Forman (tracks: 2)
Keyboards, Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Doug Hall (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5)
Percussion – Cafe (tracks: 1, 2, 5)
Saxophone – Bill Evans (tracks: 4, 5)
Vibraphone – Dave Samuels (tracks: 5)
The better of the two albums the Tony Williams Lifetime recorded in
1970, Turn It Over, is a far more focused and powerful album than the
loose, experimental Ego, and one of the more intense pieces of early
jazz-rock fusion around. In parts, it's like Jimi Hendrix's Band of
Gypsys with much better chops. It's more rock-oriented and darker-hued
than their debut, 1969's Emergency!, and the temporary addition of
ex-Cream member Jack Bruce on bass and vocals alongside stalwart
guitarist John McLaughlin makes this something of a milestone of British
progressive jazz. The album's primary flaw is that unlike the expansive
double album Emergency!, these ten songs are tightly constricted into
pop-song forms -- only a swinging cover of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Once I
Loved" breaks the five-minute mark, and then only barely -- which reins
in these marvelous soloists too much. This is particularly frustrating
since pieces like the two-part "To Whom It May Concern" feature some
outstanding solos (especially from McLaughlin and organist Larry Young,
the group's secret weapon) that are frustratingly, tantalizingly short.
Expanded to a double album, Turn It Over would probably surpass
Emergency! as a pioneering jazz-rock fusion release; as it is, it's an
exciting but mildly maddening session. Stewart Mason
Tracklist :
1 To Whom It May Concern - Them 4:21
Chick Corea
2 To Whom It May Concern - Us 2:57
Chick Corea
3 This Night This Song 3:46
Tony Williams
4 Big Nick 2:46
John Coltrane
5 Right On 1:52
Tony Williams
6 Once I Loved 5:11
Ray Gilbert / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes
7 Vuelta Abajo 5:00
Tony Williams
8 A Famous Blues 4:13
John McLaughlin
9 Allah Be Praised 4:38
Larry Young
10 One Word 3:45
John McLaughlin
Lead Vocals – Jack Bruce
Credits :
Tony Williams - Drums, Vocals
John McLaughlin - Guitar, Vocals
Larry Young - Organ
Jack Bruce - Bass, Vocals
Certainly the potential of a recording by this trio featuring guitarist John McLaughlin and drummer Tony Williams (both members of Lifetime with organist Larry Young) along with bassist Jaco Pastorius -- aka the Trio of Doom -- is enormous. This compilation contains a performance of the trio at the Havana Jam in 1979, a U.S. State Department-sponsored cultural tour by a large number of American musicians who played on the same stage as Cuban aces. The band rehearsed and had about 25 minutes on the stage. Five days after leaving Cuba, the band reconvened in a New York City studio and recut most of the tracks. The studio versions (cuts six, seven, and ten) were released on a pair of various-artists compilations from the Cuban concert. McLaughlin felt at the time that the live performances were unusable because of Pastorius' playing. He relates the details in brief in the liner notes by Bill Milkowski. What this means, of course, is that out of ten cuts here, seven have never been released before. That said, the sum total of all the music that the group cut together is a little less than 40 minutes. From this, the opening drum solo by Williams takes up nearly three, and 20 seconds is of an alternate take of the drummer's "Para Oriente." But this is not a dodgy rip simply assembled to make money from the stuff of myth. Well, it is designed to make money from myth, but there is some seriously intense music here.
For starters, Williams' drum solo that opens the album is to die for. There is no excess, no showing off -- only an intense orgy of rhythm. When McLaughlin and Pastorius join him, the crowd must have gone crazy because he shifts nonstop into the guitarist's composition "Dark Prince." While his solo is overdriven, distorted, and rangy, full of angles and twists and turns, Jaco's playing on the head, and in taking the tune out, is solid. Perhaps at the time this didn't seem up to snuff, but it's hard to hear that based on the disc. The entire band is engaged with focused attention, ascending scalar and harmonic peaks together for its six and a half minutes. It is followed by a beautiful ballad by Pastorius called "Continuum," which appeared on his self-titled solo debut for Columbia. It's a gorgeous and deeply melodic ballad, and the bassist's playing is intensely soulful and lyrical. McLaughlin's chord shadings and voicings are not only supportive, they bring weight and depth, as does the beautiful hi-hat work of Williams. (Speaking of which, on "Dark Prince" and elsewhere, it's obvious that Williams is the true inventor of the blastbeat, not some generic heavy metal drummer. To hear his incessant bass drum and chronic cymbal-and-snare workouts is inspiring.) "Are You the One, Are You the One?," written by McLaughlin, closes the live set, and it's a funky, kinetic, and knotty jam with Williams playing breaks as well as pummeling the toms to get the funk up out of the thing. Pastorius' groove is incessant, even when he is matching the guitarist note for contrapuntal note. That's the good news. The studio versions of these cuts may "sound" better technically -- mostly due to the amplification and balance given the drum kit -- but they lack the raw edginess of the live sides. Still, fans of the fusion era, and those interested in any of these personas, will be much edified by what is found here. If only there were more of it.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist:
