Influences and Inspirations: John McLaughlin

Jan. 4: Happy birthday John McLaughlin!



John McLaughlin has been a true master and at the same time a genuine seeker, for all of his 40+ years in music. For many years I have admired his adventurous spirit - pushing jazz to new heights by blending it with a wide range of other styles and multi-cultural influences.  His technique is phenomenal, his phrasing endlessly inventive, and his spiritual commitment is deep. It is McLaughlin (along with Carlos Santana) who made me see that playing music can be a path to spiritual discovery. He balances stunning virtuosity with passionate emotion, reminding me to strive for excellence, but also to allow myself to get lost in the moment. His amazingly diverse body of work sends a message that there is no need to be limited by definitions or categories. Jazz, rock, acoustic, electric, Western, Eastern - all mingle and interact in his work, with tremendous positive energy and joyous spirit. This again reflects the spiritual quest, in which one aims to drop the illusion of separation between one's self and everything else.

Here's a clip from his latest album, Now Here This . At age 72, he is still writing, recording and performing incredible new music with the most kickass musicians on the planet.



Here's a great interview (audio only) done in 2009 by Andy Ellis:
http://www.theguitarshow.com/interview-johnmclaughlin.html

It includes wonderful insights from John on a wide range of subjects, and a superb selection of diverse song excerpts.

Essential listening:
Mahavishnu Orchestra, Inner Mounting Flame 
Shakti, Natural Elements 
Friday Night In San Francisco
Live At The Royal Festival Hall
Time Remembered: John McLaughlin Plays Bill Evans

Also essential is the DVD: Remember Shakti: The Way of Beauty, which offers a full concert of his most Indian influenced music, along with documentary footage on the history of the band Shakti, and John's remarkable lifelong friendship and collaboration with the amazing tabla player Zakir Hussain.

Here's some links to some excellent recent articles/interviews:
Barry Cleveland: Lunch With John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin: Musical and Spiritual Connection
John McLaughlin - To The One

With a career that has so many awe-inspiring, exhilarating moments, it is so hard to pick just one video clip to share. Here's one from the 1977 album Natural Elements, part of his epic exploration of Indian music with the group Shakti:



This clip is from what I think is one of the greatest groups he ever had, featuring the amazing Trilok Gurtu on percussion. You can hear this group on the 1989 album Live at the Royal Festival Hall.



This piece is from Time Remembered, his 1993 tribute to jazz pianist Bill Evans, featuring John plus a classical guitar quartet, playing absolutely gorgeous arrangements of Bill Evans tunes.



And finally, here's one that's not like anything else you'll hear him do, but isn't that just like him...




 

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Influences and Inspirations: Jeff Beck

June 24 - Happy birthday, Jeff Beck!

 

Jeff Beck has been very active in recent times, reminding me of the enduring impact he has had on me as a guitarist. It started in the 70's with his classic instrumental albums Blow By Blow and Wired. Thus began my love affair with instrumental jazz-rock fusion that has evolved over the years but still endures. And those albums are still amazing, brilliant works that rightfully earned Beck the status of guitar legend.



Since they came out, he has re-emerged from time to time to give us another taste of his powerful, unique style. How can the guitar be played so roughly, yet so beautifully, all at once? How do hard rock, jazz, pop standards, rockabilly and funk all merge together into one utterly unique style? How can all that be done with nothing more than fingers on strings, guitar plugged into amp, usually with no effects at all? Jeff answers the question every time he walks on stage. He is just being himself, and he couldn't possibly do it any other way. The raw honesty of his playing is what sets him apart from many others who possess technical virtuosity but little else. By keeping it so truly real, his creative channel stays wide open, and it is a marvel to witness the passion he pours into every note.

I have been thrilled and inspired by JB for most of my life, and have been fortunate enough to have had opportunities to play some of his songs with some groups I've been in over the years. One such group, XYZ, eventually became the core of my first all instrumental CD, First Light. You can read all about that in my blog post, "The Road To First Light." After that CD I formed another group, Sherman-Resto-Young, and we did another all instrumental CD, One Mind. I will be telling the full story of that band soon. You can be sure that the influence of Jeff Beck loomed large over all of the music we created.

