Personnel includes: John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke, Jack Bruce, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea, Tony Williams, Jan Hammer, Al DiMeola, Paco DeLucia, Billy Cobham, Shakti, The Mahavishnu Orchestra.
THIS IS JAZZ 17 compiles the broad range of music the guitar giant recorded between 1971 and 1988. The earliest incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Indian project Shakti, McLaughlin's trio Lifetime, with drummer Tony Williams and bass player Jack Bruce, a pairing with guitarist Carlos Santana, and a burning session with Chick Corea and Jack DeJohnette are among the tracks included here.The Mahavishnu Orchestra tracks are raucous and incendiary, while other tracks, such as Shakti's "Lotus Feet," and "Until Such Time," performed as a duet with pianist Katia Labeque, are serene and subtle. Although McLaughlin is best known for his blazing technical skill, his real brilliance is not his technique itself but the way he employs it. Highlights include "Do You Hear the Voice You Left Behind," which is really John Coltrane's "Giant Steps," while other selections such as "Guardian Angel" and "Aspen" show off the gypsy guitar stylings of McLaughlin and fellow guitarists Paco DeLucia and Al DiMeola. |
