Jazz
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It is an unforgetable experience to see such an extraordinary musician live. McLaughlin and the band hung out in the lobby after the show and took the time to speak with everyone who wanted to talk to them. It is good when who you thought they were is just who they are; a good soul who is an amazing guitarist.
I have listened to John McLaughlin for almost 40 years, and I am still not sure how to define him. I have this lingering notion that he is the Timothy Leary of guitar. I think this visit finally convinced me that he is best enjoyed live. His virtuosity and the incredible tightness of the band can be appreciated much better as you see them interact on stage. You don't dance to his music, nor hum along. It is cerebral, dense, complex and stunningly executed. I was not tempted to yell 'Freebird' even once. He can still play, as good as I have ever heard him play. So, go hear him live, buy an album, shake his hand, he has earned that. Make a little statement that musicianship still counts. That's a good thing.
C'mon guys, that really annoying and very noticeable 60Hz hum that began with "plug in" and continued until the closing goodbye from John (when he reached down and "zero'd" his guitar volume), should have been ID'd and rectified before the show. It was really nasty, and perhaps explains why John spent 75% of his time with his back turned to the audience. The bass guitar volume was way too low, and tonal settings very dull and indistinct. This is jazz, not blaring rock; notes should be heard, even if loudly, not merged into a mess of 60 Hz feedback and distortion, and shoddy electronics balancing and control should not occur. But, the music was kick-ass
JM & the 4th Generation were on fire the first night of the tour. They came out a few minutes after 8 & played until just before 10 with no breaks. I don't know how they maintained that energy level for 2 hours, but they did it. Amazing musicianship throughout the night. I will try to catch another show on this tour.
John McLaughlin and the 4th dimension gave an incredible performance. The band is comprised of some of the most incredible musicians in the world. A tremendous musical experience in every respect.
I've followed John McLaughlin since way back with his work with Miles Davis and The Mahavishnu Orchestra and it's various incarnations. I've seen him several times and have never been disappointed. He's such a master of the guitar and what always makes his shows exciting is the talent he brings to support him. This time, Gary Husband keyboards/drums, Mark Mondesir, drums, and, oh yeah and OMG, Ettiene Mbappe' on bass. I was fortunate enough to be in the third row very close to the stage and the music and musicianship was flat out amazing. They played two sets with a brief intermission and both sets were very satisfying. I especially enjoyed the interplay between McLauglin and Mbappe'. Occasionally going note-for-note. I suspect a lot of those in attendance were guitar players like myself. Even though I seen him and heard his music many times I still left the theater wondering how he does it. On the cold and rainy Portland night they performed I almost decided not to attend just because it had been a very long day. Man, that would have been a mistake!
This quartet makes it look so easy!!!!! They obviously enjoy performing together. Jazz is such a difficult genre for the audience to explore and appreciate. I treated a music teacher/bandleader friend, just so I could pick his brain about what I was seeing and hearing. It was a master class of guitar, bass, drums (oh, the percussion!!!), and keyboard.
John McLaughlin has surrounded himself with three amazing musicians with his latest band. This is important given his virtuoso talent. I had high expectations for this show and they were exceeded.
Top-level musicianship, artistry, beauty and power. These are the first words that come to mind as i think of the performance I witnessed this week. McLaughlin has once again surrounded himself with some of the most creative and powerful musicians around. Never a dull moment, the concert was a great representation of McLaughlin's latest venture. If you are a serious musician or just a fan of virtuosity, don't miss these guys when they come to town - it will be an evening you won't soon forget!
The show was absolutely wonderful!!!! Unfortunately, I was very disppointed with the seating. I was supposed to have table 143, but got 144 (and when I asked the waitress why that was, she told me those things happen often around there when dealing with Ticketmaster)- in itself, not that big of a problem. But I had wanted to have dinner there, but what I had got was a cocktail table, which didn't give me that good of a table. Even though the performance was wonderful, it left me feeling very dissatisfied.
John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension deliver the goods as a fusion ensemble.
John McLaughlin has a virtuoso band and the new CD is going to be phenomenal. Live, he is backed by some of the best musicians ever. These guys play at some extremely high level where music is like some kind of vapor trail to flow through. I must admit I got a little stupified by the sonic barrage during one period, but you can't win them all. It is jazz, after all, at the bleeding edge of the musical spectrum. The sound level was perfect for my ears, not too loud, but powerful and with good separation of the instruments. I've seen a lot of iterations of John McLaughlin's bands, with all his different guitars, and he's still challenging the world. Incidentally he has two 2011 Grammy nominations for two different albums in two different categores, contemporary jazz and crossover classical.
He warms up during the concert & gets better with each song. The members of the band are wonderful, especially the resident drummer! The keyboard player is also a very talented drummer & the duo make for some amazing drum "solos" together! John has an ability to make his play look easy when it is extremely difficult. The use of various rhythms make his sounds unique & perfect for Jazz.
Great Venue. We were new to his music, but really enjoyed it. Progressive jazz fusion would be my discription.
The music is so modern and advanced, it sounds like it is coming from the future. I think that people after 20 or 30 years will appreciate it better than now. It was too serious and lacked entertainment in it. it could have included a variety of styles or themes.
Thank God there are a handful of artists that are at John McLaughlin's level. I have followed this guitarist since the 1970's. From a 40 year span he has not only maintain his excellence, but has grow to new platitudes. Unlike today's pop jazz performances and fusion groups of yesterday, McLaughlin's cutting edge sound has broken barriers between traditional amplification and digital technology. He has inspired me to embrace aging but do it as one was cognac-improved with time. Thank you Johnny-Great Show!!!!
He is the GOD of music !!!!! Statisticly , there is only 8 percent of people of the world understand that kind of music and 8 percent of people of the world understand what GOD doing . And it is NOT an accident .
Musical genius... trancedental guitarist... spiritual translator... whatever you want to call the great John McLaughlin, his insightful musical paradigm may not / probably will not bring pleasure to the listener's ears after the first 15 minutes of tedious live monotony. The other night at the beautiful UCLA Royce Hall, I fulfilled a life long wish and witnessed firsthand a performance by McLaughlin and his extremely talented new band, The 4th Dimension. There were definitely some moments, but after 2 hours of McLaughlin's repetitive pick work, no matter how incredible the fretwork is, it grates on you. It's safe to say that a large portion of the crowd at this event were ready to take an encore or leave it, and retire to our vehicles to wash the noise out of our ears with some well rounded recorded music...
There is not much you can add to the great musician McLaughlin is, but when he is playing with this guys the show is spectacular.
Best live jazz I have heard in a long time. Sooo tight and each member so talented and together superstars.
