Jean Luc+ponty

Jean-Luc Ponty - Mystical Adventures (1982)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 237 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300dpi (png) -> 16 Mb
WEA / Atlantic 19333-2

Mystical Adventures expands Jean-Luc Ponty's palette slightly with the introduction of part-time percussionist Paulinho Da Costa and the use of a vocoder on a couple of tracks. Otherwise, it's the same mixture of mildly intoxicating arpeggios and flights of fancy that you'd find in various amounts on any Ponty album from this period.

The five-part suite "Mystical Adventures" is a softer sibling to the earlier "Imaginary Voyage," utilizing vaguely Spanish themes and occasionally ambient pairings of organ and synthesizer to create a work similar to Chick Corea's "Touchstone." While in the course of its 20 minutes some interesting ideas are explored on the first side of music, the real showstoppers are a cover of Stevie Wonder's "As" and the closing "Jig." These two songs are as engaging and fun as anything from Ponty's Atlantic output – not coincidentally, they're two of the three songs that feature Da Costa, whose percussion complements Ponty's violin to create dual engines of propulsion.

Jean-Luc Ponty - Live At Donte's (1969) {Pacific Jazz 7243 8 35635 2 4 rel 1995}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 386 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 173 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 1995 Pacific Jazz / Capitol Records | 7243 8 35635 2 4
Jazz / Post Bop / Crossover Jazz / Jazz Fusion / Violin

In October 1969 violinist Jean-Luc Ponty recorded a notable live set with keyboardist George Duke, bassist John Heard, and drummer Dick Berk that gained him a lot of exposure in the U.S. He had actually played at Donte's in Los Angeles with Duke (on acoustic piano), Heard, and drummer Al Cecchi the previous March. This is a release that is particularly recommended to listeners who are not interested in Ponty's many fusion projects, because his playing here is relatively straight-ahead and sounds influenced by the work of the mid-'60s Miles Davis Quintet, and not just because he performs Ron Carter's "Eighty-One." Also of great interest are Duke's solos; he would eventually become a funk keyboardist and then a pop producer. In this context, he sounds like a mixture of McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock.

For his technique alone Jean-Luc Ponty would be acclaimed as one of the greatest violinists in jazz history, but his recordings reveal additional dimensions to his talent. Released 35 years ago this month, OPEN MIND is a perfect example; the self-produced set presents the man's virtuoso string work with adventurous electric backing including some hypnotic synthesizer arrangements. Though guitarist George Benson and keyboardist Chick Corea appear on a couple of tracks, Ponty himself is responsible for most of what you hear, playing several instruments and programming rhythm tracks. For all the electronics involved, the feel is warm, upbeat and melodic across these six originals from the titular opener to the closing “Intuition.” Fusion fans with an OPEN MIND will find this 1984 Atlantic collection irresistible.

Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.
Jean-Luc Ponty reaches a musical peak by releasing this excellent fusion record. Looking at the new line-up here, the talent and reliability of the musicians is not questionable: Mark Craney (Jethro Tull's "A") plays very fast and EXTREMELY elaborated drums.

After creating a major stir in the U.S. in 1969, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty returned to his native France for a couple years. One of his few recordings from the period is this stimulating date which was last made available in the U.S. as a Pausa LP. Ponty teams up with keyboardist Joachim Kuhn, guitarist Philip Catherine, bassist Peter Warren and drummer Oliver Johnson for his three-part, side-long "Flipping," the lengthy "Open Strings" and Kuhn's "Sad Ballad." The electric violinist's dynamic playing is heard in peak form throughout the colorful album, an early and creative fusion date.

Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Ponty embarks on more experiments in the future-is-now world of synthesizers and sequencers, where the painstakingly programmed machines often seem to generate an irresistible momentum of their own. As on Individual Choice, Ponty's melodies are immediately appealing in an almost Continental manner, whether spelled out on violin, violectra, or on the sequenced synths that set up the ostinato underpinning.

Jean-Luc Ponty - Civilized Evil (1980)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 219 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 90 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 14 Mb
Atlantic | 16020-2

All of the titles here make some kind of reference to cosmic issues of good and evil on the planet Earth, but the suggestive wordplay doesn't make this music much different from that on Jean-Luc Ponty's previous Atlantic outings. Ponty plays with his accustomed fluid virtuosity; the five-piece group ranges from standard Ponty fusion to mild funk; the rhythm section is sometimes more grandly recorded than before; and occasionally, one can hear some embryonic sequenced structures that would be explored further on in the decade. But one still gets the overall impression that Ponty has been around this block a few too many times; what was once fresh and musical has ossified into formula.