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About Shakti
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
Shakti: This Moment
by Ian Patterson
Forty-six years is a hefty chunk of time between studio releases. Half a lifetime, in fact. Shakti, however, is no ordinary band. The lengthy hiatuses that have punctuated the pioneering Indo-jazz band's fifty-year journey have not dimmed the collaborative flame of co-founders John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain. Following its 2012-13 tour, they placed the dust covers over the band-- redubbed Remember Shakti in 1997--once more. That hiatus soon seemed set to be permanent following the premature death of mandolinist Uppalapu ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin and Shakti: Natural Elements
by Walter Kolosky
Shakti was really the world's first World Music super group. The only problem was that no one knew it yet! The group's live performances were mesmerizing, but Columbia couldn't give the albums away. Natural Elements, from 1977, was the third and last Shakti album. It offered a more cohesive and structured presentation in terms of themes and shorter tunes. The group attempted to make the music more accessible by including pleasing hooks and some humor, but there was no chance ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin and Shakti: A Handful of Beauty
by Walter Kolosky
John McLaughlin should have given this album a different name. Jazz-rock fans of the day (early 1977) did not want to be seen purchasing an album with such a title. It didn't help any to have a picture of John McLaughlin on the cover dressed and smiling as if he were a guru himself. Let’s face facts, even at this time: McLaughlin’s fans came from a rock background. In hindsight the Indo-jazz-fusion Shakti recordings are considered highlights in McLaughlin’s career, ...
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