Regarding SHAKTI

 

I generally consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about music. Yet I am frequently amazed to find bands/genres that I missed. Some I missed because I was simply not aware of them. Others because I did not listen to them for one reason or another. One of the joys of aging is looking back and discovering these ‘missing’ cultural icons.

My most recent ‘find’ is SHAKTI, the second stage of John McLaughlin’s fusion of Jazz and Indian music. Of course, McLaughlin was no stranger to jazz fusion. After a carrier in England as a jazz guitarist, he moved to the United States, forming first a trio with Tony Williams, then along with Williams joining Miles Dav. McLaughlin then fused jazz and rock with Indian music in the legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra. SHAKTI takes a larger step and performs as a traditional Indian ensemble with Zakir Hussein on table, L. Shankar on violin and McLaughlin’s guitar taking the place of the sitar, with complex rhythms and much improvisation. The band performed through the 70s, reuniting in 1997 as Remembering Shakti and then again in 2000. Their tour in 2023 resulted in the Grammy winning album This Moment, their first album in 46 years.

Of course I knew McLaughlin from his time with Miles Davis. He joined Davis’ ensemble months after arriving from the UK as Davis was assembling a diverse group of talented musicians to augment the core of the second quintet and begin work on In A Silent Way. Recorded in single three hour session in February of 1969, the album is considered by many to be the first jazz fusion album. Rock critics loved it, jazz critics were angered and baffled. The following year Bitches Brew was recorded. The rest is history.

Davis’ music became more electronic. Wayne Shorter and Josef Zawinul formed the pre-eminent fusion group Weather Report. And McLaughlin fused jazz with Indian music and formed The Mahavishnu Orchestra.

And that’s where my interest in fusion came to an end.

I was pretty much done with amplified music. I abandoned jazz, and even abandoned most Rock, certainly progressive and blues based rock. My musical interest were best exemplified by Bartok, Beethoven and Shostakovich. And of course Willie Nelson.

I left Austin, moved to Dallas. Became a display carpenter, got married, had a family. And now I’m retired, looking back and enjoying the music I missed. My sons became lovers of bluegrass, and after some resistance I have joined them. My new heroes are Tony Rice and Bela Fleck.

A couple of years ago we met the boys for a memorable weekend in Houston to see Bela Fleck’s latest All-Star ensemble My American Heart. And then last year, Susan and I attended Bela’s other latest endeavor, fusing bluegrass with Indian music, playing with Edgar Wright and Zakir Hussein (reference SHAKTI above.) As with SHAKTI, the group performed in traditional Indian array, with a standup bass and the banjo taking the place of the sitar. Songs were in raga form, with complex rhythms and scales and much improvisation.

And then, this week I discover SHAKTI.

The circle is completed.