Record Reviews
📝 2096 reviews| Artist | Title | Review |
|---|---|---|
| John McLaughlin | Music Spoken Here | <p>Though this fitfully inspired yet always intelligently musical record is an electric album, McLaughlin is more often heard on acoustic guitar in something resembling his electric manner, along with more pronounced classical and flamenco influences. This quintet, along with bass and drums, contained two keyboard players, Francois Couturier and the noted classical pianist Katia Labeque (who was McLaughlin's companion). Labeque, seated at a Synclavier and a grand piano, has acres of technique and almost no feeling for jazz, though she is adept at providing moody backdrops, and her rapid-fire synth runs and Jarrett-like etudes on the Steinway aren't too far away stylistically from McLaughlin's helter-skelter flurries. In a continued homage to McLaughlin's once and future employer Miles Davis, "Blues for L.W." brazenly quotes "Blues for Pablo," and sometimes the music texturally resembles the heavily synthesized things that Miles would soon be putting out.</p><p>—<strong>Richard S. Ginell</strong></p> |
| John McLaughlin | Live At The Royal Festival Hall | <p>The Mahavishnu revival misadventure now over and done with, John McLaughlin fields a quieter, stripped-down trio in London's Royal Festival Hall and gets far more pleasingly musical results. Engaging in interplay at all kinds of tempos with bassist Kai Eckhardt and supported by the fleet, subtle drums and percussion of Trilok Gurtu, McLaughlin concentrates his energies on the acoustic guitar. Now and then, he flips a switch and plays through a guitar synthesizer whose broad attacks and occasional organ-like timbres often compensate nicely for the lack of a keyboardist. This trio encourages McLaughlin to display a funkier touch on his instrument without giving up any blinding speed; "Pasha's Love" contains unison flurries as furious as any from the first Mahavishnu group, only at a lower volume level. The final "Blues for L.W." (Lech Walesa) climaxes with some vocal Indian syllabic jamming that joyously rounds out the concert.</p><p>—<strong>Richard S. Ginell</strong></p> |
| John McLaughlin | After The Rain | <p> In the early '70s John McLaughlin was 1 / 3 of the supergroup Lifetime with drummer Tony Williams and organist Larry Young. This particular CD from 1994 matches him with drummer Elvin Jones and organist Joey DeFrancesco but the music has little in common with Lifetime. Instead many of the tunes can be considered to be tributes to John Coltrane; Jones's participation certainly reinforces that connection.</p><p>McLaughlin, back on electric guitar after sveral years sticking almost exclusively to acoustic, is in top form on such numbers as "Take the Coltrane," "My Favorite Things," "Crescent" and "Afro Blue." The improvising is advanced and colorful with DeFrancesco keeping the proceedings swinging and, even if the results are not quite classic, the collaboration is somewhat unique.</P><br><br>- - Scott Yanow<br> |
| John McLaughlin | The Promise | <p>Originally issued in 1996 when he was 54, The Promise offers a summation of all the places John McLaughlin has been in his career, and points directly toward his future. Featuring a wide range of musicians including appearances by the Free Spirits, the Guitar Trio, and an electric version of Shakti, the Promise is easily the most wide-ranging and diverse offering of McLaughlin's long career. Its contents encompass everything from straight post-bop and swinging soul-jazz to fusion to modern takes on East Indian music as it meets the West. As if this weren't enough, there are even moments with spoken word laced throughout, such as a verse of Dante read by Stefania Bombi toward the end of his scorching, funky, soul-jazz number "Thelonius Melodius" with B-3 organist Joey DeFrancesco and drummer Dennis Chambers. The set kicks off with one of its finest moments, a guitar-to-guitar reading of John Lewis' "Django" with Jeff Beck (bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Mark Mondesir, and drummer Tony Hymas round it out). Beck's solo is first; it is expansive as it moves from a gorgeous restating of the melody through slinky harmonic extrapolations. McLaughlin's answer is ambitious and intuitive. They then move toward one another and the melody, complementing each other perfectly. "El Ciego" is a complex, flamenco-tinged jazz number with McLaughlin trading knotty lines and soulful solos with Al di Meola and Paco de Lucia. "Jazz Jungle" is late 20th century fusion at its blazing best with Michael Brecker, Chambers, Don Alias, James Genus, and Jim Beard beginning almost nebulously before ratcheting the tempo and idea palettes to dizzying heights (Brecker is particularly brilliant). "The Wish," with Zakir Hussein, Nishat Khan, and Trilok Gurtu, looks deeply into Indian classical music balanced by a European gaze. McLaughlin's engagement with Khan's sitar creates nearly rapturous expression, all the while contained inside a texture that is as atmospheric as it is exotic. "Shin Jin Rui" employs the same band as "Jazz Jungle," with the exception of the saxophone, played by David Sanborn. His playing is riskier than on his own records, his alto juxtaposed with McLaughlin's guitar, a study in funky, electric jazz modernism. The set closes with a lovely all-acoustic reading of Jimmy Rowles' "The Peacocks" with guitarist Phillipe Loi and bassist Yan Maresz, and a verse by Lorca read by Susana Beatrix as an end cap. Ultimately, The Promise stands as one of McLaughlin's towering achievements as a guitarist and leader.</p><p>—<strong>Thom Jurek</strong></p> |
