Featured In
ALBUMMohanam - SingleShankar Mahadevan, Zakir Hussain & John McLaughlin
Albums by John McLaughlin
ALBUMLiberation TimeJohn McLaughlin
ALBUMIs That So?John McLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan & Zakir Hussain
ALBUMBlack LightJohn McLaughlin
ALBUMThe Boston RecordJohn McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension
ALBUMNow Here ThisJohn McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension
ALBUMFloating in CloudsJohn McLaughlin
ALBUMTo the OneJohn McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension
ALBUMFloating PointJohn McLaughlin
ALBUMIndustrial ZenJohn McLaughlin
ALBUMUniversal SyncopationsChick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Jan Garbarek, John McLaughlin & Miroslav Vitous
John McLaughlin's Popular Music Videos
A Love Supreme (Live)
Santana & John McLaughlin
Naima (Live)
Santana & John McLaughlin
Vashkar (Live)
Santana & John McLaughlin
Artist Playlists
John McLaughlin Essentials
Meet the high priest of fusion, whose shape-shifting guitar melds myriad styles.
John McLaughlin: Deep Cuts
Using jazz guitar to cross-pollinate rock, blues, and world music.
Artist Biography
Whether as leader of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, as a sideman for Miles Davis, or as a solo artist, guitar virtuoso John McLaughlin did as much as anyone to forge the jazz-rock fusion template in the ’60s and ’70s. Born in Yorkshire in 1942, he learned guitar, piano, and violin as a youth and became fascinated with jazz. In the ’60s he played blues and R&B with the likes of Alexis Korner and Georgie Fame; however, his 1969 solo debut LP betrayed no real rock influences as it displayed his fiery, fleet-fingered style. After relocating to America, McLaughlin leaped into the fusion fray, working with The Tony Williams Lifetime and recording a string of classic albums with Miles Davis, including 1970’s jazz-rock game-changer Bitches Brew. In 1971, he formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, releasing fusion milestones like The Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire. That was followed by the classic duo LP Love Devotion Surrender with Carlos Santana, spotlighting the spirituality underneath McLaughlin’s stormy shredding. He subsequently explored other directions, including Indian music with the group Shakti. McLaughlin kept working into the 2020s, continuing to inspire new generations of musicians.
Hometown
Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
Genre
Jazz