Part I John McLaughlin, birth to 1968 PartII In A Silent Way... Hello, I'm Sandy Freeze ( a.k.a.:guitalife ), and I've been a fan of guitarist John McLaughlin since spring 1973, when I first heard the Columbia (LP) album "Birds of Fire" by Mahavishnu John McLaughlin And The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Many years ,LP's, cassettes,one concert ,(by John McLaughlin and the One Truth Band, in Los Angeles 1979) and CD's later ,I'm still a fan. Well,enough about me .
My links are from fellow McLaughlin-aholic links belOW for "OW-er" musician of most mutual interest,
Guitarist JOHN McLAUGHLIN:
Born on January 4 ,1942
in Kirk Sandall,Yorkshire, England, U.K.
John McLaughlin's Official Web Page
http://www.johnmclaughlin.com
John McLaughlin: "I'm a guitar player..."
Raised the youngest of 4 sons with 1 sister, young Johnny McLaughlin was
nourished by his family's broad musical interests from his mother,
a classical violinist,who had him begin to learn to play piano, to his
brothers,who passed down a guitar to him at age 11.
The BBC was part of the McLaughlin household's environment, and the
"grammophone". From Beethoven to guitarists Django Reinhardt and Tal Farlow,
and the trumpet/band leaderMiles Davis, John McLaughlin's appetite for music
knew no bounds. He practised the guitar until his fingers bled, and his mother
worried about that!
At one point in his teens he travelled, once a month, hitchhiking west to
Manchester, to take in a Flamenco guitar club .This flavour of music was
indelible on McLaughlin. He would find the acoustic guitar to be
the magnetic North on his musical compass.
_JOHNNY McLAUGHLIN ,ELECTRIC GUITARIST__
Though two brothers went on to wider academic accomplishiments,PhD was not to
be a goal of the skiffle and trad jazz playing guitarist. He left school in
his midteens, and began working various jobs, when not sitting in with
professinal musicians playing the standard styles of the 50's. He had
business cards printed up and handed them out at the clubs he'd step into ,
asking "Can I sit in?". These older trad musicians may have been set in their
ways, but they let the teenager play, forcing some tempos they may have thought
to shake him.
The cards were probably amusing to these musicians at the time but when
McLaughlin was in his late thirties, he ran into an old friend who had kept
one . This, in 1978, was to go on the cover of an LP, the reflective all-star
"Johnny McLaughlin, Electric Guitarist".
I like to think, as a rule : "Practice,Promote, Present,Perform, Pack-up"
___MILES TO GO ,ON 'Route 66'__
His technique, grown out of restless practising, was the foundation for his
abilty to play the wide variety of styles. Miles Davis 's colleagues were a
core of influences on John McLaughlin ,the blistering working of American
Tenor saxophonist John Coltrane most resonant in the guitarist's drive for
expression. In early 1960's London, McLaughlin made his mark as
a gigging musician entering the circles of performers that gave the world The
Cream, a drummer for Jimi Hendix, The Who, as well as the very resilient
Rolling Stones.
The Graham Bond Organisation was one such group . Organist/saxist Bond
played a wide variety of American styles with a nod to Ray Charles, in the
nightclub vein. Bassist Jack Bruce and drummer/percussionist Ginger Baker
explored this world with Bond, but McLaughlin played only briefly,some of his
work captured on "SOLID BOND".
Many odd jobs of McLaughlin ,aside from the evident musical output led to his
stint working in Selmer's music store as a salesman, where a kinetic young
guitarist, Pete Townsend , was encouraged by McLaughlin, to work at his own
individual rythym guitar style.
Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, another group McLaughlin played in, had
Mitch Mitchell on drums ,later of the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Subsequent work in the '60's tended to be like the GBO , derivative of the
American styles. On Duffy Powers' sessions the writer/Composer McLaughlin
emerged with a peek at music the guitarist would record on EXTRAPOLATION.
Along the way,in 1963, McLaughlin worked with a Dublin-born bassist, Rick
Laird ,who came to London, by way of a New Zealand sheep farm , where Ray
Brown's lines took the young musician back to the Atlantic side of the planet.
They played in Brian Auger's group Trinity,and in a trio with a horn player.
Eventually, Rick Laird moved to the States, and attended the Berklee School Of Music
in Boston, Mass.
