John McLaughlin, born 4 January, 1942 in Doncaster, also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin is an English jazz fusion guitarist and composer. He played with Tony Williams's group Lifetime and then played with Miles Davis on his landmark electric jazz-fusion albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. His 1970s electric band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused eclectic jazz and rock with eastern and Indian influences. His guitar playing includes a range of styles and genres, including jazz, Indian classical music, fusion and Western Classical music, and has influenced many other guitarists. He has also incorporated Flamenco music in some of his acoustic recordings. The Indian Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain often refers to John McLaughlin as being "one of the greatest and most important musicians of our times".
Biography
1960s
Before moving to the U.S., McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969, in which McLaughlin showed technical virtuosity, inventiveness, and the ability to play in odd meters. He moved to the U.S. 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), On The Corner, 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". McLaughlin 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 and as part of the Cellar Door boxed set.
His reputation as a "first-call" session player grew, resulting in recordings as a sideman with Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Joe Farrell, Wayne Shorter, Carla Bley, The Rolling Stones and others.
1970s
He recorded Devotion in early 1970 on Douglas Records (run by Alan Douglas), a high-energy, psychedelic, fusion album that featured Larry Young on organ (who had been part of Lifetime), Billy Rich on bass and the R&B drummer Buddy Miles (who had played with Jimi Hendrix). Devotion was the first of two albums he released on Douglas.
On the second Douglas album, however, McLaughlin went in a different direction in 1971 when he released My Goals Beyond in the U.S., an amazing collection of unamplified acoustic works, including extended performances on side A of "Peace One" and "Peace Two", offering a fusion blend of jazz and Indian classical forms. Side B features some of the most melodic acoustic playing McLaughlin ever recorded, including such standards as "Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat", by Charles Mingus whom McLaughlin considered an important influence on his own development. Other tracks that expressed some of McLaughlin's other influences include "Something Spiritual" (Dave Herman), "Hearts and Flowers" (P.D. Bob Cornford), "Phillip Lane", "Waltz for Bill Evans" (Chick Corea), "Follow Your Heart", "Song for My Mother" and "Blue in Green" (Miles Davis). "Follow Your Heart" had been released earlier on Extrapolation under the title "Arjen's Bag".
My Goals Beyond was inspired by McLaughlin's decision to follow the Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, to whom he had been introduced in 1970 by Larry Coryell's manager. The album was dedicated to Chinmoy, with one of the guru's poems printed on the liner notes. It was on this album that McLaughlin took the name "Mahavishnu."
Around this time, McLaughlin began a rigorous schedule of woodshedding, resulting in a transformation in his playing from his usual odd-timed, angular guitar lines to a more powerful, aggressive and fast style of playing, which would be put on display to great effect in his next project, the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Mahavishnu Orchestra
McLaughlin's 1970s electric band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra [1] included violinist Jerry Goodman (later Jean-Luc Ponty), keyboardist Jan Hammer (later Gayle Moran and Stu Goldberg), bassist Rick Laird (later Ralphe Armstrong), and drummer Billy Cobham (later Narada Michael Walden). The band performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused eclectic jazz and rock with eastern and Indian influences. This band established fusion as a new and growing style within the jazz and rock worlds. McLaughlin's playing at this time was distinguished by fast solos and exotic musical scales.
In 1973, McLaughlin collaborated with Carlos Santana, also a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, on an album of devotional songs, Love Devotion Surrender, which included recordings of Coltrane compositions including a movement of A Love Supreme. He has also worked with the jazz composers Carla Bley and Gil Evans.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra's personality clashes were as explosive as their performances and consequently the first incarnation of the group split in late 1973 after just two years and three albums, one of which was a live recording "Between Nothingness and Eternity". In 2001 the "Lost Trident Sessions" album was released, recorded in 1973 but shelved when the group disbanded. Mclaughlin then reformed the group with Narada Michael Walden (drums), Jean Luc Ponty (violin), Ralphe Armstrong (bass) and Gayle Moran (keys and vocals). The incarnation of the group recorded a further two albums, after which time Mclaughlin was almost completely absorbed in his acoustic playing with his Indian classical music based group Shakti (see below). A third album was recorded in 1976 largely due to contractual obligations. Around this time, McLaughlin also appeared on Stanley Clarke's School Days album, among a host of other musicians.
Other activities
After the first reincarnation of 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. McLaughlin had already been studying Indian classical music and playing the veena for several years. The group featured Lakshmirnaraya L. Shankar (violin), Zakir Hussain (tabla), Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram (ghatam) and earlier Ramnad Raghavan (mridangam). John was the first westerner to attain any acclaim performing Indian music for Indian audiences.