1 Drum Improvisation 2:26
Tony Williams
2 Dark Prince 6:36
John McLaughlin
3 Continuum 5:11
Jaco Pastorius
4 Para Oriente 5:42
Tony Williams
5 Are You the One, Are You the One? 4:54
John McLaughlin
6 Dark Prince 4:08
John McLaughlin
7 Continuum 3:49
Jaco Pastorius
8 Para Oriente 1:05
Tony Williams
9 Para Oriente 0:20
Tony Williams
10 Para Oriente 5:28
Tony Williams
Credits
Bass – Jaco Pastorius
Drums – Tony Williams
Guitar – John McLaughlin 
Making Music The tradition of Indian percussion has been
revolutionalized by tabla player Zakir Hussain. The son of Ustad Allah
Rakha, the long time collaborator of Ravi Shankar, Hussain has inherited
his father's quest for bringing the music of India to the international
stage. His recording credits include albums with George Harrison, Joe
Henderson, Van Morrison, Jack Bruce, Tito Puente, Pharoah Saunders,
Billy Cobham, the Hong Kong Symphony and the New Orleans Symphony. His
work with Mickey Hart of The Grateful Dead have included performances
and albums with the Diga Rhythm Band and Planet Drum. Hussain joined
with British guitarist John McLaughlin and Indian violinist L. Shankar
to form the east-meets-west supergroup, Shakti, in 1975. Although the
group disbanded in 1978, they reunited to tour as Remember Shakti in
1998. Hussain has been equally successful as a bandleader. During the
1980s, he toured with Zakir Hussain's Rhythm Experience. His debut solo
album, Making Music, released in 1987, was called "one of the most
inspired East-West fusion albums ever recorded". In 1992, Hussain
launched a record label, Monument Records, that focused on Indian music.
A lengthy list of awards have been bestowed upon Hussain throughout his
career. In 1988, he became the youngest percussionist to be awarded the
title "Padma Shri" by the Indian government. Two years later, he
recieved the Indo-Ameican award in tribute to his contributions to
furthering relations between the United States and India. Planet Drum,
an album co-produced with Hart in 1992, received a Grammy for "best
world music album", a NARM Indie Best Seller award and won the Downbeat
Critics Poll for "Best world music album". Still a youngster when he
began to attract attention with his virtuosic playing, Hussain began his
musical career at the age of seven and was touring by the age of
twelve. In 1970, he made his American debut as accompanist for Ravi
Shankar. Three years later, he became the leader of the Tal Vadya Rhythm
Band. The group subsequently evolved into the Diga Rhythm Band. In
1976, the band collaborated on a self-titled album with Mickey Hart.
Hussain has performed on the soundtracks of numerous films including
Apocalypse Now!, In Custody and Little Buddha. At the 1983 Cannes Film
Festival, he was nominated for an award as composer and music director
of the film, Heat And Dust. Craig Harris
Tracklist
1 Making Music 12:30
Written-By – Hussain
2 Zakir 6:24
Written-By – McLaughlin
3 Water Girl 3:52
Written-By – Hussain
4 Toni 3:51
Written-By – Hussain
5 Anisa 9:15
Written-By – Hussain
6 Sunjog 7:36
Written-By – Hussain
7 You And Me 2:13
Written-By – McLaughlin, Hussain
8 Sabah 3:35
Written-By – Hussain
Credits
Acoustic Guitar – John McLaughlin
Flute [Flutes] – Hariprasad Chaurasia
Tabla, Percussion, Voice – Zakir Hussain
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Tracklist
1 Here Come The Jiis 6:29
2 Clap Your Hand 6:02
3 Being You Being Me 5:43
4 Panditji 6:18
5 360 Flip 6:37
6 El Hombre Que Sabia 5:39
7 Gaza City 4:18
8 Kiki 5:56
Credits :
Bass – Etienne Mbappe
Drums – Gary Husband, Ranjit Barot
Guitar, Composed By – John McLaughlin
Keyboards – Gary Husband
1. Freedom Jazz Dance 
Thought by many to be among the most revolutionary albums in jazz history, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew solidified the genre known as jazz-rock fusion. The original double LP included only six cuts and featured up to 12 musicians at any given time, some of whom were already established while others would become high-profile players later, Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Airto, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Don Alias, Bennie Maupin, Larry Young, and Lenny White among them. Originally thought to be a series of long jams locked into grooves around keyboard, bass, or guitar vamps, Bitches Brew is actually a recording that producer Teo Macero assembled from various jams and takes by razor blade, splice to splice, section to section. "Pharaoh's Dance" opens the set with its slippery trumpet lines, McLaughlin's snaky guitar figures skirting the edge of the rhythm section and Don Alias' conga slipping through the middle. Corea and Zawinul's keyboards create a haunted, riffing modal groove, echoed and accented by the basses of Harvey Brooks and Holland. The title cut was originally composed as a five-part suite, though only three were used. Here the keyboards punch through the mix and big chords ring up distorted harmonics for Davis to solo rhythmically over, outside the mode. McLaughlin's comping creates a vamp, and the bass