*** John McLaughlin

REMEMBER SHAKTI

(Verve)

Back in the mid '70s, after several years of high-volume bombast with his seminal fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra, guitarist John McLaughlin unplugged and formed Shakti. With violinist L. Shankar and percussionists Zakir Hussain and T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram, Shakti produced a fusion of classical Indian music and acoustic jazz that packed a solid rhythmic punch.

Now McLaughlin has reconvened Shakti with the same percussionists, but Shankar has been replaced by Hariprasad Chaurasia, who plays an Indian flute called a bansuri. There's more blues in the new music, and McLaughlin has switched to a hollow-body electric guitar that gives him presence without sacrificing the tonal subtleties or the beauty of the acoustic instrument. The breathy tranquillity of the bansuri makes the music more contemplative overall, but as was the case nearly 25 years ago, it's the interaction of McLaughlin and the percussionists that gives the music its kick. Whereas "Chandrakauns" and "Zakir" evoke a hypnotic, transcendental peace, the energized exchanges among McLaughlin, Vikku, and Hussain on "The Wish" and parts of the hour-long "Mukti" have all the athletic appeal and earthy good humor of a game of basketball among friends.

-- Ed Hazell