John McLaughlin - This Is The Way I Do It - Your evaluation please...

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

It gets to be the point where it becomes totally unaffordable. There's like $30 in ticket fees per person so it's like$300 for two people to sit in the balcony. I saw Zakir and like 5 drummers in Boston 10 years ago and it was maybe $40.

I will probably go and owe JM a lot but it's a bit much.

I guess I haven't actually given him any money since I bought my Shakti CD and he's provided many hours of inspiration.

Yep, the last time we went to the symphony I insisted on comfortable chairs in the balcony. It was about $350.00, and that was probably five years ago. I don’t remember the concert or artist. That might be different here.

[James W]

That's both a holy fuck and holy fuck these prices are out of control. $119 min, $1099 max wtf ?

It was/is 70-odd quid for a good seat at the first of Shakti's London gigs. That was as expensive as it could be.

[James W]

If you listen to the Extrapolation album his grasp of jazz harmony is scary off the chart. When accompanying, the various strummed and stabbing chords, the choice of chords, voices, the double stops and even single notes are profoundly beautiful. The front side of My Goals Beyond eliminates any doubt - jazz songs played with chords I would guess most of us have never heard, yet when hearing them they are not being forced in, they are being found homes in the music.

Much of his soloing is similarly profoundly beautiful, and some of it seems a little quirky. My sense is that is from going out of bounds of what was considered allowable. The move into the Mahavishnu project allowed more freedom outside those bounds, but also left behind some connection to jazz. I liked it, but also wondered where he would go after that... he did some nice stuff after, but he really seemed to like the Shakti project. I think that gives him the closest to absolute freedom.

By the way, one of the most interesting things I ever read about JM was when Robert Fripp (King Crimson) visited JM in his home in Paris and interviewed him.

Interview with John McLaughlin by Robert Fripp in Musician - ETWiki

I agree 100% with you about Extrapolation, and 'quirky' and 'profoundly beautiful' are exactly the words I would use to describe it. I would also add that I love his album Devotion, which, despite some dodgy production from Alan Douglas (John hated it) is also a masterpiece. It's an anomaly in McLaughlin's oeuvre, but I'm also inclined to say it's an anomaly in music in general - I've yet to hear an album that fuses psychedelic rock and jazz in such a sublime and profound way. 'Dragon Song' is just jaw-dropping, his phrasing and sound are just off-the-chart sublime. I've transcribed some of it but got stuck at one part, I keep meaning to return to it... I've also memorised some of the song 'Marbles' which I have the sheet music for - it's not easy though!

Thanks for bringing that interview to my attention.

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

It was/is 70-odd quid for a good seat at the first of Shakti's London gigs. That was as expensive as it could be.

88 bucks?

[James W]

88 bucks?

Yeah, something like that.

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

Yeah, something like that.

Well, that's not bad for 2023, depending on the venue/experience.

[jads57]

This is probably a closer representation of JM’s straight ahead type of playing.
I seen to remember him saying in an interview, he never wanted to chase that traditional sound or Style of Jazz Guitarists.

[AndyV]

I've never been much of a McLaughlin fan but I really like Remember Shakti's music. U.Srinivas was indeed an amazing musician.

[James W]

This is probably a closer representation of JM’s straight ahead type of playing.
I seen to remember him saying in an interview, he never wanted to chase that traditional sound or Style of Jazz Guitarists.

The album Live In Tokyo is probably the best example of his more straight-ahead playing - that is, if we're not including Extrapolation. I prefer Live In Tokyo to the one with Elvin Jones, After The Rain, just because his playing sounds more colourful and inventive, e.g. the following -

His harmonic sense here is exquisite...

then there's this -

[sully75]

Yeah, something like that.

Was that Shakti or Remember Shakti? $88 seems pretty steep for the 70s. I think my parents saw Van Morrison opening for someone else for $5.

[James W]

Was that Shakti or Remember Shakti? $88 seems pretty steep for the 70s. I think my parents saw Van Morrison opening for someone else for $5.

