Sometimes, you forget how good and exciting jazz, particularly fusion, can actually sound.
This 1994 concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival is finally and thankfully released, and it’s a treat for the ears. Three giants from the golden days of fusion get together for an acoustic fest that is both refreshing and riveting. RTF alumni Stanley Clarke/b and Al Di Meola team up with Mahavishnu violinist Jean-Luc Ponty for a merry mix of trio and solo work. The three eventually recorded together in 95 for a well received Rite of Strings, so this album is essentially the three working out their material, and it sure sounds fresh.
On their own in concert, Di Meola brings out his gypsy soul on “Summer Country Song”, Ponty is rhapsodic on the multi-layered “Eulogy to Oscar Romero” and Clarke snaps the bass strings on the classic anthem “School Days”.
In trio format, the three thrill on “Song To John”, sway with abandon on “La Concion De Sofia” and tether through “Renaissance”. The solos veer in and out like Audi’s on the Autobahn, as on “Indigo” and “Memory Canyon”. Pianist Monty Alexander joins in for a glorious “Song To John”. Just a quick FYI-it’s not too late for a reunion tour. Pass it on!