Jazz Fusion Legend, John McLaughlin took his final bow at the Royce Hall on this past Saturday in front of a sold-out crowd.   After 25 shows across the U.S., with more than 16 complete sell-outs, McLaughlin and his current band, the 4th Dimension – Ranjit Barot (drums), Gary Husband (keyboards, drums), and Etienne M’Bappé (bass), performed their final live show in Los Angeles.

JIMMY HERRING, contemporary American guitarists, embarks on the next chapter of his storied career with the debut of the new band, The Invisible Whip. As a founding member of The Aquarium Rescue Unit, Project Z, and Jazz is Dead – in addition to playing with everyone from The Allman Brothers Band to The Dead to Phil Lesh and Friends – HERRING has made an indelible impact on improvised music. He currently serves as the lead guitarist for the very popular American band Widespread Panic.

In a career that spans over five decades, John McLaughlin, one of music’s most influential and prolific guitarists, composers, and bandleaders, will begin his farewell U.S. tour on November 1 in Buffalo, NY.  McLaughlin will be joined by Jimmy Herring, who has been in the creative forefront of the American rock-jam movement for 25 years.  The Meeting of the Spirits tour will hit 23 cities before ending in Los Angeles on December 9.

Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit’s reputation rests on freelance improvisation and artisanal jazz and blues, but twenty-five years of observational polish didn’t hurt the second of two nights at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado. Like old friends shooting the breeze, they’d already revitalized their well-established familiarity. The sights and sounds were altered, but haven’t they always been?

Last year during Widespread Panic’s annual June pilgrimage to Red Rocks, I bore witness to a natural phenomenon so sublime, it will be emblazoned in my memory until my dying breath. An awe-inspiring lightning shower accompanied nearly the entirety of Saturday’s second set.

The idea of the super group can be a tricky concept. Powerhouse musicians of their craft all accomplished individually, collaborating together as a new ensemble. Ego, style, and ability can clash. True cooperation is easier to envision than to execute properly. In the jazz world it gets even more complex. Since jazz is inherently less about similar personnel compiling a unit and more about open collaboration and musical conversation, creating jazz “super-group” is a delicate operation.

The Ringers, featuring Keith Carlock (drums), Jimmy Herring (guitar), Wayne Krantz (guitar), Michael Landau (guitar) and Etienne MBappe (bass)  brought the feelings of lightness and

Three amazing Guitarists -Jimmy Herring (Widespread Panic, Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Dead) , Wayne Krantz (Donald Fagen, Steely Dan, Michael Brecker), Michael Landau (James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis), Drummer Keith Carlock (Sting, Steely Dan, James Taylor) and Bassist Etienne Mbappe (John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Salif Keita) are the Meeting of the Minds on this upcoming amazing tour as THE RINGERS.

Talk about one of the most amazing group of musicians playing together, debuting in early 2013 – they are THE RINGERS featuring Jimmy Herring, Wayne Krantz, Michael Landau, Keith Carlock and Etienne Mbappe.  This super-group of talent, with such varying backgrounds, brings together 5 different genres; Rock, Funk, Jazz, Blues and African.  This super-group of talent will be starting a very limited, exclusive tour on February 19th in Athens, GA before hitting Charlotte, Raleigh, New York and concluding on February 23rd in Washington, DC.The i

The Victor Wooten Band put on a show featuring four bassists, all switching up on multiple instruments at various times during their set, along with a vocalist with a truly, truly unforgettable voice plus two extremely talented drummers.  Their set was as unique as it was enjoyable. If rhythm sections float your boat, you better be prepared for a musical tsunami with this bunch.