Mahavishnu Orchestra

There's been a rush of Mahavishnu Orchestra related projects during the last two years. First there was Mahavishnu keyboardist Jan Hammer playing Mahavishnu music with guitarist Jeff Beck in Europe. Then there was the Jeff Richman-produced tribute album, Visions Of An Inner Mounting Apocalypse. There is the ongoing success of the Mahavishnu Project band and its VishnuFest. And just this month, Hammer shows up on the new album from drummer Billy Cobham.There's plenty more too. The recent release of the wonderful A Meeting Of Spirits album from the brilliant keyboardist Gary Husband. A cover of the Mahavishnu classic, "Thousand Island Park," from keyboard wizard Mitchel Forman on his new Perspectives disc.

This album is from a pivotal moment in McLaughlin's history. This was just after he left Miles' group, but before Mahavishnu Orchestra started, and the music captures this moment perfectly. McLaughlin's technique had not progressed to "Mahavishnu" perfection yet, but the music has the in-your-face rock drive of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. This recording date grew out of sessions Alan Douglas put together, featuring McLaughlin and Larry Young jamming with Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Miles (Billy Rich was the bass player). McLaughlin sounded timid next to Hendrix (none of the material with Hendrix has been officially released), but really comes to life on Devotion. This is arguably one of the finest acid rock albums of all time. McLaughlin is on fire, using fuzzboxes and phasers, over Larry Young's swirling Hammond B-3, with Billy Rich and Buddy Miles as the rock-solid rhythm section…

One of fusion's most virtuosic guitar soloists, John McLaughlin placed his blazing speed in the service of a searching spiritual passion that has kept his music evolving and open to new influences. Whether shredding on electric or simmering quietly on acoustic, McLaughlin's intensity and underappreciated versatility have nearly always kept his playing vital, and his best moments …

Pure… Jazz, a massive four-disc set from Sony in the EU, while not mistitled, is a strange, wildly haphazard selection of jazz tunes recorded between the 1930s through the 1990s by virtually all of the labels the company owns – from Columbia, Epic, OKeh, etc. While all of the artists are names – including Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Benny Goodman, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Weather Report, Branford Marsalis, Duke Ellington, and dozens more – and are represented by wonderful selections, it's their sequencing that is the real head-scratcher here…

Paco de Lucia & John McLaughlin - Paco And John Live At Montreux 1987 (2016) {2CD+Bonus DVD9}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 524 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 197 Mb
DVD9 -> 6.21 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 4:3 | Dolby AC3, 2 ch / Dolby AC3, 6 ch / DTS, 6 ch | ~ 91 min | ISO Image
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 117 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1987, 2016 Eagle Vision / Universal | EAGDV059
Jazz / World Music / Flamenco / Guitar

John McLaughlin & Paco de Lucia: Paco and John - Live at Montreux 1987 it's truly a shame that, all too often, artists with diverse careers become pigeon-holed, defined by the primary genre in which they first achieved notoriety. Take guitarist John McLaughlin, for instance. Ask most jazz fans about him and what will first come out of most of their mouths will include either the words "fusion," "jazz-rock" and/or Miles Davis, in any permutation/combination (not that there's anything wrong with that). Those a little further in the know might also be aware of his longstanding investigation into the nexus of eastern and western music with his Indo-collaboration, Shakti.

Gary Husband - A Meeting of Spirits (2017) {Edition Records Official Digital Download}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (bandcamp.com) -> 183 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 117 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 2017 Edition Records | EDN1098
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Piano / Percussion

Gary Husband, English legendary drummer and pianist, interprets the work of Mahavishnu guitar great and bandmate John McLaughlin (Miles Davis, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, the 4th Dimension). “This is Gary Husband in full bloom: Wonderful!!!”John McLaughlin. “These are tour-de-force piano performances, with effortless technical piano artistry.” MICHAEL GIBBS (arranger, Mahavishnu Orchestra “Apocalypse”).“Supreme inventiveness, absolute creativity and unique and deeply moving piano music!! Truly inspiring!!” CHICK COREA.