John Scofield - 1987 [2014] "Blue Matter"

 

Blue Matter is a studio album by jazz guitarist John Scofield that was released in 1986. It is the first of three recordings featuring Gary Grainger on bass guitar and Dennis Chambers on drums. The keyboards are played by Mitchel Forman with Don Alias providing percussion. Hiram Bullock is featured as second guitarist on three tracks.

One of the top jazz guitarists from the mid-1980s on, John Scofield has always had a very recognizable sound and the ability to combine together R&B/funk with advanced jazz. He is the lead voice throughout most of this release, performing eight of his originals with a group also including keyboardist Mitchel Forman, electric bassist Gary Grainger, drummer Dennis Chambers, percussionist Don Alias and (on three of the numbers) Hiram Bullock on rhythm guitar. Although not for jazz purists, who should get his slightly later Blue Note releases instead, this set should interest guitar freaks.

This 1986 session is one of Scofield's watershed dates. It was the first to feature the rhythm duo of bassist Gary Grainger and drummer Dennis Chambers (ex-Parliament/Funkadelic) that powered Scofield's successful live shows of the late '80s. Old friends Mitchel Forman (keyboards) and Don Alias (percussion) are also present, plus Hiram Bullock adding rhythm guitar on three tracks.

The presence of Hiram Bullock’s rhythm guitar on three tracks gives a good indication of Scofield’s approach on this album – it’s R’n’B/funk-based jazz/rock, with great grooves, neat chord changes and no gratuitious displays of instrumental technique for technique’s sake – though Scofield and Chambers were of course quite capable of some serious chops, evident on the killin’ ‘Trim’.

The dynamic title track is clearly influenced by Miles/Marcus Miller’s ‘Tutu’ with its half-time groove, walking synth bass and enigmatic chords, but Chambers’ brilliant contribution (closely monitored by the excellent Gary Grainger on bass) transforms it into something totally new.

In the first minute of the tune, he achieves a novel ‘bouncing ball’ snare drum effect and then unleashes some of the most kick-ass kick-drum playing in music history.

Chambers had already turned some heads playing with George Clinton, but, even if he had never picked up the sticks again after 1987, ‘Blue Matter’ would probably have put him right up in the drum pantheon.

‘Heaven Hill’ – named for Sco’s favourite brand of bourbon – a slow blues with surprising chord changes and tasty gospel-tinged piano playing by Mitch Forman, influenced a whole host of ‘fusion’ guitarist/composers such as Robben Ford, Scott Henderson and Frank Gambale (compare it to Henderson’s ‘Slidin’ Into Charlisa’).

‘Now She’s Blonde’, ‘Time Marches On’, ‘The Nag’ and ‘So You Say’ manage to be both funky and catchy while retaining enough harmonic interest and ‘dirt’ to go way beyond the smooth jazz tag.

The Blue Matter band got quite a live following around this time, with good reason. They were somewhat of an antidote to the Chick Corea Elektric Bands and Al Di Meolas of this world, as musically jaw-dropping as those artists were/are. Scofield himself acknowledged as much during an interview with Howard Mandel in 1988

Track listing:

All tracks written by John Scofield

    "Blue Matter" – 5:47
    "Trim" – 7:33
    "Heaven Hill" – 4:28
    "So You Say" – 4:34
    "Now She's Blonde" – 5:32
    "Make Me" – 2:53
    "The Nag" – 4:18
    "Time Marches On" – 7:32

Personnel:

    John Scofield – electric guitar
    Mitchel Forman – keyboards
    Hiram Bullock – electric guitar on "Blue Matter", "Now She's Blonde", and "Make Me"
    Gary Grainger – bass guitar
    Dennis Chambers – drums
    Don Alias – percussion

Don Mock - 1993 "Speed of Light"

 I had originally named this collection of tunes “The Basement Tapes.” I produced a few hundred cassette copies mainly for my GIT students so they could hear me play some of my compositions we were working on. Most of the tunes were basically rough demos which I recorded on my home studio (in my basement) 4-track cassette. I never considered the tracks to used on a “real” product. But soon after the tapes were duplicated, Jim Greeninger of DDD Records called me and wanted to release the album on CD. Playing off the title of my first album “Mock One,” he renamed it “Speed of Light.”

The CD was mainly sold in a few stores on the West Coast and later a few internet outlets. But eventually, we ran out of the first run of CD’s and the recording was out of circulation for several years. But thanks to the web, we’re now able to re-release the CD in digital downloadable form. This album will certainly not win any awards for it’s recording quality and some of the performances are rough but I’m proud of how well some of the tunes came out.

Being originally conceived as a demo, I wanted to demonstrate my playing and writing in various ways using several different guitars and sounds. Most of the electric guitar is my Mike Stevens prototype “LJ” with a Roland synth pickup. All of the midi recording of drums, bass and keyboard parts were input with the Stevens guitar. I also grabbed my Strat for a few things as well as my nylon and steel-string Ovation acoustics.

And that’s my custom Moller double-neck synth guitar playing the “Jan Hammer-ish” solos on tunes like St. Clair and Field of Six. The top neck has wires attached to each fret under the fingerboard. The strings are also wired so just the contact of the string touching the fret triggered the Oberheim synth modules I used. It’s the fasted tracking synth ever build but has lots of short-comings including mono-phonic (no chords) and mono-dynamic (no loud and soft). And it required a whole new left-hand “hammer” technique to play it. I did love using the pitch-bend lever which allowed me to do very un-guitar type bends and vibrato. The bottom neck is a regular electric guitar with a Roland system built in. A very experimental, exciting and heavy guitar.

"Speed of Light” does feature some very fine “real” players including drummer Dave Coleman, Chuck Deardorf on bass, Marc Seales on keyboards, Dan Dean on bass and Mike Bueno on drums.
A few of my favorite cuts are “St. Clair” and “Flight of the U-10.” Named after the street I lived on when I first moved to LA to start GIT, “St Clair” became a standard as far as fusion tunes go ending up in a few “fake" books. It’s a fun tune to play and the recording has some decent solos including a few seconds of “no idea how I pulled that off” guitar and synth licks. The “Flight of the U-10” is based on some sequenced background music I heard played on a sports broadcast showing, in slo-motion, a spectacular hydroplane crash which seriously injured the driver, who I knew. The music sequence was haunting and I “borrowed" the basic theme and built a groove from it. I added acoustic guitar and a few synth solos and like how it turned out.

And of course, “Apache Nightmare” is a tune I used to play a lot with the great Howard Roberts who wrote it. We always played it as a high-energy fusion tune, but for this recording I decided to change the key and play it on my nylon-string acoustic. And of all the tunes on “Speed of Light” I still play “Apache” to this day. Ironically, it’s usually with a guitar duo I play in with Jay Roberts, Howards son.

All compositions by Don Mock except:
Apache Nightmare by Howard Roberts and Jac Murphy
Robben’s Bebop Blues by Robben Ford
The theme from Flight of the U-10 - unknown
Speed of Light is a collection of compositions and computer tracks recorded at Mock One Productions, Seattle Washington. With the exception of St. Clair, Silent Castle and User Friendly (which are studio demos), all tunes were computer sequenced and/or recorded on a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. All drums, bass and keyboard type parts recorded into the computer using a Roland Guitar Synthesizer with the exception of:
St. Clair and Silent Castle
Drums: Dave Coleman, Bass: Chuck Deardorf, Piano: Marc Seales
User Friendly
Drums: Mike Bueno, Bass: Dan Dean, Piano: Marc Seales
Robben’s Bebop Blues
Piano: Marc Seales
Produced by Don Mock
Dedicated to the Memory of Howard Roberts who was a great friend and inspiration to my guitar playing and my teaching. -Don Mock
Special Thanks to Kathy Adolphsen, Mark Morgan, Mike Stevens Guitars, Marc Seales, Dave Raynor, Harry Gatjens, Roger E. Hutchinson, Dave Coleman, Chuck Deardorf, Dan Dean, Mike Bueno and Jim Greeninger of Digital Domain Disks.
 -Don Mock. 

Courtesy: Original uploader. I do not own this record, Crimhead420.

Track listing:

01 St. Clair 5:31
02 Robben's Bebop Blues 4:04
03 Hip Hop Cowboy - Part 1 7:06
04 Ballad of Triangles 2:06
05 Kasamba 3:29
06 Field of Six 5:19
07 Etude of Two Hearts 1:57
08 User Friendly 5:07
09 Flight of the U-10 7:54
10 Hip Hop Cowboy - Part 2 4:52
11 Apache Nightmare 3:39
12 Silent Castle 7:16

Total length: 58:20

Personnel:

Don Mock - Guitars
Dave Coleman, Mike Bueno - Drums
Dan Dean, Chuck Deardorf - Bass
Marc Seales - Piano

Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes - 1970 [2004] "Survival of the Fittest Live"

Survival of the Fittest Live is the fifth album by The Amboy Dukes. Released in 1971, it was the band's second album on Polydor Records, and the first where the band was credited as "Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes". It was the second Polydor album to chart, and it peaked at #129. There were no accompanying singles released by the record company. The performance was recorded live at the Eastown Theater in Detroit, Michigan, on July 31 and August 1, 1970. Keyboardist Andy Solomon, again, contributed most of the vocals. Except "Prodigal Son" (from Migration album) none of songs were previously released.

