Intimations of brotherhood (or, all things being equal, siblinghood) were strong at this first concert in a series sponsored by the Greater London Council to mark 1985 as GLC Jobs Year. A predictably pan-ethnic programme commenced with a performance by the African band Ujamaa. whose exotic apparel and weird hairdos did little to disguise the tedium of their repetitive, monochrome music.
McLaughlin and De Lucia were greeted with near hysteria. They worked a familiar musical seam, using acoustic guitars to hew glittering nuggets of inspiration from material by Gismonti, Corea and themselves. They displayed astounding synchronisation in unison passages and firm rhythmic support for each other’s solos. Maturity has made McLaughlin no more circumspect as an improviser, and he went for it with undiminished zeal. De Lucia often seemed relaxed by comparison, his articulation more deliberate, his sound more bell-like. Whether sparring or moving in harness, the pair were a picture of brotherly love.
In the interval, the audience’s hostile response to a GLC rep who addressed them as ‘brothers and sisters’ offered a sad prognosis for any kind of family, but as Abdullah Ibrahim’s New Quartet took the stage, peace was restored. Ibrahim’s philosophy speaks of racial brotherhood, though his long-suffering countenance betrayed no sign of hope or optimism. The atmosphere he created was quasi-religious; he rarely spoke, and crept about the stage with head bowed. The emphasis was on the contemplative, and the music endorsed this attitude. The band used minimalist piano chording, sombre bass ostinati, Arabic flavoured dirges and Jarrett-like ballad interludes to produce a mesmeric effect. On another rare occasion, the music swung towards the celebratory, with some bubbling bebop alto. Ibrahim ended the set with his customary gesture of humility – he applauded the band and the audience.
