I played this tour as the drummer of the Jan Hammer Group, with Colin Hodgekinson on bass, opening the show for the whole tour, getting to know Steve & Carol Gadd, as well as Mingo and Anthony - great memories 8-)
Saw this tour at Painters Mill. in Ownings Mills, Maryland. We were all Al fans & friends of PRS. We ended up giving you a ride back to your hotel. Great show. I remember you guys doing a killer version of Manic Depression! Yon Hammer playing keys through Marshal half stacks. Loved it ✌🏻
CeBeeBs, I saw the Jan Hammer Trio/Group twice around the early 80s or so. Colin Hodgkinson made a huge impression on me; and I remember covers of Preachin' Blues, Hellhound on My Trail, and Manic Depression. Our drink glasses and bottles were shimmy-shaking across the table during the bass notes of Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun. At one of the shoes, some a**hole stole one of Jan's pedals, cutting the show a bit short or at least putting a damper on things, as I recall.
This is a great video with some extremely talented musicians! Steve Gadd on drums keeps the tempo solid and drives the whole group to be tight as a whistle! ~ John Guchone, Amplius Music
Nobody got it the way Jan did. George Duke (a titan in his own right) was in the ballpark but Jan was, in every way that mattered, doing on a synthesizer what rock guitarists do on guitars.
This footage is a much watch for so many historical reasons. Firstly, the members of this band is like a Who's Who of Jazz-Rock icons. But for me, its critical because it is the first time seeing video footage of highly influential bass guitarist Anthony Jackson actually playing the first 6 string contrabass guitar built for him by master luthier Ken Smith. Its almost surreal, like something out of a dream. Extra thanks for posting this footage, awesome.
One day in ‘76 or ‘77-8 Jan came to Moog Music Inc in Cheektowaga to inquire about getting a Keyboard like the one in this video. I didn’t have a chance to say hi.
John Mclaughlin, Al Di Meola, Tommy Bolin, Jeff Beck, Neal Schon, Carlos Santana. Phenomenal lineup of the incredible guitarists that have played with Jan Hammer 🔨! 🕉
Di Meola, Gadd, Hammer and Jackson together!!!!! One of the greatest groups of all time!!! Ridiculous musicianship and groove!!! Nobody programmed keyboards like Jan Hammer! I believe Anthony Jackson is playing one of the first 6-string basses ever made by Ken Smith that he designed!
Jeez, tour de force….I transcribed that whole record and practiced like mad,back in the day…..Fantastic Al….Brilliant Jan….amazing Band…..Steve Gadd, Kei Akagi, Anthony Jackson….saw them live 7 years later although with Tommy Brechtlein if my memory serves me well…..
@@smack7917 They didn't have the material to do a double album. I was at the show at the Tower Theater when Tour de Force was recorded. That was virtually the entire set. It was very rehearsed and quite frankly, diappointing
Damn, that's rad! I really dig those two albums. I have the original CD copy from back in the day still not scratches or anything, well kept and in mint condition. Why am I thinking of Bunny Brunel while writing this god damn it lol
i love that....incredible ....steve gad and Jan hammer together....i m a keyboard player and drummer ....this 2 man are 2 gods ....i learned music listening to them
@@Oneness100 , my dad, a jazz buff who hated rock and roll, surprised me when he saw Jan Hammer's name on a record cover I had laying around and told me that Jan started out as Sarah Vaughan's piano player.
@@goodun2974 Yup. He was hired by John McLaughlin for the first version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, which is where I first heard of him. He also has played with Elvin Jones. He's actually a classically trained pianist, the went into jazz/fusion and jazz/rock, etc. etc. He's one of my all time favorite players. I didn't much care for some of the stuff he's done, but he's definitely one of my favorites. I actually like his piano playing more than some of the other noted jazz pianists. His approach is just very unique.
