A letter from John McLaughlin

Guitarist John McLaughlin - that amazing guitarist, founder of Mahavishnu & Shakti - recently turned 70. A little Facebook page was set up, called "Happy Birthday John McLaughlin". I took the time to write him a note. So did a lot of other folks... And he wrote back to all of us. I feel this is worth sharing, because it peaks about the porwer of Love, Music, and our connections with eachother.

Namaste'.

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM JOHN:

Dearest friends. Today I wish to write to all of you who have written to me, or written on Facebook to celebrate my 70th birthday. By the time one gets to be 70 years old, you are supposed to have learned something about life, and today, I'd like to write a few words on the arrival of my 70th birthday which I celebrated in Mumbai India.

My life is a continuous miracle: That I am. There is another miracle, that the Infinite Universe also, is.There is yet another miracle: That we are given the most marvelous gift of love: That we have this capacity to love and be loved. Sometimes I am in awe of love, for it seems to me that love is Infinite and Cosmic in origin, and since love can only be experienced here and now, to love, is to live in the infinite here and now. This is what all the sages of old have recommended as a cure for everything!
And then there is music: what we all love, there's that word again, and in reality this is what brings all of us together. I am humbled and thrilled at the same time, by the numerous messages from you to celebrate my birthday, and without doubt, it is the work of music.
This has to be yet another kind of miracle: That we can make bumps and scrapes, booms, bangs, oohs and aahs, twangs and grinds, and out comes beauty........ And we all love this improbable beauty that comes out of all of these sounds, and that it can be so surprising, so different, and at the same time, so right. Music has this power to speak directly to the depths of our souls, and reminds us that this is where we all belong, and that in music as in love, we truly are one.
With Love and Blessings to all,
john

track: "Power Of Love" from the album "Apocolypse" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

The Mahavishnu Project — Show Review in Metroland

Bearsville Theater, June 10

Rating: +3 (from 3 votes)
The Mahavishnu Project’s whole shtick is that they re-create albums by the Mahavishnu Orchestra in their entirety. They do this with the blessing of the members of the original group, including guitarist John McLaughlin, who has said that they re-create the tunes in “an unbelievable way.” At the Bearsville Theater, the fare for the night included the entire album Visions of the Emerald Beyond, and also a few selections from Birds of Fire and Inner Mounting Flame.

The drummer and bandleader, Gregg Bendian, announced that they would be playing the entire album from start to finish with no breaks in between. This direct-flight approach made the evening seem something like a guided meditation.

Some of the pieces built to fiendish intensity within odd, deeply grooving time signatures like 10/8, 9/8 or 14/8, exploding and collapsing into subdued interludes, like an elegant string quartet with screaming classical violin over pulsing, legato cello and viola.

The orchestration of the tunes was incredibly complex and just as stable as any of Beethoven’s epic symphonies. To access the full sonic spectrum, the instruments would often trade roles. Sometimes the keyboard would be comping and sometimes it would be leading. The same was true for the electric violin and guitar. On certain tunes, the instruments would use their “natural sounds” and, on others, the soloists seemed to emulate the sound of the electric guitar. This was especially noticeable from Neil Alexander on the keytar. When he was soloing, he would frequently use one hand to play fiendish single-note lines and the other to facilitate bends and expressive touches that emulated the sound of the guitar.

Another aspect of the orchestration was a musical gestalt in which new sounds were created beyond the mere sum of the parts creating them. Examples of this were the combination of soprano sax and electric violin, or vocals and keytar. This effect made it not immediately apparent what was causing certain sounds at times. Bendian or Alexander would conduct the inner layers to produce lush pads of ambiguous sound.

In addition to the music, there were projected graphics that seemed to fade in and out and assume different colors and brightness in relation to the music. One especially memorable graphic happened on “Pastoral,” which featured the string section, acoustic guitar, and Bendian on dumbek, an Eastern hand drum. This was an almost Renaissance-sounding piece, and the graphic on-screen faded in with the word “Greece” and an outline evocative of the curly hair on a Greek statue. Bendian grooved along on dumbek while Chern Hwei played a sitar-like melody on electric violin and Glenn Alexander strummed along on acoustic guitar.

The music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra incorporates many styles, from American jazz and bluegrass to European and Indian classical styles. The Project did not just re-create the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but they made it their own, while upholding the standards of excellence that were set by the likes of John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, and the rest of the original crew.

