John McLaughlin was born on the 4th of January 1942, in Doncaster, England. McLaughlin ‘s playing style comprises of rock, jazz and both Indian and Western classical, though he is most renowned for his work as a jazz-fusion guitarist and composer.
McLaughlin studied violin and piano as a child, but took up guitar at the age of 11; jazz guitarists such as Django Reinhardt were amongst his early influences.
In the years following, McLaughlin’s influence has been immense, with acclaimed players such as Jeff Beck and Zakir Hussain stating that McLaughlin was “the best guitarist alive” and “one of the greatest and important musicians of our times”. ‘Rolling Stone magazine’ ranked him 49th on the list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.
McLaughlin moved to London and during the early 60’s he began playing with acts such as Alexis Korner, ‘the Marzipan Twisters’, ‘the Brian Auger band’, and ‘the Graham Bond Quartet’. Throughout this period McLaughlin often had to sustain himself with session work, however it was a time where he significantly improved his playing ability, securing his reputation as a “first-call” session player, which resulted in recordings with rock gods like the ‘Rolling Stones’.
McLaughlin headed 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’, ‘On The Corner’, ‘Big Fun’ and ‘A Tribute to Jack Johnson.’
In the 1970’s McLaughlin transformed 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 in his band, ‘the Mahavishnu Orchestra’.
‘The Mahavishnu Orchestra’ established a fusion sound, exerting fast solos and exotic musical scales. However, the band member’s personalities were as fiery as the music they played and after two years and three albums they split up.
Famously in 1973, McLaughlin collaborated with Carlos Santana, on an album of devotional songs, ‘Love Devotion Surrender’. He has also worked with the jazz composers Carla Bley and Gil Evans.
McLaughlin has had many side projects throughout his career, the most notable being ‘Shakti’. In the 2000’s McLaughlin reformed ‘The Mahavishnu Orchestra’ with a whole new lineup, adding a string and horn section.
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, On The Corner, Big Fun and A Tribute to Jack Johnson.
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. As the years went by, McLaughlin secured his reputation as a “first-call” session player, resulting in recordings with the Rolling Stones and many others.
Early in the 1970’s McLaughlin recorded “Devotion” (Douglas Records), which proved to be a high-energy explosion of psychedelic fusion, featuring players such as; Larry Young, Billy Rich on bass, and the R&B drummer Buddy Miles.
However, on his second Douglas release, McLaughlin changed musical directions and released “My Goal’s Beyond” a compilation of acoustic works offering a fusion blend of Jazz and Indian classical forms.
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 in his next project, the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
The band established their sound a fusion sound, exerting fast solos and exotic musical scales of jazz fusion music. However, the band member’s personalities were as firey as the music they played and after two years and three albums split up. The band was then reformed by McLaughlin with a whole new lineup, adding a string and horn section
Famously 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, from then till the 90’s McLaughlin was consumed by his side projects such as Shakti.