Customer Reviews

Que Alegria

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3 star:		(1)
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It is very unfortunate that John McLaughlin Trio (with Trilok Gurtu & Kai Eckhardt or Dominique Di Piaza) has released only two albums. The first, Live in The Royal Alber Hall (1989), was marked by unbelievable playing of John and, especially, Trilok Gurtu. Que Alegria was the second (and last) album of the trio and was less melodic and exhibitionist (naturally, being a studio album), but it had great harmonic structures and brilliant bass player, Frenchman Dominique Di Piaza. The man is superbly eloquent, with a blistering speed that he often follows John's lines - while soloing! This is a kind of albums that can be heard over and over and upon each listening one can always discover an amazing line or structure. these kind of albums are rare to find.

This c.d. from 1992 features Mclaughlin on acoustic guitar and guitar synthesizer with Trilok Gurtu on percussion and Dominique Di Plaza on bass. The music is the unmistaken style of Mclaughlin, a fusion of Jazz, Flamenco and indian music, and his playing is as usual, as good as it gets and it is always a treat to hear the great percussion playing of Trilok Gurtu who has created a totaly new way of playing percussion by mixing Indian and Western playing styles.

It is so fascinating to hear the great rhythmic interplay between Gurtu and Mclaughlin they turn and twist it around so you'l never get bored with it, it's this mastery of rhythm that is one of the things I like about masters of indian music like Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain.

Mclaughlin also has a very sophisticated harmonic sense and it's fun to hear him improvise over these great rhythms and harmonies.

Like most of his stuff this is highly recomended.

This is one amazingly diverse offering from John McLaughlin and Co.! Darn near biting at the heels of "Live At The Royal Festival Hall", the JM Trio (with the brilliant French bassist Dominic DiPiazza on all but one cut) furthers its explorations and even gets a chance to show its ability to reinterpret previous material of John's in amazing and sublime ways.

Things get off to a great start with a reworking of "Belo Horizonte'", where the tempo is actually slowed down quite a few notches, allowing the composition's melodic, harmonic beauty and strength to shine, wheras the original version (with the Translators band on the "Belo Horizonte" album) was marred with excessive speed and pyrotechnics. "Baba" is one of my favorite moments, starting off very mysteriously with midi-guitar and tablas, slowly morphing into a slow, smoldering sophisticated blues with the whole band pouring its heart out. "Reincarnation" (originally on "Adventures In Radioland") gets reworked and comes out a beautiful, deep meditative piece where bassist DiPiazza gets to jump out front, weaving in and out of John's atmospheric textures. "One Nite Stand" picks up the pace with scorching funk (here, it's Kai Eckhardt in the bass seat heating up the popcorn so to speak),great fun! "Marie" is a beautiful, lyrical solo bass piece by DiPiazza that holds one spellbound. The remaining tracks are no less compelling as the Trio interacts with each other in ways that often defy explanation, and truly add up to more than the sum of their parts!

After this disc ends, I get the sense that they hadn't even begun to tap into their full potential, especially underscored by the fact this was their last recording together(DANG!!)as the ever restless Johnny Mac was looking ahead to some other avenues of musical exploration.

Nonetheless, I am glad this band got to perform and record such brilliance if only for a relatively brief spell. I can't recommend this enough!

This album, and its live companion, represent - for me - the pinnacle of John McLaughlin's career. Virtually everything he has been involved with is microcosmically encapsulated in his two trio recordings. McLaughlin possesses an very unique style that is an absolutely perfect combination fusion, jazz, Indian, blues and flamenco. Combine his slinky rhythmic playing and lightening fast melodic work with the amazing percussion work of Trilok Gurtu, and it's like Shakti meets the avant garde of NYC on Mars. If you're pondering whether you should buy this album, ponder no more. YOU MUST BUY IT. YOU MUST ALSO BUY THE LIVE ALBUM! DO IT! DO IT NOW! NO, LIEUTENANT, YOUR MEN ARE ALREADY DEAD.

Jazz guitar genius John McLaughlin plays acoustic and synthesized six string accompanied by bass and drums on this release from the early nineties, but he doesn't recapture the excitement of his original power trio, Tony Williams' Lifetime. "Belo Horizonte" is a stripped-down version of the title track from McLaughlin's 1981 release. It has its nuances, of course, but I much prefer the broader tonal palette employed on the older version. "Baba (For Ramana Maharishi)" has a blues-based groove that's pretty effective, but "Reincarnation" is a slow, wandering, ethereal number that runs nearly 12 minutes - far too long, in my opinion. "1 Night Stand" is a lively romp, perhaps my favorite uptempo number from this release, while "Marie" is an enthralling guitar-like solo performed by the bass. Unfortunately, the material seems to go downhill from here. "Hijacked" degenerates into the kind of high-speed nattering that fusion is so often reviled for. "Mila Repa" shows the band in a quiet, meditative mood (read "boring"). The title track starts out very quietly as well, gradually gathering steam, building to an unusual vocal solo, but then "3 Willows" is another lullaby.

Naturally, the guitar-playing is masterful throughout; there's some exceptional bass-playing as well, and the percussion of Trilok Gurtu adds an unusual touch. But to me, the whole project feels a little flat. I miss the flash, the pyrotechnics, sure, but even the melodies just aren't that memorable. Maybe one additional element (keys or a horn, perhaps) would have given this material more punch. Anyway, while this one isn't actually bad, I would recommend any number of McLaughlin recordings over it.