Upon arrival at London’s Southbank it was soon apparent how much of an impact John McLaughlin has made over the years with the concert almost being sold out with only a handful of empty seats.
This wasn’t just about the man himself though as it was very much a band effort with Remember Shakti providing a night to celebrates 40 years of friendship between McLaughlin and former Shakti member Zakir Hussain.
One of the first pieces was a track entitled “Bending the Rules” and sure enough McLaughlin acknowledges that recruiting vocalist Shankar Mahadevan was a step away from the jazz elements of his playing and therefore focussing attention towards that of the more traditional Indian sounds provided by the rest of the group.
This too helps set the premise for the following two hour performance, where the fusion of two worlds collide for an almost hypnotic set whereby you found yourself immersed in the speed at which John McLaughlin dabbles on his guitar but also the eastern sounds coming from the rest of the stage – a stage that was positioned in the centre of the venue, with the crowd watching from all angles to provide a feel of intimacy within this large concert hall.
Whilst McLaughlin utilises all the guitar skills he’s gained from playing with the legendry Miles Davis and Mahvishnu Orchestra, ranging from more blues influenced jazz playing through to some hugely complex solos, there are also times when he lets the talented U Shrinivas take lead with his electic mandolin and the two players often play off each other so well it’s hard to establish who is making which note.
Likewise the stage is often turned to percussionists V Selvaganesh and Zakir Hussain, who especially after the epic duel between the Indian instruments of Tabla and Kanjira must have palms of leather to help them keep up the frantic drumming that’s required for Shakti’s music. They did however manage to take a little time out for a humorous introduction for “5 in the Morning, 6 in the Afternoon“ whereby describing the differences between London and Mumbai traffic, which also gave the other members time out to relax and enjoy the moment.
As the show came to a close there was much respect between the musicians, each gracious in their appreciation for one another’s work and commitment to the band. As they then took a final bow there was still time for a more down to earth encore in “Finding the Way” before Remember Shakti left the stage having given us a show that we’re unlikely to forget.
