John McLaughlin Releases First New Music Recorded During Lockdown
McLaughlin’s new album, Liberation Time, examines the pandemic era with a provocative mix of catharsis and reflection – available July 16.
A living legend of improvised music, with a career now spanning more than five decades, John McLaughlin is no stranger to translating tumultuous moments into compelling, thoughtful audio art. Witness his searing contributions to Miles Davis’s infamous Jack Johnson sessions, the explosively pioneering rock/jazz hybrid he helped create as a member of the first edition of Tony Williams’s Lifetime, or the expansive explorations encompassed by his own music — be it the rhythmic revolution of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the unprecedented east/west fusion of Shakti, or the thrilling telepathic interplay his current outfit, the 4th Dimension.
With his newest album, Liberation Time, set for release on July 16, 2021, McLaughlin draws from one of humanity’s most fraught, uncertain epochs to produce music that gracefully reflects the uncertainty, vulnerability, and slowly awakening joy of our times. A direct response to the mandated restrictions imposed by the spread of Covid-19, the album is — unusually for McLaughlin’s recent projects — not the work of one fixed ensemble. With physical proximity no longer a prerequisite, McLaughlin drew upon decades of experience as a bandleader to select musicians best suited to each composition.
“As the Spirit Sings” introduces the album by contrasting churning rhythmic tension (stoked by drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Sam Burgess) with McLaughlin’s soaring guitar figures — all underpinned by Gary Husband’s subtle, supportive piano. The knotty post-bop figures of “Right Here, Right Now, Right On” mark one of the most jazz-inflected performances McLaughlin has laid down in some time, featuring Nicolas Viccaro (drums), Jerome Regard (bass), Julian Siegel (tenor saxophone), and Oz Ezzeldin(piano). The sense of brotherhood that bonds McLaughlin’s current 4th Dimension ensemble (McLaughlin, Husband, bassist Etienne Mbappe, and drummer Ranjit Barot) is on full display during “Lockdown Blues,” a playful refraction examination of blues tropes first released last summer to benefit the Jazz Foundation of America.
Liberation Time is a product of its times, and yet it looks both forwards and backwards — at once drawing upon memories of better days yet reaching for a new dawn. Looking back at the album’s transcontinental sessions, McLaughlin concludes, “The wonderful thing about music is that you put the headphones on and you are all in the same room.”
Exclusive limited collector’s edition bundles, as well as CD, vinyl and early digital access pre-orders are available here.
