John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension: Live At Montreux Jazz Festival 2022 (earMUSIC)
In the year he turned 80, John McLaughlin, accompanied by his 4th Dimension band, returned to the Montreux Jazz Festival to play a stonkingly impressive set which is represented in this new release by a double CD with Blu-Ray video digipack, two-LP gatefold and digital download. The Blu-Ray video additionally provides a unique insight into the look and feel of the concert, which took place in the Auditorium Stravinski on 11 July 2022 with special guest pianist and vocalist Jany McPherson, who a year later accompanied McLaughlin on his Liberation Tour.
Another newcomer to the group was France-born drummer Nicolas Viccaro, who has played and recorded with 4th Dimension bassist Etienne Mbappé including on Mbappé’s Time Will Tell (Sunset Records, 2021). Drummer and keyboardist Gary Husband completed the quintet’s line-up. Mbappé and Husband have participated in McLaughlin’s 4th Dimension project since its debut album To The One (Abstract Logix, 2010). As usual with McLaughlin’s gigs, Husband majors on keyboard and plays second drumkit.
With a couple of notable exceptions, this concert represented something of a retrospective for McLaughlin, where many of his old favourites were revisited. Dedicated to drummer Dennis Chambers, Mr DC, first heard on The Heart Of Things (Verve, 1997) features an electrifying drum duet between Husband and Viccaro with McPherson’s lithe wordless vocals affording the number a Return To Forever feel. Two non-original tracks salute tenorist legend Pharoah Sanders. Dominated by McPherson’s rich vocals, the anthemic The Creator Has A Master Plan from Karma (Impulse!, 1969) is a standout and Gian Piero Piccioni’s The Light At The Edge Of The World, previously heard on Sanders’ Crescent With Love (Venus Records, 1993), is another surprise. Hijacked offers a showcase for Mbappé’s phenomenally dextrous bass guitar work.
Here Come The Jiis, originally recorded on Black Light (Abstract Logix, 2015) is a part ensemble sung, part Mahavishnu-esque helter skeltering tune which sees McLaughlin in full flow and McPherson rendering a bluesy acoustic piano solo. Abbaji (For Alla Rakha), first heard on Floating Point (Abstract Logix, 2008), is a meditative piece in which the vocal refrain “love and understanding” repeats whilst McPherson responds to the ensemble, singing with a searching soulful counter melody. The sultry New Blues Old Bruise from Industrial Zen (Verve, 2006) clearly shows that McLaughlin’s electric guitar chops are as remarkable as ever. The closer is a carousing El Hombre Que Sabia (The Man Who Knew) McLaughlin’s homage to his former colleague and friend the late Paco de Lucia. In truth, there are so many goodies crammed into this performance that it would take a much lengthier review to do it justice, but it can be summarised by saying that McLaughlin appears to be truly indefatigable and his knack for assembling a brilliant cast to support him is uncanny. Long may he continue playing.
Dave Bristow Quintet: Sides (Independent)
Dave Bristow is a UK-born, Birmingham-raised pianist now resident in Paris. For this follow-up to his debut album Unknown Unknown (JMS, 2022) he has assembled an excellent line-up of talented musicians including Germany-born Christian Altehülshorst (trumpet) plus Félix Hardouin (alto saxophone), Gabriel Pierre (acoustic bass) and Gillaume Prévost (drums). There’s also a clutch of guest musicians including legendary guitar supremo Mike Stern, who appears on two tracks. It was recorded in Paris between September 2023 and November 2024 and Bristow penned all the tracks.
Bristow originally studied classical music at the University of Manchester between 2008 and 2011 but would spend most of his nights playing in jazz jam sessions around the city. The roll call of his musical heroes includes, unsurprisingly, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans and Chick Corea but also Donald Byrd and specifically the trumpeter’s Out Of This World (Warwick, 1961) featuring the debut recording of a young Herbie Hancock.
The bebop inspired and aptly named Lightspeed sets off and maintains a frenetic pace, with feisty solos by Altehülshorst, Bristow, and Hardouin followed by a typically unrestrained and flowing guitar outing by Stern. The altogether subtler but no less engaging The Buddha features Stern in a fluidly meditative mood. On a break from the instrumentals, the languid Rêverie d’Automne features the dulcet vocals of Caloé and Pierre on arco bass. The Man From Lahore is a short solo piano ballad, with Bristow betraying some of his classical background. The dreamy closer The End sports three extra guest musicians, Katrin-Merili Poom (vocals), Gustave Reichert (guitar) and Tommy Scott (electric piano). This stylistically diverse album portends a very promising future for this talented musician.
Tom Ollendorff: Where In The World (Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT-719)
Where In The World is the follow-up to Tom Ollendorff’s most recent waxings, Open House (Fresh Sound New Talent 2023) and Enchanted (Fresh Sound New Talent 2023). Latterly, he recorded a duo album with vocalist Germana Stella La Sorsa entitled After Hours (33 Jazz Records, 2025). The London-based British guitarist is currently a visiting tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff from where he graduated.
This is his fourth release on the Barcelona-based Fresh Sound label and for it Ollendorff has recruited the increasingly in-demand American pianist Aaron Parks. The two have history, having held a masterclass together at Oxford University in March 2024. The quartet is completed with UK jazz stalwarts Connor Chaplin on bass and James Maddren on drums. This is the first record Ollendorff has made with a pianist and the net effect delivers melodic piquancy and lyricism where, for example, Parks’ contribution to title track is surprisingly subtle but effective. The pianist is more prominently heard on Three Bridges but he and Ollendorff give themselves the space to avoid cramping each other’s style.
The underlying tone of the album is one of delicate deftness of execution as typified in the opener Past Lives. Things do hot up at times as with the fast-paced Last Leap where Ollendorff and Parks fire off frenetic lines. There’s a palpable sense of compatibility between Parks and Ollendorff who complement each other’s playing perfectly, the mid-paced Tokyo Waltz being a fine example. The multi-themed Meaningful Mirror is a real cooker, Ollendorff displaying finesse embraced in velocity.
