LP REVIEW: composing the future, with Jean-Luc Ponty – Imaginary Voyage (1976)
ATLANTIC, 1976 US ISSUE, SD 18195, PROMO COPY
ARTIST
Jean-Luc Ponty has to be regarded as as one of the 20th Century’s key composers. He was born in Avranches, France, on 29 September 1942. Largely due to his influence, the violin, musically and technologically, became a viable instrument for jazz, fusion and progressive rock.
Ponty often went against the prevailing trend by integrating the violin into a wide variety of musical contexts and experimenting with electronics to create innovative and at the time, new sounds.
After spending the late ’60s performing largely acoustic jazz in France, he met Frank Zappa in 1969. Zappa composed the music for Ponty’s King Kong album and then asked the violinist to join him as a permanent member of his early ’70s recording and touring band. At that time Ponty also moved to the US where he settled in Los Angeles.
In 1973, Ponty joined guitarist John McLaughlin’s pioneering east-meets-west Mahavishnu Orchestra for several tours and albums. Atlantic Records offered him a solo deal in 1975 which resulted in more than a dozen best-selling albums and regular touring, mainly playing jazz.
During the ’90s Ponty changed course again. On the 1991 album Tchokola, he collaborated with West African musicians and in 1995 he was recording and performing with bassist Stanley Clarke and guitarist Al Di Meola in an acoustic trio titled Rite of Strings.
In 2013 Ponty and former Yes vocalist and lyricist, Jon Anderson formed the prog-pop band the AndersonPonty Band and began touring together. He remained active and played on another Jon Anderson album in 2019 called 1000 Hands: Chapter One and in June 2022, house music producer & composer Ron Trent released WARM: What Do the Stars Say to You and Ponty played on one of the hit singles from that album.
LABEL
Atlantic is one of the great labels of our time. Founded in 1947 in New York by the Ertegun brothers, Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, Herb Abramson, his wife Miriam, and Jerry Wexler who as a journalist (Billboard), producer and songwriter were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
In 1970 the company was re-branded as Warner Communications and its record labels were placed under a new holding company called Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (WEA). Today, Atlantic is still part of the Warner Music Group.
For over 60 years Atlantic released music from the world’s legendary artists including Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, The Rolling Stones, Cher, Genesis, Cream, and many many more. Even now, they still have major talent on their books, such as Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Jason Mraz, Ed Sheeran, Wiz Khalifa, Janelle Monáe, Skrillex, Trey Songz, Hunter Hayes, and other contemporary artists.
One of the cool things about this record is the inner sleeve. Not sure if this was part of the regular album. This was a PROMO copy so perhaps this inner sleeve was part of the promo package. I took a couple of pictures to show you.
KNOWLEDGE NUGGETS
/1\ The album was recorded at Kendun Recorders. Kendun stands for recording engineer Kent Duncan, who founded the studio with four mastering suites in 1971 in Burbank, California, USA. When you find a ‘Kendun’ LP, identifiable by KD in the dead wax, it usually sounds very good.
/2\ Jerry Wexler coined the term rhythm and blues while working for Billboard magazine
/3\ Nesuhi and Ahmet Ertegun were the sons of the first Turkish ambassador to the US
/4\ Famous recording engineer Tom Dowd played a crucial role in Atlantic’s success and sound signature.
MUSIC
This music was written 46 years ago. What surprised me was the fact that it has not aged at all. It still sounds fresh. I was expecting it to sound a little dated, but no. This is like listening to a classical piece but with modern instrumentation and fusion-like patterns, pace, and rhythm.
Especially the B-side, which was written like a symphony with four movements. It’s interesting, intelligent and I really enjoyed listening to it. This entire album benefits from some great guitar work by Daryl Stuermer.
Not entirely sure what to make of the opening track. I mean, is there such a thing as ‘country & western fusion’ :-)? I guess fusion is called that not for nothing, but it certainly makes for an upbeat opener. The first side has some really catchy melodies, again helped by Daryl’s guitar work.
One of the tracks (#3) reminded me of the singing by Right Whales – no, not a band, animals :-). I know this sounds funny but I mean it as a compliment. Not sure if you’ve ever seen a nature documentary and heard these animals ‘sing’, it’s beautiful. The violin can create very melancholic and haunting sounds and enhanced by electronics Ponty makes a good effect of this.
Jean-Luc Ponty is an innovator. Even 46 years ago, his compositions were ready for the future.
YOUTUBE LINK
You can listen to the entire album on youtube
RAW MUSIC STORE
The album is available on the RAW MUSIC Website for 40 AED. `Someone pick this up – you can thank me later 🙂
PERSONNEL
- Electric Bass – Tom Fowler
- Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Daryl Stuermer
- Keyboards [Electric], Piano [Acoustic] – Allan Zavod
- Percussion – Mark Craney
- Producer, Arranger, Composer, Organ, Synthesizer [Background Synthesizers], Electric Violin, Violin [Acoustic] – Jean-Luc Ponty
TRACKS
Side one
- “New Country” – 3:07
- “The Gardens of Babylon” – 5:06
- “Wandering on the Milky Way” – 1:50
- “Once upon a Dream” – 4:08
- “Tarantula” – 4:04
Side two
- “Imaginary Voyage” – 19:55
- “Part I” – 2:22
- “Part II” – 4:05
- “Part III” – 5:28
- “Part IV” – 8:00