In this group, Mclaughlin played a custom made steel string acoustic guitar made by luthier Abe Wechter and the Gibson guitar company, which featured two tiers of strings over the soundhole: a conventional six string configuration with an additional seven strings strung underneath on a forty-five degree angle - these were independently tunable and were played as "sympathetic strings" much like a sitar or veena. The instrument also featured a scalloped fretboard along the full length of the neck which enabled Mclaughlin to play bends far beyond the reach of a conventional fretboard.
In 1979, he teamed up with flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía and jazz guitarist Larry Coryell (replaced by Al Di Meola in the early 1980s) as the Guitar Trio. For the fall tour of 1983, they were joined by Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, who opened the show as a soloist and participated with The Trio in the closing numbers. The Trio, again featuring McLaughlin along with de Lucía and Di Meola, reunited in 1996 for a second recording session and a world tour. In 1979, Mclaughlin recorded the album "Johnny Mclaughlin: Electric Guitarist". This was the title on Mclaughlin's first business cards as a teenager in Yorkshire. This recording was a return to more mainstream Jazz/Rock fusion and to the electric instrument after three years of playing acoustic guitars, particularly his Gibson 2-tier custom-made steel string with the Shakti group. Mclaughlin was so used to the scalloped fretboard from his Shakti days and so accustomed to the freedom it provided him that he had the fretboard scalloped on his Gibson Byrdland Electric hollowbody.
He also formed the short-lived One Truth Band who recorded one studio album: "Electric Dreams". The group had L. Shankar on violins, Stu Goldberg on keyboards, Fernando Saunders on electric bass and Tony Smith on drums. 1979 also saw the formation of the very short-lived Trio of Doom. Here McLaughlin teamed up with Jaco Pastorius (bass) and Tony Williams (drums). They only played one concert, at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, Cuba on March 3, 1979 [2], this concert was part of a US State Department cultural exchange program known by some musicians as the 'The Bay of Gigs'. They went on to record three of the tracks at CBS Studios in New York City, United States on March 8, 1979.
1980s
John McLaughlin performing in 1986 Hollabrunn, Austria
John McLaughlin, Remember Shakti Concert, Munich/Germany (2001)
In the late '80s and early '90s Mclaughlin recorded and performed live with a trio including bassist Kai Eckhardt and percussionist Trilok Gurtu. The group recorded two albums: "Live at The Royal Festival Hall" and "Que Alegria", with latter featuring Dominique DiPiazza on bass for all but two tracks. These recordings saw a return to acoustic instruments for McLaughlin, performing on nylon-string guitar. On "Live at the Royal Festival Hall" McLaughlin utilised a unique guitar synth which enabled him to effectively "loop" guitar parts and play over them live. The synth also featured a pedal which provided sustain when pressed. McLaughlin played parts which sound overdubbed and creating lush soundscapes, aided by Gurtu's unique percussive sounds. This approach is used to great effect in the track "Florianapolis", amongst others.
With the group Fuse One, he released two album in 1980 and 1982.
In 1986 he appeared with Dexter Gordon in Bertrand Tavernier's film "Round Midnight." He also composed The Mediterranean Concerto, orchestrated by Michael Gibbs. The world premier featured McLaughlin and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was recorded in 1988 with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. McLaughlin does improvise in certain sections.
1990s
In the early 1990s he toured with his Quartet on the Que Alegria album. The quartet comprised John McLaughlin, Trilok Gurtu, Kai Eckhardt and Dominique DiPiazza. Following this period he recorded and toured with The Heart of Things featuring Gary Thomas, Dennis Chambers, Matthew Garrison, Jim Beard and Otmaro Ruíz. In recent times he has toured with Remember Shakti. In addition to original Shakti member Zakir Hussain, this group has also featured eminent Indian musicians U. Srinivas, V. Selvaganesh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivkumar Sharma, and Hariprasad Chaurasia. In 1996, John McLaughlin, Paco DeLucia and Al DiMeola (known collectively as "The Guitar Trio")reunited for a world tour and recorded an album by the same name.
2000s
In 2003, he recorded a ballet score, Thieves and Poets, along with arrangements for classical guitar ensemble of favorite jazz standards, and a three-DVD instructional video on improvisation entitled "This is the Way I Do It" (which contributed to the development of video lessons [4]) In June 2006, he released a hard bop/jazz fusion album entitled Industrial Zen, on which McLaughlin experiments with the Godin Glissentar as well as continuing to expand his guitar-synth repertoire.
