FRIDAY NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO

Friday Night In San Francisco is one of the most famous and greatly appreciated concert recordings in the filigreed but very strong time of jazz; and even if that comes too much credited or actually matters the least, it is still a breathtaking, amazing and perfect record of music and of the same mentionable jazz virtues. The Guitar Trio, alias the grand masters John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia and Al Di Meola (the last one having replaced for good the rather sad taste Larry Coryell left, who couldn't resist in the ensemble, despite actually founding it in the first place), picked up such a natural time and earnest value, so that the rest of the concert, spotless and pleasant beyond imagination, simply takes on a bit of authentic magic, blended style-shine and star-struck genuine calmness of playing and sharing an experienced moment - afterwards, short as it is, the album stays as an endless masterpiece.

The lowest level this live extraordinaire release reaches is probably the one of jazz culture and art pretentiousness, both don't miss out of the sublimely discreet and smashingly smart Friday Night In San Francisco, but are only undermined by the lovely characters of improvising and tasting it all like an eclectic tremble and a fresh fun. All three artists escaped their utmost creative and classic period, as soloists, but that doesn't blur the great reasons why they ensembled in the first place, and sound that amazing when playing together: masterful vision, never tired emotions and aesthetics in playing, a smiling grace and an inventive individual strength, a precious novelty and gold-wrapped art feebleness going (or reaching) a collective impulse, mindblowing at least. All this, even further, gets a dimmer attention since the Guitar Trio plays, essentially, music, and the shattering eloquence appearance in a highly relaxed manner, as much as it does in a distinguished and incomparable one.

The style of this concert mostly expresses a lot of undertaken flamenco jazz and rock, guitar rock and improvised jazz, the first leading thus to Paco De Lucia having influenced or rather having convinced his fellow great friends to adapt their style towards this piece of heavenly expression and sensual affection, the second implies a lot of extraordinary and virtuoso guitar rustle (Al Di Meola being the first to think of, by his ravaging technique and rapid heartbeat, nevertheless the other two grand players don't slip from such a description at all), and the third finally meaning nothing more than playing a lot, within sensations of jazz, melody, acoustic novelty and suspirant expressions. Friday Night In San Francisco, while simple and sometimes spontaneous, gets a fantastic worth by sounding fantastic and shaking your music belief and sensibility in tremendous ways. That's the catch and the royal treat.

Five pieces, juicy and consonant, are the wondrous, poetic, marauding and feverish compositions shaping this wonderful concert. Meditteranean Sundance/Rio Ancho plays an epic arrangement of all qualities and special touches, starting from Al Di Meola's superb and well-known jazz theme to reach a part flamenco-syruped part guitar rock simple flowery drift, once the art is supreme and intense and the Trio plays the music of gentle, diving and concentrated emotions. You could dare say this piece, at least by the first part, is more catchy, but it is much too splendid and pure to get such strange ideas. Time stops under refinement and pleasure, this being the album's finest. Short Tales Of The Black Forest is no leftover piece, evoking an interesting unique rhythm of the custom guitar art. Under mild technical exploration, the better virtue is the dusty improvisation of complex melody and entertaining mist harmony, both impervious but also relinquished in a state of trembling adventure. Fooling, this time for good, with loveable themes, the piece is still a deep and sharp flamenco fast jazz dream. Frevo Rasgada caps a lot of precious dialog between the artists, the craft resembling the dynamic and squishing nature of their expressive habit. Small pleasures of melody are, themselves, fine, but this spice improvisation is a lovely chord-explosion, tasteful, breeze, eclectic rhythm-ed. Fantasia Suite opens a traditional air of music and melody under a lot of virtue guitar effects, the kind of fresh and original blossom that still keeps clean from elegant and inspiration of guitar melody flair. The crowd cheers ecstatically (already) the dynamic moments, which can't come anyhow but swerving, but Fantasia Suite mostly loves a charismatic and worthy guitar jazz articulation - with a finale of a Mediterranean fiesta. Mystery and fantasy brings some final colors. Guardian Angel, short and studio-taped, is of a flamenco-typical impression, creating a consistent free-wave, which actually doesn't say much as music, but tastes the quality under sheer euphemisms of guitar revolutionary rapidness. A happy listener gets to hear the different nuance the three guitars have, even if they combine under the same tranquil dexterity and rummer vision.

McLaughlin, Di Meola and De Lucia, all three amazing and classic artists of music, prove a grand trio of enormous quality, since this Friday Night marvelous album is an all-time classic, an exciting masterpiece and an essential thrill of superb music and craft. Absolutely recommended, even doubtlessly masterliness.