The Guitar Channel

2013 Special Edition eBook "Power, Passion and Beauty- The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra" officially released

PRESS RELEASE

2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the tumultuous break-up of the greatest band that ever was, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The group, founded by British guitarist John McLaughlin, was the first to fuse jazz, rock and world music into critical and commercial success. In a remarkable feat, its strictly instrumental albums were able to find their way into the Top 20 of the Billboard rock charts. The Special Edition eBook “Power, Passion and Beauty - The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra” is the updated version of Walter Kolosky’s critically acclaimed work first published in 2006. Many have called that book “The Bible” of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and the jazz-rock fusion movement. The Special Edition eBook is brand new to those who have not read the original printed version of this riveting story. For those that have, however, many new anecdotes, insights, opinions, and an extra chapter updating the story of Mahavishnu have been added. The list of those exclusively sharing their views and memories of Mahavishnu for the original book was staggering. Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Pat Metheny, Sir George Martin, Jeff Beck, all of the original Mahavishnu members and almost 150 other music giants helped tell the Mahavishnu tale. This time around, Carlos Santana, Chick Corea, Steve Howe, Carmine Appice, and many other noted artists, producers, audio engineers and spiritual travelers add to the legend that is the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The Special Edition eBook “Power, Passion and Beauty” also has dedicated web pages that will offer more rare images, news and information.

SOME EARLY COMMENTS AND REVIEWS:

“Thank you so much for doing this book!” - Carlos Santana

“This (“Power, Passion and Beauty”) is a great book!” - Chick Corea

“I was riveted by “Power, Passion and Beauty,” even though I knew the incendiary and brief history of the band, probably because it was so inspiring to hear how everyone who ever heard or was associated with the band was changed forever, not just by the power and originality of the music, but as if by something more spiritually fueled. This music was life-changing for all of us who heard it, and for all music which followed and continues to emerge from Mahavishnu's long shadow. Walter is to be eternally thanked for stoking the Flame.” - Christopher O’Riley, noted musician and host of America’s National Public Radio and Television’s “From The Top.”

"Walter Kolosky is clearly the foremost authority on the most important and powerful jazz-rock group of all time, the Mahavishnu Orchestra. With its enthralling interviews and insight, Kolosky's "Power, Passion and Beauty" details the storied history and influence of this epic band in a book that's as fun to read as it is fascinating. "Power, Passion and Beauty" is a must-have for music fans seeking a deeper understanding of the origins of the jazz-rock movement, and the greatest band the genre has ever known." - Rich Murray, The Guitar Channel

“Walter Kolosky has made the definitive tome on Mahavishnu Orchestra even more expansive and engaging. With fresh perspectives, sharper details, and new interviews, this eBook is a must-have for avid Mahavishnu and John McLaughlin fans. For those of you that were there, the book provides great insight into your fond memories. For those who know the band solely through recordings, this book gets you as close as you can to the alchemy that took place onstage and in the studio.” - Anil Prasad, Innerviews (The web’s first and longest-running music magazine)

Goto www.walterkolosky.com for more details.

 

Video: Return to Forever with Jimmy Herring - Live in Atlanta "School Days"

I know... lots of videos lately, but I couldn't pass this up. This is Jimmy Herring sitting in with Return to Forever on "School Days" in Atlanta last night. Jimmy is a little low in the mix at first, but they bring him up after about a minute. With Chick Corea on keys, Lenny White on drums, Stanley Clarke on bass, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Frank Gambale on guitar. Here is the same tune from another angle.

Current Listening (and Viewing)

Some of the stuff I've been digging lately...

Brett Garsed - Dark Matter

Killer modern fusion album with a strong prog influence. Incredible playing from all involved, especially Garsed and bassist Ric Fierabracci. Look for a full review soon.

Corea, Clarke & White - Forever

Two disc set features Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke & Lenny White in an acoustic trio setting, plus Return To Forever studio rehearsals from 2009 with Bill Connors on guitar.