and drums carry the rest. It's a small taste of the deep voodoo funk to appear on Davis' later records. Side three opens with McLaughlin and Davis trading fours and eights over a lockstep hypnotic vamp on "Spanish Key." Zawinul's lyric sensibility provides a near chorus for Corea to flit around in; the congas and drummers juxtapose themselves against the basslines. It nearly segues into the brief "John McLaughlin," featuring an organ playing modes below arpeggiated blues guitar runs. The end of Bitches Brew, signified by the stellar "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," reflects the influence of Jimi Hendrix with its chunky, slipped chords and Davis playing a ghostly melody through the funkiness of the rhythm section. It seemingly dances, becoming increasingly more chaotic until it nearly disintegrates before shimmering into a loose foggy nadir. The disc closes with "Sanctuary," completely redone here as a moody electric ballad that was reworked for this band while keeping enough of its integrity to be recognizable. Bitches Brew is so forward-thinking that it retains its freshness and mystery in the 21st century. Thom Jurek 
Live-Evil is one of Miles Davis' most confusing and illuminating documents. As a double album, it features very different settings of his band -- and indeed two very different bands. The double-LP CD package is an amalgam of a December 19, 1970, gig at the Cellar Door, which featured a band comprised of Miles, bassist Michael Henderson, drummer Jack DeJohnette, guitarist John McLaughlin, saxophonist Gary Bartz, Keith Jarrett on organ, and percussionist Airto. These tunes show a septet that grooved hard and fast, touching on the great funkiness that would come on later. But they are also misleading in that McLaughlin only joined the band for this night of a four-night stand; he wasn't really a member of the band at this time. Therefore, as fine and deeply lyrically grooved-out as these tracks are, they feel just a bit stiff -- check any edition of this band without him and hear the difference. The other band on these discs was recorded in Columbia's Studio B and subbed Ron Carter or Dave Holland on bass, added Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on electric pianos, dropped the guitar on "Selim" and "Nem Um Talvez," and subbed Steve Grossman over Gary Bartz while adding Hermeto Pascoal on percussion and drums in one place ("Selim"). In fact, these sessions were recorded earlier than the live dates, the previous June in fact, when the three-keyboard band was beginning to fall apart. Why the discs were not issued separately or as a live disc and a studio disc has more to do with Miles' mind than anything else. As for the performances, the live material is wonderfully immediate and fiery: "Sivad," "Funky Tonk," and "What I Say" all cream with enthusiasm, even if they are a tad unsure of how to accommodate McLaughlin. Of the studio tracks, only "Little Red Church" comes up to that level of excitement, but the other tracks, particularly "Gemini/Double Image," have a winding, whirring kind of dynamic to them that seems to turn them back in on themselves, as if the band was really pushing in a free direction that Miles was trying to rein in. It's an awesome record, but it's because of its flaws rather than in spite of them. This is the sound of transition and complexity, and somehow it still grooves wonderfully. Thom Jurek 
Miles' last recording for the Columbia label before heading for the financial allure of Warner Bros. in the mid-'80s was not released until 1989. This critic's guess is because largely they had no idea what to do with it. Unlike anything else in his catalog, Aura is a ten-part suite composed by Danish flügelhornist Palle Mikkelborg as a tribute. Influenced deeply by serialism and the inspiration of Gil Evans, Mikkelborg composed a theme from ten notes based on the letters of Davis' first and last names. The notes yielded a chord, which led him through the work. Employing a full orchestra and the guitar talents of former Davis collaborator John McLaughlin and famed European bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pederson, Aura's sections are named for the color spectrum, with the addition of white and "electric red." The music is an amalgam of classical impressionism, European new music, jazz, rock, electronic, and other genres. As a tribute and separate orchestral work, it's quite moving and beautiful, full of moody interludes and evocations of nuance, color, texture, and dynamic. With Davis added, soloing in his trademark muted, rounded warmth, the music becomes almost breathtaking. The Gil Evans influence is everywhere apparent in the way strings segue into keyboards and float there until the trumpet or wind section comes for them and brings them home. It's easy to be cynical about a work like this, and call it a pastiche of Miles clichés. Far harder is it to place the entirety of Davis' career in one place and hear it expressed with so much warmth and elegance, because that career was so mercurial. Mikkelborg gave Miles a fine parting gift when he left Columbia, and listeners are so very fortunate for his generosity. by Thom Jurek 
Complete Recorded Works of Son House & The Great Delta Blues Singers isn't entirely devoted to Son House -- there are cuts by severa...
