John McLaughlin Trio in Munich

In the late 1980s, in the wake of his Mahavishnu Orchestra period, British jazz-fusion guitarist John McLaughlin tried something different – recording and performing in a trio with German bass guitarist Kai Eckhardt-Karpeh and the Mumbai-born percussion legend Trilok Gurtu. The trio's eclectic approach, embracing jazz standards and the group's own improvisations, made it a perfect fit for the freewheeling, endlessly open-minded spirit of Friedrich Gulda's Munich Klaviersommer festival, and in 1989 they came together for this typically imaginative set at the Philharmonie im Gasteig; effectively a live preview of their classic album (recorded just weeks later) Live at the Royal Festival Hall.