After three albums on Mainstream Records and a Top 20 smash with "Journey to the Center of the Mind," Ted Nugent brought his new aggregation to Polydor(the late Lillian Roxon claimed there were 35 personnel changes prior to their first and only hit). This second album on that label (and before they would jump to Warner and eventually Epic), was recorded live at The Eastowne Theater in Detroit, MI, July 31 and August 1, 1970.

A prime candidate for re-release with bonus tracks, the full hit is not here; the single disc contains six tracks, including the 21-minute-and-20-second epic "Prodigal Son," written by Nugent and sung by keyboardist Andy Solomon. Solomon handles the majority of the vocals on this album, with drummer K.J. Knight vocalizing on the bluesy "Mr.Jones Hanging Party" and songwriter/guitarist/focal point Nugent doing the chores on "Papa's Will." Solomon provides nice sax on "Mr. Jones' Hanging Party," showing the considerable talent he brought to the table.

What's this live disc like? The riff to "Journey to the Center of the Mind" opens the album inside the instrumental collaboration written by the group, "Survival of the Fittest," and it is a big tease. Unlike the bad mutations of the Electric Prunes, H.P. Lovecraft, and the most blatant example, the Velvet Underground's pseudo-record, Squeeze, this is the leader of an original group as he goes through musical changes. "Rattle My Snake" is certainly more in the Pat Travers vein than the psychedelic intrigue of the original (on record anyway) Amboy Dukes, and though this recording is live and has that live excitement, it feels more like a new album, with none of the tracks appearing on previous discs. "Papa's Will" is Ted Nugent stretching out a riff that -- if it were brought up in the mix -- could inspire Black Sabbath.

The collage of the four members on back is as bizarre as another Michigan product, Survival by Grand Funk Railroad. This album has that primal feel, though it is Ted Nugent with bows and arrows, in Native American garb, who is the solitary figure on the front cover. "Slidin' On" is a weak opening to side two, and the lengthy "Prodigal Son" contains obligatory drum solo and bass musings, but fails to kick in à la "In a Gadda da Vida" or Rare Earth's "Get Ready," which spread across entire sides of their respective discs. OK, so it is Ted Nugent doing Ten Years After without the flash of Alvin Lee, but "Prodigal Son" is one long jam with no climax, when you know 20 minutes of riffing on "Journey to the Center of the Mind" is really what the record-buying public wanted.

Years later someone needs to tell these Amboy Dukes why Procul Harum had to put "A Whiter Shade of Pale" back in the set. Steve Farmer is long gone from here, and only Andy Solomon and Ted Nugent remain from the band who had the hit two years before this concert was recorded. This is really Ted Nugent moving away from the group concept and gearing up for his heavy metal fame in the '70s and '80s. It is mildly interesting.

Track listing:

All songs written by Ted Nugent unless noted.

    "Survival of the Fittest" (Ted Nugent, Rob Ruzga, Andy Solomon, K. J. Knight) – 6:17
    "Rattle My Snake" – 3:00
    "Mr. Jones' Hanging Party" – 4:55
    "Papa's Will" – 9:00
    "Slidin' On" – 3:03
    "Prodigal Son" – 21:20

Personnel:

    Ted Nugent – Guitar, vocals (lead on track 4)
    Andy Solomon – Keyboards, saxophone, vocals (lead on tracks 2, 5 and 6)
    K. J. Knight – Drums, vocals (lead on track 3)
    Rob Ruzga – Bass

Return To Forever - 2012 "The Mothership Returns"

 The Mothership Returns is a live two CD set and one DVD by the fusion band Return to Forever. Released 18 June 2012 by Eagle Rock Entertainment, the double CD set documents the music performed during the 2011 tour. Return to Forever was expanded for this tour to quintet and featured keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White, guitarist Frank Gambale and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The album peaked #6 in the 2012 and 2013 Jazz Album charts.

When guitarist Al DiMeola left Return to Forever (again) after their 2008 reunion tour, Chick Corea solicited the help of the band's original axeman, Bill Connors, to rejoin the band for another tour. He did. While he rehearsed with Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White, health issues forbade him from returning to the road.

Corea then enlisted his former Elektric Band guitarist Frank Gambale, as well as guest violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The 2011 tour, by all fan accounts, blew the doors off the 2008 reunion. Gambale, every bit the technical virtuoso as Di Meola, is the stronger jazz player of the two. And with Ponty's added fireworks, the vintage RTF material took on an entirely new life, as did other pieces performed here.

This two-CD/DVD package offers visual as well as audio proof that the fans were correct. While the set opens with a gorgeously played "Medieval Overture" from Romantic Warrior, it then shifts into what is perhaps the most intense version of "Señor Mouse" on record at over 12 minutes. Next up is a medley of White tunes in "The Shadow of Lo/Sorceress," clocking in at nearly 17 minutes While the first part is a largely acoustic piece, it gives way to the band's full slate of jazz chops full-on. Clarke, Gambale, Ponty, and Corea all shine, while White is so ambitious and propulsive, he makes this entire jam sound more like prog rock than fusion.

Ponty's 19-plus minute "Renaissance," from 1975's Aurora, is a showcase for his composition. As a soloist, he remains fully committed to the fusion aesthetic and is every bit as technically gifted as he was in the '70s. He's dazzling, as is Clarke, in his swinging pizzicato bass solo.

Disc two begins with a burning, free-flowing "After the Cosmic Rain" that heads directly into an extended version of "Romantic Warrior" before shifting gears into a gorgeous medley of composer Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto Aranjuez paired with Corea's "Spain." Things get massively funky on Clarke's "School Days" before heading off into a straight -- and brief -- "Hymn to the Seventh Galaxy" to close it all out. It's a breathtaking 110 minutes.

The Mothership Returns' two CDs document much of the music performed during that 2011 tour, and are a refreshing reminder why it was a more enjoyable tour than the 2008 Di Meola reunion. For a set list that, in addition to two iconic tracks from Hymn—Clarke's anthemic "After the Cosmic Rain" and Corea's often-covered "Senor Mouse"—also culls materials from Where Have I Known You Before and Romantic Warrior, Gambale may actually be a better choice than either Di Meola or Connors.

The included DVD contains a documentary called Return to Forever: Inside the Music, concert performances of "After the Cosmic Rain" and "The Romantic Warrior," and a sneak peek trailer for the forthcoming film, The Story of Return to Forever.

Track listing:

Disc one

1. "Medieval Overture" (Chick Corea) – 6:03
2. "Senor Mouse" (Corea) – 12:10
3. "Shadow of Love/Sorceress" (Lenny White) – 16:05
4. "Renaissance" (Jean-Luc Ponty) – 19:40

Disc two

1. "After the Cosmic Rain" (Stanley Clarke) – 16:52
2. "The Romantic Warrior / Señor Blues" (Corea, Horace Silver) – 18:20
3. "Concierto de Aranjuez / Spain" (Corea, Joaquín Rodrigo) – 8:12
4. "School Days" (Clarke) – 11:24
5. "Beyond the Seventh Galaxy" (Corea) – 3:44

Personnel:

    Jean-Luc Ponty – violin
    Frank Gambale – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
    Chick Corea – acoustic piano, keyboards
    Stanley Clarke – double bass, electric bass
    Lenny White – drums

Frank Zappa - 1991 "Make a Jazz Noise Here"

Make a Jazz Noise Here is a live double album by Frank Zappa. It was first released in June 1991, and was the third Zappa album to be compiled from recordings from his 1988 world tour, following Broadway the Hard Way (1988) and The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life (1991). The album's cover art was made by Larry Grossman.

The album consists largely of instrumentals. Besides many of Zappa's own compositions, there are also some arrangements of Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók themes by his bassist, Scott Thunes. The album showcases Mike Keneally on guitar and keyboards. The drummer is Chad Wackerman, a highly regarded musician in the jazz world (he has frequently played with jazz guitarist Allan Holdsworth). A notable contribution to the mix is made by the brass section of the group: Walt Fowler (trumpet), Bruce Fowler (trombone), and saxophonists Paul Carman, Albert Wing and Kurt McGettrick. Ike Willis plays guitar and sings, along with keyboardist Bobby Martin. Ed Mann provides all the percussion and various other sounds, complementing the addition of the Synclavier, which Zappa brought on tour for the first and only time (In the midst of the 1988 tour, Zappa fired the bulk of his band and cancelled the remaining tour primarily due to infighting between specific band members). In the liner notes, Zappa states that the album features no overdubs.

The third and final live album put together from recordings of Frank Zappa's 1988 concerts, the two-CD set Make a Jazz Noise Here focuses on the composer's instrumental pieces -- which are not necessarily jazzy, by the way. As for the three vocal tracks included ("Stinkfoot," "Stevie's Spanking," and "Advance Romance"), they all feature interesting solos. The set presents old favorites, like the medley "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"/"Harry, You're a Beast," "King Kong," and "The Black Page." They are well-performed, but considering the number of versions of each of them available on other recordings, they hardly constitute the main interest of this album. Zappa included more obscure tracks. Some of them had not been performed on-stage for quite a long time. Of these, "Big Swifty," "T'Mershi Duween," "Dupree's Paradise," and "Eat That Question" all turn into memorable moments. Scattered throughout the album, listeners also find a few newer compositions, some more spontaneous than others. "Fire and Chains," "When Yuppies Go to Hell," and "Star Wars Won't Work" don't represent key pieces in Zappa's works, but they add an element of surprise to the whole. Make a Jazz Noise Here contains very little stage antics and inside jokes; it concentrates on virtuoso performances of some of Zappa's best instrumental tunes.

