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John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitar player from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams.
Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969. The album showcased McLaughlin as a guitarist of great technical virtuosity, power, speed, and inventiveness (such as the ability to play in odd meters).
He moved to the United States in 1969 to join Tony Williams's group Lifetime. He subsequently played with Miles Davis on his landmark albums In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew (which has a track named after him), Big Fun (where he is featured soloist on "Go Ahead John") and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. Davis paid tribute to him in the liner notes to Jack Johnson, calling McLaughlin's playing "far in." He returned to the Davis band for one recorded night of a week-long club date, which was released as part of the album Live/Evil.
His reputation as a 'first-call' session player grew, resulting in recordings as a side-man with Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Wayne Shorter, Carla Bley and others.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra, John's 1970s electric band, featured violinist Jerry Goodman (later Jean-Luc Ponty), keyboardist Jan Hammer (later Gayle Moran / Stu Goldberg), bassist Rick Laird (later Ralphe Armstrong), and drummer Billy Cobham (later Narada Michael Walden). The band were respected for their technical virtuosity and complex fusion of eclectic jazz and rock with hints of Eastern/Indian influence.
After the Mahavishnu Orchestra split, McLaughlin worked with the far more low-key, acoustic group Shakti. This group combined Indian music with elements of jazz and thus may be regarded as a pioneer of world music. John was one of the first westerners, if not the first, to attain any acclaim performing Indian music for Indian audiences.
Along with Carlos Santana, McLaughlin was a follower of the guru Sri Chinmoy, and in 1973 they collaborated on an album of devotional songs, Love Devotion Surrender, which included recordings of Coltrane compositions including A Love Supreme.
He has also worked with the jazz composer Carla Bley.
In the early 1980s he teamed up with flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia and Larry Coryell (later replaced by Al Di Meola) as the Guitar Trio, the virtuoso talents of all three musicians equally on display.
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John McLaughlin with the One Truth Band: Guardian Angels
by Scott Lichtman
John McLaughlin's “Guardian Angels" must be on the ultra-short list of “most iconic jazz/fusion songs clocking in under 1 minute." The song takes us back to the time when experimental fusion artists were exploring jazz/rock, classical and world music. “Guardian Angels" is a nugget of shape-shifting guitar arpeggios and time signatures, unified by L. Shankar's entrancing violin melody. It's so catchy that once you hear it, you're likely to remember it for decades--like this reviewer has. Fifty-one seconds is all ...
Continue ReadingMr. Roboto, Meet Mr. Mahavishnu
by Patrick Burnette
This episode's title is a wee bit misleading. The boys don't meet Mr. Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, of course) but rather Matt Phillips, long-time listener to the podcast who just happened to write a very good book on the famous fusion guitarist called John McLaughlin: From Miles and Mahavishnu to The 4th Dimension. The book covers the whole of McLaughlin's recorded career--not just his best known years with the Mahavishnu Orchestra--and our conversation is also wide-ranging. And, no, Mike hasn't turned ...
Continue ReadingThe Electric Years Box Set
by Mike Jurkovic
In a year that has brought us a true bounty of previously unheard majesty including Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse!), and Bill Evans; Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969), (Elemental Music) it is only fitting that Miles Davis get his due. And in a very, very big way. Seared into modern memory, modern art, the music presented on the gloriously massive, eleven LP set Miles Davis: The Electric Years ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin Quintet al Teatro AEGI di Hannover
by Mario Calvitti
John McLaughlin Quintet Teatro AEGI Hannover, Germania 12.10.2023 Si è appena concluso il trionfale tour della sua band Shakti per la ricorrenza del cinquantennale (purtroppo solo 7 date in Europa, e nessuna in Italia) che il chitarrista John McLaughlin è di nuovo on the road, questa volta con un nuovo quintetto, che non è altro che il suo ultimo gruppo 4th Dimension, ovvero il bassista camerunense Etienne Mbappe, il batterista indiano Ranjit Barot e ...
Continue ReadingJohn McLaughlin: From Miles and Mahavishnu to The 4th Dimension
by Jeff Schwartz
John McLaughlin: From Miles and Mahavishnu to The 4th Dimension Matt Phillips 287 Pages ISBN: # 978-1-5381-7094-6 Rowman and Littlefield 2023 In fall 2023 John McLaughlin led a new edition of his band Shakti on a world tour. Reviews and fan videos caught the eighty- one-year-old McLaughlin playing with the same breathtaking technique and abundant creativity as when he debuted atop the jazz world on Miles Davis' In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969) ...
Continue ReadingShakti: This Moment
by Geno Thackara
The Shakti of This Moment is essentially the Shakti of all its moments--a natural fusion bridging jazzy interplay with the forms and rhythms of Hindustani carnatic music, even if the sound is leagues away from the all-acoustic wildfire that singed countless ears with the live Shakti with John McLaughlin (Columbia, 1976). The group's unexpected reemergence after never-mind-how-many decades comes with a share of surprises, from touches of vaguely reed-like MIDI guitar to the presence of a co-lead violin for the ...
Continue ReadingShakti At Hammersmith Eventim Apollo
by Ian Patterson
Shakti Hammersmith Eventim Apollo Hammersmith, jny:London June 27, 2023 All things must come to pass. Still, it came as a shock to learn that Shakti's two concerts in London would be their last in the UK. Earlier dates in India, a summer tour of Europe and North American dates through August and September would amount not just to a comeback, but also a long goodbye. After 50 years, John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain, ...
Continue ReadingJazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969. The album showcased McLaughlin as a guitarist of great technical ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969. The album showcased McLaughlin as a guitarist of great technical ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969. The album showcased McLaughlin as a guitarist of great technical ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969. The album showcased McLaughlin as a guitarist of great technical ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola & Paco De Lucia "Passion Grace & Fire" Reissued On 180g Virgin Vinyl by Audio Fidelity
Source:
All About Jazz
In 1983 the guitar super trio of John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola and Paco de Lucía reunited for another set of acoustic guitar trios. Unlike their first album the phenomenal live acoustic performance Friday Night In San Francisco this masterpiece consists entirely of studio sessions. Passion Grace & Fire is a mix of flamenco, fusion, jazz, latin and classical music, bathed with beauty and compassion. It is simply three mindblowing musicians that united to produce the last word in acoustic ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: John McLaughlin
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating John McLaughlin's birthday today!
John McLaughlin, also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitarist from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, and with other well- known players such as Chick Corea and Tony Williams. Before moving to the United States, McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on ...
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Music Education Monday: Guitar lessons from John McLaughlin, and more
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
As a sideman to Miles Davis and Tony Williams, founder of the bands Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti, and a prolific solo artist and collaborator, John McLaughlin is one of the most admired guitarists of the past 50 years. Drawing on jazz, rock, classical, Indian music, and more, McLaughlin, now 73 years old, helped pioneer the jazz/fusion sound of the 1970s, influencing several generations of guitarists in the process. He continues to tour with his current band, the 4th Dimension, and ...
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Shrini's Dream
From: This MomentBy John McLaughlin
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John McLaughlin
Instrument: Guitar
Born: January 4, 1942
Publicist: MAD Ink PR