In the late `60's, McLaughlin had exhausted his tolerance for playing on pop
sessions, as fellow studio musicians Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones, by then
of Led Zepplin fame themselves ,had chafed too long in formula pop recipes
to make ends meet.
McLaughlin had the fortune ,with his flatmate ,bassist Dave Holland to
jam with American musician drummer Jack De Johnette, a member of The Bill Evans
Trio, which was performing in London. As De Johnette had a then new type of
recorder, the cassette, he taped their encounter. Meanwhile, Holland was heard
by Miles Davis in England , as a promising young talent,and was recruited,if
circuitously ,in the MD fashion to join his band, replacing the irreplacable
Ron Carter.
This meant Holland did not perform on ~EXTRAPOLATION~. The leader McLaughlin
gave a boost to his own career by recording what was a landmark British
recording of originals . He came to the end of his zig-zag meandering between
the pop session world, and Avante Garde experiments with people like
vibraphonist Gunter Hampel. Where Holland joined Davis' group,next to the
amazing Tony Williams, it wasn't long before Jack De Johnette's personal tape
recording of the London jam hit Williams ears.
Tony Williams wanted to leave Miles employ and do his own thing. Hearing
McLaughlin's work, he had only to ask Dave Holland to call the guitarist,and
pass the pnone. Elated to be asked to play with Tony Williams, times were
tough and the plane fare was a stretch. Fortunately, old GBO mate Jack Bruce
was recording "Things We Like". He saw McLaughlin ,looking somewhat down in
the mouth ,walking down the street. John told Bruce about William's
invitation . Bruce rearranged his music to include the virtuoso, aiding in the
financial ends.
Meanwhile in America, Tony had asked around for guitarist Jim Hall,in the
mean time , to play, but the quietly influential master declined, for reasons
he later disclosed being lack of confidence. Bruce would join the new group
himself, in time.
In A Silent Way...
Shakti with John McLaughlin
THe One Truth Band
Guitar guitar guitar. Paco, Al, and friend
UNDER CONSTRUCTION, EXCUSE THE MESS
Photo from the back cover of the LP "Inner Mounting Flame"
Featuring Mahavishnu John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra
John McLaughlin's Official Web Page
http://www.johnmclaughlin.com
For current updates on John McLaughlin and Remember Shakti
See Christian Pegand Prductions page.
| For a full history of ~SHAKTI~ and a later group ~REMEMBER SHAKTI~ see: http://www.remembershakti.com/index.html Hosted By Rajiv Pandey, Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. Many exellent features and details |
|
| See John McLaughlin's own web site http://www.johnmclaughlin.com/past/past.html Past... | |
| Then, there's this mess... really... http://www.geocities.com/guita_room/Sh_L.html ...guita_room , get a life, is more like it! |
| Dave Marshall's John McLaughlin Tribute server Pages Of Fire II Based in Cardiff, Wales,U.K. OW! For information regarding e-mail subcription to: The John McLaughlin Mailing List (a.k.a. one-word...), please see one-word/Majordomo Info... and READ CAREFULLY. If you've never subscribed to a list, READ CAREFULLY! If you've never un-subscribed from a mailing list , READ CAREFULLY! Now, please understand, guitarist John McLaughlin , himself , is the subject of the list, but not a communicant, eh? He's a busy guy; got a guitar, got a life. OW! |
| Dr. Julian Derry's Pict-ish John McLaughlin Tribute
in Scotland, U.K. |
| A John McLaughlin DiscographyCompiled by Johann Haidenbauer |
| Massimo Marrone's tribute to John McLaughlin In Italy Massimo Marrone's link page |
| The Love Devotion ,and Surrender Tribute by Pierrot Jain In Basil Switzerland. |
| A U.S.A. Site From Scott Bosley |
| A Tribute By John McCullagh John McCullagh's OW-n discography |
| In Vancouver,B.C.Canada Alex Bunard's McLaughlin Page Eh? |
| Marco Anderson's Reg... WEB PAGE in England ,U.K. |
| A John McLaughlin Discography |
| Rajiv Pandey's Shakti_/\_Remember Shakti tribute http://remembershakti.com |
|
John McLaughlin is currently a Verve Recording artist. |