Track listing:

CD 1:
01            Stinkfoot        7:40
02        When Yuppies Go To Hell    14:36
03        Fire And Chains    3:57
04        Let's Make The Water Turn Black    1:36
05        Harry, You're A Beast    0:47
06        The Orange County Lumber Truck    0:42
07        Oh No    4:43
08        Theme From "Lumpy Gravy"    1:12
09        Eat That Question    1:55
10        Black Napkins    6:56
11        Big Swifty    11:13
12        King Kong    13:11
13        Star Wars Won't Work    3:33

CD 2:
01        The Black Page (New Age Version)    6:45
02        T'Mershi Duweeen    1:42
03        Dupree's Paradise    8:35
04        City Of Tiny Lights    8:01
05        Royal March From "L'Histoire Du Soldat"  1:00
06        Theme From The Bartok Piano Concerto #3  0:43
07        Sinister Footwear 2nd Mvt.    6:19
08        Stevie's Spanking    4:26
09        Alien Orifice    4:15
10        Cruisin' For Burgers    8:28
11        Advance Romance    7:43
12        Strictly Genteel   5:37

Personnel:

    Frank Zappa – lead guitar, synth, vocal
    Ike Willis – rhythm guitar, synth, vocal
    Mike Keneally – rhythm guitar, synth, vocal
    Bobby Martin – keyboards, vocal
    Ed Mann – vibes, marimba, electronic percussion
    Walt Fowler – trumpet, flugel horn, synth
    Bruce Fowler – trombone
    Paul Carman – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone
    Albert Wing – tenor saxophone
    Kurt McGettrick – baritone saxophone, contrabass clarinet
    Scott Thunes – electric bass, minimoog
    Chad Wackerman – drums, electronic percussion
    Sampled voices of Senator Hawkins, Senator Holings and Johnny "Guitar" Watson

Weather Report - 1980 [1992] Night Passage

 

Night Passage is the ninth studio album by Weather Report, released in 1980. The tracks were recorded on July 12 and 13, 1980 at The Complex studios in Los Angeles (before a crowd of 250 people who can be heard on a couple of tracks), except for "Madagascar", recorded live at the Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan on June 29 of the same year.

The album introduces a new member to the band, namely percussionist Robert Thomas Jr. Night Passage loses the over-done production layers of some of Weather Report's earlier releases (most notably 1978's Mr. Gone). What is lost in layers of overdubs is made up in solo improvisation in the classic jazz tradition.

All things being relative, this is Weather Report's straightahead album, where the elaborate production layers of the late-'70s gave way to sparer textures and more unadorned solo improvisation in the jazz tradition, electric instruments and all. The flaw of this album is the shortage of really memorable compositions; it is more of a vehicle for the virtuosic feats of what is considered by some to be the classic WR lineup -- Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, Robert Thomas, Jr. and Peter Erskine. For Erskine, this is is first full studio album and he amply demonstrates his terrific sense of forward drive unique among the other superb drummers in WR annals. "Port of Entry" is a tour de force for Jaco, who knocks off several of those unbelievably slippery, pointed runs that have made him a posthumous legend. There is also a tremendously fun retro trip to Duke Ellington's "Rockin' in Rhythm," everybody swinging their heads and hands off.

The music for Night Passage was honed during the tours of 1979-1980, following the release of 8:30. Whereas 8:30 relied largely on the music of the past, on the ’79-’80 tours the Pastorius-Erskine-Thomas edition of Weather Report developed its own unique identity independent of earlier work. Perhaps Jon Pareles captured the difference best in his article in Musician Player & Listener describing Weather Report’s New York concert in early 1980

Track listing:

1.    "Night Passage"    Joe Zawinul    6:30
2.    "Dream Clock"    Zawinul    6:26
3.    "Port of Entry"    Shorter    5:09
4.    "Forlorn"    Zawinul    3:55
5.    "Rockin' in Rhythm"    Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Harry Carney    3:02
6.    "Fast City"    Zawinul    6:17
7.    "Three Views of a Secret"    Pastorius    5:50
8.    "Madagascar"    Zawinul    10:56

Personnel:

    Josef Zawinul – keyboards and synthesizers
    Wayne Shorter – saxophones
    Jaco Pastorius – fretless bass
    Peter Erskine – drums
    Robert Thomas Jr. – percussion

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - 1983 "Texas Flood"

 

Texas Flood is the debut studio album by the American blues rock band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, released on June 13, 1983 by Epic Records. The album was named after a cover featured on the album, "Texas Flood", which was first recorded by blues singer Larry Davis in 1958. Produced by the band and recording engineer Richard Mullen, Texas Flood was recorded in the space of three days at Jackson Browne's personal recording studio in Los Angeles. Vaughan wrote six of the album's ten tracks.

Two singles, "Love Struck Baby" and "Pride and Joy", were released from the album. A music video was made for "Love Struck Baby" and received regular rotation on MTV in 1983. Texas Flood was reissued in 1999 with five bonus tracks including an interview segment, studio outtake, and three live tracks recorded on September 23, 1983 at The Palace in Hollywood, California. The album was reissued again in 2013, with two CDs in celebration of the album's 30th anniversary. Disc 1 is the original album with one bonus track, "Tin Pan Alley". Disc 2 is selections from a previously unreleased concert recorded at Ripley's Music Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 20, 1983, originally recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program.

Texas Flood received positive reviews, with critics praising the deep blues sound, and Vaughan’s songwriting, while some criticized the album for straying too far from mainstream rock. A retrospective review by AllMusic awarded it five out of five stars.

Vaughan and Double Trouble had performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1982 and caught the attention of musician Jackson Browne. He offered the band three days of free use in his Los Angeles recording studio. During Thanksgiving weekend, they accepted Browne's offer and recorded a demo. It was heard by record producer John H. Hammond, who had discovered artists such as Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen among many others. He presented the demo to Greg Geller, head of A&R at Epic Records, and arranged a recording contract.

It's hard to overestimate the impact Stevie Ray Vaughan's debut, Texas Flood, had upon its release in 1983. At that point, blues was no longer hip, the way it was in the '60s. Texas Flood changed all that, climbing into the Top 40 and spending over half a year on the charts, which was practically unheard of for a blues recording. Vaughan became a genuine star and, in doing so, sparked a revitalization of the blues. This was a monumental impact, but his critics claimed that, no matter how prodigious Vaughan's instrumental talents were, he didn't forge a distinctive voice; instead, he wore his influences on his sleeve, whether it was Albert King's pinched yet muscular soloing or Larry Davis' emotive singing. There's a certain element of truth in that, but that was sort of the point of Texas Flood. Vaughan didn't hide his influences; he celebrated them, pumping fresh blood into a familiar genre. When Vaughan and Double Trouble cut the album over the course of three days in 1982, he had already played his set lists countless times; he knew how to turn this material inside out or goose it up for maximum impact. The album is paced like a club show, kicking off with Vaughan's two best self-penned songs, "Love Struck Baby" and "Pride and Joy," then settling into a pair of covers, the slow-burning title track and an exciting reading of Howlin' Wolf's "Tell Me," before building to the climax of "Dirty Pool" and "I'm Crying." Vaughan caps the entire thing with "Lenny," a lyrical, jazzy tribute to his wife. It becomes clear that Vaughan's true achievement was finding something personal and emotional by fusing different elements of his idols. Sometimes the borrowing was overt, and other times subtle, but it all blended together into a style that recalled the past while seizing the excitement and essence of the present.

Track listing:

Love Struck Baby    2:19
Pride And Joy    3:39
Texas Flood    5:21
Tell Me    2:48
Testify    3:20
Rude Mood    4:40
Mary Had A Little Lamb    2:47
Dirty Pool    5:03
I'm Cryin'    3:43
Lenny    4:59

Personnel:

    Stevie Ray Vaughan – guitar, vocals
    Tommy Shannon – bass
    Chris Layton – drums

Greg Howe - 2017 "Wheelhouse"

 

Greg Howe Goes Back to His Roots for Blistering New Album

Described as his most personal work to date, Greg Howe's new album, Wheelhouse—which will be released on September 1— marks the guitar legend’s highly-anticipated return to solo instrumental work.

Tracks like “Tempest Pulse” and “Throw Down” showcase Howe’s infectious tone and fretboard wizardry while eclectic tracks like “2 In 1” combine a funk-infused vibe with Forties swing. But perhaps one of the biggest highlights on Wheelhouse; and one that long-time followers of Howe’s career will certainly find appealing, is the track, “Shady Lane”.

