Written by Rob Mallows
Six-string maestro proves age is no barrier to innovation and creativity.
Now well into in his eighth decade, Doncaster's own John McLaughlin is still in the vanguard of guitarists who stretch our understanding of what that instrument can do. This new album, with eight new McLaughlin-penned tracks, shows that he’s still as vital a part of the modern jazz scene as ever and producing quality music.
For this album, McLaughlin has stuck with his pals from 4th Dimension, each of whom is a stand-out performer in his own right. Not least, for example, drummer Gary Husband, who is I think one of the great drummers of the last twenty years. He’s joined by Cameroonian bassist Etienne Mbappe (who, incidentally, will be performing with his own band at the London Jazz Festival) and drummer Ranjit Barot. This is in fact their third album working and touring together as a group.
The album reflects McLaughlin’s unarguable virtuosity, and also in places the Indian classical musical influence on his performance. There’s plenty of evident passion coursing through each track and a variety of moods.
First track, Here Comes The Jiis, immediately demonstrates in the rhythms and title an homage to one of McLaughlin’s other touring groups, the indian-influenced Shakti. After a quiet start McLaughlin’s guitar meshes beautifully with Barot’s hard drumming style, giving this album a start as frenetic as the race for the first corner in F1. One can hear the connecting dots on the stave stretching back to his seventies Mahavishnu Orchestra days. Second track, the intriguingly titled Clap Your Hand, maintains the starting pace and introduces a feature of 4th Dimension’s live sets, the use of Indian sung rhythms, or Konnokol, by Barot, which provides an interesting alternative to a drum solo.
Third track Being You Being Me starts off with just keyboards and synths, emphasising the vital duel role that Husband plays in the band through his awesomely inventive keyboard works alongside his drum work. The track then moves into a slower paced guitar melody, a little softer in tone but still evidently McLaughlin.
read more: http://www.kindofjazz.com/index.php/component/k2/253-john-mclaughlin-black-light
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