Johnny Hiland - All Fired Up

Loaded with insane chops and fun tunes. Hiland is one of the best country pickers around.

Chad Wackerman - Legs Eleven

This one is several years old but I've had it on heavy rotation lately. Exceptional writing and production. Great guitar work from James Muller also.

Gannin Arnold - 5 World Class Drummers [DVD]

Features Arnold playing with drummers Taylor Hawkins, Jimmy Chamberlain, Simon Phillips, Terry Bozzio and Gary Novak to demonstrate their varying styles. The bonus disc includes interviews and extra footage.

Return To Forever IV US Tour Dates with Zappa Plays Zappa

Return To Forever IV will embark on a 32-city US tour this summer with special guest Zappa Plays Zappa. See below for the full list of 2011 RTF IV tour dates and venues, including dates for the band's European tour. RTF IV features Chick Corea on piano and keys, Lenny White on drums, Stanley Clarke on bass, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Frank Gambale on guitar.

 

 

 

Return To Forever IV 2011 Tour Dates

24 June     NORTHAMPTON, MA     Calvin Theater                        
25 June     SYRACUSE, NY     Syracuse Jazz Festival    
26 June     MONTREAL, QC     Montreal Jazz Festival                        
27 June     OTTAWA, ON     Ottawa Jazz Festival                        
28 June     TORONTO, ON     Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival                        
1 July         BERLIN, GERMANY     Zitadelle                        
2 July         HAMBURG, GERMANY     Stadtpark                        
3 July         NECKARSULM, GERMANY     Audi Forum                        
4 July         MUNICH, GERMANY     Small Tollwood Arena                        
5 July         KRAKOW, POLAND     Hala Wisly                        
7 July         VIENNE, FRANCE     Vienne Jazz Festival                        
8 July         ROTTERDAM, NL     North Sea Jazz Festival                        
9 July         PARIS, FRANCE     Olympia                        
10 July     GENT, BELGIUM     Gent Jazz Festival                        
11 July     DUISBURG, GERMANY     Piano Festival Ruhr                        
12 July     MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND     Montreux Jazz Festival                        
14 July     SETE, FRANCE     Theatre de la Mer
15 July     AOSTA, ITALY     Bard Fortress                        
16 July     PESCARA, ITALY     Pescara Jazz Festival                        
17 July     ROVINJ, CROATIA     Park Forrest                        
20 July     BASTIA, CORSICA, FRANCE     Theatre de Verdure                        
22 July     MADRID, SPAIN     Puerta del Angel                        
23 July     SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN     Kursaal Auditorium                        
26 July     MARSEILLE, FRANCE     Marseille Jazz Festival                        
28 July     SAN FELIU, SPAIN                            
29 July     MARCIAC, FRANCE     Marciac Jazz Festival                        
1 August     TEL AVIV, ISRAEL     Casesaria Amphitheatre

