John McLaughlin – Liberation Time [LP]

With his newest album, Liberation Time, McLaughlin draws from one of humanity’s most fraught, uncertain epochs to produce music that gracefully reflects the uncertainty, vulnerability, and slowly awakening joy of our times. A direct response to the mandated restrictions imposed by the spread of Covid-19, the album is – unusually for McLaughlin’s recent projects – not the work of one fixed ensemble. With physical proximity no longer a prerequisite, McLaughlin drew upon decades of experience as a bandleader to select musicians best suited to each composition. “As the Spirit Sings” introduces the album by contrasting churning rhythmic tension (stoked by drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Sam Burgess) with McLaughlin’s soaring guitar figures – all underpinned by Gary Husband’s subtle, supportive piano. The knotty post-bop figures of “Right Here, Right Now, Right On” mark one of the most jazz-inflected performances McLaughlin has laid down in some time, f