Search - John McLaughlin :: Promise

The best of all worlds!

Brandon S. | Oklahoma | 08/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you want to sample the entirety of what the incredibly talented, diverse Mclaughlin has to offer, then buy this disc! Granted, you won't be hearing anything close to the Mahavishnu Orchestra work (unless you'd count "Jazz Jungle", and I don't), it's the closest thing to experiencing the majority of his styles. We start out hearing "Django", a laid-back jazz/blues jam with Jeff Beck, which is a great opening piece (i'm surprised these guys didn't work together sooner, they practically ruled fusion in the 70's!). Then, we hear a piece that was recorded with Joey DeFrancesco and Dennis Chambers, both of whom are incredibly gifted. This is kind of a post-bop piece, so if that's not your cup of tea, you might not like this one. DeFracesco's playing on this piece is superb, though. There is a brief acoustic guitar/strings ballad next that is really great, wish it could've been longer. After that is a kinda futuristic swinging jam with DeFrancesco on trumpet (man, this guy's gifted! He started out with Miles Davis when he was still in high school!) After that, the reunion of the guitar trio, a super fast flamenco-sounding jam that goes on for nearly ten minutes. All of those guys are in fine form. Next, the super-long "Jazz Jungle", my second-favorite on the disc. John jams with Mike Brecker on the sax, it's a great fusion jam. Next, a very Shakti-esque piece with Zakir Hussain, and a great Sitar player whose name i've forgotten. He does this piece with "Remember Shakti" the next year, but this version is the superior one, in my opinion. After that, some weird jam with Sting for a few mintutes, then a wacky electronica snippet called "Tokyo Independence" or something similar to that. Next, a lengthy fusion jam with Dave Sanborn, it's a great piece, Dennis Chambers is in fine form throughout the whole album. Finally, an acoustic ballad with a former student of his whose named i've also forgotten! All in all, a fantastic disc. Very recommended."

Greatly Suprised!!!!!

J. Rich | 09/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I picked this album up from my town's local used cd store, and I'm glad I bought this album. I was a little hesitant in buying this album, because it was John McLaughlin and I don't typically go for his brand of rapid-fire jazz antics. Anyway, I looked at all who played on this album which ranges from rockers like Jeff Beck and Sting to world musicians like Nishat Khan and Zakir Hussain to jazz improvisers like Michael Brecker to jazz fusion pioneer Al Di Meola to flamenco giant Paco De Lucia. Anyway, you get the idea, the album is full of wonderfully talented players. I'm a huge fan of Bill Frisell's and Pat Metheny's, so I guess after listening to these greats for so long I've become spoiled in my musical listenings, but when I listened to this album I heard some of McLaughlin's rapid fire antics and thought "Oh boy, here we go again." Then as the album got into it I started to slowly realize that there isn't that much rapid-fire antics that I expected at all. He was playing with heart and really showing his diversity as a musician. I'm greatly suprised by the music on this album. I like this album because of it's variety of styles and of course the playing. Song highlights for me included the really straight jazz song "Thelonius Melodius," the elegant "Amy and Joseph," the Indian excursion "The Wish," and the fusion tinged "Jazz Jungle."



John McLaughlin suprised me, and I'm really happy with the music and playing on this album."