A song originally written by Howe and his brother back in the early Nineties, on Wheelhouse, "Shady Lane" is given a 21st century spin with an emotionally charged vocal performance by Richie Kotzen (Winery Dogs, Mr. Big). Kotzen also complements his fellow Shrapnel alumni by contributing a blistering guitar solo to the track as well.

Wheelhouse is an album that will once again raise the bar for guitarists, and a fitting return for one of the genre's most dynamically diverse artists.

Track Listing:

1. Tempest Pulse
2. 2 in 1
3. Throw Down
4. Landslide
5. Key to open
6. Push on
7. Let it slip
8. I Wonder
9. Shady Lane (Feat. Richie Kotzen)

Personnel:

    Greg Howe – guitar
    Rochon Westmoreland – bass (track 1, 3, 6, 7, 8)
    Pepe Jimenez – drums (track 1, 3, 6, 7, 8)
    Jon Reshard – bass (track 4)
    Kevin Vecchione – bass (track 2, 9)
    Gianluca Palmieri – drums (track 2, 9)
    Richie Kotzen – guitar vocals (track 9)
    Ronnie Foster – keyboard (track 2)

Steve Gadd - 2018 "Steve Gadd Band"

 

This tasty set is the fourth from the airtight Steve Gadd Band. Atop Gadd’s distinctly supple sense of groove, we hear master pianist Kevin Hays (in for Larry Goldings) playing lots of earthy Rhodes with just the right touch—and singing on “Spring Song.” Michael Landau provides rhythmic snap and bluesy bite on guitar. Trumpeter Walt Fowler brings melodic focus with an unhurried, crystalline tone. Longtime Allan Holdsworth bassist Jimmy Johnson stays straightforward and in the pocket while hugging every compositional curve, not least on Holdsworth’s composition “Temporary Fault.”

The album opens with “I Know, But Tell Me Again,” a tune with a cheerful, delicious groove and feel, and a certain amount of funk. It is approximately two minutes into this track that we get a drum and percussion solo. It’s brief, but good, just a taste of what he does, for this album doesn’t really contain any extended soloing from Gadd. This is one of the tracks to feature Duke Gadd on percussion. “I Know, But Tell Me Again” was written by Jimmy Johnson and Steve Gadd. That’s followed by “Auckland By Numbers,” a sly, mellower number that kind of sneaks in, slinking around the room and catching you in its spell. There is a cool vibe to this one, and it features some seriously good work on guitar. I guess that shouldn’t be any surprise, since it was composed by guitarist Michael Landau. I also like the work on horn, which feels like a voice rising from the mist.

On “Where’s Earth?” a great, funky groove is established immediately. This is another of the tracks to feature Duke Gadd, this time on acoustic guitar. He also co-wrote the track with Kevin Hays and Michael Landau. This one takes us on an interesting journey outward, all the while that fantastic groove continues beneath, keeping us somewhat grounded. That groove helps answer the song title’s question, a question many of us may be asking ourselves these days. Or maybe what we ask is, Where is the Earth that we knew? This track features some good work on keys. Then “Foameopathy” eases in with a strange but soothing introduction, relaxing us. So it comes as something of a surprise when the tune takes a turn, the band creating another great groove, featuring some excellent work by Steve on drums. The horn and keys at times work somewhat in contrast to that groove. Then, a couple of minutes into the track, everything seems to come together, and the track takes on a rather bright sound. Soon we are back to that groove, and Steve’s work on drums is really the focus. His playing makes this one of my personal favorite tracks, but there is also some excellent work on guitar. As this track reaches its conclusion, it returns us to the beginning. This one was written by Steve Gadd, Walt Fowler and Larry Goldings. That’s followed by “Skulk,” a track composed by Larry Goldings and Steve Gadd. “Skulk” is a word I don’t hear all that often, which is a shame, for it’s a great word. It usually makes me think of that scene from Four Weddings And A Funeral, when Andie MacDowell says she could skulk around a bit if skulking were required. Anyway, this one has kind of a fun vibe and a catchy rhythm, and features more good work on guitar. But for me it is that keyboard part that is really the delight here. And I like that section just before the end when everything slows a bit. Then “Norma’s Girl” is a mellower number. It has a romantic side, and also an introspective side, and features some pretty work by Walt Fowler. “Norma’s Girl” was written by Jimmy Johnson.

“Rat Race” is another fun, funky, playful number, this one written by Michael Landau and Duke Gadd. Duke Gadd plays percussion on this one. That bass line stands out for me, but everything is working really well. People talk about getting stuck in the rat race, but I wouldn’t mind being caught in this groove, just remaining in it for quite a while. There are so many delightful touches, moments that make you smile, if not laugh outright. That’s followed by “One Point Five,” the disc’s final track to feature the work of Duke Gadd on percussion. There is something catchy about this track’s groove as well, with something of a Latin feel, and then just as you’re getting caught in it, the tune goes in a different direction, and ends up getting even better. This track features some nice work on keys, and a cool drums and percussion section. The track fades out on that wonderful percussion section. The group then delivers a good rendition of “Temporary Fault,” the album’s only cover, written by Allan Holdsworth, and originally included on his 1982 LP I.O.U. They then relax into a classic, soulful groove with “Spring Song,” this one written by Kevin Hays, and also featuring him on vocals. It is the album’s only track to include vocals, and it opens with these lines: “In our life and time there will be sorrow/No reason or rhyme as the days come and go.” Well, that sounds just about right.  Yet this track makes me feel good. That guitar lead is one of my favorite parts, but this entire track is wonderful. “We all want to win, but winning’s not the answer.” The album then concludes with “Timpanogos,” a tune with a sweet vibe, and containing some surprising moments. This one was composed by Walt Fowler, and it gives each musician a chance to shine.

Track listing:

01 I Know, But Tell Me Again - (Jimmy Johnson, Steve Gadd) 4:51
02 Auckland By Numbers - (Michael Landau) 5:20
03 Where's Earth? - (Duke Gadd, Kevin Hays, Michael Landau) 4:15
04 Foameopathy - (Larry Goldings, Steve Gadd, Walt Fowler) 6:37
05 Skulk - (Larry Goldings, Steve Gadd) 4:50
06 Norma's Girl - (Jimmy Johnson) 5:08
07 Rat Race - (Duke Gadd, Michael Landau) 6:35
08 One Point Five - (Jimmy Johnson) 4:13
09 Temporary Fault - (Allan Holdsworth) 3:42
10 Spring Song - (Kevin Hays) 4:54
11 Timpanogos - (Walt Fowler) 5:35

Personnel:

    Acoustic Guitar – Duke Gadd (tracks: 3)
    Bass – Jimmy Johnson
    Drums – Steve Gadd
    Guitar [Guitars] – Michael Landau
    Keyboards, Vocals – Kevin Hays
    Percussion – Duke Gadd (tracks: 1, 7, 8)
    Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Walt Fowler

Ornette Coleman - 1959 [1992] "Change Of The Century"

Change of the Century is an album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, released on Atlantic Records in May 1960. It sold very well from soon after its release. Recording sessions for the album took place on October 8 and 9, 1959, in New York City.

The second album by Ornette Coleman's legendary quartet featuring Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins, Change of the Century is every bit the equal of the monumental The Shape of Jazz to Come, showcasing a group that was growing ever more confident in its revolutionary approach and the chemistry in the bandmembers' interplay. When Coleman concentrates on melody, his main themes are catchier, and when the pieces emphasize group interaction, the improvisation is freer. Two of Coleman's most memorable classic compositions are here in their original forms -- "Ramblin'" has all the swing and swagger of the blues, and "Una Muy Bonita" is oddly disjointed, its theme stopping and starting in totally unexpected places; both secure their themes to stable, pedal-point bass figures. The more outside group improv pieces are frequently just as fascinating; "Free," for example, features a double-tongued line that races up and down in free time before giving way to the ensemble's totally spontaneous inventions. The title cut is a frantic, way-out mélange of cascading lines that nearly trip over themselves, brief stabs of notes in the lead voices, and jarringly angular intervals -- it must have infuriated purists who couldn't even stomach Coleman's catchiest tunes. Coleman was frequently disparaged for not displaying the same mastery of instrumental technique and harmonic vocabulary as his predecessors, but his aesthetic prized feeling and expression above all that anyway. Maybe that's why Change of the Century bursts with such tremendous urgency and exuberance -- Coleman was hitting his stride and finally letting out all the ideas and emotions that had previously been constrained by tradition. That vitality makes it an absolutely essential purchase and, like The Shape of Jazz to Come, some of the most brilliant work of Coleman's career.

Change Of The Century was an audacious album title, to say the least. On his second Atlantic release—and second with his most like-minded ensemble (trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins)—alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman pushed the freedom principal farther. At the same time, he looked backward too for inspiration. Having eliminated the piano on his Contemporary release, Tomorrow Is The Question! (1959), Coleman opened up wide improvisational opportunities. On that recording, he and his "freedom principle" remained partially inhibited by the presence of traditionalist bassist Percy Heath and drummer Shelly Manne, who resisted coloring outside of the lines as Coleman was attempting to do. But that was not so on The Shape Of Jazz To Come (Atlantic, 1959) and Change Of The Century. While the rhythm section continued to provide enough cohesive swing to propel matters, Coleman and Cherry stretched the melodic boundaries without the previous harmonic anchors.