@@Oneness100 , I'm not really a Mahavishnu fan but I like Jan's work with Dimeola, and Jeff Beck. Also a huge Morse/Dregs fan and they were hugely Mahavishnu inspired. Saw the Jan Hammer Group play live a couple of times and bassist Collin Hodgkinson in particular just blew my mind. And since I mentioned my dad being a jazz buff, the only record I ever played around the house that he truly enjoyed was by Stephane Grappelli, and so I took my dad to see Stephane play. The 2 of us didn't agree on much at all but we definitely agreed that Stephane was a genius! I also saw JeanLuc Ponty play around the same time as Jan Hammer; I'm not sure what my dad would have thought of *that*, but Ponty had a great band for sure. PS, one of the most disappointing records I ever bought was Neal Schon and Jan Hammer, Untold Passion. The cover of Manic Depression was the only thing worth listening to....
@@goodun2974 Sounds like you came later to the Fusion world. Mahavishnu was just one band that was above everyone else. I"ve seen Mahavishun once with the first band, and many times with the following bans. I've seen Jan with his own band, and with Jeff Beck, many times. I"ve seen RTF, DIMeola, Weather Report, DIxie Dregs (first band), and many, many others. So far, no one has matched the shear intensity of Mahavishnu with the first band. That band is just one of those things where you are speechless for a few days after a concert.. DiMeola, RTF, etc., etc. are like warmup bands to the original MO.
Saw this tour at arie crown theatre in Chicago,...tenth grade and lucky enough to get third row slightly to the side...totally kicked ass, I still have all the pictures I took from it....they played so great and each is just an amazing musician
Okay, so I'm not slipping--thought who's the drummer who's laying down the tight groove? Oh yeah--Steve Gadd! Woah....Helluva band, thanks for posting this--Jackson, DiMeola and Hammer, yesssss!
loved Al since I was 12.. when he first made the cover of Guitar Player Magazine, and his first 2 amazing albums came out. My little brain hurt listening over and over trying to understand this new form of music - which seemed very complex
Listening to Al di Meola Tour de Force, I was wondering who is the second guitarist, so nice melodies and sounds he can get out from that guitar... damn, was a keyboard. Jan Hammer you are a god! Or maybe a devil, I see 6.66 subscribers 🤣️
I swear it's gotta be harder to pull off Al's leather vest with three-button-undone white shirt than to mimic his shredding...bravo, man from a more romantic hemisphere...
@@josephblow5946 In the 70's that was a sign of high fertility to the ladies, along with the open disco shirt, exposing more chest hair than a silverback gorilla. After urinating on her left leg.
This song I play with our jazz band but I'm first a rhythm and riff guitarist, so I only give solos, but sometimes I would play solos by Santana, DiMeola and the like. If it was melodious and not fusion.
Some dude sitting and plays he guitar gets millions of views. 6 of the GOAT muscians perform live and it gets 60k views. What a sad sad world we live in.
@hen va ya know, you have a point. Just take Beck for example. Look at the utube view numbers of him when Tal Wilkenfeld was in his group compared to when she wasnt. And the comments, jeez. So obvious why they were watching, with one ignorant commenter stating that Jeff Beck didnt do anything after the Ronnie Scott sets and actually called Beck mediocre since the Ronnie Scott sets
This track is very much like Steve Morse's Sleaze Town. Al is incredible but listening to this I couldn't help wondering what Jeff Beck might have sounded like on this track.
Are you sure it was with Billy Cobham and Alphonso Johnson? He had his own band he'd tour with Jeff Beck on the Wired Tour. It was Tony Smith and Fernando Saunders on drums and bass. I saw that band with Jeff Beck at least 2 or 3 times. I actually don't know if Billy has even played with Jeff Beck. I read a Billy Cobham interview where he was in a rehearsal with Stanley Clarke and Jeff Beck was supposed to be on the gig, he showed up for rehearsal, but apparently Jeff had to go to the bathroom and he never came back. That was in 1978. That's the only time that I am aware of when Billy and Jeff were supposed to play together, but never did.
IMHO Alll the best bits of Wired were the back and forth between beck and Hammer. That made it sound like an alien record. That was what drew me to it. Beck's guitar is always alien like - Just beyond human feel but Hammer's keyboards were also alien like, I loved the mix between them. The whole album felt like it had been mixed on another planet. Fucking amazing album. Wired FTW. Luv and Peace.
