Jazz Rock Verve

John McLaughlin - The Heart of Things (1997) {Verve}
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© 1997 Polydor / PolyGram / Verve | 539 153-2
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Rock

Many great musicians experience peaks and valleys throughout their careers. Legendary guitarist John McLaughlin, however, always seems to be perched firmly at the top of his game. Whether with former Mahavishnu bandmates, trios with Paco DeLucia and Al Dimeola, or with contemporary jazz/fusion monsters like Kai Eckhardt and Trilok Gurtu , McLaughlin continues to remain the master of all he surveys. With THE HEART OF THINGS, the guitarist once again unleashes his dynamic sense of color and texture, as well as those unbelievable chops.

Sounding at times like a slightly controlled hurricane, the band McLaughlin has assembled for this project is astounding. All-too-unrecognized saxophonist Gary Thomas, keyboard guru Jim Beard, drum god Dennis Chambers and meticulous bassist Matthew Garrison burst though the music and grab the listener on most every track. A prime example is the standout "Mr. D. C." (presumably for Chambers) as a torrent of drums and percussion do battle with McLaughlin's flying guitar. Later, a nice deep breath is taken with the mysterious "Fallen Angels" and, finally, the live acoustic solo of "When Love Is Far Away" makes for a transcendental ending to a powerful journey.

The Jazz Club series is an attractive addition to the Verve catalogue. With it's modern design and popular choice of repertoire, the Jazz Club is not only opened for Jazz fans, but for everyone that loves good music.
Guitarist Volker Kriegel was widely considered the father of European jazz-rock thanks to his influential stint with the Dave Pike Set as well as a subsequent series of pioneering solo LPs for the MPS label. Born in Darmstadt, Germany, on December 24, 1943, Kriegel was studying sociology under the famed philosopher Theodor W. Adorno when he began playing in a Frankfurt-based group with German jazz legends Albert and Emil Mangelsdorff, eventually abandoning his education to pursue a full-time career in music…

Already a sensation in his native England, 22-year-old piano man Jamie Cullum comes off like a hip amalgamation of Harry Connick, Jr. and Randy Newman on his sophomore effort, Twentysomething. As with Blue Note's crossover wunderkind Norah Jones, Cullum works best when he's not trying too hard to please hardcore jazz aficionados, but it's not too difficult to imagine his bonus-track version of Pharrell Williams' "Frontin'" turning some jazz fans onto the Neptunes.

On this, their fourth studio album, you are treated to the unexpected missing link between James Taylor Quartet's early mod-cum-spy theme sound and the later polished acid jazz feel (which carried the band through to be the respected pioneer figures they are today) without sounding exactly like either of them. Having landed themselves with the big-budget U.K. label Polydor, James Taylor found he could indulge himself with the best in big jazz-funk sounds, employing what sounded suspiciously like more than a "quartet" to produce a collection of bold and brassy numbers that escalated the sounds of Johnny Hammond and Booker T into the late '80s. The album begins as it finishes, with a touching yet relentless jazz-rock instrumental groove combining clever chord structures and strong piano flourishes gliding over, of course, Taylor's trademark whirring Hammond organ.

Sting - After disbanding the Police at the peak of their popularity in 1984, Sting quickly established himself as a viable solo artist, one obsessed with expanding the boundaries of pop music. Sting incorporated heavy elements of jazz, classical, and worldbeat into his music, writing lyrics that were literate and self-consciously meaningful, and he was never afraid to emphasize this fact in the press.

Once one of the most visible and winning jazz vibraphonists of the 1960s, then an R&B bandleader in the 1970s and '80s, Roy Ayers' reputation s now that of one of the prophets of acid jazz, a man decades ahead of his time. A tune like 1972's "Move to Groove" by the Roy Ayers Ubiquity has a crackling backbeat that serves as the prototype for the shuffling hip-hop groove that became, shall we say, ubiquitous on acid jazz records; and his relaxed 1976 song "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" has been frequently sampled.

Once one of the most visible and winning jazz vibraphonists of the 1960s, then an R&B bandleader in the 1970s and '80s, Roy Ayers' reputation s now that of one of the prophets of acid jazz, a man decades ahead of his time.

Sixun is French jazz-rock and fusion band founded in 1984, who celebrated worldwide a variety of performances over 14 years. The band name is derived from "six" (fr: six): together, and "un" (one fr). This refers to the six band members from around the world, playing as a band together. The main cast (Paco Séry (drums, percussion), Jean-Pierre Como (keyboard), Alain Debiossat (saxophone), Louis Winsberg (guitar) and Michel Alibo (Bass) remained over the years unchanged, but the percussionist changed steadily. These musicians have solo projects and bring their different musical focus in the band.