John McLaughlin
English guitarist, founder of the Mahavishnu Orchestra · United Kingdom · On the map · Musicians · Born 1942 · age 84
John McLaughlin, also previously known as Mahavishnu, is an English guitarist, bandleader, and composer. A pioneer of jazz fusion, his music combines elements of jazz with rock, world music, Western classical music, flamenco, and blues.
John McLaughlin is read about 799 times a day, in 38 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 10 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 115 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
People around John
Close ties
Al Di Meola Produced The Guitar Trio (1996)
Paco de Lucía Duets: The Guitar Trio (1996)
Zakir Hussain Bandmate in Shakti
Gary Husband Bandmate in John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension- Ranjit Barot Bandmate in John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension
Bertrand Tavernier Directed Round Midnight (1986)
Eddie Kramer Produced The Promise (1995)
Irwin Winkler Produced Round Midnight (1986)
Giorgio Gomelsky Produced Extrapolation (1969)- Alan Douglas Produced Devotion (1970)
Burt Brinckerhoff Directed Hail to the Chief
Also in Deutsch
Media & music
Listen
SpotifyPhotos 8
McLaughlin performing in The Netherlands, 1978
John McLaughlin, Circus Krone-Bau, Munich, West Germany, 9 June 1973
Left to right: Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, and Paco de Lucía performing in Barcelona, Spain in the 1980s
John McLaughlin at Berkeley Jazz Festival 5/25/1980
John McLaughlin, Remember Shakti Concert, Munich/Germany (2001)
McLaughlin, 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival
Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin in 1979In their own words 4
, For me, I can still say music is God, music is the face of God. That's everybody, that's the hearts of men. And that's important to me. But that's not the way everybody sees it.
Whether people accept this music or not, I don’t give a damn. I know how good - and right - the group is. We all sell out to a point.
I practice all the scales. Everyone should know lots of scales. Actually, I feel there are only scales. What is a chord, if not the notes of a scale hooked together?
Awards
About this person
After contributing to several key British groups of the early 1960s, McLaughlin made Extrapolation, his first album as a bandleader, in 1969. He then moved to the U.S., where he played with drummer Tony Williams' group Lifetime and then with Miles Davis on his 1969-72 electric jazz fusion albums In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, Live-Evil, and On the Corner. His 1970s electric band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused electric jazz and rock with Classical, Indian and other influences. In 1974, he helped found Shakti, a seminal Indian-Jazz rock fusion band with Indian violinist L. Shankar and percussionists Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram.