Al had Hair replacement...he wore a bandana a few years later (Soaring thru a Dream era),either to cover his balding pate or to conceal the surgery! Money talks.
@@55baltimoreboy I totally can empathize and get what you’re saying. I also did happen to see him live about 2 years ago and even though he’s still him, it also was refreshing to experience a more matured and sophisticated Al and the current arrangements his group performed. I admit though he’s been one of those guitarist we can all respect at minimum as an iconic musician and at minimum worth checking out what he’s played in the past and today.
I played this tour as the drummer of the Jan Hammer Group, with Colin Hodgekinson on bass, opening the show for the whole tour, getting to know Steve & Carol Gadd, as well as Mingo and Anthony - great memories 8-)
Yes, I remember the opening act was a pretty rough one to follow. Colin's P bass was so strong!
Saw this tour at Painters Mill. in Ownings Mills, Maryland. We were all Al fans & friends of PRS. We ended up giving you a ride back to your hotel. Great show. I remember you guys doing a killer version of Manic Depression! Yon Hammer playing keys through Marshal half stacks. Loved it ✌🏻
Omg...u played with Jan?.....so under appreciated....🙏🙏
CeBeeBs, I saw the Jan Hammer Trio/Group twice around the early 80s or so. Colin Hodgkinson made a huge impression on me; and I remember covers of Preachin' Blues, Hellhound on My Trail, and Manic Depression. Our drink glasses and bottles were shimmy-shaking across the table during the bass notes of Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun. At one of the shoes, some a**hole stole one of Jan's pedals, cutting the show a bit short or at least putting a damper on things, as I recall.
You guys killed at santa monica civic. I'm down, The Ride and your cover of Manic Depression were great
This is a great video with some extremely talented musicians! Steve Gadd on drums keeps the tempo solid and drives the whole group to be tight as a whistle!
~ John Guchone, Amplius Music
I love the bass player Anthony jackson, he is really a great great musician
Amen. He's worked with many great artists.
He sure is!
I love Jan Hammer’s “guitaristic” style and approach to the keyboard! Amazing!
Nobody got it the way Jan did. George Duke (a titan in his own right) was in the ballpark but Jan was, in every way that mattered, doing on a synthesizer what rock guitarists do on guitars.
I adore this as guitarplayer. he was always my favorite keyboarder.
Agreed - whether its Jeff Beck, John McLaughlin, Neal Schon, or Al - Jan is the perfect "dual lead guitar"!
Hammer on one of Lukather’s early solo albums is out of this world.
This footage is a much watch for so many historical reasons. Firstly, the members of this band is like a Who's Who of Jazz-Rock icons. But for me, its critical because it is the first time seeing video footage of highly influential bass guitarist Anthony Jackson actually playing the first 6 string contrabass guitar built for him by master luthier Ken Smith. Its almost surreal, like something out of a dream. Extra thanks for posting this footage, awesome.
This is a very very important document! Thank you Jan Hammer, one of the best jazz fusion keyboardist in the history
Jan *is* the best.
JAN!!!!!!!!
Jan is the man!
One day in ‘76 or ‘77-8 Jan came to Moog Music Inc in Cheektowaga to inquire about getting a Keyboard like the one in this video. I didn’t have a chance to say hi.
Great track. Great playing!
I loved this album. Jan Hammer writes the coolest riffs! This was probably my favorite Al playing.
Steve Gadd...just...wow!! Love this clip TYVM for posting it.
I will always be hypnotized by the sound of Jan Hammer ,Jeff beck , Alan Holdsworth and John McLaughlin until I lay cold in the earth :)
Jan + Al Di Meola = very good combination
I was at this show. One of the highlights of my life as a music listener and musician.
Jim Nikas look like an awesome show would have love to have seen
U are a very lucky person and musician : ) Magical moments of history and world.. Now we are aaalll in chaos.
That's great man! Awesome music with a couple of legends on stage.
What year was it, 1981 or 1982?
John Mclaughlin, Al Di Meola, Tommy Bolin, Jeff Beck, Neal Schon, Carlos Santana.
