John McLaughlin

Montreux Jazz Festival and BMG today announce the next instalment in The Montreux Years series with “John McLaughlin: The Montreux Years”, to be released on Friday, March 4, 2022. Curated and compiled by John McLaughlin, the album is a collection of his finest performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1978 and 2016.

A living legend of improvised music, with a career now spanning more than five decades, John McLaughlin, anointed high priest of fusion is no stranger to translating tumultuous moments into compelling, thoughtful audio art.

A living legend of improvised music, with a career now spanning more than five decades, John McLaughlin is no stranger to translating tumultuous moments into compelling, thoughtful audio art.

To a world seeking to heal itself from the blight of a fearsome pandemic, John McLaughlin, Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain offer a new recording of their expansive, collaborative incantation “Sakhi” -- recorded via ISDN from each artist’s respective home.

The blues may be the only thing even more universal than the current global pandemic we are all operating through. With this in mind, pathbreaking guitarist and bandleader John McLaughlin has convened his longstanding band the 4th Dimension -- Gary Husband (keyboards), Etienne M'Bappe (bass), and Ranjit Barot (drums, konnakol) -- via the Internet to record "Lockdown Blues," the multifaceted ensemble's first new studio recording in five years.

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 McLaughlin since they founded Shakti in the early ‘70s, acknowledged by most to be the first groundbreaking crossover East-West musical group.

One of the most important live recordings of the last fifty years, “Friday Night In San Francisco” (1982) brought together three prodigious guitarists of different legacies to one stage. John McLaughlin, one of the three guitarists, recognized the tour with progressive flamenco master Paco De Lucia and fusion marvel Al Di Meola as an essential collective performance. San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre had many legendary musical performances prior, but after that Friday night of acoustical transcendence on December 5th, 1980, McLaughlin further mystified the storied venue.

Tomorrow, September 21, 2018, Abstract Logix issues Live in San Francisco – a souvenir of a sold-out concert at the historic Warfield Theatre, a beloved venue last visited by John McLaughlin thirty six years ago. On his 25 date farewell tour of America, John invited one his favorite musicians, guitarist Jimmy Herring and his band “The Invisible Whip” to explore the timeless music he had created four decades ago.

“This recording of the final set at the Warfield Theatre brings to full circle the amazing advent of The Mahavishnu Orchestra In 1971, and its renaissance on this night in San Francisco.” mused the boundary-shattering guitarist John McLaughlin. On his farewell tour of America, which was comprised of 25 concerts, John invited one his favorite musicians,  guitarist Jimmy Herring and his band “The Invisible Whip” to explore the timeless music he had created four decades ago. Watch and listen to a teaser, HERE

One of the most anticipated jazz events of 2017 was The Meeting of The Spirits tour, a co-billing of celebrated fusion icon John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension with the astoundingly diverse Jimmy Herring and The Invisible Whip. Though the two guitarists/bandleaders spawned from different generations and backgrounds, their affinity for bringing exploratory styles including Indian Classical Music, Spanish guitar, funk, and blues, are an ever-bonding force.

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