Remember Shakti
Live album by
Remember Shakti
Released13 April 1999
Recorded1997
GenreWorld
Length132:28
LabelVerve
ProducerJohn McLaughlin, Jean-Philippe Allard, Daniel Richard
Remember Shakti chronology
Natural Elements
(1977) 		Remember Shakti
(1999) 		Remember Shakti – The Believer
(2000)

Remember Shakti is a live album by the world fusion band Remember Shakti recorded in England over four nights,[1] and released in 1999 on the Verve label. The reformed group features original members John McLaughlin (guitar), Zakir Hussain (tabla) and Vikku Vinayakram (ghatam), who are joined by Hariprasad Chaurasia on the bansuri (Indian flute).[2] The album reached number 14 in the Billboard Top Jazz albums chart.[3]

The album features three compositions by McLaughlin and two by Chaurasia. Of the McLaughlin pieces, "The Wish" previously appeared on the 1995 McLaughlin album The Promise. "Lotus Feet" was included on the 1976 Mahavishnu Orchestra album Inner Worlds, with a truncated version appearing on the 1976 live album Shakti. "Zakir" was previously heard on the 1987 Hussein album Making Music as well as on the McLaughlin album "Concerto For Guitar & Orchestra 'The Mediterranean' - Duos For Guitar & Piano" (1988).

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
All About Jazz(favorable)[1]
JazzTimes(favorable)[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[5]

In a review for AllMusic, Heather Phares commented that, in comparison with the original version of Shakti, "Remember Shakti has a more meditative, fluid feel... but McLaughlin's subtle, hypnotic guitar work bridges Shakti's past and present... An emotionally rich, musically accomplished album, Remember Shakti reunites a unique group of players."[2] The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album 3 stars and wrote: "there is plenty of virtuosic playing and a joyous abandon which fans of the original group will value."[5] Writing for All About Jazz, Walter Kolosky stated: "Remember Shakti is reflective, serious East-meets-West music. It is not without some hilarity however—Vikku's laughter can be quite contagious. It is also not without some truly virtuoso moments and plenty of drama."[1]

Track listing

Disc one

  1. "Chandrakauns" (Hariprasad Chaurasia) – 33:35
  2. "The Wish" (John McLaughlin) – 18:40
  3. "Lotus Feet" (John McLaughlin) – 7:33

Disc two

  1. "Mukti" (Hariprasad Chaurasia) – 63:30
  2. "Zakir" (John McLaughlin) – 9:10

Personnel

Other credits

References

  1. ^ a b c Kolosky, Walter (20 November 2002). "Remember Shakti: Remember Shakti". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Phares, Heather. "Remember Shakti - John McLaughlin,Shakti | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  3. ^ "Remember Shakti - John McLaughlin,Shakti | Awards | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  4. ^ Woodard, Josef (June 1999). "Jazz Albums: Remember Shakti - By Josef Woodard — Jazz Articles". jazztimes.com. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  5. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 978. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
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