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Jazz/Blues

Santana & McLaughlin, 'Invitation To Illumination: Live At Montreux 2011,' Eagle Rock [REVIEW]

Guitarists Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin had already headlined the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland numerous times with their own bands but in 2011, in their only show together provided a mystical, magical, profound, spiritual and loud experience. Going into their jazz-rock fusion handbook, they performed majestically, switching leads, switching genres and cheering on their own wildly percussive band (including wife Cindy Blackman of Santana, a powerhouse drummer). Now, for the first time on CD (you can also get it digitally and on DVD or Blu-Ray), Santana & McLaughlin are 'Live At Montreux 2011' on their "Invitation To Illumination" tour (Eagle Rock Entertainment).
By Mike Greenblatt

  • Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, and More Release 'Hommage a Eberhard Weber,' ECM [REVIEW]

    Right on the heels of 'Encore,' wherein 75-year old bassist Eberhard Weber stitched together tapes of in-concert solos with new arrangements and instruments, comes 'Hommage a Eberhard Weber,' a January 2015 two-night various-artists tribute in Stuttgart, Germany. Weber, who hasn't performed since his 2007 stroke, had his former bandmates, including guitarist Pat Metheny, soprano sax men Jan Gabarek and Paul McCandless (also on oboe) and vibes master Gary Burton, plus two conductors, the SWR Big Band and an extra rhythm section for the 35-minute title track, perform his originals.
    By Mike Greenblatt

  • PREMIERE: Dan Trueman's Marbles Étude from Nostalgic Synchronic, Adam Sliwinski on bitKlavier

    It's been 11 whole months, yes, since we first saw Sō Percussion's Adam Sliwinski's cross-handed study of Dan Trueman's bitKlavier. Shot then by Troy Herion, with Silwinski patched into his Princeton colleague's "prepared digital piano" via Casio USB for prelude-only, with all the bugs beta-ed out now, watch Silwinski's Roland A-88 shake under the more progressive hammer action of "Marbles"--directed by Evan Chapman. Like Ligeti's last Grawemeyer étude for Boulez from Book One, but played by the Synclavier I from Boulez conducts Zappa, lest you think Dan Trueman's lost his own here, well, just press play.
    By Logan K. Young