1995 · Album
After the Rain
Verve Records · Released: 1995 · Chart Performance: Number 9, Billboard Top Jazz Albums, 1995
Three Players in the Rain
McLaughlin, DeFrancesco, and Jones create something immediate and alive, no overdubs, no safety net.
After the Rain arrives as a straightforward trio date — John McLaughlin on guitar, Joey DeFrancesco on organ, and Elvin Jones on drums. There's no concept album hiding here, no attempt to reimagine McLaughlin's catalog or prove anything to anyone. It's a working band playing jazz, and that directness is what makes it work. DeFrancesco brings the soulful, bluesy side of the organ tradition, and Jones — a drummer who'd spent decades pushing the music forward — isn't here to coast on reputation. He's locked in, responsive, pushing the interaction along. McLaughlin himself plays with restraint. This isn't the fusion electricity or the acoustic meditation of his other records. The guitar sits in the trio like one voice among three, conversational rather than leading.
The album hit number 9 on the Billboard jazz chart in 1995, which tells you something was connecting with listeners. It's solid work, the kind of record that works best if you're actually listening rather than using it as background. The interplay between the three musicians has a lived-in quality — this sounds like players who understood each other. Not every moment breaks new ground, and that's okay. Sometimes jazz is about three good musicians trusting each other in a room.
If you know McLaughlin from his electric period or his acoustic work, this sits somewhere in between — grounded in tradition but played by someone who'd spent his career exploring its edges. It's not the place to start if you're new to him, but it's a solid entry point if you already understand what he does. It's a record for people who like organ trio jazz and want to hear it played at a high level, without fanfare.
Who's playing
Where next?
More by John McLaughlin
All 33 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