Change of the Century is compelling in its embrace of contrasts. "Ramblin'" is funky organic, almost early rock and roll. Haden plucks and strums his way through a fractured 12-bar format that never fully resolves itself into the comfort of the anticipated. Coleman's solo over Haden's support is bar-walking rhythm and blues, lowdown and dirty, smelling of beer and Lucky Strikes. Cherry plays his famous pocket trumpet, sounding closer to Lee Morgan than anyone else, squeezing out hard bop lines like sparks from a metal lathe. Haden solos using the figures he has supported the whole piece with. His intonation is middle-of-the-note, relaxed and slightly wooden. "Ramblin'" retains an erstwhile harmonic structure, albeit only barely.

The head of "Free" is an odd premonition for composer/saxophonist Oliver Nelson's "Hoedown" from The Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!, 1961), passing through an ascending and descending blues figure. Haden is rock solid throughout, even when the solo-going gets ragged and frayed. Higgins' accents are as potent as pepper, shoring up the edges of chaos on the briskly-timed piece. "The Face Of Bass" gives prominence to Haden while at the same time sounding strangely traditional for an album entitled Change of the Century. But it is a facade. Coleman encourages a careful abandon in the piece's overall structure and arrangement. Cherry pops on his solo, sometimes sounding like Freddie Hubbard, sometimes, Art Farmer.

"Forerunner" pretends that it is bebop, with a serpentine head and a deft drum break by Higgins. Coleman's solo is inspired, quenched in gospel and the blues. His tonal expanse is as big as his native Texas, informed by the many great tenor saxophone players from that state. Cherry emerges assertive, playing with swagger and attitude. So well constructed and delivered is his solo that it is easy to forget that a move toward a freer musical system is in the works. Haden remains stalwart in time-keeping, shepherding everything between the rhythmic ditches. The same can be said for the Charlie Parker-inspired "Bird Food," which is surveyed at a fast clip over a complex note pattern.

"Una Muy Bonita" is only passing Latin, with pianist Thelonious Monk phrasing and side- winding playing. Haden sets up a familiar clave beat with strummed chords. Coleman stages the piece to more insinuate a Latin vibe than to actually play one. After a lengthy introduction, Cherry solos muted, allowing himself a broad swath over which to play. The disc's closer, the title tune, was the most fully-realized "free jazz" at that point from Coleman. It is a wild phantasm of notes that are to "free jazz" what trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's "Bebop" was for that virtuosic genre. It is a clarion call played on impulse. Yes, finally things are really beginning to come apart at the seams, properly foreshadowing Free Jazz: A Group Improvisation (Atlantic, 1961). Coleman has fully gained his traction and is now ready.

Track listing:         

   Ramblin'               6:34
   Free                   6:20
   The Face Of The Bass      6:53
   Forerunner             5:13
   Bird Food              5:25
   Una Muy Bonita         5:51
   Change Of The Century  4:41

Personnel:

    Ornette Coleman — alto saxophone
    Don Cherry — pocket trumpet
    Charlie Haden — bass
    Billy Higgins — drums

Scott Henderson - 2015 "Vibe Station"

 

Guitarist Scott Henderson is one of a select few artists who raised jazz fusion from the embers in the 80s, namely with the band, Tribal Tech. Indeed, this unit proffered a much needed uplift via a far-reaching perspective and armed with a torrential improvisational credo on numerous fronts. Since then, the guitarist has performed with other high-flying units but as a solo artist, he often kicks out the jazz rock, fusion and blues rock jams within the power trio format. Henderson's searing wizardry is vividly perceptible on Vibe Station, as he often converses with himself by modulating distortion-based tones on his electric guitar and by creating a polychromatic aural feast with variable currents and intensity levels.

Henderson wreaks havoc on his guitar amid howling bottleneck notes, multihued chord voicings and ungodly hype-mode licks atop the rhythm section's slamming grooves and agile progressions. He often harmonizes with bassist Travis Carlton and during a variety of movements the trio summons an Armageddon with supple and heightening choruses within the prog-metal domain.

The title track "Vibe Station," is centered on jazz and funk motifs, countered by the leader's gravelly phrasings, blazing runs and shock-therapy type cadenzas. Henderson uses an electric sitar or perhaps some electronics-based sampling process on the humming and buzzing jazz fusion fest "Manic Carpet," abetted by his fervent call and response dialogue with drummer Alan Hertz during the bridge. And the jazz influences resurface with a Thelonious Monk-like primary theme and prickly bop lines on "The Covered Head," as the band surges into a lofty and tempestuous improv segment, revved up by Henderson's caustic shadings, weeping breakouts and supersonic single note riffs.

"Dew Wot?" is another piece where the tide shifts and momentum builds upon a twirling and shuffling cadence, seguing into a hot n' nasty blues rock foray, contrasted with knotty time signatures, used as a passageway into an interminable abyss. Ultimately, Vibe Station should be deemed essential listening for Henderson's legion of admirers, along with curious students and others not thoroughly acquainted with his formidable legacy.

Following on the heels of his amazing “HBC” trio with bassist Jeff Berlin and drummer Dennis Chambers, guitarist Scott Henderson returns with his 5th solo project, “Vibe Station”, exhibiting “elements of jazz, rock & blues, but has a bigger variety of textures and tones. The new all instrumental CD features bassist Travis Carlton (son of Larry) & drummer extraordinaire Alan Hertz. Henderson speaks of the new work as the most challenging project of his career.

Says Henderson, “I’m really excited about this record because our trio has been touring a lot and that energy came through on all the performances. The music is still blues-based, but also has a lot of harmonic content. The big change is no vocals, which challenged me as a guitarist to write material which can be played in a vocal way on the guitar, while incorporating my own chord-melody style. I think fans will enjoy the scope of this record because it has elements of blues, rock, jazz and funk. There’s something for everyone here.”

Henderson also said that the majority of the songs are layered with multi guitar tracks, utilizing many different guitars, pedals, amps and speaker combinations, making it the most textural and versatile sounding album he’s ever done. Travis Carlton on bass and Alan Hertz on drums make this project and live show very much groove-based.

Says Henderson, “I need to see people moving in their seats. I’m not interested on putting on an intellectual show for musicians only. I don’t believe I need to dumb down the music to appeal to people who aren’t musicians, because when Travis and Alan play together, the groove is going to attack you whether you’re a musician or not”.

Henderson’s impressive work over the years as co-leader of the group TRIBAL TECH, leader of his own ground breaking trio, and sideman to some of the best jazz artists of their generation, including the great Joe Zawinul, has elevated him to the front ranks of both Jazz and Blues. Besides being a world class player and premier composer, Henderson’s trademark is his beautiful tone and striking ability to blend Blues, Rock, Funk, and Jazz, creating a soulful and unique voice on the guitar.”

Track listing:

 01 Church of Xotic Dance - 7:20
 02 Sphinx - 8:59  
 03 Vibe Station - 7:10
 04 Manic Carpet - 7:25
 05 Calhoun - 8:42
 06 The Covered Head - 6:56
 07 Festival of Ghosts - 8:40
 08 Dew Wut? - 6:59
 09 Chelsea Bridge - 5:41

Personnel:

Scott Henderson: Guitar
Travis Carlton: Bass
Alan Hertz: Drums

Joe Farrell - 1973 [2018] "Penny Arcade" - 1974 [2018] "Upon This Rock" - 1975 [2018] "Canned Funk"

Joe Farrell - 1973 [2018] Penny Arcade

Joe Farrell gained his greatest fame with his popular string of CTI recordings. For this set, he performs three of his originals (none of which caught on), guitarist Joe Beck's "Penny Arcade," and a 13-minute version of Stevie Wonder's "Too High." Farrell (heard on tenor, soprano, flute and piccolo) is in excellent form, as are keyboardist Herbie Hancock, Beck, bassist Herb Bushler, drummer Steve Gadd and Don Alias on conga. As is true of his other CTI sets, this Joe Farrell effort expertly mixes together some slightly commercial elements and superior recording quality with strong solos.

Penny Arcade is a jazz album by Joe Farrell on the CTI Records label. It was recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in October 1973

Track listing:
Side one

    "Penny Arcade" (Joe Beck) – 4:45
    "Too High" (Stevie Wonder) – 13:15

Side two

    "Hurricane Jane" (Joe Farrell) – 4:25
    "Cloud Cream" (Joe Farrell) – 6:15
    "Geo Blue" (Joe Farrell) – 7:30

Personnel

    Joe Farrell – tenor and soprano sax, flute, piccolo
    Herbie Hancock – piano
    Joe Beck – guitar
    Steve Gadd- drums
    Herb Bushler – bass
    Don Alias – conga


Joe Farrell - 1974 [2018] Upon This Rock

Upon This Rock is an album by Joe Farrell released in 1974.

In 2008 it returned to media attention when Farrell's daughter sued Kanye West, Method Man, Redman, Common and their respective record companies over alleged sampling of the title track.

As one might guess from the album's title, this Joe Farrell date is a bit rock-oriented in places. Guitarist Joe Beck is the co-star, and Farrell (who switches between tenor, soprano and flute) is also joined by bassist Herb Bushler and drummer Jim Madison; "I Won't Be Back" has Farrell, Beck and Bushler joined by keyboardist Herbie Hancock, drummer Steve Gadd and the conga of Don Alias.

