John Mclaughlin Five Peace Band Live CD

Though their paths crossed on the Miles Davis classic IN A SILENT WAY and on Larry Coryell's SPACES, this disc is the first actual collaboration between pianist Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin. The Five Peace Band truly is a super-group, the other members being the versatile bassist Christian McBride (acoustic and electric), saxophonist Kenny Garrett (a Miles alumnus too), and fusion drumming ace Vinnie Colaiuta. LIVE features cozy, intimate Corea-McLaughlin duets, sizzling electric playing, and enchanting acoustic passages. They pay tribute to Miles with a medley of "In A Silent Way" and "It's about That Time," with yet another Miles grad Herbie Hancock guesting on keyboards. And there's even a tasty rendition of a bebop classic, Jackie McLean's "Dr. Jackle." Aside from a righteous meeting-of-the-minds, LIVE proves that fusion as a concept is not played out.

Personnel: John McLaughlin (guitar, electric guitar); Chick Corea (piano, keyboards); Kenny Garrett (saxophone); Christian McBride (acoustic bass, electric bass); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums).

Audio Mixers: Buck Snow; Brian Vibberts.

Down Beat (p.53) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]wo hours of stylistically diverse but uniformly superlative music as it segues from full-band fusion fireworks to a delicate duet....A substantial jazz experience of unusual quantity and quality."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.86) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Jointly led by ex-Miles Davis alumni, keyboard player Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin -- who are in combustible form throughout -- the quintet is completed by Kenny Garrett on sax..."