2007, he left Universal Records and joined the small Internet-based Abstract Logix label that works closely with independent jazz, progressive rock, and world music bands. Recording sessions for his first album on the label took place in April. That summer, he began touring with a new jazz fusion quartet, the 4th Dimension, consisting of keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband, bassist Hadrian Feraud, and drummer Mark Mondesir. During the 4th Dimension's tour, an "instant CD" entitled "Live USA 2007: Official Bootleg" was made available comprising soundboard recordings of 6 pieces from the group's first performance. The album was available after that and all subsequent performances and a limited number were made available through Abstract Logix. Following completion of the tour, McLaughlin personally sorted through recordings from each night to release a second MP3 download-only collection entitled "Official Pirate: Best of the American Tour 2007". During this time, McLaughlin also released another instructional DVD entitled "The Gateway to Rhythm", featuring Indian percussionist and Remember Shakti bandmate Selva Ganesh Vinayakram (or V. Selvaganesh), focusing on the Indian rhythmic system of konnakol. John also remastered and released a shelved project dating back to 1980 called "The Trio of Doom" featuring jazz/fusion luminaries Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams. The project had been aborted due to conflicts between Williams and Pastorius as well as what was at the time a mutual dissatisfaction with the results of their performance.
On April 28, 2008 the recording sessions from the previous year surfaced on the album "Floating Point", featuring the rhythm section of keyboardist Louiz Banks, bassist Hadrien Feraud, percussionist Sivamani and drummer Ranjit Barot bolstered on each track by a different Indian musician. Coinciding with the release of the album was another DVD, "Meeting of the Minds", which offered behind the scenes studio footage of the "Floating Point" sessions as well as interviews with all of the musicians. McLaughlin is set to begin a late summer/fall tour with Chick Corea, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenny Garrett and Christian McBride under the name "5 Peace Band".
Influence
McLaughlin has been cited as a major influence on many of the '70s and '80s fusion guitarists. Some prominent guitarists he influenced include Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern, Al Di Meola, and Scott Henderson. According to Pat Metheny, McLaughlin has changed the evolution of the guitar during several of his periods of playing. McLaughlin is also considered a major influence on composers in the fusion genre. In an interview with Downbeat, Chick Corea remarked that "...what John McLaughlin did with the electric guitar set the world on its ear. No one ever heard an electric guitar played like that before, and it certainly inspired me. John's band, more than my experience with Miles, led me to want to turn the volume up and write music that was more dramatic and made your hair move".
Progressive metal band Cynic cites McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra as an influence on their music, and often perform "Meeting of the Spirits" live. The related metal band Aghora also dedicates the song "Jivatma" on their first album to him as an influence, as well as sampling his voice on the track.
Discography
Solo Albums
Extrapolation, 1969, Polydor
Where Fortune Smiles, 1970, One Way
My Goal's Beyond, 1970, Rykodisc
Devotion, 1970, Douglas
Electric Dreams, 1978, Columbia
Electric Guitarist, 1978, Columbia
Belo Horizonte, 1981, Warner Bros. (currently Wounded Bird)
Passion, Grace & Fire, 1982, Columbia
Music Spoken Here, 1982, Warner Bros. (currently Wounded Bird)'
Mediterranean Concerto (For Guitar and Orchestra) [Live], 1988, Columbia
Live At The Royal Festival Hall, 1989, JMT
Que Alegria, 1991, Verve
Jazz, Vol. 2, 1991, Rhino
Time Remembered: John McLaughlin Plays Bill Evans, 1993, Verve
Tokyo Live, 1993, Polygram
After The Rain, 1994, Verve
Guitar Concerto, 1995, Sony Classical
Paco de Lucia/John McLaughlin/Al Di Meola, 1996, Verve
The Heart Of Things, 1997, Verve
Remember Shakti: The Believer [Live], 2000, Verve
The Heart Of Things: Live In Paris, 2000, Polygram
Collection, 2000, Import
Saturday Night In Bombay: Remember Shakti, 2001, Verve
Thieves And Poets, 2003, Verve
Industrial Zen, 2006, Abstract Logix
Floating Point, 2008, Abstract Logix
Mahavishnu Orchestra Albums
The Inner Mounting Flame, 1971, Columbia/Legacy
Birds Of Fire, 1972, Columbia/Legacy
The Lost Trident Sessions, 1973, Columbia/Legacy
Between Nothingness And Eternity, 1973, Columbia
Apocalypse, 1974, Columbia
Visions Of The Emerald Beyond, 1974, Columbia
Inner Worlds, 1975, Sony
In Retrospect, 1976, Polydor
Mahavishnu, 1984, Warner Bros.
