Jazz-fusion pioneer - John McLaughlin

Being the pioneer of jazz fusion, his music combines elements of jazz with rock, world music, Indian classical music, Western classical music, flamenco, and blues.

McLaughlin studied violin and piano as a child and took up the guitar at the age of 11, exploring styles from flamenco to the jazz of Tal Farlow, Django Reinhardt, and Stéphane Grappelli.

His first album as a bandleader, Extrapolation, was released in 1969 after he contributed to several key British groups in the early 1960s.

He then moved to the U. S., where he performed with Tony Williams' band Lifetime and later with Miles Davis on his electric jazz-fusion albums - In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, and On the Corner.

McLaughlin is best known for his work with the trailblazing Mahavishnu Orchestra, a technically virtuosic and complex 1970s electric band, fusing electric jazz and rock with Indian influences to create a technically virtuosic and complex style of music.

Mahavishnu Orchestra was dissolved in 1976 later reuniting briefly from 1984 to 1987.

In 1975, John McLaughlin founded Shakti. A project focused purely on East meets West musical arguments. He was accompanied by classical Indian instrumentists such as Zakir Hussain on tabla, L. Shankar on violin, and Vikku Vinayakram on ghatam percussions.

"Every time I come to India, I feel like I'm coming home. I must have been in India in a different lifetime. It's strange. I've been coming there since 1975 and I've lost count of how many times I've come there actually." says McLaughlin.

From the 1980s onwards, McLaughlin's music became more diverse, solidifying his reputation for technical and harmonic perfection, nuanced harmony, and the use of non-western scales and time signatures.

His current group the 4th Dimension – with keyboardist Gary Husband, bassist Etienne M’Bappé and drummer Ranjit Barot – lets him synthesize his many musical interests, touching on electronica and funk in addition to his longtime loves of high-energy jazz-rock and Indian-inspired rhythms.

We would like to wish a very happy 80th birthday to the legend, John McLaughlin!

Read more: Mahavishnu Orchestra With John Mclaughin - The Inner Mounting Flame