Liberation Time is John McLaughlin’s latest album. The
celebrated English guitarist extraordinaire has been active for five decades now.
At 79, and still composing, performing and recording, McLaughlin’s artistic
longevity is one of the most exceptional on the entire music scene, be it rock
or jazz, the two genres that the legendary musician is known to excel at,
although jazz may have been his prime focus all these years.
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The new album is definitely on the jazz side, featuring lightning-fast
guitar lines, McLaughlin’s trademark, with beats, drum parts and rhythms that
only first-class musicians can play to, or cope with, I should say. Indeed,
speed is one of the essential elements of the Englishman’s music.
Few other guitarists, even in the otherwise highly technical
jazz world, can match his skills, except perhaps for his American pals Al di
Meola and Larry Coryell, or Spaniard Paco de Lucia, all of them great guitar
virtuosos who have, at least once, performed alongside McLaughlin, leaving us
recordings that have become reference works. Mediterranean Sundance, for
example, a fantastic trio by McLaughlin, Di Meola and De Lucia, dating back to
the late 1970s, is still in the mind of jazz guitar lovers.
Liberation Time opens with As the Spirit Sings, a piece that
alone makes it worth buying the album. It is the typical McLaughlin composition
and will keep one’s heartbeat above 100 bpm throughout its duration. Again,
fast guitar is the main subject here. However, it is far from being everything.
The phrases of the guitar are elegant, smart. They go very well with the
complex and heavy drumming in the background. The piano part shines as well.
The next track is titled Singing our Secrets and is meant to
let one catch one’s breath with its slower tempo. It is also much easier to
follow than the opening track. It constitutes an exquisite blend of modern jazz
and blues.
Lockdown Blues is a piece that features an interesting part toward
the end, where a vocal scat part is sung along with the drums. Both the voice
scat and the drums are a challenge, but the two together, the very way they are
perfectly synchronized, create a real musical show, demonstrating not only the
talent of the musicians, but also McLaughlin’s creativity and his knack for
improvisation.
Right Here, Right Now, Right on is another fast track, more
on the side of traditional modern jazz, all things being relative when it comes
to McLaughlin’s works. Here the saxophone plays an essential role.
Shade of Blue is a soft, slow, subtle and short piece that
focuses on the piano and on beautiful, refined harmonies. It smartly shows that
genuinely gifted musicians can sound great, whether they perform fast and loud or
slow and quiet pieces.
If you like great contemporary jazz recording, instrumental
virtuosity and pristine sound, Liberation Time is an album that will more than
please you. If your cup of tea is more traditional jazz, easy-listening jazz, swing
and the like, you may have to look elsewhere.
By any measure, Liberation Time is impressive. Whether it pleases
or impresses you is a matter of taste; it greatly depends on how familiar with
contemporary jazz you are. One way to approach the album is to listen to it by
groups of two or three tracks. Another point to make: this is not background
music that you would play while working or doing something else. It really
requires all your attention if you want to do it justice.
If you happen to be a musician yourself, whether a pianist,
guitarist, drummer or saxophonist, chances are you will like the album even
more.
All seven tracks are composed by McLaughlin. His partners in
recording include Roger Rossignol, Vinnie Colaiuta , Ranjit Barot, Jean-Michel
Aublette, Jerome Regard, Gary Husband, Nicolas Viccaro, Julian Siegel, Etienne
Mbappe, Sam Burgess and Oz Ezzeldin.
Jean-Claude Elias is a computer engineer and a classically trained pianist and guitarist. He has been regularly writing IT articles, reviewing music albums, and covering concerts for more than 30 years.
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