John McLaughlin is one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. Unfortunately, the jazz audience grew to expect every recording of his to be not just good but great. Which is unfair. If somebody else was lucky enough to record To the One, (s)he probably would be hailed as a genius. Let us forget for a moment who and why has recorded this album (please ignore the liner notes) and let the music talk.
To me, the two tracks stand out here: the gentle jazz-waltz Special Beings and The Fine Line, a heavy, bluesy number played in 7/4 (or is it 7/8?) I am not a big fan of guitar synth as featured on Lost and Found and To the One, but even so, McLaughlin makes a good use of it.
The 4th Dimension is the band that most mortals can only dream of. Both Gary Husband and Mark Mondesir have a go on drums and percussion. In addition, Husband plays keyboards on all tracks. The bass player, Etienne M’Bappé, was a discovery for me.
To the One is hardly groundbreaking, but an impressive album all the same. I am looking forward for more music from this band.
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