John McLaughlin (musician)
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John McLaughlin (born January 4, 1942), also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is a jazz fusion guitar player from Yorkshire in England. He came to prominence with the electric group of Miles Davis in the late 1960s, 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, an album that showed that McLaughlin's trademark power, speed and accuracy (and ability to play in odd metres like 13/8) were his almost from the beginning.
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, and A Tribute to Jack Johnson.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra, John's 1970s electric band, are respected the world over for their complex fusion of jazz, Indian music, and electric jazz rock.
After the split of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, 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 pioneer of world music.
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 respected jazz composer Carla Bley.
In the early 1980s he teamed up with flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía and Al DiMeola as the Guitar Trio, the virtuoso talents of all three musicians equally on display. The Trio re-united in 1996 for a second recording session and a world tour.
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, Shivkumar Sharma, and Hariprasad Chaurasia.
His most recent recording project has been a ballet score, Thieves and Poets, released in 2003 along with arrangements for classical guitar ensemble of favourite jazz standards.
See also: Paco de Lucía, Al DiMeola, Trilok Gurtu, Santana, Jonas Hellborg.
External links
- John McLaughlin Official Website (http://www.johnmclaughlin.com/)
- Finding the Way: The Music of John McLaughlin (http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=2158)
- John McLaughlin Guitar Tabs (http://www.jazzguitar.be/john_mclaughlin_licks.html)de:John McLaughlin (Musiker)