"A Fusion Guitar Tribute", to one of the genre's most notable guitar players, John McLaughlin. And more specifically his work with Mahavishnu Orchestra. The album covers a period just prior to the band forming through to the self titled Mahavishnu album from 1984. Unlike John who's review of the Fusion For Miles appears above, I'm an ardent jazz fusion fan and John McLaughlin ranks very highly on my list. Not that this makes me anymore qualified to write this review, merely a statement of fact.

Now I was a little hesitant when I first received this album, firstly as I'm not overly keen on "tribute albums" in general and secondly I thought this to be a bold undertaking. Wisely for this release "the band" are top notch with - this album was as likely to fail as it was to succeed with the musicians chosen to undertake the roles of such musical giants as Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer and Rick Laird. However in Vinnie Colauita they have a truly masterful drummer; Kai Eckhardt proves to be more than able to undertaken the bass role; Mitchell Foreman, who appeared on Mahavishnu's 1974 Adventures In Radioland, tackles the keyboard sections admirably; and with Jeff Richman's contributions not only on the guitar, but the production duties and the excellent and sympathetic arrangement of the pieces. So in these four guys, who coincidentally have all at some time worked with John McLaughlin, we really do have a band worthy of tackling the music of Mahavishnu. Just before moving on to the guitarist, it would be remiss of me to not mention original Mahavishnu violinist Jerry Goldman who guests throughout the album (four tracks). He adds not only some truly wonderful solo passages, but also adds an authenticity to the proceedings.

So what of the guitarists - well some of the names will be more familiar than others perhaps - Steve Lukather (Toto), Steve Morse (Deep Purple/Dixie Dregs), Frank Gambale (Chick Corea), Mike Stern, however I found most of the contributions sympathetic to the pieces. Each player colouring their selected track with their own style, whilst still attempting to capture the spirit of McLaughlin. In fact the three aforementioned guitar players make valued contributions, Lukather is blistering, Morse - well, sounds like Morse playing McLaughlin, and Gambale is always a pleasure to listen to. However one shouldn't overlook Warren Haynes take on Lila's Dance or Mike Stern's interpretation of Can't Stand Your Funk.

Personal highlights - Jazz from the 1984 Mahavishnu album (actually I loved all that album - wish I could track down a copy of it on CD - help anyone?). A great syncopated, airy, track with nice themes woven in and out, nice brassy keyboard punctuation and a cool solo from Jeff Richman. Great also to hear Jerry Goodman, always an integral part of the Mahavishnu sound - and interesting to hear his takes on Jean Luc Ponty's parts. But as an ardent fan of Mahavishnu it's pretty difficult to single out any track that didn't particularly work, a testament to the original writing. This said the guitar performances in the latter part of the album didn't work quite as well for me, with the exception of Follow Your Heart which concludes this release. The track itself pre-dates the Mahavishnu Orchestra project. John Abercrombie is restrained a tasteful, great bass solo from Kai Eckhardt - a nice ending to a splendid release.

Before concluding this review, mention of the core musicians who make this disc such a pleasurable experience. Colaiuta has established himself in the upper echelons of drummers, and is a man in demand. His playing hear can only confirm why this is so. Session man Kai Eckhardt like Rick Laird is the unsung hero of the Mahavishnu music, however both are so integral, it's impossible to imagine the track's without their input. Mitchell Foreman - just incredible, worth buying the disc just to hear him. Did I mention Jerry Goodman - I'm sure I did - certainly he has lost none of his touch and breathes new life into his and Ponty's parts on this release.

So if you want to know what great jazz fusion sounds like, or just curious as to the music of Mahavishnu Orchestra then this might well be as good a place to start. You may well ask, why don't I just buy one of Mahavishnu's albums? (Don't let me stop you). However what this release does offer you is the opportunity to checkout ten great guitarist, (John Abercrombie, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Mike Stern, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse, Greg Howe, Frank Gambale, Jeff Richman and Dave Fiuczynski), all in one go - which is nice. Hopefully you'll be inspired to go on buy some of John McLaughlin's back catalogue. I can also recommend this as a worthy tribute to those who have the original albums - the arrangements are faithful enough to the originals, but with more than enough variation to warrant checking out.

As is the norm with recent Mascot Record releases the CD is nicely presented in gatefold format and with this release the cover artwork indicative of the original. This tribute is tastefully executed, offering much to the "old school" Mahavishnu listener, as well as an interesting appetiser to the new or curious. The recording obviously benefits from modern technology and therefore has a crispness not possible some 35 years ago... Give it a whirl.
http://www.dprp.net