Track listing:

Side one

    "Weathervane" (Joe Farrell) – 8:00
    "I Won't Be Back" (Joe Beck) – 10:05

Side two

    "Upon This Rock " (Joe Farrell) – 11:54
    "Seven Seas" (Joe Beck) – 6:50

Personnel

    Joe Farrell – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
    Herb Bushler – bass
    Joe Beck – guitar
    Jimmy Madison – drums
    Steve Gadd – drums (on "I Won't Be Back")
    Herbie Hancock – piano (on "I Won't Be Back")
    Don Alias – conga (on "I Won't Be Back")


Joe Farrell - 1974 [2011] Canned Funk:

Joe Farrell's final of six CTI dates has fairly lengthy versions of four of his originals. Farrell, who adds baritone to his usual trio of instruments (tenor, soprano and flute), once again welcomes guitarist Joe Beck as his co-star, along with bassist Herb Bushler, drummer Jim Madison and percussionist Ray Mantilla. The music is melodic, sometimes funky, and enjoyable if not essential, but all of Joe Farrell's CTI sets are worth acquiring.  

 Canned Funk is a jazz album by Joe Farrell for CTI Records. It was recorded at Van Gelder Studios November and December 1974. The album was released in 1975.

Track listing
Side one

    "Canned Funk" (Joe Farrell) – 7:20
    "Animal" (Farrell) – 9:55

Side two

    "Suite Martinique" (Farrell) – 9:03
    "Spoken Silence" (Farrell) – 7:43

Personnel

    Joe Farrell – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute
    Herb Bushler – bass
    Joe Beck – guitar
    Jim Madison – drums
    Ray Mantilla – conga, percussion

Weather Report - 1978 [1991] "Mr. Gone"

 

Mr. Gone is the eighth studio album by jazz fusion band Weather Report released in 1978 by ARC/Columbia Records. The album rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

As the group was still looking for a drummer following the departure of Alex Acuña, outside drummers Tony Williams and Steve Gadd appear along with Peter Erskine, who would become Acuña's replacement. Singers Deniece Williams and Maurice White also appear on the track "And Then." The Pastorius-penned "Punk Jazz" was later the title of a posthumous compilation of Jaco Pastorius's music.

The record became a center of controversy when DownBeat magazine gave it a one-star review. Zawinul went on to deliver a furious response to this review during a later interview.

On Mr. Gone, Weather Report becomes merely a cover name for a Joe Zawinul/Jaco Pastorius jazz/rock/funk record production, with several guest drummers (Steve Gadd, Tony Williams, Peter Erskine), no resident percussionist, and Wayne Shorter as a still-potent solo saxophone threat. This album was denounced in its time as a sellout, probably on the reputation of Jaco's pulsating "River People," which is as close as WR ever came to outright disco. But there is lots of diversity and adventure here, as the creative core of the band uses the latest electronics to push out the boundaries of sound while maintaining tight control over structure. "The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat" is quintessential Zawinul; the Third World-centered groove is everything, no chord changes to impede this rush of layered electronics, percussion, and voices. Shorter's spare "The Elders" flirts with the electronic avant-garde and he retrofits his Miles Davis-era "Pinocchio" in rapid-fire electro-acoustic garb. In other words, the multi-flavored WR stew continues to cook at a fine boil.

Mr. Gone is one of those recordings which causes debate among fans of Weather Report and Jaco. The album features two Jaco compositions, including “River People” and “Punk Jazz”. Jaco elaborated about “River People” during an interview with the BBC’s Clive Williamson: “I have a tune, ‘River People’, and I wanted a certain kind of feel, so I decided to play drums on it. We were in a transformation period, I broke my right wrist and we had some time off, and just Joe and I were in the studio. So we did ‘River People’ that way, building the tune up on the spot. It was all written out, so all Joe had to do was play his parts, and I played mine, and it just all gelled together, and I did some overdubs. In fact, we played the bass parts together ‘coz he got this synth sound, sort of a little twang, almost like a little guitar on the top, with my bass rolling on the bottom. So we just played to the click track, and I went back and overdubbed the drums with that, as opposed to ‘Teen Town’ where I played the drums first, and overdubbed the bass part afterwards.”

Track listing:

01  "The Pursuit of the Woman with the Feathered Hat" (Zawinul) 5:03
02  "River People" (Pastorius) 4:50
03  "Young and Fine" (Zawinul) 6:55
04  "The Elders" (Shorter, arranged by Zawinul) 4:21
05  "Mr. Gone" (Zawinul) 5:26
06  "Punk Jazz" (Pastorius) 5:09
07  "Pinocchio" (Shorter) 2:26
08  "And Then" (music - Zawinul, lyrics - Sam Guest) 3:22

Personnel:

    Joe Zawinul - modified Rhodes 88 electric piano, acoustic piano, two ARP 2600 synthesizers, Oberheim Polyphonic synthesizer, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer, Mu-Tron Bi-Phase and Mu-Tron Volume Wah effects, kalimba, thumbeki drums, sleigh bells, melodica, high hat, vocals (tracks 1 and 5)
    Wayne Shorter - tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, vocals (track 1)
    Jaco Pastorius - bass, drums (tracks 1 and 2), timpani (track 2), vocals (tracks 1, 2, and 6)
    Peter Erskine - drums (tracks 1 and 7), hi hat (track 3), vocals (track 1)

Additional musicians

    Tony Williams - drums (tracks 5 and 6)
    Steve Gadd - drums (tracks 3 and 8)
    Manolo Badrena - vocal solo (track 1)
    Jon Lucien - vocals (track 1)
    Deniece Williams - vocals (track 8)
    Maurice White - vocals (track 8)

Steve Vai - 1996 "Fire Garden"

 Fire Garden is the fourth studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on September 17, 1996 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 106 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for two weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in three other countries.

As described by Vai in the liner notes, Fire Garden is a concept album divided into two "phases": "Phase 1" comprises tracks 1–9 and is entirely instrumental (with the exception of Devin Townsend's backwards vocals on "Whookam" and some more vocals toward the end of "Fire Garden Suite"), while "Phase 2", the remainder of the album, features Vai on vocals on every song except the instrumental "Warm Regards". Fire Garden was intended to be a double album, but during mastering Vai heard about the new 80-minute CD format (instead of 74 for a standard CD), which meant that both sides were able to fit onto a single disc.

"Dyin' Day" was co-written by Ozzy Osbourne during the writing sessions for Osbourne's 1995 album Ozzmosis. Another song from those sessions, "My Little Man", made its way onto Ozzmosis and is credited on that album as being co-written by Vai.

A recent acquisition and boy does Vai and crew deliver the goods here. All bases are covered : from all out dazzling heavy rock, to funky , to soulful, to clever. Hey complex yet emotional touching so many bases that to not have this part instrumental part song based cd would be too rob yourself of a genuinely exhilarating rock / great music thrill. Steve Via known to many for his guitar pyrotechnics yes but until now I didn t realise his excellent song writing abilities teaming up here with equally talented team of players. Fire Garden is the equal I think to much acclaimed Passion and Warfare, slightly less heavy rock than that lp, better songs and more variety. Stand outs for me is the 10 minute suite Eastern influenced title track, the rollicking Little Alligators and soulful Bother amongst several others.

Fire Garden is beautiful, rocking, dazzling and premier league music. Yeah its that good.

Track listing:

All tracks are written by Steve Vai, except where noted.

"Phase 1"No.    Title    Length
1.    "There's a Fire in the House"    5:26
2.    "The Crying Machine"    4:50
3.    "Dyin' Day" (Vai, Ozzy Osbourne)    4:29
4.    "Whookam"    0:36
5.    "Blowfish"    4:03
6.    "The Mysterious Murder of Christian Tiera's Lover"    1:02
7.    "Hand on Heart"    5:25
8.    "Bangkok" (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Tim Rice)    2:46
9.    "Fire Garden Suite"
          "Bull Whip"
          "Pusa Road"
          "Angel Food"
          "Taurus Bulba"  9:56

"Phase 2"No.    Title    Length
10.    "Deepness"    0:47
11.    "Little Alligator"    6:12
12.    "All About Eve"    4:38
13.    "Aching Hunger"    4:45
14.    "Brother"    5:04
15.    "Damn You"    4:31
16.    "When I Was a Little Boy"    1:18
17.    "Genocide"    4:11
18.    "Warm Regards"    4:06

Total length:    74:05

Personnel:

    Steve Vai – lead vocals, guitar, all other instrumentation (except where noted), arrangement, engineering, production
    Devin Townsend – lead vocals (tracks 4, 9)
    Will Riley – keyboard (track 14)
    John Avila – bass (track 2)
    Stuart Hamm – bass (track 3)
    Fabrizio Gossi – bass (track 14)
    Chris Frazier – drums (track 1)
    Greg Bissonette – drums (track 2)
    Deen Castronovo – drums (tracks 3, 5, 7, 11, 12, 15)
    Mike Mangini – drums (tracks 8, 9)
    Robin DiMaggio – drums (track 14)
    C.C. White – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    Tracee Lewis – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    Miroslava Mendoza Escriba – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    Kimberly Evans – background vocals (tracks 12, 17)
    John Sombrotto – background vocals (track 17)
    Mark McCrite – background vocals (track 17)
    Jim Altan – background vocals (track 17)
    Julian Vai – spoken vocals – track (18)

Ornette Coleman - 1960 "Free Jazz"

 

Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation is the sixth album by jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, released on Atlantic Records in 1961, his fourth for the label. Its title established the name of the then-nascent free jazz movement. The recording session took place on December 21, 1960, at A&R Studios in New York City. The sole outtake from the album session, "First Take," was later released on the 1971 compilation Twins.