Phenomenal lineup of the incredible guitarists that have played with Jan Hammer 🔨! 🕉
It’s a real treat seeing and hearing Anthony Jackson playing a live show.
Always loved Al’s playing and the bands he plays with. His music changed my life. Have been I big influence on my guitar playing.
Di Meola, Gadd, Hammer and Jackson together!!!!! One of the greatest groups of all time!!! Ridiculous musicianship and groove!!! Nobody programmed keyboards like Jan Hammer! I believe Anthony Jackson is playing one of the first 6-string basses ever made by Ken Smith that he designed!
Al's combover and boots are beyond epic. I loved 1982!
Another great Italian, ladies and gentleman Al DiMeola...Al DiMeola. If only he could get some better guys in his band.... wow. What a line-up.
Al DiMeola, one of my favorite jazz fusion guitarists (along w/John McGlaughlin).
masterpiece 🎉
OMG This is NUTZ !... Str8 Up TOUR DE FORCE Footage !! Thank You Mr. Hammer !!!
Jackson on bass, he's a monster!!
I found the Acoustic amp hes using on this on craigslist and I think Im gonna get it !
Jeez, tour de force….I transcribed that whole record and practiced like mad,back in the day…..Fantastic Al….Brilliant Jan….amazing Band…..Steve Gadd, Kei Akagi, Anthony Jackson….saw them live 7 years later although with Tommy Brechtlein if my memory serves me well…..
The Live album rarely came off my turntable back then, and only to play Elegant Gypsy or Casino!
Me too. Should've been a double album
@@smack7917 They didn't have the material to do a double album. I was at the show at the Tower Theater when Tour de Force was recorded. That was virtually the entire set. It was very rehearsed and quite frankly, diappointing
Damn, that's rad! I really dig those two albums. I have the original CD copy from back in the day still not scratches or anything, well kept and in mint condition. Why am I thinking of Bunny Brunel while writing this god damn it lol
This takes me back some years.
This song is so good because Steve Gadd nails the rhythm.
What a line up. Wish I could have been there.
AJ killing it on bass.
ADM looks younger now!
2Masters at play...Incredible ...!!This is what music at the highest level...Perfect in every way..Carry on boys...
i love that....incredible ....steve gad and Jan hammer together....i m a keyboard player and drummer ....this 2 man are 2 gods ....i learned music listening to them
Both played on a bunch of DiMeola's albums.
Jan isn't too shabby on the drums either. He's played with the top drummers in Jazz and Fusion.
@@Oneness100 , my dad, a jazz buff who hated rock and roll, surprised me when he saw Jan Hammer's name on a record cover I had laying around and told me that Jan started out as Sarah Vaughan's piano player.
@@goodun2974 Yup. He was hired by John McLaughlin for the first version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, which is where I first heard of him. He also has played with Elvin Jones. He's actually a classically trained pianist, the went into jazz/fusion and jazz/rock, etc. etc. He's one of my all time favorite players. I didn't much care for some of the stuff he's done, but he's definitely one of my favorites. I actually like his piano playing more than some of the other noted jazz pianists. His approach is just very unique.
@@Oneness100 , I'm not really a Mahavishnu fan but I like Jan's work with Dimeola, and Jeff Beck. Also a huge Morse/Dregs fan and they were hugely Mahavishnu inspired. Saw the Jan Hammer Group play live a couple of times and bassist Collin Hodgkinson in particular just blew my mind. And since I mentioned my dad being a jazz buff, the only record I ever played around the house that he truly enjoyed was by Stephane Grappelli, and so I took my dad to see Stephane play. The 2 of us didn't agree on much at all but we definitely agreed that Stephane was a genius! I also saw JeanLuc Ponty play around the same time as Jan Hammer; I'm not sure what my dad would have thought of *that*, but Ponty had a great band for sure. PS, one of the most disappointing records I ever bought was Neal Schon and Jan Hammer, Untold Passion. The cover of Manic Depression was the only thing worth listening to....
