Just got back from the show at The Egg in Albany, NY. The show started off with a piece written by Al, then one by Jean Luc, and one by Stanley, they also did a John Coltrane number then Al walked off stage and Jean Luc and Stanley did an amazing piece together. Al then came back on stage and began the solo section where each musician played 4 or 5 pieces of their choosing.
After an intense percussive groove that saw Stanley literally punching his instrument to achieve the sound he wanted he looked up at the audience and said:
“The pain in my right hand is for you.”
We all got to sing Happy Birthday to Jean Luc and he said he was glad that we were at least in key.
Al’s performance on the classical guitar was not without flaws but I was thankful for the occasional slip as it made him appear human, even more human was his own acknowledgment of the mistakes and a slightly embarrassed shrug that was to follow.
For those of you wondering what Jean Luc sounds like acoustic instead of plugged in, his acoustic performance was on par with his electric. It made more of an impact on the listener however because somehow he was still coming up with sounds that appeared synthesized, morphed, phasered, etc.
This was my first time seeing Stanley live and he is as big in real life as he was in my brain. He cracked a few jokes about how they all used to look in the 70’s saying he himself had two afros at once because of the large part in the middle of his head. His solo set was well worth recording and I hope there will soon be a copy up on http://archive.org or from their own soundboard.
The ethereal waterfall of sound that is Jean Luc fell across the broad steep cliff that is Stanley and bounced on the perfectly placed rocks of Al. An elemental performance from some of the world’s best musicians.
http://www.aldimeola…
http://www.stanleycl…
http://www.ponty.com…
2 comments
I had never heard of them. I like it, but my tastes are old and hard to change.
Johnny Winter at Woodstock. I was looking for something that better shows his ability with the slide–but this is Woodstock, so.
album (vinyl!) Imaginary Voyage purchased in the 70’s. No turntable, but I can still hear certain grooves that must have imbedded in my brain.