JOHN McLAUGHLIN
Industrial Zen
Verve
Funny thing, being on the cutting edge of
a movement. Become too closely identified with the sound,
and you risk becoming irrelevant as it passes out of favor.
Move away from it and you may lose the vitality and passion
that connects you to your best work. And, of course, the
past always haunts you, as every recording, no matter what
its goals and advantages, is always compared to the best
work of your past. All of these dilemmas have faced guitarist
John McLaughlin through his career. Once the wunderkind
of the margins where jazz, rock, and world fusion meet,
he is no longer young and has often been seen as having
abandoned the areas of his most fruitful investigations.
McLaughlin’s work is always seen through the prism
of his boundary-defining playing with Miles Davis, Tony
Williams’ Lifetime, and his own legendary Mahavishnu
Orchestra. Since 1996’s The Promise, McLaughlin
has performed in a variety of styles, but his work has been
increasingly introspective. He reformed his Indian music
group Shakti, recorded a suite with orchestra, and did some
fantastic acoustic guitar work both live and in the studio.
But fans have been waiting for another installment
in McLaughlin’s fusion music express since ’96,
and now, with the release of Industrial Zen, they’ve
got what they have so craved. McLaughlin cuts loose with
a generous helping of music that touches on his past glories
while combining many of the elements he’s been interested
in throughout his career—Indian music, the juncture
of rock and jazz, spirituality. But there’s more here
than just a retreading of past glory: McLaughlin brings
in the digital recording world as well, and with beats and
electronics that make his music snap powerfully, he updates
his sound and oeuvre, pointing the way forward for future
explorations.
McLaughlin handles guitar and does synth programming
on every single track of Industrial Zen, which
is a major part of his newly-constructed sound. But he also
works with an amazing array of musicians that help solidify
his approach. Saxophonist Bill Evans is front and center
on “For Jaco” and “Just So Only More So.”.
Evans is an alumnus of Miles Davis’ late touring bands,
and indeed some of the angular melodic work, backed with
programmed beats, seems to take Davis’ late 1980s
explorations into a new arena. On "For Jaco" McLaughlin
provides a fitting tribute, complete with Joe Zawinul-inspired
orchestral synthesizers and great bass work from Hadrian
Feraud.
Italian saxophonist Ada Rovatti plays incredible,
fiery tenor on standout tracks “Dear Dalai Lama”
and “Wayne’s Way,” a tribute to Wayne
Shorter (on which she also plays soprano sax). Rovatti is
proving herself to be a hugely talented voice, and I’ve
little doubt we’ll hear a lot from her in the future.
Drummer and keyboardist Gary Husband is heard on many of
these tracks. Husband has worked extensively with British
guitarist Allan Holdsworth, who eventually replaced McLaughlin
in a later edition of Lifetime. Zakir Hussain, the world’s
best-known tabla player (most recently known for his work
with Tabla Beat Science and Charles Lloyd’s Sangam
band) is present, and Shankar Mahadeuan provides sensitive
vocal work on a couple of tracks. Hadrian Feraud, virtuoso
electric bassist in the Jaco mold, is also along for the
ride, as is drummer Mark Mondesir.
The group provides all the energy one imagines
would be needed to fuel McLaughlin’s imagination and
fingers, and indeed the guitarist comes across with playing
that is as virtuosic and rapid-fire as any he’s ever
recorded. But his playing has a depth and sweetness that
may have been missing from his earlier recordings. It would
be pointless to talk of McLaughlin’s playing having
‘mellowed’ in light of the intense nature of
his performances here, but there is a depth and breadth
to his work that makes this recording all the more impressive.
For those who thought that perhaps McLaughlin’s
days as an innovator were over, put those thoughts back
on the shelf. Industrial Zen demonstrates clearly
that not only can McLaughlin play as well as ever, he also
has very clear ideas about where he’s going musically
and how to bring together all the elements that have made
his music so interesting all along.
