J O H N
M C L A U G H L I N
LEGENDARY GUITARIST-COMPOSER-BANDLEADER
PIONEER OF JAZZ FUSION
'M A H A V I S H N U O R C H E S T R A'
S H A K T I
MILES DAVIS
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
John
McLaughlin began his career playing blues and rock in London in the early 1960s
and went on to play free jazz with important British figures before moving to
the United States in 1969. There he contributed rock- and blues-derived guitar
passages to Miles Davis’s early fusion albums In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew
(both 1969) and played in Tony Williams’s seminal jazz-rock trio Lifetime. In
1970 he became a disciple of spiritual guru Sri Chinmoy; he acquired the name
Mahavishnu and formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971.
The Orchestra was
initially a quintet noted for radically high volume levels, complex textures,
and fast modal playing, especially by McLaughlin, in long passages of 16th-note
scales and arpeggios, on a guitar with two parallel necks, one with 6 strings,
the other with 12. They played concerts in rock, rather than jazz, venues and
were among the handful of stars of jazz-rock fusion music; they recorded
popular albums such as The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) and Visions of the
Emerald Beyond (1975). The involvement of electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty in
1974–75 enhanced the Orchestra’s popularity.
Six years in the making, the album brings together the three visionary musicians in a musical landscape, never explored before. Six years in the making, Is that So? is one of John McLaughlin’s deepest and most profound musical collaborations with prolific Indian composer and vocalist Shankar Mahadevan. Joining the duo is their life-long friend and musical brother Ustad Zakir Hussain on the tabla, who has been collaborating with John since they founded Shakti in the early ‘70s, acknowledged by most to be the first groundbreaking crossover East-West musical group.
LIVE IN
SAN FRANCISCO
Live in San Francisco is the live album from John McLaughlin and Jimmy Herring with The 4th Dimension and The Invisible Whip which was captured
at The Warfield on December 8, 2017, as a part of the Farewell American Tour of John McLaughlin/ The recording features the third set which features the classic Mahavishnu Orchestra music written by John McLaughlin.
…Order yours today on
 |
| The Mahavishnu Orchestra |
In the
mid-1970s McLaughlin left Chinmoy, abandoned the name Mahavishnu, and began
playing acoustic guitar in his trio Shakti, with Indian violinist L. Shankar
and tabla player Zakir Hussain. His new guitar had two fretboards, one with
raised strings crossing the other. McLaughlin’s improvising—with phrases from
blues, rock (especially Jimi Hendrix), flamenco, jazz, and Indian music—fit
readily into a variety of fusion music. He went on to play duets and trios with
fellow guitar virtuosos Al DiMeola, Paco de Lucía, and Larry Coryell, to team
with Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, to play electric guitar in a revived
Mahavishnu Orchestra in the mid-1980s, and to perform guitar concerti by Mike
Gibbs (1985) and by himself (1990) with symphony orchestras.
McLaughlin
recorded an acoustic homage to jazz pianist Bill Evans in 1993, and he returned
to the electric guitar for After the Rain (1994) and The Promise (1995).
His
inventiveness remained undiminished in the 21st century. He revived Shakti for
the live album Saturday Night in Bombay (2001). Other notable later works
included Industrial Zen (2006); Floating Point (2008); Five Peace Band Live
(2009), which won a Grammy Award for best jazz instrumental album; Now Here
This (2012); and Black Light (2015). His recording of “Miles Beyond,” from the
2017 album Live at Ronnie Scott’s, took the Grammy for best improvised jazz
solo. In 2017 McLaughlin made what he said was his final tour, performing music
from the various incarnations of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Purchase the latest releases
by
John
McLaughlin
McLaughlin
IS THAT SO?
Six years in the making, the album brings together the three visionary musicians in a musical landscape, never explored before. Six years in the making, Is that So? is one of John McLaughlin’s deepest and most profound musical collaborations with prolific Indian composer and vocalist Shankar Mahadevan. Joining the duo is their life-long friend and musical brother Ustad Zakir Hussain on the tabla, who has been collaborating with John since they founded Shakti in the early ‘70s, acknowledged by most to be the first groundbreaking crossover East-West musical group.
Also Purchase
John
McLaughlin
McLaughlin
LIVE IN
SAN FRANCISCO
John
McLaughlin
& The 4th Dimension
Jimmy Herring
& The Invisible Whip
Live in San Francisco is the live album from John McLaughlin and Jimmy Herring with The 4th Dimension and The Invisible Whip which was captured
at The Warfield on December 8, 2017, as a part of the Farewell American Tour of John McLaughlin/ The recording features the third set which features the classic Mahavishnu Orchestra music written by John McLaughlin.
Both releases available at amazon.com
For more information about
John McLaughlin
visit
www.johnmclaughlin.com
Official website
https://twitter.com/jmcl_gtr
Twitter
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN
APPEARS
SEPTEMBER 29TH 2020
7 PM PACIFIC/10 PM EASTERN
on INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS
with RAY SHASHO
onBBS RADIO ONE
www.bbsradio.com
MY NEW BOOK IS FINALLY OUT!
ENTITLED
THE
ROCK STAR
CHRONICLES
CHRONICLES
SERIES ONE
CHRONICLES, TRUTHS,
CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS
THAT SET US FREE
…Order yours today on
Hardcover or E-book
at bookbaby.com
Featuring over 45
intimate conversations with some of the greatest rock
legends the world will ever know.
CHRIS SQUIRE... DR.
JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA… JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL
KANTNER... RAY THOMAS... RONNIE
MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE...
BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN
LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD
RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN
ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX...
RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER... ROGER
FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK...
SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY...
PETE BEST
THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES
BOOK TRAILER
BOOK REVIEW
-By Literary Titan (5) STARS
The Rock Star Chronicles, by Ray
Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their
heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his
obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school
but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried
chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book
on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the
70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists,
legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview
gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies
that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For
readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring
old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this
book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show.
The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I
didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into
trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new
frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music
fan.
Ray Shasho masterfully gets the
interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions
designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse
issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been
on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to
get them comfortable about talking about their lives.
The book’s cover is befitting of its
subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden
letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking
order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock
music. The second noteworthy thing is the use of high definition pictures
to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures
that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones.
Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.
I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts,
aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new
things by going back in time.
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