JAZZ NOTES
McLaughlin in Touch With His Feelings
The guitarist, who appears Thursday at the Variety, is constantly
updating his technique.
By ZAN STEWART, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Los Angeles Times   Friday April 24, 1992
Home Edition
Calendar, Page 15
Type of Material: Column; Recording Review


John McLaughlin's ability to play so fast that his notes sometimes
blur in your ear may be the most striking aspect of his performances, but
the acclaimed guitarist insists that facility is hardly his stock in
trade.

  "I don't think fast or slow. The point is to put all of my elements at
the disposal of the music, so that I can play as spontaneously as
possible, as if I were speaking," says McLaughlin, 50, who appears
Thursday with his trio at the Variety in downtown Los Angeles.

  Nonetheless, keeping his technique honed is essential for personal
expression, says McLaughlin, who played on Miles Davis' breakthrough
jazz-fusion record "Bitches Brew" and whose new release is "Que Alegria"
on Verve Records.

  "I feel differently every day, so I play a little differently," he
says. "I try to stay in touch with my feelings, so technique is under
constant revision."

  McLaughlin looks for aural approaches too. Though he still plays
acoustic guitar--he mostly gave up the electric model over a decade
ago--he now occasionally employs various electronic devices to get a
variety of sounds. On his new album, he plays one tune and sounds like a
Hammond B-3 organ.

  "That's a tip of my hat to Larry Young, a personal homage to a
beautiful man," says McLaughlin of Young, the organist who died in 1978
and who was a former associate of the guitarist.

In the Bins:  Flora Purim's "Queen of the Night" (Sound Wave) is
the singer's first release in many years and finds her offering 12
originals, several by fellow Brazilians Djavan and Milton Nascimento and
most sung in Portuguese. Purim's husband, percussionist Airto Moreira, is
on board. . . . Sonny Rollins' "Alternatives" (Bluebird) collects 10
early '60s dates by the prodigious saxophonist, some never before
available on a domestic release. "Four" and "St. Thomas" are among the
selections.

Rim Shots:  Trumpeter Harry (Sweets) Edison has been selected to
receive the Los Angeles Jazz Society's 10th annual Tribute Award. It will
be presented Aug. 2, which Mayor Tom Bradley has designated as "Harry
(Sweets) Edison Day" in Los Angeles. . . . Singer Joe Williams,
saxophonist Tommy Newsom and Ray Pizzi's Wind Syndicate perform Sunday, 1
p.m., in a benefit concert for Brookside Elementary School. The show
takes place at the school, 165 N. Satinwood Ave., Agoura.

Critic's Choice:  Pete Christlieb, the tenor saxophonist with
beaming tone and bluesy swagger, plays Sunday at Maxwell's by the Sea in
Huntington Beach.



Copyright, The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times, 1992.

STEWART, ZAN, JAZZ NOTES; McLaughlin in Touch With His Feelings; The guitarist, who appears Thursday at the Variety, is constantly updating his technique.; Home Edition., Los Angeles Times, 04-24-1992, pp F-15.