Tagged as: Birds of Fire, fusion, Inner Mounting Flame, jazz-rock, John McLaughlin, keytar, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Visions of the Emerald Beyond

via metroland.net

Thanks Jeff!

Mahavishnu project at the Bearsville Theater

Last night was one of those gigs - one for the memory banks. Super fun! The sound wasn't great - either on stage or in the house - but we definitely blew the roof off the place. A lotta history there; Todd Rundgren's studio Utopia, Albert Grossman (who built the Bearsville Complex), etc. Great vibes, great hang. Opening set with Jesse Gress (Todd Rundgren's guitarist) was some of the most pure fun I've had onstage in a while. :)

How to make a fake "virtual" virtual synth

OK, so here's the situation:

I have a Sequential Circuits Pro One Analog synth. I got it a long time ago.... and actually, if you must know, it was a gift. So I've been very attached to it; I kept it in good shape, hardly ever using it on gigs etc. (except for the firat 2 years with the Machine). It's a really good sounding instrument.

Anyway, When I joined the Mahavishnu Project, it became a necessity. It also became obvious fairly quickly that these instruments were not built to withstand the rigours of playing hard core fusion - screaming solos, fast sound changes, etc. And that the keyboard was simply too short. It started to suffer...

And then, the inevitable happened: It "failed" - but in an unusual way. Starting with the A above the low F, every 6th note was out. This was nothing less then bizarre. I brought the instrument to my tech. I explained to him what happened, and asked him what he thought it would take to repair it. His response was "I have no idea - I've never heard of this problem".

Lovely.

Well it's obvious now as well that I'll need to get my grubby keyboardist paws on a REAL performance synth - a Minimoog Voyager. Current economic trends, however, are forcing me to put this purchase off for an indefinite period of time. Damn. (If you'd like to help me acquire this instrument, go to the Nailblog and put something in the tipjar, here. I will come to your house and give you a free concert on it for you and your friends, and let you play with it for as long as you like. I could also lay down synth tracks on your next CD. Or chase away local wildlife. What would you want me to do?)

Meanwhile, I've got gigs to play. (No, they don't pay enough for me to buy the Moog). And I'll need to use something....

Here's my temporary solution:

Virtual Analog rack synth (novation A-Station) + Controller Keyboard (MAudio Key49) + small block of wood + velcro = ANALOG STYLE SYNTH.

1) The M-Audio Controller, with velcro installed:

2) A Novation A-Station virtual Analog synth module. It'll have to do.

I specially cut piece of wood. Basically, a 12" long piece of 2x4 cut diagonally across it's center...

The assmebly: First, attach the wood to the keyboard, thus:

Then attach the module, and viola!!! Instant synth. Just add electricity. The wood holds the module at the perfect angle for operating the knobs.

So this is what I'll be using in place of a real good ol' analog synth for what looks to be an indefinite amount of time. It oughta fool 'em for a few minutes, anyway.

See you on the road. :)

Mahavishnu Project mentioned in Jazz Times - just not our names

Every so often, something interesting happens...to me. (I mean , LOTS of interersting things are happening all the time, right?) This time it seems like something extraordinary - my picture, along with the Mahavishnu Project, in JazzTImes magazine!

But, as usually happens, it's not all roses & glory. There are no NAMES listed with the picture. That this has happned to me multiple times means I've gone from excitement, to frustration, to resignation. But it's still pretty damn cool, so I'm posting a scan pf the page here. The musicians in the picture are, rom left to right:

Zach Brock (Violin); Neil Alexander (me); Gregg Bendian (drums, leader); Chad MCLoughlin (Guitar); Jim Cammack (bass).

What's even funnier (or not so funny, depending n your point of view) is that Jim is no longer with us, being replaced by Peter Brendler almost a year ago. Ah, the joy of press. :)

Here ya go:

The Mahavishnu Project at the Keswick Theater, 6/20/10

Holy smokes! Here are some pix from my recent show with the Mahavishnu Project, one of the most fun bands I've ever been in. The lineup for this show was Greg Bendian (drums), Peter Brendler (bass), Glenn Alexander (guitar), Zach Brock (violin) and myself (Neil Alexander) on keys. We really turned up the heat and blew the room away, receiving 2 standing ovations during the course of the set. For me, it doesn't get much better than this. As an added bonus, we were opneing for "3 Friends", playing the music of Gentle Giant (with 2 original members) An excellent evening all around. :)

I have audio as well, and will post that at a later date. All pix courtesy Vincent Mineo (a.k.a. Vinnie The video Guy), who does an excellent job as archivist, capturing all kinds of great local shows (local being NY City area). We're lucky to have him in our corner.

