"And YOU, How Do You DO It??"

One day in 1971 my friend Greg called, "Jon, Taj Mahal, The Buddy Guy/Junior wells Blues Band and Mahavishnu Orchestra are playing at Colby College. Do you want to go?" We went, for $2.50 a pop. What do we pay to see a 3 headliner artist bill today? First up was Taj Mahal solo, accompanying himself on banjo. He was quite engaging and kept the audience with him throughout a musicological treatise on American roots music. Next up The Buddy Guy/Junior Wells Blues band, well actually you could have called this The Buddy Guy Blues Band. Junior was "sick" so Buddy "warmed up" the audience until Junior could get presentable. When Junior finally did appear he lasted for one song, barely able to play the harmonica then staggered off stage. Buddy ever the showman, "Give it up for Junior Wells Ladies and Gentlemen!", and then it was back to business. Buddy guy was INCREDIBLE. His vocabulary, authority, blazing technique and ability to sell it more than made up for Junior Wells' absence. While Greg and I were catching our breath Mahavishnu Orchestra set up. The band readied themselves and John McLaughlin began speaking softly, very softly, until members of the audience caught on "sshhh, sshhh". As the audience quieted, McLaughlin's voice became audible, "...and we'd like to begin with a piece titled "Meetings of The Spirit""BLAM!! they were off with a huge chordal crash and for the next hour never looked back. To put this in perspective, the concepts this band were executing in 1971 had never been attempted. We were in the presence of a whole new musical genre being launched. For Greg and I, never before had such incredible musical technique been melded with passion and intellect. One inspiring melody after another, used as launching pads for intense solo sections. The highlight of the night was a jaw-dropping hellacious duet between McLaughlin and Cobham during "Dance Of The Maya" that stratospherically surpassed what was documented on "Inner Mounting Flame" and featured one of THREE Billy Cobham drum solos that night. During the set, Billy Cobham would execute press rolls with such brutal force that drumsticks would shear in half, the broken ends soaring sometimes 15 feet in the air. When this happened he would grab a stick from one of the metal stick caddies IN MID ROLL WITHOUT DROPPING A STROKE, and depending on where in the roll this occurred, WITH EITHER HAND. Yikes!! After the show we were on the way out and Greg needed to use the facilities. I looked up in the direction we were walking and there was John McLaughlin, just standing by the railing with his double-neck guitar still strapped on, having a soda. "Okay Greg, I'll be over there with Mr. McLaughlin". As I approached John saw me, broke into a huge smile, held out his hand and we executed the current "hip" handshake followed by a quick slap-hug. I started by thanking him for coming to Maine then shared knowledge of his work with Tony Williams' Lifetime, that I loved the "Devotion" album with Buddy Miles and Larry Young especially "Dragon Song", and of course his recent work with Miles Davis. I instantly got the feeling we were speaking as colleagues, talking about the writing process, how natural the evolution to Mahavishnu and thoughts on where all this would lead. I commented on the excursions between him and Billy Cobham, the Herculean role Cobham was called upon in support of the music AND the fact he accomplished 3 drum solos. McLaughlin was right there, eyes sparkling. I felt we were having a spiritual encounter. All of a sudden Billy Cobham ambles up, I look at him and say, "And YOU, how do you DO it??" McLaughlin doubles over, looks at me and says, "I JUST asked him the SAME THING!!", and we all collapse into hysterics. Billy told me he is left-handed, and playing in a right-handed setup enables him to leverage his ambidexterity "omni-laterally" and helps achieve the posture necessary for more power. "Ginger Baker Please Sit Down!" I am grateful to have been in the presence of these wonderfully talented people at the gestation of a genre that would inspire a generation. On the drive home Greg summed it all up, "John McLaughlin, I love you!" Thanks Guys!