John McLaughlin--Five Peace Band

BlueMiles · May-12th-2009, 09:49 AM

I have heard only some samples online, but I like what I hear. Fusion seems to be back these days. McLauglin's more recent work has certainly been fusion-oriented. For me, it's been hit and, sadly, mostly miss. But to get together with the likes of Chick Corea, Kenny Garret, Christian McBride...this could really be something. There are certainly echoes, to say the least, of Miles' early fusion period.

It's a lot of music: two jammed CDs and several clocking in at over 20 minutes. But I am certainly intrigued.

Anyone getting into this?

Chazro · May-12th-2009, 11:42 AM

Absolutely!! I caught them when they passed thru Atlanta a few months ago. While it wasn't the same as catching Corea or McLaughlin during the 70's with their Fusion Superbands, it was pretty damn good! At the concert I picked up the Five Peace Band AND the new Chick Corea/Return To Forever CD's. Both CD's are Corea projects, the dude is tireless! Gottatellya, while there's no doubt that 5PB is a true supergroup, if forced to choose, I prefer the RTF disc!

An interesting point was that while the 5PB disc features drummer extraordinaire, Vinnie Colauita, at the concert, Brian Blade was doing the honors! All I can say is, same songs, different music!

And speaking of Mr. Colauita, is this A-lister having a banner year or what? He continuously plays with the best of the best, 1st playing with Johnny M. in 5PB, AND the totally killin' Jeff Beck - Live. Vinnie is another truly tireless musician.

Peterdubya · May-12th-2009, 12:54 PM

I saw the tour and just got the CD.

For some reason it took me a while to warm up to McLaughlin, or maybe it took him a while to warm up at the gig, for the first couple of tunes I felt like he was just going thru the motions, but all of a sudden he was brilliant, and the show really took off for me.
Chick was sounding great throughout, and the rest of the band was great.

I like the CD a lot too.

I gotta say, Chick has had a benner year, lots of great projects and a really varied set of appearances too. RTF, duos with Bela Fleck, 5 peace band, Gary Burton duos, a quartet with Eddie Gomez, Hubert Laws and Airto, the Elektrik Band.... all this in 14 months....

and unlike some of his generation, he's not coasting......

Elliot · May-12th-2009, 07:25 PM

I just got this, and have only listened to it once. On first listen, Disc 1 seemed to drag a bit, but the second disc, with several tunes associated with Miles (In a Silent Way, Dr. Jackel, Someday My Prince Will Come) sounded very good.

walto · May-12th-2009, 08:46 PM

I tried to catch them at Berklee the other day, but I couldn't get tix.

Darryl G. Thomas · May-13th-2009, 01:50 PM

I listened to it over the last couple of days. It's a mixed bag stylistically. It comes form a fusion bag but there is a strong "acoustic-mainstream" vibe too. I get the feeling that hard core fusion fans may be disappointed.

The "Real Kenny G" has some nice moments, McBride is his usual bad-ass self. Nice Herbie cameo on A Silent Way.

I'm a McLaughlin freak, sometimes he's right on but there are moments when his presence isn't really needed. I got the feeling that he sometimes had a problem finding his place with this group.

The thing is RTF and The Mahavishnu Orchestra were like mother's milk to me when I first got into jazz so I may be overstating the value of this music for folks who where not really fans of that era.

Saying all that, I really enjoyed this music.

Peterdubya · May-13th-2009, 08:07 PM

Yeah, Daryl, that's it for me too. Seeing them live it was like McLaughlin was still trying to find his space...
I too grew up on this, and it's what got me into jazz.... so there is a lot of nostalgia for me with this group. Luckily, there are some great musical moments.

and yes, Kenny Garrett was a monster with this group.

Chazro · May-14th-2009, 12:37 AM

So...have you guys heard the new 'Return To Forever - Live'? You wouldn't think the boys still had it in 'em!

They really play their asses off and it's another generous 2-disc set. If you were ever a fan of RTF you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.

Darryl G. Thomas · May-14th-2009, 04:50 PM

Chaz,

I've got the new RTF the other day. I'll give it a listen over the weekend. I've got a huge pile of unlistened to CDs sitting by the stereo.