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As jazz-rock fusion pioneer John McLaughlin delved deeper into Eastern spirituality and mysticism, he developed a corresponding interest in the music of South India. Following the collapse of the second version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1975, McLaughlin put together Shakti, an outfit dedicated to fusing high-energy jazz and Indian music. In addition to McLaughlin (who played acoustic guitar instead of his customary electric), Shakti featured violinist Lakshminarayana Shankar, tabla player Zakir Hussain, and mridangam players T.H. "Vikku" Vinayakram and Ramnad V. Raghavan. The group's innovative self-titled debut was released in the summer of 1975, after which Raghavan departed, leaving them a quartet. Two further Shakti albums -- 1976's A Handful of Beauty and 1977's Natural Elements -- appeared before McLaughlin elected to move on to other projects. In 1999, McLaughlin reunited with Hussain and Vinayakram for a new double-disc album, Remember Shakti, which also featured bansuri master Hariprasad Chaurasia. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
Two words... Johnny Mack is one of the true guitar legends of all times. You name it he has been there, and gone.
swissbuddha2
I've been playing guitar for 43 years and John McLaughlin is truly the epitome of a "guitar god" in my book. His truly uncanny ability to blend blistering speed, lyrical melody and tonal experimentation into a truly spiritual experience puts him into a totally different caliber than other guitarists. "Brilliant", "genius" and "virtuoso" are highly understated when describing this master of strings IMHO
McLaughlin is one of the few guitarists that is able to blend astonishing speed with lyricism. ...a skill that is lost among most of the younger players today.
sunlightcaller
mahavishnu and zappa, nassau coliesum the 70's - imagine that. I was there
John McLaughlin is one of the most inspiring musicians of all time. A true master and seeker. He never fails to astonish and beautify the Heart, Soul and Mind.
the goombah of soul was lucky to have seen maha or. at least 15x and shakti at central park. if your old enuf you were lucky to hace seen cool shows. would have liked to have seen the bebop masters though in the early 60s. didnt see bop till 1970 its all good. have a wonderful relationship and love for all kinds of music and yes back in the day tix were cheap fillmore east schaeffwer music fest cen park nyc and the capitol th passaic nj gullivers college gigs acadamey of music nyc vill gate b
John shed light on a whole new way to place the electric and acoustic guitar within an ensemble. He pointed the way for so many people. He still rips it up live. How awesome is is comping. Favorite rhythm guitarist ever. His leads are melodic and angular. He never ceases to amaze me with his phrasing. I could go on and on with lavish praise but I'm sure there are lots of people that hate it. Good, smaller venues and no lines to get a beer or take a piss at his concerts. More for us likers. Yum
Nice comments all. McLaughlin is one of the finest guitarists of all time; he actually can do almost anything he wants. Fine interview on AlJazeeraEnglish some time back. As he says in that interview, he would like to be remembered as a pretty good guitarist. He is all that and more. Wish I could be at Montreux when he plays with Santana in July, '11. As for discography, who cares, they could fill the whole page.. He is much better to listen to live, and I had the pleasure of seeing some.
Saw him with Al and Paco back in 82 I think with another Guitaristbest in the world he could make his guitar sing
kedavis22
yeah - saw him 3 times in the early '70s around DC. pinned your ears back while he blew your head off. plays & composes dreamy melodies & straightahead jazz, too. no limits - what a talent!
c_yaus54
Saw Mahavishnu @ The Albey Theater in Cincy in the early 70's. The theater is no longer there, but I will never forgot how good they were. We were blown away, they were tremendous.
retropat
Went to see maha @ miami fronton in early 70's. 4 bucks a ticket. Not a big crowd, so the heads that were there were for real fans. Back then it was still ok to have diverse tastes and an open mind. Nice to see we're finally getting back to that- at least with music.
The album list here misses "Molom: a legend of mongolia" a soundtrack to movie of the same name. It was beautiful, rythmic and mysterious. Bringing together himalayan chanting, bells and the guitar. A fantastic if unrecognised movie and soundtrack.
pdsimonson
A fine guitar player!
georgec6
I saw Mahavishnu at UCONN in the early 70's with Billy Cobham. They where awesome. At that time he was a disciple of Sri Chinmoy as was Carlos Santana. Once I saw John and Carlos play acoustic guitars together and that was more subtle but great. Wow!
jamesburts537
I SAW MCLAUGHLIN ONCE IN 1974 AT MASONIC TEMPLE IN DETROIT MICH, THE CONCERT WAS WITH HIM AND JON HAMMER. THE BASS PLAYER WAS FERNANDO SAUNDERS, WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH FERNANDO ,PERSHING IN DETROIT. AWSOME CONCERT ALWAYS DUG JOHNS MUSIC, ALWAYS WILL!
The Mahavishnu is my second favorite band of all time..... I saw john at the blue note in nyc. i was close enough to see the pores on his skin. it was awsome. I like zeppelin and the dead about as much.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra with McLaughlin, Jean-Luc Ponty and Billy Cobham were just pheeenomenal. I saw them in 1972 at Trenton State College in the auditorium which had great acoustics and I was just blown away. Those were the days my friend, the 70's, we wished they had never ended.
icehaku
Look up The Mahavishnu Project, an incredible 'so much more than a cover band' and see them live if at all possible. As powerful as the original lineup.
HUGE talent with the gee-tar, followed and loved his work since the early 70's, the man is a talent and one of the most precise and technically adept guitarists that ever lived....with Mahavishnu, the rounds and trade offs he did with Ponty and Goodman on the violn are a pleasure to listen to, 35-40 yrs later.....thanks John, for the memoirs
Name your standard of measurement on the instrument: There is no finer guitarist than John McLaughlin. If you can find it, listen to Renee's Theme from the 1970 album "Spaces" by Larry Coryell & John McLaughlin. Guitar afficianados will have their minds blown.
if6wr10
as far as im concerned..this guy invented fusion guitar! his passion and extreme sensitivity is unique. all modern guitarists owe something to him
Birds of fire is by-far my favorite jazz-fusion masterpiece certainly to come out of the Mahavishnu Orchaestra. The lost trident sessions though filled with turmoil in and around the music are also very intense. Good stuff!
Early work can be found with Tony Williams LifeTime and Miles Davis - In a Silent Way and B**ches Brew.
Enjoy
aceman2
Not having any Mahavishnu Orchestra music in the discography is a travesty. That's like not mentioning Return to Forever when talking about Chick Corea.
Was turned on to Mahavishnu Orchestra when I was young . Birds of Fire is an excellent album .Should be in the discography.It was my first encounter with Fusion. I then discovered Return To Forever.
Just beautiful. I first became enamoured from the Mahavishnu and been a fan ever since. But his acoustic works are simply beautiful,texture,melody,depth,thought.
i like how all the instruments are used almost equally. i'm excited to hear some great bass riffs with a great guitarist. i could listen to this forever :)
Comments
Early work can be found with Tony Williams LifeTime and Miles Davis - In a Silent Way and B**ches Brew.
Enjoy