The music is a continuous free improvisation with only a few brief pre-determined sections. The music was recorded in one single “take” with no overdubbing or editing.

The album features what Coleman called a “double quartet,” i.e., two self-contained jazz quartets, each with two wind instruments and each with a rhythm section consisting of bass and drums. The two quartets are heard in separate channels with Coleman’s regular group in the left channel and the second quartet in the right.

The two quartets play simultaneously with the two rhythm sections providing a dense rhythmic foundation over which the wind players either solo or provide freeform commentaries that often turn into full-scale collective improvisation interspersed with pre-determined composed passages. The composed thematic material can be considered a series of brief, dissonant fanfares for the horns which serve as interludes between solos. Not least among the album's achievements was that it was the first album-length improvisation, nearly forty minutes, which was unheard of at the time.

The original LP package incorporated Jackson Pollock's 1954 painting The White Light.[10] The cover was a gatefold with a cutout window in the lower right corner allowing a glimpse of the painting; opening the cover revealed the full artwork, along with liner notes by critic Martin Williams. Coleman was a fan of Pollock as well as a painter, and his 1966 LP The Empty Foxhole features Coleman's own artwork.

In the January 18, 1962 issue of Down Beat magazine, in a special review titled "Double View of a Double Quartet," Pete Welding awarded the album Five Stars while John A. Tynan rated it No Stars.

The album was identified by Chris Kelsey in his Allmusic essay "Free Jazz: A Subjective History" as one of the 20 Essential Free Jazz albums. It served as the blueprint for later large-ensemble free jazz recordings such as Ascension by John Coltrane and Machine Gun by Peter Brötzmann.

On March 3, 1998, Free Jazz was reissued on compact disc by Rhino Records as part of its Atlantic 50 series. The "Free Jazz" track, split into two sections for each side of the LP, appeared here in continuous uninterrupted form, along with a bonus track of the previously issued "First Take."

Track Listing:

1 Free Jazz 31:07
2 First Take 17:03

Personnel:

Left channel

    Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone
    Don Cherry – pocket trumpet
    Scott LaFaro – bass
    Billy Higgins – drums

Right channel

    Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet
    Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
    Charlie Haden – bass
    Ed Blackwell – drums

John Mclaughlin, Jaco Pastorious, Tony Williams - 1979 [2007] "Trio Of Doom"

 

The Trio of Doom was a short-lived jazz fusion power trio consisting of John McLaughlin on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. They were brought together by Columbia Records in 1979 to play the Havana Jam festival in Cuba alongside Billy Joel, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and others.

They were named by Pastorius. He had earlier called his bass the "Bass of Doom," because of its growling sound.

Their only live performance was on March 3, 1979, and it is recorded on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.

On March 8, 1979, the group reconvened in New York City to record the songs they had played live, but a dispute broke out between Pastorius and Williams that ended the trio.

Recorded at the 1979 Havana Jazz Festival, this short and powerful set, with Miles Davis alumni, drummer Tony Williams and guitarist John McLaughlin, and Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius, was one for the ages. The previously unreleased selections, one through five, are explosive, but mis-miked live tracks. Williams’ "Drum Improvisation" segues into McLaughlin’s fuzz-toned "Dark Prince," which does not swing in a silent way. Pastorious’ theme song "Continuum" is scaled down to its essential twilight textures, while the drummer’s "Para Oriente" - which later became a stable in V.S.O.P’s book, and was recast as "Angel Street" – is rendered here in a funky, pre-grunge mode. The guitarist’s "Are You the One, Are You the One?" previews the jam band craze. The rest of the cuts were recorded a week later in a New York studio, But the warts-and-all original sides are unmatched for their primal power.

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.

An album was released on June 26, 2007, on Legacy Recordings, containing five tracks from Havana Jam and five recorded in the studio.

Tracklist

   01 "Drum Improvisation" (Tony Williams) – 2:46
   02 "Dark Prince" (John McLaughlin) – 6:36
   03 "Continuum" (Jaco Pastorius) – 5:11
   04 "Para Oriente" (Tony Williams) – 5:42
   05 "Are You the One? Are You the One?" (John McLaughlin) – 4:51
   06 "Dark Prince (live)" (John McLaughlin) – 4:11
   07 "Continuum" (Jaco Pastorius) – 3:49
   08 "Para Oriente" (alternate take one) (Tony Williams) – 1:05
   09 "Para Oriente" (alternate take two) (Tony Williams) – 0:20
   10 "Para Oriente" (Tony Williams) – 5:28

Tracks 1–5 were recorded on 3 March 1979, at the Karl Marx Theater, Havana, Cuba. Tracks 6–10 were recorded on 8 March 1979, at CBS Studios, New York.

Personnel:

John Mclaughlin - guitar
Jaco Pastorius - Bass
Tony Williams - Drums

Scott Kinsey - 2019 "We Speak Luniwaz"

 

On We Speak Luniwaz, Kinsey presents a sequence of creatively arranged Zawinul gems, plus a couple of original compositions, with a gifted core band (saxophonist/flutist Katisse Buckingham, bassist Hadrien Feraud, and drummer Gergö Borlai) and guest stars.

“Scott Kinsey’s realization of these Weather Report tunes manages to not only pay tribute to the works of Zawinul and Shorter but also to mine the music for discoverable gold. His band plays the daylights out of these tunes. This album deserves your attention.”
— Peter Erskine

Widely known as one of the most skilled keyboard players of his generation, Scott Kinsey is also one of the foremost interpreters of Joe Zawinul’s rich musical legacy. As musical director of the Zawinul Legacy Band, Kinsey has delivered electrifying performances in celebration of Zawinul’s groundbreaking work with Weather Report and the Zawinul Syndicate.

On 'We Speak Luniwaz', his Whirlwind Recordings debut, Kinsey brings his expertise to bear on re-imaginings of seven scintillating Zawinul compositions, plus one by Wayne Shorter and two originals. Joined by electric bass phenom Hadrien Feraud, saxophone/flute master Katisse Buckingham and Hungarian drummer Gergo Borlai, this accomplished crew generates sparkling energy and percolating grooves on entrancing Zawinul fare like “The Harvest” ('Dialects', 1986), “Victims of the Groove” ('Lost Tribes', 1992), “Black Market” ('Black Market', 1976), “Fast City” ('Night Passage', 1980), “Between the Thighs” ('Tale Spinnin’', 1975) and “Where the Moon Goes” ('Procession', 1983). For the funky “Cucumber Slumber,” ('Mysterious Traveler', 1974), Kinsey showcases Buckingham’s skills as rapper with a testimony to Joe in a segment titled “World Citizen.”

“Zawinul’s music has been near and dear to me ever since the moment I first heard it,” Kinsey wrote in the liner notes. “My objective was to try to do justice to this material, more than anything as a little thank-you note to someone who certainly changed my life,” added Kinsey. “And someone who gave us all so much through his uncompromising and impossibly high musical standards. What Joe did was create his own personal language that was always in the moment and totally fresh! So with time, I also learned to speak Luniwaz, perhaps using my own personal dialect… I’m pretty sure he would have loved this record.”

Scott Kinsey is something of a leading light in the world of fusion thanks to his collaborations with the likes of Scott Henderson’s Tribal Tech, Alphonso Johnson and  John McLaughlin, new-school types like Matthew Garrison and Tim Lefbvre, and hipsters such as Thundercat and Flying Lotus, not to mention a host of movie scores. Here he returns to the fusion well-spring by exploring the legacy of one of the genre’s founding fathers, with whom he also enjoyed a fruitful working relationship as keyboard programmer and whose legacy he already supports via the official Zawinul Legacy Band. There’s a host of well-loved Zawinul Weather Report classics on offer here, plus Wayne  Shorter’s ‘Port Of Entry’ and a pair of originals by Scott and the band (essentially the same line-up as the Legacy Band plus Hungarian power drummer Borlai). In addition, in the best Weather Report tradition there’s a pool of percussionists, many of whom worked with the man himself.

The band sound terrific, and Hadrien Ferraud in particular continues to justify his place as the current holder of the Jaco mantle with his awesome speed, accuracy and creativity. There’s a slightly disconcerting rap from saxophonist Buckingham on ‘Cucumber Slumber’ but elsewhere the creative choices throughout are totally in keeping with the genre. While the project has the whole-hearted endorsement of the Zawinul family, and undoubtedly keeps the flame burning for his unique vision, one may feel that this album points the listener back towards the brilliance of the originals rather than holding the attention in its own right. But maybe that’s the idea.

