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<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">Yeah, when Miles Davis picks a skinny young white
boy from England (thanks Henry Corra!) to play guitar in his band (on Bitches
Brew and other albums), this is a strong hint that the boy is a talented
guitarist.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">Jazz in our lifetimes has had a sad tendency to
become Smithsonionized, lifeless, looking backwards rather than (as
its first revoluionary instincts were) exploring the future of musical
forms and styles. Probably one of the things that matched Davis and McLaughlin
were that they were both explorers and experimenters -- they understood that
jazz needed to explore and keep inventing, or it would sputter and wheeze
and die -- in tuxedos and funereal attire.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">Mahavishnu John's spiritual quest sprang
technically from his need to master the rest of the world's stringed
instruments. Like (Harrison mainly) the Beatles, Indian stringed
instruments and musical forms clearly needed to be injected into serious
Western music -- the way African elements had created jazz 60+ years
earlier.</FONT> <FONT face="Courier New"> I'm convinced McLaughlin never
cared if his experiments (fusion, symphonic pieces like "Apocalypse" with
Tilson-Thomas and Jean Luc-Ponty) did not please music consumers (like Pat, who
is wildly passionate and forward-thinking about music). I think
McLaughlin just needs to keep exploring, experimenting. The Labeque duo
piano compositions were a beautiful new direction, this time influenced
by the south of France and the Mediterranean. I know I'll be eager to
hear where he aims his experiments next.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">As for GG's studio ability to grow extra hands or
GATACA fingers ...</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">No one loves GG's keyboard albums more than I. But
his flight from the concert stage and refuge in the electronic magic laboratory
of the studio robbed his ultimate contribution of spontaneity. His obsessive
pursuit of perfection (however achieved) robbed him of the courage to make a
mistake in a concert hall filled with (music-loving) strangers. I said in an
f_minor post once that the pursuit of perfection taints the music with an
audible sterility.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">Oh ... okay ... well, Pat can blame his own
Switzerland on this, but yeah, the Mahavishnu music did go great with lysergic
acid dyethylamide. The history of jazz, blues, rock and norty substances is
ancient and so ubiquitous that you could write a master's dissertation on what
20th century popular music would have been like without chemical
substances. (There exists a remarkable tape of young John McClaughlin jamming
all night with Jimi Hendrix.)</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">Sorry I've been a bit slow to respond to this
thread, i'm getting cataracts removed and my typing and computer skills have
been a bit compromised. But very soon<BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New"> I can see clearly now,
t</FONT><FONT face="Courier New">he rain is gone</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New"> I can see all obstacles in my
way</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New"> Gone are the dark clouds that
have made me blind</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New"> It's gonna be a bright
sunshiney day!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New"> -- Johnny
Nash</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">Bob</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New">Massachusetts USA</FONT></DIV>
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