Music Web International - July 2010

The remarkable thing about this important work of John Mayer's is that, though commissioned in 1976, it lay languishing in the vaults for three decades. It was only with this Vocalion release in 2006 that one could hear how Mayer's vision tallied with the auditory results.

Dhammapada is a suite of eight movements. Unusually this was not an Indo-Jazz concept but one predicated on the development of Buddhism `from India through to China, Korea and Japan', as Jonathan Mayer makes clear in his elucidatory booklet notes. Longish movements alternate with brief ones, creating a sense of return and bringing narrative development to the project. The opening is by far the longest part of the work, and it coalesces textures that are to come, presenting them through bell chimes, and a fluid associative interplay of ideas and tonalities. The Chinese and Japanese elements are explored before a more straight-ahead jazz component emerges via Henry Lowther's commanding trumpet playing and Tony Coe's urgent solo, all the while riding above rolling flurries and eddies from the percussion. The colouristic patterns add textural variety, the ensemble allowing, for instance, flautist Chris Taylor to unravel a busy solo over propulsive bass and colouristic support.
Yamabushi features the koto solo of John Leach - rolled refinement. Around the three minute mark an infectious ostinato is set up that sweeps us to the end of the movement - these rolling ostinati are a compelling feature of Mayer's writing. Following this Japanese movement we find a Chinese one in Bhikkhu. Here March patterns and militaristic calls infiltrate the writing; calls to arms flurries and plenty of portent but also a brisk clarity to the writing too which is never clotted as a result. Contrapuntal mastery is never far away either, nor - here - rock and hard bop figures, as well as hints of baroque influences in Lowther's trumpet passage. The up-tempo dance of Sannyasin Three - 35 seconds of it - prefaces the slow sitar playing in Tri-Dandin, before incremental excitement is generated and ensemble colour broadens. The finale is Chakka which ends, after vigorous and buoyant magnetism, in a modish fade out.
It ends an album in which inter-relatedness and variety ensure a rewarding listening experience. How good that this work has now seen the light of day.

Jonathan Woolf

All Music Guide - 2006

Dhammapada is a John Mayer work that was commissioned by EMI in 1976 but remained unreleased for 30 years. His work with Joe Harriott on Indo-Jazz Suite and Indo-Jazz Fusions is justifiably lauded, but Dhammapada expands on his East-West fusion by adding instrumentation not just from India (sitar, sarod, tabla) but also from Japan and China (koto and cheng, respectively) to his British jazz combo (sax/clarinet, trumpet, flute, piano, bass). In addition to drums and tabla, he utilizes a trio of percussionists who play everything from glockenspiel to marimba to temple bells. He also makes use of Japanese and Chinese scales in addition to his Indian classical influences. The results are amazing. The seemingly odd instrumentation works surprisingly well together as an ensemble, and Mayer's enormous talents as both composer and arranger really come to the fore. The longer pieces play like suites within a suite, with thoroughly composed sections seamlessly giving way to jazzy improvisational solos and musical conversations (for example, the trumpet/sitar dialogue on "Maha-Samana") before the introduction of new themes. Mayer's use of polyrhythms and counterpoint is fantastic and the band's ability to transition from chamber ensemble precision to jazz-rock vamping is incredible. There are no lengthy solos to speak of; the playing is concise and extremely focused but everyone gets a turn. The longer pieces are separated from each other by progressively more elaborate arrangements of the same theme inspired by "Rag Kafi," "Sannyasin." Starting with just glockenspiel and crotales (basically bells), sax is added, then galloping bass and percussion. These pieces keep the album tied together nicely thematically, and also highlight Mayer's arranging skills. The recording itself is also excellent -- crisp and clear, taking full advantage of the stereo spectrum so each instrument is clearly identifiable with no muddiness in the mix (no easy task with a 13-piece ensemble). That this album sat unreleased for 30 years is almost a crime. It's a brilliant, groundbreaking work that sounds fresh even after languishing for three decades. It's a shame that Mayer didn't live to see the eventual release of Dhammapada. It could well be his finest achievement.

Sean Westergaard

Straight No Chaser magazine - 2006

“Opening and closing with the sound of a temple bell and including a killer jazz-rock section, Maha-Samana opens the trip, revealing the progressive yet tender elements that make the fusion here so natural. Moving on through the intricate koto work on Yamabushi, Mayer’s arrangements for this stellar band are as deft as they are ambitious. A fitting tribute to the late great visionary and one his son Jonathan, who came across the tapes in 1990, should be proud of.”

Andy Thomas

Jazzwise magazine - July 2006 ****

“Full of Mayer’s signature touches there are the dynamics of contemplation and helter-skelter, swinging jazz melting into temple bells, koto and sitar, extraordinary juxtapositions and adventurous scoring and great paying as well…. Dhammapada is a major addition to the Mayer canon and the East-West vocabulary.”

Ken Hunt

Manchester Evening News

"This is the work of a brilliant and complex musical mind and deserves great credit for attempting such a vast canvas. If Kenny Garrett's recent foray into Chinese music whetted the appetite, this is the logical next step."