Adventures In Radioland, 1987, Relativity
Visions Of An Intermounting Apocalypse, 2006, Mascot
With Miles Davis
In A Silent Way, Miles Davis, 1969, Columbia
Bitches Brew, Miles Davis, 1970, Columbia
A Tribute To Jack Johnson, Miles Davis, 1971, Columbia
Live-Evil, Miles Davis, 1971, Columbia
On The Corner, Miles Davis, 1972, Columbia
Big Fun (album), Miles Davis, 1974, Columbia
Get Up With It, Miles Davis, 1974, Columbia
The Cellar Door Sessions, Miles Davis, recorded 1970, released 2005, Columbia
Circle In The Round, 1979, Columbia (outtakes recorded 1955-1970)
Directions, Miles Davis, 1980, Columbia (unreleased material recorded 1960-1970)
You're Under Arrest, Miles Davis, 1985, Columbia
Aura, Miles Davis, 1989, Columbia
In Collaboration
Own Up, Twice As Much, 1966, Immediate
Experiments With Pops, Gordon Beck, 1968
Infinite Search, Miroslav Vitous, 1969, Embryo
Super Nova, Wayne Shorter, 1969, Blue Note
Emergency!, Tony Williams Lifetime, 1969, Polydor
Turn It Over, Tony Williams Lifetime, 1970, Polydor
Things We Like, Jack Bruce, 1970 (recorded 1968)
Purple, Miroslav Vitous, 1970, Columbia
Follow Your Heart, Joe Farrell, 1970, CTI
Innovations, Duffy Power, 1970, Transatlantic
Solid Bond, The Graham Bond Organisation, 1970, Warner Bros.
Spaces, Larry Coryell, 1970, Vanguard
One Man Dog, James Taylor, 1972, Warner Bros.
Love Devotion Surrender, 1973, Columbia (with Carlos Santana)
Welcome, Santana, 1973
Escalator over the hill, Carla Bley and Paul Haines, 1974, ECM
Moto Grosso Feio, Wayne Shorter, 1974, Blue Note (recorded 1970)
Journey To Love, Stanley Clarke, 1975, Epic
Planet End, Larry Coryell, 1975, Vanguard
Shakti With John McLaughlin [Live], Shakti, 1975, Columbia
A Handful Of Beauty, Shakti, 1976, Columbia
Live (1976-1977), Stanley Clarke, Epic (released 1991)
School Days, Stanley Clarke, 1976, Epic
Natural Elements, Shakti, 1977, CBS
The Alternative Man, Bill Evans, 1985, Blue Note
Round Midnight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack),1986, Columbia
Other Side Of Round Midnight, Dexter Gordon, 1986, Blue Note
Gladrags, Katia And Marielle Labeque, 1986, Angel
Making Music, Zakir Hussain, 1986, ECM
Love Of Colours, Katia and Marielle Labeque, 1990, Columbia
Divine Light: Reconstructions & Mix Translation, Carlos Santana and Bill Laswell, 2001, Sony
Finally The Rain Has Come, Leni Stern, 2002, Leni Stern
Someday, Ithamara Koorax, 2002, Huks
Universal Syncopations, Miroslav Vitous, 2003, ECM
Hymns For Peace: Live At Montreaux 2004, Santana, 2007, Eagle Eye
Hadrian Feraud, Hadrian Feraud, 2007, Dreyfus
Equipment
Gibson EDS-1275, McLaughlin played the Gibson doubleneck between 1971 and 1973 at which point the Double Rainbow was completed.
Double Rainbow doubleneck guitar made by Rex Bogue, which McLaughlin played between 1973 - 1975.
The first Abe Wechter-built acoustic "Shakti"-guitar with seven additional sympathetic strings.
"Marielle", acoustic guitar with cutaway.
"Our Lady", built by Abe Wechter for John McLaughlin.
Summary of the guitars played by John McLaughlin.
and Inner Worlds in 1976. Meanwhile, McLaughlin's interest in Indian music continued to grow. While the second version of Mahavishnu was still active, he began to spend more and more time working with an all-acoustic group of mostly Indian musicians, playing a slightly jazzed-up take on authentic classical music from South India. By 1976, McLaughlin had given up on the Mahavishnu Orchestra--and the guru who had given him the name--and was focusing on Shakti, the new acoustic group, full- time.
is part of a spiritual voyage for him, whether attached to a particular religious sect or not. "My work in music is a work of the spirit; it's a development of my spirit, and the development of myself as a human being," he was quoted as saying in a 1985 Down Beat interview. "We don't know if there's a God, but if there is a God, I think music is the face of God." Many listeners would be delighted if McLaughlin's spiritual voyage happens to carry him in the direction of another Mahavishnu Orchestra along the way.
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