| John McLaughlin | The Heart Of Things | <p>Although not referred to as such by name, this is a mid-'90s incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra idea -- another quintet fronted by John McLaughlin playing electric jazz-rock with virtuosity to burn. As before, when the name was last floated in the 1980s, it is a very different sound, but closer to the original Mahavishnu blend than the '80s version ever got. There are rapid-fire unison statements as in the old days, but now softer and more complex in texture and definitely lower in volume. Dennis Chambers, a leftover from the McLaughlin organ trio of the early '90s, is probably the most incendiary drummer McLaughlin has featured since Billy Cobham, and he really mixes things up throughout the CD, including a sizzling one-on-one duel with the guitarist on the questionably titled "Acid Jazz." McLaughlin brandishes his technique with the old flash, yet as has been the pattern in his middle age, his tone is mellow and rounded, often heard through the transforming gauze of MIDI electronics. The experienced Jim Beard is responsible for the keyboard textures; Gary Thomas offers capable tenor, soprano and flute leads; Matthew Garrison (son of Jimmy) is the excellent electric bass player, and they are often augmented by the Latin percussion of Victor Williams. Again, one can say that McLaughlin's playing is more musical and charged with greater authority now than a quarter of a century ago, though not as hot in temperature. Even so, this is the warmest his music has been since the Mahavishnu days.</p>— <b>Richard S. Ginell</b> |
| John McLaughlin | The Believer (Shakti with John McLaughlin) | <p>When Eastern classical musicians and Western jazz or pop musicians get together to jam, the result are always heartwarming; two wildly disparate traditions coming together to make music is such an irresistible gesture of human unity and cross-cultural cooperation. What's not to love? Frankly, what's not to love is often the music itself, which all too frequently is long on multicultural good intentions and short on things like coherence, interest, and hooks. The intermittently mystical jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, who has been nursing an India jones for decades now, is hardly innocent of such offenses. But on The Believer, a live set featuring McLaughlin, electric mandolinist U. Shrinivas, kanjira and ghatam player V. Slevaganesh, and legendary tabla player Zakir Hussain, he delivers a gloriously tight, rhythmically thrilling program of original compositions (as well as one contribution each from Shrinivas and Hussain). The group is called Remember Shakti in reference to Shakti, the similarly configured band that McLaughlin co-led in the mid-'70s. If anything, his playing has grown more exciting than it was then; listening to him negotiate the thorny rhythmic changes of this music in unison with Shrinivas and to both of them bouncing off the complexly woven rhythmic patterns laid out by Hussain and Slevaganesh is not only impressive, but uplifting as well. Highlights include the downright funky "Anna" and Shrinivas' composition "Maya." Very highly recommended.</p><p>—<strong>Rick Anderson</strong></p> |
| John McLaughlin | Saturday Night In Bombay (With Shakti) | <p>John McLaughlin brought his revived Indo-jazz project Shakti to Bombay (Mumbai) in late 2000, and the result is this live disc, which features only four compositions but runs over an hour in length. (The title is a deliberate play on 1980's Friday Night in San Francisco.) McLaughlin's electric guitar and Zakir Hussain's tabla remain at the core of the group's sound. U. Shrinivas (on mandolin) and V. Selvaganesh (on kanjira, ghatam, and mridangam, all Indian percussion instruments) remain from the previous album, but there are also a number of Indian guest musicians, giving the music many added dimensions. The most remarkable guests are Debashish Bhattacharya on Hindustani slide guitar, Shankar Mahadevan on vocals, and Shiv Kumar Sharma on santur, an Indian hammered dulcimer. Sharma composed the second track, "Shringar"; nearly half an hour long, it consists almost entirely of a hypnotic dialogue between santur and guitar. Mahadevan's vocal performance on the opening "Luki" resounds with spiritual power, while Shrinivas's "Giriraj Sudha" gives a sunny, optimistic lift to the somewhat mournful set.</p><p>—<strong>David R. Adler</strong></p> |