US Tour with Zappa Plays Zappa               
7 August     PITTSBURGH, PA     Stage AE    
8 August     BUFFALO, NY     UB Center for the Arts                         
9 August     BALTIMORE, MD     Merriweather Post Pavilion    
10 August     PHILADELPHIA, PA     Mann Center                         
11 August     BOSTON, MA     Bank of America Pavilion    
12 August     NEW YORK, NY     The Beacon Theatre
13 August     NEW YORK, NY     The Beacon Theatre                         
16 August     COLUMBUS, OH     LC Pavilion    
17 August     CLEVELAND, OH     State Theatre                         
18 August     CINCINNATI, OH     PNC Pavilion    
19 August     DETROIT, MI     Meadowbrook   
20 August     CHICAGO, IL     Horseshoe Casino    
21 August     INDIANAPOLIS, IN     The Murat                         
22 August     NASHVILLE, TN     Schermerhorn Symphony Center                         
24 August     MINNEAPOLIS, MN     Orpheum Theatre                         
25 August     ST. LOUIS, MO     Fox Theatre                         
26 August     KANSAS CITY, MO     Midland Theatre                         
27 August     DENVER, CO     Paramount Theatre                         
28 August     SALT LAKE CITY, UT     Red Butte Garden                         
8 September     ATLANTA, GA     Fox Theatre                         
9 September     ORLANDO, FL     House of Blues        
10 September     BOCA RATON, FL     Mizner Park Amphitheatre      
11 September     CLEARWATER, FL     Ruth Eckerd Hall                         
13 September     AUSTIN, TX     Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theatre            
14 September     GRAND PRAIRIE, TX     Verizon Theatre                         
15 September     HOUSTON, TX     Verizon Wireless Theatre             
17 September     MESA, AZ     Mesa Arts Center                         
19 September     SAN DIEGO, CA     Humphrey’s                         
20 September     LOS ANGELES, CA     Greek Theatre                         
21 September     DAVIS, CA     Mondavi Center                         
22 September     SAN FRANCISCO, CA     Warfield Theatre                         
23 September     EUGENE, OR     Hult Center    
24 September     SEATTLE, WA     Paramount Theatre

2-10 October     JAPAN

Frank Gambale Joins Return To Forever - 2011 Tour Dates Scheduled for Australia

Guitarist Frank Gambale has joined Return To Forever. The new lineup - dubbed Return To Forever IV - features Chick Corea on piano and keys, Lenny White on drums, Stanley Clarke on bass, Jean-Luc Ponty on violin, and Gambale on guitar. The band currrently has the following live dates scheduled for Australia in 2011:

02/11/2011 - 02/13/2011  Regent Theatre - Melbourne VIC Australia
   
02/15/2011 - 02/16/2011  Opera House Concert Hall - Bennelong Point Sydney NSW Australia

According to Gambale's tour page, more RTFIV dates are in the works for the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan as well.

Check out the video below for some great footage of Gambale jamming with the band, and more info on the new lineup.

Return to Forever IV: Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy Tour 2011 from CoreaCrew on Vimeo.

Lenny White's "Anomaly" now available for pre-order

From Abstract Logix news:

Anomaly (shipping April 21; now available for pre-order) to feature Stanley Clarke, Victor Bailey, Jimmy Herring, George Colligan, David Gilmore and other luminaries in this Genre Defying Recording.

Following his triumphant worldwide reunion tour with Return To Forever in 2008 and separate trio tours in 2009 with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke and pianist Hiromi with Clarke, Lenny White was primed to put out his own recording, his first as a leader in ten years. With Anomaly, the pioneering jazz-rock drummer returns to his roots, blending powerhouse backbeats
and improvisational abandon in a bold, unapologetically aggressive manner that characterized the early 70s fusion movement.

“We need to restart a revolution so that we can take back the music and stop the fluff,” says White. “I’m hoping that this new album is a representation of that ideal.”

Accompanied by a crew of guitar killers in Jimmy Herring (Widespread Panic), Nick Moroch (a former member of White’s Astral Pirates), David Gilmore, Tom Guarna and David Bendeth, keyboardists George Colligan, Bernard Wright, Donald Blackman (another Astral Pirate ) and Vince Evans and bassists Victor Bailey, Richie Goods, Charles Fambrough and his RTF bandmate Stanley Clarke, White unleashes with Zeppelinesque fury on Anomaly, his tenth overall recording as a leader.

Largely self-taught on drums, native New Yorker White broke into the jazz world in 1968 with alto saxophonist Jackie McLean. The following year he participated in Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, generally regarded as the album that birthed the fusion movement. He subsequently recorded with a Who’s Who in Jazz, including trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw, tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson, Gato Barbieri and Stan Getz and renowned composer-bandleader Gil Evans, among others. As a member of Return To Forever from 1973 to 1976, White gained a solid reputation as one of the top fusion drummers of the day. “I'm basically a jazz guy, and that’s what I grew up playing,” he says. “But when this new thing happened with jazz-rock through Bitches Brew and bands like Tony Williams Lifetime and Return To Forever, I found myself on the ground floor of a movement. And this musical movement co-existed with other forms of music that came in during the latter part of the 20th century.”