The concert video, Live At Ronnie Scott's is essential viewing. Released in 2008, it shows that Jeff, now in his 60's, is mature and accomplished but has lost none of his grit and fiery passion. As usual, he surrounds himself with world-class musicians, but this time, the line-up which includes Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, and Jason Rebello on keyboards, has a chemistry that borders on magical. Check out this burning rendition of "Scatterbrain":




Here's some of my essential Jeff Beck listening:
Blow By Blow
Wired
Guitar Shop
Emotion & Commotion
A Day In The Life


Finally, a rare treat: Jeff Beck, live, performing a jaw dropping rendition of "Over The Rainbow":




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Windshield or Bug?

art by Crystal

Sometimes you're the windshield...

I was playing a gig with Elena, at a local venue we're well established in. We love playing there - the acoustics are great, management is nice, and we have a lot of friends and fans that come out when we play there. But this particular gig was near Christmas and we weren't seeing our usual crowd. The place was packed with company parties and lots of college age people. Both of those kinds of groups are not usually there for the music, and indeed there was a din of noisy chatter but very little attention being paid to us. Eventually the crowd started thinning out and we figured the last set would be slow.

A group of young people emerged from the back of the bar and grabbed a table right in front of us. Then, a miracle occurred. They did not ignore us, did not talk loudly to each other or obsessively tap on their phones. They did not get up every five minutes to make a call or go out and smoke. They did not take pictures of each other making gangsta faces. No, these college kids actually listened to us. Even more amazing, they knew every song we played and were ecstatic about our mostly classic rock songlist. They sang. They cheered for every darned song. They raised their lighters.  And - bonus - they tipped. And when it was over, they demanded an encore.

Wow, what can I say. My faith in the younger generation was renewed!

art by Crystal

Sometimes you're the bug...

Whenever I have a great gig and feel a little excessive self-esteem creeping in, I know it must be about time for an ego smackdown in the form of a gig I regularly do at another Baltimore area venue. I can be fairly sure of what will happen when I do this gig, and the very next night after the previously described miracle, I was not disappointed. I was presented with a young college and professional crowd, all quite dedicated to ignoring me, talking loudly, texting on their phones, taking pictures of each other and constantly hopping up to go out and talk on the phone and smoke.

But then, someone did notice I was there, and came up to make a request. "Hmm," I thought, "I wonder what it will be?" but I could already feel it coming, and yes, there it was: "can you play Sweet Caroline?"

It's not that they wanted to enjoy my superb rendition of the song. They just wanted to join in on the chorus and go "dut, dut, dah!" and "so good, so good," at the top of their lungs, carrying out a bar ritual that they have surely participated in dozens if not hundreds of times already. I know I have. And even then, they were only good for two choruses. By the third chorus, the moment was gone and before the song is over they had already resumed their talking/drinking/picture-taking/texting/smoking routine. There was no applause. There was no tip. There were no more requests. In less than three minutes I have faded from their awareness, for the rest of the night.

The whole episode is like a pre-ordained moment of musical involvement, imprinted in the minds of young bar-goers after the song was revived in a scene from a movie in which - surprise - a bunch of drunk young people at a bar are singing the song. My audience seems programmed to re-live the scene and then go back to what they were doing.



I have written about this sort of thing before; it is part of the game if you want to be a working musician. Sometimes you love what you do; sometimes you are just earning the money. It's nice if you are enjoying yourself and getting paid, but it doesn't always happen. Would I rather be driving a truck, or working at a bank? Not in a million years. I feel lucky that I do love my work more often than I don't, and blessed that I get to play guitar and sing for a living. So I take the not-so-much fun ones as learning experiences, and try not to take it too seriously. It's counter-productive to have an over-inflated sense of self-importance on a gig, especially the less than ideal ones. You have to be able to laugh at the situation, and at yourself.  Besides, if only three people are there to see me, I have learned that it's always a good idea to play my best for those three people.

And I try to keep smiling.




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Influences and Inspirations: Pat Travers

April 12: Happy birthday Pat Travers.

