John McLaughlin Trio live in Stuttgart 1989

John McLaughlin - acoustic guitar, vocals
Kai Eckhardt - bass, vocals
Trilok Gurtu - percussion, vocals

recorded live at Theaterhaus Stuttgart, 5th Theaterhaus Jazztage Stuttgart 1989

1. Florianapolis
2. Are You The One?
3. Mother Tongues
4. The Wall Will Fall
5. Zakir
6. JM's Interview

"Four long years had passed since McLaughlin's last record when JMT released Live at the Royal Festival Hall in 1990. The brilliant percussionist Trilok Gurtu, of Oregon fame, joined him—along with superb bassist Kai Eckhardt—to form an exciting band which was to exist in one form or another (with revolving bassists) for five more years. The mostly acoustic music which fills this album, augmented by electric bass and John's guitar synthesizer, is a mix of standard jazz, fusion and Indian-influenced rhythms and melody lines. The rhythms do tend to overwhelm the compositions, but to a degree that represents the signature mark of this particular band. That fact could also be because McLaughlin was making a comeback from a potentially career-threatening injury to his index finger, and thus found rhythmic playing easier to handle than extensive soloing. At any rate, the structure of the Trio is such that rhythm assumes as much of a role in the compositions as melodic themes. This unusual personality leads to many exciting and good-humored musical excursions. This band is fun to listen to because its members are clearly enjoying themselves. " - Walter Kolosky, allaboutjazz.com