Recorded at the 1979 Havana Jazz Festival, this short and powerful set, with Miles Davis alumni, drummer Tony Williams and guitarist John McLaughlin, and Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius, was one for the ages. The previously unreleased selections, one through five, are explosive, but mis-miked live tracks. Williams' "Drum Improvisation" segues into McLaughlin's fuzz-toned "Dark Prince," which does not swing in a silent way. Pastorious' theme song "Continuum" is scaled down to its essential twilight textures, while the drummer's "Para Oriente" - which later became a stable in V.S.O.P's book, and was recast as "Angel Street" - is rendered here in a funky, pre-grunge mode. The guitarist's "Are You the One, Are You the One?" previews the jam band craze. The rest of the cuts were recorded a week later in a New York studio, But the warts-and-all original sides are unmatched for their primal power. --Eugene Holley, Jr.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
The Trio of Doom, finally!:
I have been a jazz-fusion fan for twenty years, and John Mclaughlin is one of my favorite guitar players. I'm also a fan of the late Jaco Pastorius, and love to hear anything by the late great bass player. I'm familiar with Tony Williams from his performances with John Mclaughlin, and he is an incredible drummer. Until recently, I never could get hold of this recording, and am pretty pleased with it. It's a dynamic, fusion recording, with stirring live performances by all three performers. I was... more info
Jaco RULES!:
Awesome concert featuring three Jazz Giants! Only wish it was longer...
Purchased this for my bass-player and he loves it!
Should Never Released It:
"Trio Of Doom," which is a stupid name for a group, is a terrible album. You would think McLaughlin, Williams, and Pastorius could come up with better material than this, but no, what we have here is complete drab, heartless noodling. Nothing is of substance here. Just three guys standing around seeing who can impress the other person first. I'm not impressed and anyone who likes any one of these musicians will probably be disappointed. They can do so much better than this. Sony should have NEVER... more info
THREE FUSION SUPERSTARS:
HALF OF THIS ALBUM IS FROM A LIVE PERFORMANCE IN HAVANA, CUBA IN 1979, THE REST IS RECORDED SHORTLY AFTER IN THE STUDIO IN NEW YORK CITY. THE TRIO OF JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, TONY WILLIAMS, AND JACO PASTORIUS IS INSPIRING. THREE FANTASTIC MUSICIANS AT THE HEIGHT OF THEIR CREATIVITY, AND A BLEND OF OF THREE OF JAZZ FUSION MUSIC'S FINEST. I RECENTLY READ THAT IT WAS TONY WILLIAMS THAT BROUGHT JOHN MCLAUGHLIN OVER TO MEET MILES DAVIS THE DAY BEFORE THE RECORDING OF BITCHES BREW, AND HE HAD JOHN IN THE STUDIO THE NEXT... more info
Tracks:
Drum Improvisation - Trio of Doom, Williams, Tony
Dark Prince - Trio of Doom, McLaughlin, John
Continuum - Trio of Doom, Pastorius, Jaco
Para Oriente - Trio of Doom, Williams, Tony
Are You the One, Are You the One? - Trio of Doom, McLaughlin, John