@@goodun2974 Sounds like you came later to the Fusion world. Mahavishnu was just one band that was above everyone else.
I"ve seen Mahavishun once with the first band, and many times with the following bans. I've seen Jan with his own band, and with Jeff Beck, many times. I"ve seen RTF, DIMeola, Weather Report, DIxie Dregs (first band), and many, many others.
So far, no one has matched the shear intensity of Mahavishnu with the first band. That band is just one of those things where you are speechless for a few days after a concert..
DiMeola, RTF, etc., etc. are like warmup bands to the original MO.
What a legendary line-up
One of my ALL TIME favorite performances... dazzling in every aspect!!!!!!! Just incredible.....That entire Savoy show... wow!!
Just love this Song
Love ya, Jan!! Only saw you once, but have a lot of your music.
Fricken kick ass!! The drummer, bass player are killer backing up two of the greatest musicians on the planet. Period
wow!! i have this on LP and love it , never thought there was a VIDEO!
Talk about an all-star super band! Wow! Gratitude!
Al’s brief comb over period!🤘
Stanley Kubrick was such an amazing drummer who knew?!
Saw this tour at arie crown theatre in Chicago,...tenth grade and lucky enough to get third row slightly to the side...totally kicked ass, I still have all the pictures I took from it....they played so great and each is just an amazing musician
Just stumbled onto this and holy shit, that jammed! all players were in the zone.
I attended what became the "Tour De Force, Live" with Jan Hammer, winter, 1982....Tower Theater, Philly ( Upper Darby )
Same here! Awesome show.
I was at the Tower show in front row. Amazing show
Happy Birthday Anthony Jackson!
MUCHO tight
rhythm section cooking Steve GADD and Mingo LEWIS **** WHEW!!!!!!
Good Grief Al DiMeola, Steve Gadd, Jan Hammer & Anthony Jackson & I never heard this😢
Stevo on drums wow that alone was the show😊
A dream team of the finest musicians, absolutely kick ass
JUST LOVE IT
Superbly Majestic !
Great jam!! Thanks!
Besides the obvious, the rhythm section is KILLING IT!
Perfektní hudba, virtuozita i energie!
Jan Hammer !!! Greatest!!!
Better to listen to than to watch.... Dork Rock
What a lineup, what a great performance!..
A Modern Classic. As if Blue Wind had a part 2!
YES! totally agree.... has the same vibe and all
Awesome!
Just Only a word...YEAH...¡¡¡
I love this play !
So powerfull !!
Any seasoned musician can see these guys figured it out very young. Like Matteo Mancuso today
BRAVO
Okay, so I'm not slipping--thought who's the drummer who's laying down the tight groove? Oh yeah--Steve Gadd! Woah....Helluva band, thanks for posting this--Jackson, DiMeola and Hammer, yesssss!
This is awesome! I am more than familiar with all of these players from various projects (I'm old) and dig so much of their history!!!
Stellar lineup.
One of my TH-cam highlights
Sensational💫
loved Al since I was 12.. when he first made the cover of Guitar Player Magazine, and his first 2 amazing albums came out. My little brain hurt listening over and over trying to understand this new form of music - which seemed very complex
❤️
Wow never saw this..great !
Epic!
Awesome. Two of my early musical heroes. Damn. I’m unfair to Stanley Clarke and FZ. So much great music from that time…
Anthony Jackson is by far the most brilliant musician I've ever seen live/ and he plays seated - Fripp comparisons ???!!!###
When Al use to rock.
I like this kind of music. Is it because I am old?
Wow 😎
The Kings! 😎
WOW♥️
Listening to Al di Meola Tour de Force, I was wondering who is the second guitarist, so nice melodies and sounds he can get out from that guitar... damn, was a keyboard.
Jan Hammer you are a god!
Or maybe a devil, I see 6.66 subscribers 🤣️
Butch Stanley Baer! You remember how we used to play this in my Celia in Iwakuni in 1982!!! What a year we had. Joe
I had Electric Rendezvous on cassette and played it everyday in my Celica in Iwakuni in ‘82.
Anthony Jackson on bass, Steve Gadd on drums and Mingo Lewis (ex-Santana) on percussion.