“I was fortunate when I started to make music,” he continues. “I made music at the same time that Igor Stravinksy was making music, at the same time that Jimi Hendrix and James Brown were making music, at the same time that Duke Ellington and Miles Davis and John Coltrane were making music. Led Zeppelin co-existed at the same time that Return To Forever did. I listened to all that music and was influenced by all of it. So now when I put together an eclectic project I sometimes hear people say, “Oh man, what is he trying to do” ”But the truth is, I’m not trying to do anything. I’m just representing the music that I came up listening to.”

Lenny White - Anomaly

Personnel:

Lenny White (Drums); Nick Moroch (Guitar) ; David Gilmore (Guitar); Tom Guarna (Guitar); Jimmy Herring(Guitar); David Bendeth (Guitar); George Colligan (Keyboards); Bernard Wright (Keyboards); Donald Blackman((Keyboards) ); Vince Evans (Keyboards); Victor Bailey (Bass); Richie Goods (Bass); Charles Fambrough (Bass); Stanley Clarke (Bass) 

Track Listing:

Track 1      Drum Boogie
Track 2     We Know
Track 3     Forever
Track 4     Drum Moon
Track 5     Gazelle
Track 6     If You Dare
Track 7     Election Day
Track 8     Coming Down
Track 9     Cat Lett Out of the Bag
Track 10     Water Changes Everything
Track 11     Anthem
Track 12     The Wait has lifted the weight

New Album from Guitar Instrumentalist Oz Noy

PRESS RELEASE

Oz Noy, one of the most proficient, fluid, and inventive contemporary instrumental guitarists in the U.S., unleashes the sonic equivalent of a turbo-charged luxury high-performance sports vehicle that hugs the highway and cruises in the fast lane. With his new instrumental album Schizophrenic (Magnatude Records, street date September 22, 2009) – as off-the-hook as it is sophisticated – the native Israeli guitarist once again navigates the gnarly twist and turns of the metaphorical musical road.

Take a dash of Stevie Ray Vaughan, an ounce of Jimi Hendrix and an endless supply of wild sonic experimentation and precise musicianship and you’ll come close to the sonic expansiveness of Schizophrenic.

As the title implies, Schizophrenic crosses and blurs the line between stylistically distinct genres while combining multiple musical characteristics such as funk, blues-rock, blues-rock with jazz-chord inflections, screamin’ guitar rock, and slow jazzy-rock ballads in odd time signatures.

Helping Noy realize his musical visions is a stellar cast of musicians such as guitarist Steve Lukather (Toto, Michael Jackson), drummer Dave Weckl (Chick Corea, Robert Plant), Noy’s longtime cohorts, skins bashers Keith Carlock (Sting, James Taylor, Steely Dan) and Anton Fig (the CBS Orchestra/Late Show with David Letterman), bassist Will Lee (Letterman), and keyboardists Chris Palmaro, Ricky Peterson, Shai Bachar.

Schizophrenic Track Listing:
1. Ice Pick
2. 120 Heart Beats
3. Seven
4. Schizophrenic
5. Elephant Walk
6. Twice In A While
7. Jelly Blue
8. Underwater Romance
9. Bug Out

For more information, please visit www.magnacarta.net.

Bill Connors to join Corea, Clarke, & White at the Hollywood Bowl

Yes... it's true. Bill Connors, one of my all-time favorite guitarists, will rejoin his former Return To Forever bandmates Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White for a show at the Hollywood Bowl on September 2nd. This will be the first show of a fall tour for Corea, Clarke, and White. From the All About Jazz article:

"It's official: pianist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White will be joined September 2nd by guest guitarist Bill Connors at the Hollywood Bowl kick-off gig of their fall tour. The band, now billed as Corea, Clarke & White, will also be joined by legendary violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and song stylist Chaka Khan.