| John McLaughlin | Thieves And Poets | <p>Since the late '60s, John McLaughlin's name has been synonymous with electric fusion guitar. But McLaughlin is equally accomplished on the acoustic guitar; he has a long history of excelling on that instrument, which he plays exclusively on Thieves and Poets. This 2003 release, in fact, isn't fusion in the amplified jazz-rock sense but rather acoustic-oriented post-bop with Euro-classical leanings. Thieves and Poets finds McLaughlin joining forces with two of Europe's classical outfits: the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie (with Renato Rivolta serving as conductor) and the much smaller, guitar-oriented Aighetta Quartet. The former appears on the title track, a lavish, three-movement, 26-minute orchestral work that has hints of Spanish flamenco at times. Meanwhile, Aighetta joins McLaughlin on four standards, all of which are dedicated to pianists he admires; the British guitarist acknowledges Bill Evans on "My Romance," Herbie Hancock on "Stella by Starlight," Chick Corea on "My Foolish Heart," and Gonzalo Rubalcaba on Luiz Eca's "The Dolphin." But he certainly does so in a personal, introspective way. Yes, "My Romance," "Stella by Starlight," and "My Foolish Heart" are warhorses that have been beaten to death over the years — great songs that have been recorded so many times that some jazz enthusiasts feel there should be a moratorium on them in the 21st century. But McLaughlin is such an accomplished, distinctive musician that he's allowed a warhorse or two (or three). Besides, he plays beautifully on these standards, and his lyricism is extremely individualistic. Hearing McLaughlin (who turned 60 in 2002) embracing Tin Pan Alley songs with a classical guitar group is hardly the same as hearing some 19-year-old, knee-jerk Sarah Vaughan wannabe attempting to squeeze the last drops out of blood from them. It's the difference between mindlessly going through the motions and saying something personal — and on this memorable CD, McLaughlin's playing is undeniably personal.</p>— <b>Alex Henderson</b> |
| Don McLean | Don McLean | |
| Don McLean | Playin' Favourites | |
| Don McLean | The Best Of Don McLean | |
| Blind Willie McTell | The Early Years | <p>This is one of the few Yazoo records that cannot be recommended as a potential first choice, because it was done relatively early. The sound is okay, but the song selection -- all made up of pre-World War II material, as usual for Yazoo -- is rather paltry compared with McTell collections that have come out since. It's not a bad choice, just not as good as some others, and it does include a decent, if limited, cross-section of early material, including "Statesboro Blues."</p><p>—<strong>Bruce Eder</strong></p> |
| Ralph McTell | The Best Of Ralph McTell | |
| Ralph McTell | Slide Away The Screen | |
| Brad Mehldau | Day Is Done | <p>Brad Mehldau did an exceptional job of keeping his stellar trio together for seven years, as proven by his fine Art of the Trio dates and 2004's Anything Goes. But Jorge Rossy, the group's drummer, began spending more and more time away from music and at his home in Spain. Mehldau, who is almost prolific in his recording process, recruited drummer Jeff Ballard to replace Rossy on Day Is Done. Ballard has worked off and on with bassist Larry Grenadier in the trio Fly with saxman Mark Turner, so he's not a total stranger to the process. Yet Ballard is a different kind of drummer, more diverse and certainly more kinetic in his approach, as evidenced by this disc. This is Mehldau's most energetic and rigorous recording to date. These ten cuts are comprised mainly of covers, though aside from "Alfie," there isn't anything here approaching a standard. There are tunes here by the Beatles ("She's Leaving Home" and a glorious solo version of "Martha My Dear" with a Scarlatti-esque study in counterpoint to usher it in), Paul Simon (a jaunty read of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"), Nick Drake (the title cut), and even Radiohead (in the crackling energy of "Knives Out"). There are two fine originals as well: the shimmering "Artis," with its striated right-hand work, and the Latin-tinged "Turtle Town," a somewhat breezy ballad that is nonetheless knotty and off-kilter enough in its melody and in Mehldau's solo to become complex and challenging. Day Is Done is another exceptional chapter in the Mehldau catalog, one that showcases a willingness to stretch itself to the breaking point and open up the band to a wider array of approaches.</p>— <b>Thom Jurek</b> |
| Memphis Minnie | Memphis Minnie | |
| Memphis Slim | Southside Reunion | |
| Men At Work | Two Hearts | |
| Mental As Anything | Get Wet | |
| Yehudi Menuhin | Concertos |
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