Jazz Articles

Gregg Bendian: Research

by John Kelman
July 23, 2008

All-percussion ensemble albums are rare in any genre. Still, by digging deep, it's possible to find exceptional discs like Swiss percussionist Pierre Favre's Singing Drums (ECM, 1984) and, more recently, The New Percussion Group of Amsterdam's Go Between (Summerfold, 2007), proving that percussion needn't be just about the rhythm.

Solo percussion albums are even less common. The chameleon-like Gregg Bendian--who can just as easily be found performing left-of-center form and function with his Interzone group as propelling his Mahavishnu Project ...

Gregg Bendian's Trio Pianissimo: Change

by John Kelman
October 26, 2005

Building on the deep interaction of Balance--originally released in 1998 but recently reissued by TrueMedia JazzWorks--Change finds Trio Pianissimo continuing to explore, evolve, and integrate percussionist/composer Gregg Bendian's diverse musical interests. While the piano trio represents Bendian's most intimate setting to date, that doesn't mean that Change operates in conventional terms. It is, in fact, a bold, in-your-face recording that even better meshes disparate elements including free jazz, contemporary classical through-composition, and even a little progressive rock.

Still, that's not ...

Mahavishnu Project: Phase 2

by Andrey Henkin
May 6, 2005

Mahavishnu Project Phase Two Aggregate Music

Being a Mahavishnu Orchestra (MO) cover band is a vastly different undertaking than playing the music of, say, Led Zeppelin or the Grateful Dead. By and large, those who would come to see a band like this (sticking to the first and only worthwhile incarnation) are not drunken yahoos yearning for a few familiar chord changes. This is complex, spiritual music that requires near-perfect execution just to be credible. To ...

Mahavishnu Project: Phase 2

by Walter Kolosky
May 5, 2004

The Mahavishnu Project considers the music from the original fusion gods, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, to be classical in nature. Therefore it is no surprise to see the band put out another CD that features four of the MO tunes that appeared on its first release, Live Bootleg. After all, a classical repertoire is a classical repertoire. The great classical players spend their whole lives “interpreting" the masters' works time after time until they almost get it right. But if you ...

Mahavishnu Project: Mahavishnu Project- Live Bootleg

by Walter Kolosky
November 22, 2002

Over thirty years ago, John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu Orchestra shocked the jazz and rock music world with their highly volatile electric fusion explosions. Now this music is being reprised by The Mahavishnu Project, a tribute band which recently released a live album. Recorded on tour directly from the house soundboards, Live Bootleg offers a raw, vigorous, and heartfelt homage to the true supergroup of jazz-rock fusion.The MP consists of superb players who are all well established on ...

Mahavishnu Project: Live Bootleg

by Todd S. Jenkins
August 6, 2002

The old soul classic pretty well says it all: “Ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby." In this era of repertory projects, from Henry Kaiser and Leo Smith's Yo Miles! to Ken Vandermark's assays of Sun Ra and Albert Ayler, it seems only logical that some die-hard fusion fans would revisit the legacy of John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. Given the unparalleled technical might of that ensemble, it's a Sisyphean task to try and recreate an nth of the Mahavishnu spirit. ...