No, 70-odd pounds was what I paid for a ticket to see Shakti this coming June!

[Doctor Jeff]

If you listen to the Extrapolation album his grasp of jazz harmony is scary off the chart. When accompanying, the various strummed and stabbing chords, the choice of chords, voices, the double stops and even single notes are profoundly beautiful. The front side of My Goals Beyond eliminates any doubt - jazz songs played with chords I would guess most of us have never heard, yet when hearing them they are not being forced in, they are being found homes in the music.

Much of his soloing is similarly profoundly beautiful, and some of it seems a little quirky. My sense is that is from going out of bounds of what was considered allowable. The move into the Mahavishnu project allowed more freedom outside those bounds, but also left behind some connection to jazz. I liked it, but also wondered where he would go after that... he did some nice stuff after, but he really seemed to like the Shakti project. I think that gives him the closest to absolute freedom.

By the way, one of the most interesting things I ever read about JM was when Robert Fripp (King Crimson) visited JM in his home in Paris and interviewed him.

Interview with John McLaughlin by Robert Fripp in Musician - ETWiki

Gosh what a great interview. Makes me love and respect both these men even more.

I saw JM right after Belo Horizonte came out. He was playing with Katia Labeque in his band. My girlfriend and I were sitting about 20 feet from him. Wonderful show.

Coincidentally, my first date with the girl I took to that show was the King Crimson show of Nov. 13, 1981. We were up front dancing the entire show.

[pauln]

Gosh what a great interview. Makes me love and respect both these men even more.

I saw JM right after Belo Horizonte came out. He was playing with Katia Labeque in his band. My girlfriend and I were sitting about 20 feet from him. Wonderful show.

Coincidentally, my first date with the girl I took to that show was the King Crimson show of Nov. 13, 1981. We were up front dancing the entire show.

The number of concerts I've attended I can literally count on one hand. Only heard JM once (first concert back in college, 1976) when he was on tour with Jeff Beck. There was a part where JM came out alone and told us we were going to be the first to hear something new. It was some kind of continuous pitch shifting system that used a movable pedal which could shift smoothly up or down at least three octaves.
He played through it for about 15 minutes... ...and I'm pretty sure in the history of the planet nobody had ever heard anything like that!

[jads57]

JM is really a superior musician! Not only his prowess on guitar, but his ability to lift the bar higher for others he plays with. Much in the same way Miles Davis did this for many of his musicians.

I think he’s always looking for newer pathways and go where no one has gone before. As corny as that sounds, he’s not interested in the fame or fortune of the business.
I also get how many straight ahead Jazz aficionados won’t like his playing or music

[Doctor Jeff]

JM is really a superior musician! Not only his prowess on guitar, but his ability to lift the bar higher for others he plays with. Much in the same way Miles Davis did this for many of his musicians.

I think he’s always looking for newer pathways and go where no one has gone before. As corny as that sounds, he’s not interested in the fame or fortune of the business.
I also get how many straight ahead Jazz aficionados won’t like his playing or music

Well I admire John McLaughlin unconditionally, but I doubt he minds having the chateau in Montreux or the apartments in Paris and New York.

I think he's been very successful at marketing his brand and seems to have had good business sense. Kudoes to him.

As far as RF, the smartest financial decision he ever made was to marry Toyah. I recall he has said in interviews she's worth many multiples of him. (Though I don't think he was living too shabby beforehand, just a bit more modestly.)

[jads57]

No doubt JM is a man of Good Taste! As far as marketing I believe Clive Davis was the executive at CBS who signed him with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was pretty broke in those days and kudos to him for having the strength to believe in his path forward and not compromise his dreams.

[Hartguitars]

I don’t love his playing, but I got a lot out of the intervallic exercises back in college. Picking a mode and playing it in strict intervals is a great challenge. It helped me map the fretboard better, and it got me out of thinking scale-wise all the time. Worthwhile investment for me even though I wasn’t interested in sounding like JML.