P.S. - if you think I've posted too many pix for the reader (that's you) to assimilate, let me know. I'll post fewer pictures next time. :)

Pix from the Mahavishnu Trio Project

Taken at our show at the Bean Runner Cafe in Peekskill on May 1st. This band is more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

These pics were taken by our good friend Vinnie the video guy, who makes awesome video archives and includes
audio files and around 100 photos(!). I've uploaded my favs to flickr. Thanks, Vinnie!

Neil

Now on Bandcamp: A. Animal "Overhaul".

You know, I've been at this music thing for a really long time now..... :)

So it is with great joy, wonder and ultimately a sense of relief that I place on audio "display" this record from my back catalog - "Overhaul", by my now defunct and ancient group "A. Animal".

My longest running musical group before NAIL, "A. Animal" was my seminal Punk Jazz/Prog Rock group. We were together from 1978 - 1982, and again from 1986 - 1994. We played all manner of musics: Crimson and Mahavishnu Covers, obscure ELP tunes, Weather Report, Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer classics, John Abercrombie stuff - what a list. And then there were the originals...! I wrote quite a lot for this group, and in a Duke Ellington sort of way it was tailored to this band, these musicians, that moment in time. None of tis material has ever sounded the same since, and I don't play any of it any more - with the exception of "17 Seconds/Infinity", which I have resurrected for the Mahavishnu Trio Project.
"Overhaul" was originally recorded in 1990. Produced by Robert Muso & myself; we never did see eye to eye, and therefore the record doesn't really reflect either of our visions. It sure as hell sounds great tho, as Robert is a fantastic engineer! We spent a long time on the "guitar" sounds, using multiple amps, tracking sometimes up to 4 versions of the same part. It was mixed on an SSL console; I think it was the first time I'd ever seen mix automation.

Though slated for European & Japanese release on Robert's "MuWorks Records" label in the fall of 1990, its release was cancelled because of the original "Gulf War". Of course, 6 months later it was considered out of date, and was shelved. I was heartbroken. I had also spent close to $20,000 on the production. ARGH!!!! Chalk it up to lessons learned.We continued to perform, even though the drummer's other commitments (he was and still is a letter carrier for the USPS) made it impossible to tour, until finally breaking up in 1994. At that point I began work on "Alone at Last"....
It wasn't until 2003, with new digital audio tools, that I was able to "reconstruct" the CD and re-release it on our label Pdog Records. The sequence of songs has been changed, bringing it at least a tiny bit closer to my vision. And now, through the magic of Bandcamp, I can finally present to you "A. Animal: Overhaul" in all it's glory. As usual, pay what you wish - even zero.
Thanks for listening!!!!

- Neil

The 2nd clip from our annual Musician's Concert:

OK peeps, here's the second clip from the March 18th Conservatory of Dance 2010 Musician's Concert. When choosing what to perform in this show, I wanted to do something with my old friend and drumming phenom Dave Lewitt. This guy seriously rocks... I chose a composition of mine and reinvented it.

"17 Seconds/Infinity" was originally composed by me in 1979. What I did here was to remove the "middle" section (which I'll be performing in it's entirety with the Mahavishnu Trio Project in a few weeks, hopefully captured on Video), and replaced it with a carefully orchestrated jam using Ableton LIVE. The bass lines and marimba loop were done in real time doing the performance; Dave played to a click (audible in the beginning). At 6:48 I simply stopped the software and we played duet before restating the melody one final time.

Ah yes - fun AND games. :)

Neil

Tugging At The Infinite: Pulling a little harder. :)

In keeping in line with the new music business model - or one of the new business models, for the seem to be an endless procession of them, most of which I don't understand (or haven't taken the time to understand - deep breath now) - I offer for you, the last official release from my band Neil Alexander & NAIL; "Tugging At The Infinite" on the most wonderful Bandcamp website. For a limited time, you can get this excellent (wink wink) CD for whatever price you want - including $0.00! As of now, or until I take some time (between managing websites/data, booking gigs, raising a family and any of the other seemingly endless things one does in life) to actually learn the new business models, the $0.00 pricing is in effect till January 30th. So get it while ya can!

C'mon, it don't cost ya a cent. Besides, I'm betting you're gonna like it. :)

- Neil

Filed under: Fusion