TIME REMEMBERED: JOHN MCLAUGHLIN PLAYS BILL EVANS

Though I've always thought of John as one of the supremely ego-less collaborators in the history of jazz music--and admired his seemingly effortless chameleonic shifts in styles and sounds over the course of his 60 year career--I hold this album up high as what could be, perhaps, his most distinguished publication. The reverence with which John holds for composer/pianist/theorist Bill Evans is so evident in each and every note he plays. I Know how much John LOVED each and every note Bill placed on paper, rendered onto tape and vinyl, so I do not for one minute reprimand him for not entrusting any of them--not even one!--to a collaborator. The heavenly, angelic reverence John is expressing with each and every note, chord, and strum is so strongly felt. Anyone who has had the privilege of seeing John perform live in concert will know how sincerely, respectfully, and selflessly he gives support to his stage mates--sitting back, providing virtuosic chord support and loving attention to each and every soloist as if that person is his own child that he want so much to succeed and shine. As evidence of this, I urge you to watch the 1985 film Round Midnight to watch John play in that incredibly talented all-star band that supports Dexter Gordon in order to see how willing and thoroughly invested John is in playing a supporting role--something he does with such emotion and love! Or listen to Shakti's song, "Face to Face" in which John's stunning background strumming so lovingly supports and counters Shankar's violin playing--egging the young maestro on to higher heights; it's beauty at its very highest heights.

This album is full and complete perfection--helped, of course, by Master Bill Evans' compositions and previous standards of play, but also by John's complete and utterly loving commitment to each and every note. A true masterpiece of both artistic expression and human achievement.