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John McLaughlin – 'Live at Ronnie Scott's' – Jazzy Hour, 30th November 2017

Wednesday, 29 November 2017 , ora 15.20
 

After touring around the world on numerous occasions, the great jazz musician finally reaches the small, yet famous Ronnie Scott's club in London. It is an essential and intimate meeting spot between passion and fame, which became special for John McLaughlin, who, back in the '60s, with the same passion, but a beginner's fame, was taking a new and adventurous musical path, convinced that imagination and curiosity can only push you forward. After 50 years, the concert at Ronnie Scott's has a sensitive touch for those times and for all that happened ever since, delighting us with an impressive chain of artistic performances, containing many references to Mahavishnu, Shakti and the 4th Dimension. Present there were also the three musicians that he had worked with in the past few years - bassist Etienne M'bappe, keyboardist Gary Husband and drummer Ranjit Barot - musicians with whom he recorded "Black Light" in 2015. His age, or the passage of time, if you will, is not at all present within the uniformity of his setlist. However, listeners that are quite acquainted with the artist will surely be glad to recognize his own themes, titles and his everlasting style, played with a seemingly inexhaustible energy, even if McLaughlin has discretely announced his last tour in 2017. Time is perfectly depicted in this performance from the two essential markers in his path, and the inner source, "the inner mounting flame", burns just as bright half a century later.

Berti Barbera
Translated by Ruxandra Vorotneac,
MTTLC 2nd Year University of Bucharest