Track listing:

01 The Harvest     
02 Victims of the Groove     
03 Cucumber Slumber / World Citizen Medley     
04 We Speak Luniwaz     
05 Black Market     
06 Fast City     
07 Running The Dara Down     
08 Port Of Entry     
09 Between The Thighs     
10 Where The Moon Goes

Personnel:

Scott Kinsey - keyboards, piano, vocoder
Katise Buckingham - tenor & soprano saxophones, flute, rhymes
Hadrien Feraud - electric bass
Gergo Borlai - drums

Special Guests:

Bobby Thomas Jr - percussion
Arto Tunçboyaciyan - percussion
Steve Tavaglione - saxophone
Jimmy Haslip - electric bass
Michael Baker - drums
Danny Carey - electronic drums
Cyril Atef - drums
Brad Dutz - percussion
Naina Kundu - voice

John Mclaughlin - 2022 "The Montreux Years"

 Unlike some of the Montreux Years series, of which this is the fifth installment, John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years presents six different bands and/or configurations as opposed to one continuous concert, as it marks the iconic guitarist’s performances from 1978 through 2016.  Fans will immediately recognize that these are all date later than the early days of the fusion pioneering Mahavishnu Orchestra although another incarnation of that group does appear in his 1984 performance. Rest assured that there is plenty of jazz fusion and electronic pyrotechnics in this 2-LP/single CD collection but the primary draw for this writer, and likely many, are his two scintillating duet performances with the late flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia. Unfortunately, his band Shakti and his collaboration with Carlos Santana are not here, however. Nonetheless, there’s plenty of stimulating music from his One Truth Band, The Free Spirits, The Heart of Things, and the 4th Dimension in addition to the ‘80s era incarnation of The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

The album unfolds almost chronologically except that The Mavahishnu Orchestra begins followed by 1978’s One Truth Band. The first track, “Radio Activity”, has saxophonist Bill Evans, keyboardist Mitchel Forman, bassist Jonas Hellborg, and drummer Danny Gottlieb, all going at full throttle behind Gottlieb’s thunderous beats to create glorious jazz fusion that hearkens back to the band’s original ‘70s sound with Evans and Forman filling the original spots occupied by violinist Jerry Goodman and keyboardist Jan Hammer.  The One Truth Band features L. Shankar (violin), Stu Goldberg (keyboards), T.M. Stevens (bass) and Woody “Sonship” Thomas (drums) in a more improvised piece that combines fusion, funk, and traditional jazz forms in “Friendship,” complete with pulsating basslines, more frenetic drumming and exhilarating solos from McLaughlin, Shankar and Goldberg.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra returns for the more contemplative, ethereal “Nostalgia,” which begins with Forman’s keyboard intro, making way for Evans on soprano before engaging in a call-and-response dialogue with the keyboardist. McLaughlin eventually enters, carrying the melody while Evans and Forman, now on Rhodes, comps.  The sound that each draws from his respective instrument is uncanny, with the synth, soprano, and guitar tones almost interchangeable. The piece builds in intensity before receding again into spacey tones – in all, a gorgeous piece. The Heart of Things band from 1998 bring the ebbing, flowing, and at times warped fusion workout, in 13 electrified minutes of “Acid Jazz.” Sections of the piece create rather intriguing soundscapes but around the nine-minute mark, McLaughlin delivers a blurring series of notes, echoed by the other players who are keyboardist Omaro Ruiz, drummer Dennis Chambers, percussionist Victor Williams, saxophonist/flutist Gary Thomas, and bassist Matthew Garrison. So, these first four pieces essentially present the now legendary fusion side of McLaughlin’s artistry.

“David” is the first duet between McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia who takes the primary lead role to McLaughlin’s acoustic strums and fills, before making his own glowing statement in the latter half – a fascinating display of guitar mastery that becomes even more riveting in the second piece, “Florianapolis,” which goes through several tempo changes, some at mind-numbing speed. These are 23 to-die-for minutes.

Another nice surprise awaits (we are taking you through the LP order while the CD order is slightly different) with The Free Spirits (a trio with Joey DeFrancesco on organ and trumpet, and Dennis Chambers on drums) from 1995 in “Sing Me Softly of the Blues.” It begins with McLaughlin’s intro and some soft organ accompaniment, both of which reach the boiling intensity (despite the title) pushed by Chamber’s thundering drumming and crashing cymbals. DeFrancesco also begins his solo slowly before building to the combustion point.

McLaughlin ends by playing a piece written by Paco de Lucia but never recorded – “El Hombre Que Sabia.”  This is the most recent of the selections, tracing to 2016 with The 4th Dimension (keyboardist Gary Husband, bassist Etienne M-Bappe, and drummer Ranjii Berot. You’ll hear Mclaughlin make lightning runs of his electric akin to de Lucia’s acoustic lines with Husband switching back and forth from synths to acoustic piano reflecting the guitarist’s runs. The sustained note at the end is the perfect close to these wonderful selections from McLaughlin. As with all the Montreux series albums, the sound is immaculate – true ear candy in every respect.

Ranked in Rolling Stones magazine’s list of ‘100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time’, John McLaughlin became a long-time friend of the Montreux Jazz Festival, having played at the iconic Swiss festival many times. The performances in this new collection are curated from six shows between 1978 to 2016 with the various ensembles of ‘The Mahavishnu Orchestra’, ‘The Heart Of Things’, ‘The Free Spirits’, ‘The 4th Dimension’ and his fellow virtuoso and close friend Paco de Lucia. Encapsulating McLaughlin’s time at the festival, “John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years” opens with the 1984 track Radio Activity by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, which McLaughlin reformed in the 80’s for the release of the album “Mahavishnu”.

Fans of the jazz fusion pioneer can immersive themselves in the superb and classic material that defined McLaughlin’s career, which includes the track Acid Jazz from the album “The Heart of Things”. Further exploring McLaughlin’s impressive repertoire, “John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years” includes the tracks Sing Me Softly Of The Blues from 1994’s “After the Rain” and El Hombre Que Sabia from McLaughlin’s studio album “Black Light”.

John McLaughlin: “To speak about The Montreux Jazz Festival brings back so many wonderful memories. But since my association goes back to 1971, we are looking at 50 years of history! Whether it’s the different incarnations of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Shakti, The One Truth Band, The Free Spirits, The Heart of Things, Carlos Santana or with the late great Paco de Lucia, the list goes on and on. Not only all my musical performances at Montreux, but all my other visits to see my dear friend Claude Nobs the founder, my friends of the festival, join jam sessions, go hiking in the fabulous countryside around that lovely town. Montreux is a big part of my life’s musical and personal history and to share this selection of my performances on this recording makes me truly happy.”

As one of the greatest guitar players in music history, John McLaughlin has been cited a major influence on many 70’s and 80’s artists, including the likes of Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern and more. In 2018 McLaughlin won a Grammy for Best Improvised Jazz Solo, for his solo on Miles Beyond from his album “Live at Ronnie Scott’s”. With a German tour scheduled for March 2022, McLaughlin remains one of music’s greatest musicians and the release “John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years” is a testament to his legacy.

Launched in 2021, ‘The Montreux Years’ is the embodiment of the spirit of the Montreux Jazz Festival and the legacy of its much-loved founder, Claude Nobs. Nobs refused to compromise on quality or settle for anything other than the best and this ethos lives on in the superb quality of the recordings compiled in ‘The Montreux Years’. Mastering has been performed by Tony Cousins at London’s iconic Metropolis Studios, incorporating MQA to capture the original sound of the special live performances. Like previous releases of the series “John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years”, will be accompanied by exclusive liner notes by McLaughlin himself and previously unseen photography.

Track listing / Personnel:

1 John McLaughlin & The Mahavishnu Orchestra – Radio Activity - 10:08
Bass – Jonas Hellborg
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Keyboards – Mitchel Forman
Saxophone – Bill Evans (3)
Written-By, Guitar – John McLaughlin


2 John McLaughlin & The Mahavishnu Orchestra – Nostalgia - 11:18
Bass – Jonas Hellborg
Drums – Danny Gottlieb
Keyboards – Mitchel Forman
Saxophone – Bill Evans (3)
Written-By, Guitar – John McLaughlin


3 John McLaughlin & The Heart Of Things – Acid Jazz - 13:03
Bass – Matthew Garrison
Drums – Dennis Chambers
Keyboards – Otmaro Ruiz
Percussion – Victor Williams
Saxophone, Flute – Gary Thomas
Written-By, Guitar – John McLaughlin


4 John McLaughlin & Paco De Lucía – David - 11:15
Guitar – Paco De Lucía
Written-By, Guitar – John McLaughlin


5 John McLaughlin & The Free Spirits – Sing Me Softly Of The Blues - 8:05
Drums – Dennis Chambers
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Organ, Trumpet – Joey DeFrancesco
Written-By – Carla Bley


6 John McLaughlin & Paco De Lucía – Florianapolis - 11:56
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Written-By – Mitch Forman*
Written-By, Guitar – John McLaughlin


7 John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension–    El Hombre Que Sabià - 7:26
Bass – Etienne M'Bappé
Drums – Ranjit Barot
Keyboards – Gary Husband
Written-By, Guitar – John McLaughlin