Inspired by what his friend and fellow Miles Davis alumnus John McLaughlin was doing with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Corea originally brought Connors extraordinarily expressive electric guitar skills into the band in 1973 so that Return To Forever could musically “make your hair move." As, indeed, they did. A long-time fan favorite among early jazz-rock fusion fans, Connors will join his former band mates when they open their tour at the storied Highland Ave. arena in Los Angeles."

Purchase tickets to the Corea, Clarke, Corea, and Connors Hollywood Bowl show

RTF back in the day...

Five Peace Band Live review at All About Jazz

John Kelman has written a great review of the April 28th Five Peace Band show in Montreal for All About Jazz.

AAJ Review: John McLaughlin/Chick Corea: Five Peace Band - Montreal, Canada  April 28, 2009

Two new McLaughlin reviews at All About Jazz

More great stuff by John Kelman over at All About Jazz. Check it out...

All About Jazz Review: Chick Corea/John McLaughlin - Five Peace Band Live
All About Jazz Review: John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension - Live @ Belgrade DVD

Five Peace Band Live album!

Now available from Abstract Logix:

Master pianist Chick Corea and guitar legend John McLaughlin have formed their first group together since playing with Miles Davis 40 years ago: The Five Peace Band. Meet the all-star lineup : Kenny Garrett on saxophone, Christian McBride on bass, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums

On the new double-album FIVE PEACE BAND LIVE, hear these artists re-imagine electric jazz tune by tune in their intimate, overwhelming stage show.

Album is NOT available in stores - ONLY on the Five Peace Band tour. Don’t miss the chance to see five legends on stage at once.

BONUS - album includes guest Herbie Hancock sitting in on the classic “In a Silent Way.”

Updated Five Peace Band US tour dates

Here is an updated list of US tour dates for John McLaughlin and Chick Corea's new project Five Peace Band. The band for these dates will include Christian McBride on bass, Kenny Garrett on sax, and Brian Blade on drums.

 MARCH 2009

19-Thursday Los Angeles/UCLA Royce Hall  
20-Friday Santa Barbara.CA  / U of CA/SB/Campbell Hall 
21-Saturday Berkeley,CA  UC Berkeley/Zellerbach Hall
23-Monday Santa Cruz/Civic Auditorium
24-Tuesday Modesto, CA / Gallo Center  for the Arts
25-Wednesday Denver, CO / Paramount Theater
27-Friday Miami, FL / Arsht Center
28-Saturday Savannah, GA /  Trustees Theater
29-Sunday Atlanta, GA / Variety Playhouse
31-Tuesday Dallas, TX / House of Blues

APRIL 2009

1-Wednesday Houston, TX / Verizon Wireless Theater
2-Thursday Austin, TX/  UT Austin Bass Hall
3-Friday Chicago, IL / Chicago Theater
4-Saturday Ann Arbor, MI / U-Mich-Hill
6-Monday Nashville, TN / Scherwednesdayhorn Symph Ctr
7-Tuesday Champaign, IL / U of IL @ Champaign/ Krannert Ctr
23-Thursday NYC, NY JALC/Rose Hall
24-Friday NYC, NY JALC/Rose Hall
25-Saturday NYC, NY JALC/Rose Hall
26-Sunday Phildelphia, PA  / Keswick Theatre
28-Tuesday mondaytreal, CND / Place des Arts/Wilfred Pelletier Hall
29-Wednesday Strathmore, MD / Music Center at Strathmore
30-Thursday Boston, MA / Berklee PAC

MAY 2009

1-Friday Burlington, VT / Flynn Theatre

via John McLaughlin news