Wow, what a big influence in my early guitar playing years, the late 1970's-early 80's. This was quintessential hard rock of the day but with a healthy dose of of funk; unique and ballsy guitar tones; great songs; a powerful voice; and top notch musicianship. But beyond that, Pat put forth a remarkable combination of musical qualities that was rare for that "hard rock" genre. He could do gorgeous multi-tracked guitar harmonies like few others (outside of Brian May) would dare attempt. He was one of the only guys besides Rush who could write songs in odd time signatures that still kicked ass. And I didn't mind one bit that his songs would have extensive instrumental sections. All the above are in evidence in this great tune, "Heat in the Street," from the superb album of the same name:



Pat always fills his band with incredible musicians and generously gives them plenty of room to stretch out and flex their musical muscles. The classic live album Go For What You Know is a powerful example of that.



And of course I have a soft spot for instrumental rock; Pat produced a great one on his classic Puttin' It Straight album, called "Off Beat Ride."



Puttin' It Straight is a personal favorite. This whole album has a great vibe, with a magical combination of great songs, musicians and production. I first heard of Pat through this album, shortly after it came out in 1977. Once I discovered it, I just couldn't stop listening to it, and I still do.

Pat is still around, playing shows and kicking ass; check him out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pattraversband. He keeps his schedule updated there, and regularly posts about his influences and inspirations!


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Influences and Inspirations: Brian Setzer

April 10: Happy birthday Brian Setzer.



I always liked the Stray Cats vibe. And I truly admired Brian Setzer, after the Cats broke up, for committing to a huge big band that enables him to go deep into the all the branches that intertwine with the rockabilly that he started out on: country, swing jazz, rock and roll. A great bandleader and entertainer, he has never stopped becoming an even better guitar player, as this rendition of Sleepwalk surely shows.



I never get tired of his ability to seamlessly blend all his influences into a hugely entertaining package that is raucous fun and high energy, while never skimping on musicianship and marvelous sophisticated band arrangements.

http://www.briansetzer.com/


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Influences and Inspirations: Steve Gadd

April 9 - Happy birthday Steve Gadd.



What, I'm reviewing a drummer? Yes, well, the fact is, great drummers have always excited and inspired me. And all of them respect and admire Steve Gadd. He is, of course, most often heard doing the famous drum riff on Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, " and the brilliant drum solo on Steely Dan's "Aja."

I heard and absorbed Steve's utterly unique style back in the late 70's from a number of albums by Chick Corea and Al Dimeola that Steve was on.

The song "Nite Sprite," from Chick Corea's Leprechaun album shows that Chick knew what kind of mega-talent he was working with, and gave him some very demanding music to play. Listen to the clip below to hear how Steve rose to the challenge. Awesome, musical and beautiful drumming. http://www.drstevegadd.com/




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Influences and Inspirations: Carl Perkins

April 9 - Happy birthday Carl Perkins.



Perkins was one of the earliest, best and most successful in the style known as rockabilly. That makes him one of rock's founding fathers, people. He hung with dudes like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. He scored a massive hit with his song "Blue Suede Shoes," selling more and charting higher than Elvis's later version. I know it might sound quaint and tame today, but you have to listen and imagine, in the bland pop culture of the 1950's, how electrifying it was to hear something like this for the first time. Elvis may have been the superstar celebrity, but Perkins was a genuine musician who influenced and inspired the likes of The Beatles, Eric Clapton and need I say, Brian Setzer. So give some props to an essential early rock icon.

Here's a cool 3-minute mini-documentary on Carl Perkins, with some discussion of his classic song, "Honey Don't."



Blue Suede Shoes, Rock Around The Clock, Roll Over Beethoven - these and other early rock and roll classics had a huge influence on those who followed, and opened the floodgates for generations to express their creativity, their rebellion, the sheer power of youth. Musicians I love, like Clapton, Hendrix and the Beatles, were not shy about paying tribute to their early rock and roll heroes, while at the same time boldly pushing the music forward in new and unexpected directions. For example:

Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart, "Jailhouse Rock," 1969:



and Jimi Hendrix's incendiary live version of "Johnny B. Goode," 1970:



Rock and roll, everybody.

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