I swear it's gotta be harder to pull off Al's leather vest with three-button-undone white shirt than to mimic his shredding...bravo, man from a more romantic hemisphere...
like how their tones sound
Yeah!!!Beast!
And that was the first time I saw a PRS…..Pretty stoked that I got 3-4 cores myself…..
Where is entire show?.... Where are the sound boards from the tour with Jeff Beck?....110 shows in 13 months😯😯
Real Super Group
Wow these dudes are amazing musicians! I remember hearing Al Di Meola with Chick Corea back in the 80's and to think he was in his Teens! Yikes!
sorry al d played with return to forever during the mid seventies, saw at princeton university in 75. wowww.
I absolutely love Al, one of my all time favorites and inspirations. But his fashion sense, back in those days, was something to critique.
He would look okay if he didn't tuck his pants into his boots 🤯
@@josephblow5946 In the 70's that was a sign of high fertility to the ladies, along with the open disco shirt, exposing more chest hair than a silverback gorilla. After urinating on her left leg.
This song I play with our jazz band but I'm first a rhythm and riff guitarist, so I only give solos, but sometimes I would play solos by Santana, DiMeola and the like. If it was melodious and not fusion.
cool
Ripper!
Love that early Ken Smith,what a monster!
If I’m not mistaken it was built by Vinny when he worked for Ken
You are correct 100%.Very different than my B T 6 from 1990.In construction .And sound.Its huge.has built in effects.
@@normanhacker3588 I miss my BT6 😔
My BT 6 is 32 yrs old now
Some dude sitting and plays he guitar gets millions of views. 6 of the GOAT muscians perform live and it gets 60k views. What a sad sad world we live in.
@hen va ya know, you have a point. Just take Beck for example. Look at the utube view numbers of him when Tal Wilkenfeld was in his group compared to when she wasnt. And the comments, jeez. So obvious why they were watching, with one ignorant commenter stating that Jeff Beck didnt do anything after the Ronnie Scott sets and actually called Beck mediocre since the Ronnie Scott sets
This track is very much like Steve Morse's Sleaze Town. Al is incredible but listening to this I couldn't help wondering what Jeff Beck might have sounded like on this track.
Anyone know if this concert is on dvd?
Rad!.
Great musicians all saw Jan Hammer in 77 playing along side Billy Coham Jeff Beck Alphonso Johnson I was blown away
Are you sure it was with Billy Cobham and Alphonso Johnson? He had his own band he'd tour with Jeff Beck on the Wired Tour. It was Tony Smith and Fernando Saunders on drums and bass. I saw that band with Jeff Beck at least 2 or 3 times. I actually don't know if Billy has even played with Jeff Beck. I read a Billy Cobham interview where he was in a rehearsal with Stanley Clarke and Jeff Beck was supposed to be on the gig, he showed up for rehearsal, but apparently Jeff had to go to the bathroom and he never came back. That was in 1978. That's the only time that I am aware of when Billy and Jeff were supposed to play together, but never did.
IMHO Alll the best bits of Wired were the back and forth between beck and Hammer. That made it sound like an alien record.
That was what drew me to it.
Beck's guitar is always alien like - Just beyond human feel but Hammer's keyboards were also alien like, I loved the mix between them.
The whole album felt like it had been mixed on another planet.
Fucking amazing album. Wired FTW.
Luv and Peace.
Al looks older here then he does now!😂
Al had Hair replacement...he wore a bandana a few years later (Soaring thru a Dream era),either to cover his balding pate or to conceal the surgery! Money talks.
Al looks ridiculous.....acts ridiculous !!!!!! Never have been impressed by his playing>
@@55baltimoreboy I totally can empathize and get what you’re saying. I also did happen to see him live about 2 years ago and even though he’s still him, it also was refreshing to experience a more matured and sophisticated Al and the current arrangements his group performed. I admit though he’s been one of those guitarist we can all respect at minimum as an iconic musician and at minimum worth checking out what he’s played in the past and today.
Is this entire concert available for purchase on video ANYWHERE???????