McLaughlin John, *4th January 1942 Yorkshire, English jazz guitarist and composer. He initially took piano lessons, then at the age of 11 began teaching himself to play the guitar. A few years later, he became interested in flamenco music, and then blues. In the late 1950s, he moved to London, where he became involved with the blues movement, performing with artists such as G. Bond, A. Korner, and E. Clapton among others. He soon began playing jazz, collaborating with J. Surman, D. Holland, G. Hampe, and T. Oxley (on the 1969 album Extrapolation). In 1969, he moved to the United States, where he first recorded with T. Williams’ group Lifetime (including the album Emergency, 1969), and later with M. Davis. Between 1969 and 1972, he took part in recording some of the most important albums of Davis’ so-called “electric period”: In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Big Fun, A Tribute to Jack Johnson, Live Evil, and On the Corner. He reunited with the trumpeter in 1984 for the album You’re Under Arrest. In 1970, he recorded his first solo album, My Goal’s Beyond. Around this time, he developed an interest in Eastern philosophy, which had a significant influence on both his music and his approach to life. In 1971, he founded the Mahavishnu Orchestra, a name suggested by the Indian guru S. Chinmoy. The band consisted of G. Goodman (violin), J. Hammer (keyboard), N. Laird (bass guitar), and B. Cobham (drums). They released two studio albums, The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) and Birds of Fire (1972), as well as one live album, Between Nothingness & Eternity (1973), achieving tremendous success. Due to disagreements between the leader and the members, the Mahavishnu Orchestra disbanded at the end of 1973. After a lineup change, McLaughlin revived the group, which now included violinist J.-L. Ponty, and recorded Apocalypse (1974) and Visions of the Emerald Beyond (1975). In 1973, he recorded the album Love Devotion Surrender with C. Santana and members of the original Mahavishnu lineup. In 1975, he founded the acoustic group Shakti, featuring L. Shankar, Z. Hussain, and T.H. Vinayakaram, which performed Indian-style music (Shakti, 1976; A Handful of Beauty, 1977). With this group, he appeared at the 1976 Jazz Jamboree. In the early 1980s, McLaughlin achieved further success playing an improvised form of flamenco with guitarists A. DiMeola and P. de Lucía, releasing Friday Night in San Francisco (1981) and Passion, Grace and Fire (1983). In 1985, in Los Angeles, he performed The Mediterranean – a guitar and orchestra concert composed for him by M. Gibbs. Between 1988 and 1992, he collaborated with drummer T. Gurtu; the album Live at the Royal Festival Hall (1989) included a piece dedicated to L. Wałęsa, titled Blues for Lech Walesa. In 1993, he formed the trio The Free Spirits, and in 1996 he recorded The Promise, an album that encapsulated the musical journey he had undertaken so far. In 2007, he created a new band, 4th Dimension, with which he continues to perform and record, releasing To the One (2010), Now Here This (2012), Black Light (2015), and Live in San Francisco (2018).
He initially drew inspiration from the playing of D. Reinhardt and blues musicians such as T. Farlow and M. Waters. He soon developed his own style, marked by intense expressiveness and remarkable technical skill. In the late 1960s, he pioneered a modern approach to acoustic guitar in jazz (My Goal’s Beyond). In the 1970s, alongside M. Davis, he became a precursor of jazz-rock fusion (recordings with the Mahavishnu Orchestra) and world music (notably with Shakti). His music blends the traditions of jazz (both electric and acoustic) with blues and Eastern music, all underpinned by the powerful sound of funk-rock. During the 1970s, he played a specially designed double-neck electric-acoustic guitar, which expanded the expressive possibilities and tonal palette of his compositions. In his works, particularly from the Mahavishnu period, he employed melodies based on modal scales, sophisticated harmonies, and complex meters.
