The UCLA event brought the guitarist and the keyboardist together for the first time since before the two left Davis' band to further blend jazz with rock and world influences -- McLaughlin with his Mahavishnu Orchestra and Corea with Return to Forever.
But this wasn't necessarily an evening tethered to the past. Rather, this was a night where previously explored avenues in jazz were opened up and taken past top speed, thanks in no small part to the genius-level musicians Corea and McLaughlin enlisted to support their return.
A Grammy-nominated saxophonist with experience backing Davis in the '80s, Kenny Garrett nearly stole the show, most impressively during a new Corea composition, Hymn to Andromeda." A shape-shifting piece that recalled the exploratory impulses of the avant-garde era, the song spiraled through each player's virtuosic turn at the lead before reaching Garrett, who unleashed a simply devastating solo that never stopped straining for new heights.
As far out as Garrett reached, octopus-armed drummer Vinnie Colaiuta matched his intensity beat for beat.
That's what you call messing with the muse," a beaming Corea said as the crowd's ovation for Garrett held long after the song's close.