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Magazine: JAZZ DOWN UNDER Jan/Feb 1975 page 6,7
Out and about by Geoff Gilbert
MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA (Sydney)
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The stage set up for the Mahavishnu Orchestra, microphones angled over
amplifiers looked much like a city skyline with inclining cranes.
In the centre a mammoth sepulchral white drum kit with cymbals suspended
at a dramatic height. McLaughlin came forward in white a cook's uniform
nicely starched, he had his twin tailed stingray (guitar), but his black hair parted very neatly in the centre
and razored square at the back and sides, together with the largeness of
his head and old fashioned handsome features gave him the startling appearance
of a huge wax replica of a character from the World of Wooster.
Drummer Michael Walden who beating on his high cymbals as though on
a prison wall seemed often in pain, was closely cropped as was cellist
Phil Hirschi and trumpeter/flautist Bob Knapp. These three had the boney and queerly
foetal appearance of Hari Krishnas, the face of american fanaticism.
The rest apart from Jean Luc Ponty looked like regulation Music College
graduates. Studious and dedicated if not fanatical Jean Luc Ponty was as
behind the times as his audience...... long hair and trendy jeans.
John McLaughlin asked for silence so that "We might reach
the greatest depths and heights of ourselves". I fancied I saw in this
surreal display of humility ego held down by ego.Very strange. The
music too was at times both ponderous and unearthy moments of absolute
brillance almost passed by me, because i had been quickly numbed by the
relentless volume and the obsessively hypnotic quality of the preceding
passages. A tense cluttered chromaticism packed over a chanting
modal basis, perhaps one possible direction suggested by John Coltrane
and Miles Davis, perhaps not. At times it was heavy and lurid
rather than ecstatic and spiritual the soloists often wailed a semitone over the ensembles
top note or bit it right off, making the whole thing blur into a gargantuan
mass. John McLaughlin had his moments but often repeated the
same phrase about 50 billion times at high speed or transposed it upwards
into predictable climaxes. Shades of Vivaldi's more tedious
exercises perhaps he needs a Miles Davis to tread on his fingers in his
more acute moments of digital diarrhoea. Very occasionally he produced
the short cryptically fragmented lines of his Miles Davis days. Jean Luc
Ponty to succumbed often to this relentless dervishing but created two
solos that were the high point of the evening.
The string quartet played very well and some of their stuff was pretty
interesting. A cadence from Debussy's string quartet cropped up in
one section. Bob Knapp played two excellent Miles influenced solos using
both wa wa and loop echo delayer to remove all but a vestigal resemblance
to a trumpet.
All in all it was a marathon to say the least. I did not share
the unqualified enthusiasm of many people in the audience but I'm glad
i saw and heard it all.
For those interested to know the dates for the Australia tour
Perth concert hall 8-Nov-1974
Melbourne festival hall 10-Nov-1974
Sydney hordern pavillion 12-Nov-1974
Melbourne festival hall 14-Nov-1974
Adelaide thebarton hall 15-Nov-1974
Sydney hordern pavillion 17-Nov-1974
Brisbane festival hall 19-Nov-1974
From there they went to New Zealand and played in Wellington (don't
know the date), and possibly inChristchurch, then it's believed they returned to the USA and played in Houston Texas,
and also of all placesThe Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas !
Contributed by David Graham (daveg@alphalink.com.au)
Christchurch, NZ
Dazzling display of musical skill
British rock guitarist John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, at the Town Hall, last night only.
Nobody could fault the technical gymnastics of John McLaughlin and his orchestra.
Blistering guitar solos? McLaughlin could melt paint off a wall at 50 yards. His speed and control is staggering. No wonder a musician as critical as Miles Davis rates him as his favourite guitar player.
Violin? Frenchman Jean-Luc Ponty, another man with roots in jazz, fields the volleys of notes McLaughlin fires, and sends them thundering back.
Drumming? Michael Walden, only 21, with the loose limbed build of a welterweight boxer, plays with such intensity it's almost frightening, Watch him closely. There must be times when he cheats and uses four hands.
Bass? Chubby-cheeked Ralphe Armstrong is 17, which helps to explain his dexterity, but not the ability to stray on wild flights of free-form music, which would not normally be expected from a bass.
Out the four of them on stage with six other skilled musicians for almost three hours and the result, as it was last night , is a dazzling demonstrations of skills.
The only doubt is if the music they play, almost totally without melody, and really just a peg for virtuoso playing, has a great deal beyond the surface.
McLaughlin, heavily involved in Eastern religion, feels there is a spiritual quality to his music.
A listener might be more inclined to see McLaughlin's work, as compared to, say, the soulful Carlos Santana, as the difference between gymnastics and ballet. The skill is everything in one, the beauty everything in the other.
But the band believes in what its doing, and what it does is done brilliantly.
-Phil Gifford.
Brisbane, Australia
Audience enthralled
The Brisbane Festival Hall audience last night heard a band of highly creative music virtuosos.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra took a receptive audience on a musical excursion guided by the soaring electric violin of Jean-Luc Ponty, and the amazing speed and precision of guitarist John McLaughlin.
Each attempted to out-do the other in technical brilliance, but they usually ended playing in perfect counterpoint.
McLaughlin was challenged at times for the role of musical director by none other than his drummer.
Though hampered on occasions by a faltering acoustic balance, the orchestra did not release the audience from its spell until it was all over.
Melbourne, Australia
A JAZZ-ROCK EXPERIENCE
JOHN McLAUGHLIN and his Mahavishnu Orchestra last night gave an amazing performance of jazz-rock-innovative music before a receptive audience at Festival Hall.
Combining with Jean-Luc Ponty, on electric and baritone violins, McLaughlin showed the speed and technique that prompted claims that he is one of the best and fastest guitarists.
Changing effortlessly from the 12 to the six-string neck of his double-necked guitar, he reproduced the sound that is peculiar in modern music.
Ponty blended well with McLaughlin's guitar. The two dueled with impeccable precision then drifted into individual breaks.
During his many solo spots, Ponty displayed superb mastery over his instruments, timing echo and feedback perfectly.
The rhythm section comprised young and energetic Michael Walden (drums) and Ralphe Armstrong, 17, on fretless bass guitar.
With long and short solos, they showed the timing and rhythm that gave the music its strong base, and much of its power.
Pretty Gayle Moran combined her talents on keyboard, with beautiful and clear vocals like "Smile of the Beyond" which also showed the talents of Bob Knapp on trumpet.
McLaughlin and the orchestra will appear at Festival Hall again on Thursday.
Provided by Knapp, Bob (knapp@im.picker.com)