[wolflen]

I don’t love his playing, but I got a lot out of the intervallic exercises back in college. Picking a mode and playing it in strict intervals is a great challenge. It helped me map the fretboard better, and it got me out of thinking scale-wise all the time. Worthwhile investment for me even though I wasn’t interested in sounding like JML.

try..Intervallic Designs by Joe Diorio

Melodic patterns at the TedGreene.com

worth the effort...

[Cunamara]

I watched a number of interviews with JM. I was really struck when he mentioned that he started his own record label because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to record and put out albums. It says a lot about the state of the music business today. He described the profit from his albums on his own label as being in the hundreds of dollars each and that this was a pretty good result, as far as he was concerned. I am guessing that his recent income has come from performances rather than selling records.

I tend to prefer small to very small group jazz, I think in part just because it's easier to hear each instrument and how they interact with each other when there are fewer of them. People with better ears than I might not have that issue. I've been watching to a lot of the John McLaughlin Trio videos with Trilok Gurtu on drums and percussion and various bassists; JM is usually playing an acoustic nylon string, sometimes with synthesizer pads. I really like that acoustic sound from him, I have to say. What I have been struck by, in that particular group, is how he plays chords even more than how he plays lines.

[ronjazz]

If you wanna know how JM does it, then this thing seems pretty good.

The criticisms are interesting and well defended, but not sure what they have to do with the OP's questions.

Who was the first guitartist Miles ever called for?

If Coltrane were to rise from the grave, what other guitar player could hang with him? Who you gonna send? Seriously. Who you gonna send?

Coltrane wanted Wes. Wes said no thanks.

[sully75]

Coltrane wanted Wes. Wes said no thanks.

Really? Which period? I can't imagine Wes ripping it with Rashid Ali or something. Early Trane records though would have been cool.

Is the Coltrane Kenny Burrell album the only Coltrane album with guitar? I've never really listened to it.

I bought tickets to see Shakti and I've been listening to tons of their lives concerts on youtube and they are all so great. So into Srinivas. I kinda think he's in the pantheon of greatest improvisers ever. So unbelievably ALIVE when he plays. Transcending the idea of music.

Then I listened to some JM 4th element stuff and found it really wanky. I don't get it. He's like my fav guitar player but maybe more than half of what he does is lost on me entirely.

John McLaughlin Electric Guitarist is an absurdly good album though. I do like the way he plays jazz (sometimes). The Giant Steps track there is really excellent. Very musical blowing at like a billion miles an hour.

[Jazzjourney4Eva]

Really? Which period? I can't imagine Wes ripping it with Rashid Ali or something. Early Trane records though would have been cool.

Is the Coltrane Kenny Burrell album the only Coltrane album with guitar? I've never really listened to it.

I bought tickets to see Shakti and I've been listening to tons of their lives concerts on youtube and they are all so great. So into Srinivas. I kinda think he's in the pantheon of greatest improvisers ever. So unbelievably ALIVE when he plays. Transcending the idea of music.

Then I listened to some JM 4th element stuff and found it really wanky. I don't get it. He's like my fav guitar player but maybe more than half of what he does is lost on me entirely.

John McLaughlin Electric Guitarist is an absurdly good album though. I do like the way he plays jazz (sometimes). The Giant Steps track there is really excellent. Very musical blowing at like a billion miles an hour.

Yes, there was a link to a critical review of one of their few shows here recently. It mentioned how Trane and Dolphy had some intonation issues to iron out, which they did, and how Wes blew everybody away with his incessant swinging and inventiveness. (to no one's surprise here, I'm guessing)

[unknownguitarplayer]

Pre-Extrapolation John McLaughlin playing straight ahead.
From the album "Danny Thompson trio Live 1967" John McLaughlin, Danny thompson… | Mclaughlin, Celia, Album

[ccroft]

That '67 clip was fun! Thanks for posting. He has some bop pedigree. Extrapolation was only a couple of years later.

[James W]

Seem to recall Joe Pass, no fan of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, being given something from Extrapolation in a Downbeat blindfold test and remarking 'this man knows jazz'.

You don't say, Joe...

Here is something from '68 -