{"id":804,"date":"2012-02-11T20:03:14","date_gmt":"2012-02-12T01:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=804"},"modified":"2019-09-12T20:13:13","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T00:13:13","slug":"it-aint-easy-playing-mahavishnu-but-weston-does-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2012\/02\/it-aint-easy-playing-mahavishnu-but-weston-does-it.html","title":{"rendered":"It ain’t easy playing Mahavishnu, but Weston does it"},"content":{"rendered":"
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G. Calvin Weston – Artist-supplied photo, credit sought — no copyright infringement is intended.<\/p><\/div>\n

Guitarist John McLaughlin<\/a>‘s Mahavishnu Orchestra\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>was the highest-flying of any ensemble emerging from Miles Davis’ jazz-rock initiative <\/a>in the early 1970s, establishing a previously unapproached standard of virtuosity, improvisational excitement and commercial success for all-instrumental electric bands to follow. Drummer G. Calvin Weston<\/a>‘s Treasures of the Spirit<\/a> quintet playing music of McLaughlin’s MO at the 92nd St. Y Tribeca in NYC last night (Feb 10, 2012) heroically addressed the complexity, speed and power of unique, difficult, enduring and compelling repertoire – a feat rarely attempted but inspiring to hear when musicians nail it, as Weston’s cohorts did.<\/p>\n

With electric guitar Bill Berends, violinist Marina Vishnyakova, electric bassist Elliot Garland and keyboardist\u00c2\u00a0David Dzubinski addressing roles originally performed by McLaughlin himself (usually on a double-necked instrument), Jerry Goodman (still active, he’s been in the Dixie Dregs<\/a> among other genre-confounding groups), Rick Laird (now Richard Laird, photographer<\/a>) and Jan Hammer<\/a> (composer for “Miami Vice,” Cocaine Cowboys,<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0innovative computer animations and the first commercial tv network in Eastern Europe), Weston pounded out gloriously fast, muscularly emphatic rhythms to propel “Hope,” “One Word,” “The Dance of Maya,” “Open Country Joy”, “Triology,” “Dawn” and “Meeting of the Spirits” — multi-part compositions originally recorded on The Inner Mounting Flame\u00c2\u00a0<\/a><\/em>(released in 1971),\u00c2\u00a0Birds of Fire<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>(’72) and The Lost Trident Sessions<\/a> <\/em>(recorded in ’73, not released until 1999).\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0If it seems odd for a drummer to reprise material written for a frontline of electric guitar, violin and keyboards (including synth) plus electric bass, know that the original Mahavishnu Orchestra was driven by Billy Cobham<\/a>, a contributor as essential to the group’s sound and prodigious four-year-run (reportedly 580 concerts during that period) as McLaughlin himself. (In fact, drummer Gregg Bendian also has an ambitious Mahavishnu Project -Redefined<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0, which coincidentally had a booking scheduled for tonight (Feb 11) in New Hope, PA — postponed due to icy roads in the region).<\/p>\n

Obviously Weston digs Cobham. He showed up in Tribeca with a vast array of tom-toms, cymbals, a gong and double bass drums, akin to the kit Cobham eventually employed. Weston’s beats were true to Cobham’s models: solidly struck, whip-snap fast and precisely fulfilling the unconventional time signatures derived from Indian tabla practices which gave the Mahavishnu Orchestra its distinctive motivation. But Weston has his own shtick, too. Among his skills:<\/p>\n