Jean-Luc Ponty

I'm a big Ponty fan. Cosmic Messenger is one of my faves. Also: Enigmatic Ocean, Mystical Adventures and A Taste For Passion. The Rite of Srings (with Al Di Meola and Stanley Clarke) is good too. But, you're right, those are all actually well-engineered discs...they shine on my rig, too. When this music is allowed to 'flow' like it was meant to, it's truly captivating.

I think of Jean-Luc Ponty as a master violinist, writer, producer, and arranger, a virtuoso. I have many of his recordings and attended eight to ten of his concerts, so many I've lost track of the exact number over the years. Perkins Palace, Pasadena, CA, the Greek ampitheater in Los Angeles, The Royal Oak Theater, Royal Oak, MI, Pine Knob amptheater, Pind Knob, MI, The Palace, Columbus, OH, and in Detroit, MI. No one else in the world like him.

For one of his shows, once it sold out, on the radio, it was announced that tickets for a second show were going on sale for that evening immediately. I quickly jumped on the phone and ordered tickets. Ended up with 3rd row seats. It was an incredible experience to be so close. The acoustics were awesome and the sound was soaring, penetrating, and brilliant! What a night that was! What a musical high..

As far as his many recordings and titles go, I'll pick one song: Listen to "Forever Together" from "No Absolute Time," just once, and tell me you're not blown away by the special qualities of it......

Imagine hearing this song live and in concert... my Lord!

Ditto all of the above. I opened a sealed Nautilus copy of Cosmic Messenger a couple of months ago. Get one if you can.

I went to school with his daughters - his oldest, Clara, is a fine pianist, and has recorded a couple of albums, though they are more "new age" than jazz. Both she and her sister Eva are very beautiful women as well. Clara was based in New York for awhile, but she may have moved back to Europe by now.

Have never heard that one--how is the material/style compared to Aurora or Imaginary Voyage?

I was fortunate to see him with Zappa, then with Mahavishnu Orch II, and finally his own band. The boy can play!