MITCH MITCHELL

Eu não ia postar nada relativo ao Mitch Michell, porque com a notícia da sua morte, muita gente já deve ter feito isso em outros blogs por aí, além disso, o cara não tem muitos discos, na verdade nunca lançou um trabalho solo e depois do Experience gravou pouquíssimo, de modo que a maioria dos discos já são bem conhecidos e devem estar postados em outros sítios. Mas reconsiderei, pois afinal, o cara merece mesmo todas as homenagens, foi parceiro de Jimi Hendrix, o maior guitarristas de todos os tempos e mesmo tocando ao lado de um grande astro, Mitch se sobressaiu, ganhou fama e respeito como músico e a sua contribuição na sonoridade da Jimi Hendrix Experience é inegável. Reconhecidamente um dos maiores bateristas de rock dos anos 60, cujo estilo era uma mistura da impulsividade de Keith Moon com a complexidade jazzística de Elvin Jones, sua maior influência.

Nascido em 9 de junho de 1947 na cidade inglesa de Ealing, John Mitchell começou cedo a carreira de artista, mas não como músico e sim como astro mirim de uma série infantil da BBC TV chamada Jennings. Na adolescência, deixou essa coisa de ator para lá e passou a se dedicar à bateria, tocou com Peter Nelson & The Travellers (1960), The Tornados (1963), The Coronets, que depois passou a se chamar The Lively Set, ainda naquele ano (1964), participou de um teste para fazer parte do The Who, como recorda Peter Townshend: ”Nós experimentamos alguns bateristas, inclusive Michell que tocaria com Hendrix depois, mas Keith Moon apareceu numa das nossas apresentações regulares no Oldfield Hotel, em Greenford, e logo que começou a tocar, percebi que havia encontrado o elo que faltava”. Ao invés de ir para o Who, ele acabou numa banda chamada Riot Squad, onde gravou uns compactos e permaneceu até 65, quando deixou o grupo para se juntar a Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames, gravando o álbum Sweet Things. Por falar em Things, nessa época, ele também andou tocando com o Pretty Things e dizem até que ele atuou em algumas faixas do disco Get the Picture? (1965). “Na verdade, Mitch Mitchell tocou com a gente depois que Viv Prince nos deixou e ficou um tempo até encontrarmos um novo baterista. Tocamos uma dúzia de shows e ele era realmente bom. Depois disso, quando o vi novamente, já estava tocando com Jimi Hendrix e eu não podia acreditar naquilo – Mitch você é um animal!!”. Conta John Stax.

Em primeiro de outubro de 1966, Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames fez uma apresentação no Grand Gala du Disque em Amsterdã e depois se dissolveu. Mitch ganhou alguma notoriedade entre a nova geração de bateristas da cena musical britânica e foi convidado por Chas Chandler para uma audição que escolheria os músicos que iriam acompanhar Jimi Hendrix. Além dele, havia outro promissor baterista com grandes chances de integrar o grupo, ninguém menos que Aynsley Dunbar. Chandler e Hendrix não sabiam ao certo quem escolher e, segundo a lenda, resolveram o assunto no “cara ou coroa”. Felizmente para todos, exceto para Dunbar, o felizardo foi Mitchell que, muito mais que um mero acompanhante, se revelou um importante colaborador, sempre alternando os ritmos, nunca sendo previsível, proporcionando uma flexibilidade que correspondia e valorizava os solos de Hendrix. Isto ficou evidente logo nos primeiros singles e no álbum Are You Experienced? Pode ser percebido no jeito envolvente que ele trabalhou a bateria em músicas como "Fire," "Third Stone from the Sun," e "Manic Depression." No Experience ele se tornou uma celebridade quase tão importante quanto o próprio Hendrix e os três discos gravados por eles, Are You Experienced? (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (1967) e Electric Ladyland (1968) são verdadeiras obras primas da música universal.

Em 1968 Mitch fez uma histórica aparição num especial de televisão dos Rolling Stones chamado Rock And Roll Circus, realizado em 11 de Dezembro, contando com a participação de vários convidados ilustres como Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal... Ele integrou um grupo inventado para a ocasião chamado Dirty Mac, onde, além dele, faziam parte John Lennon, Eric Clapton e Keith Richards (excepcionalmente tocando baixo). Era para o programa ir ao ar como especial de natal ou coisa assim, mas isso não aconteceu e a fita ficou na gaveta até virar DVD uns trinta anos depois.

O Experience se desfez em junho de 1969, mas Mitch voltou a tocar com Hendrix em agosto, no festival de Woodstock. Naquele ano o baterista participou da gravação de um álbum conceitual chamado "Music from the Free Creek", estrelado por uma série de artistas renomados, entre os quais Keith Emerson. Existem boatos que Mitch havia sido convidado a tocar no ELP. Ele ainda esteve envolvido na gravação de "Fiends and Angels" de Martha Velez, juntamente com Brian Auger, Jack Bruce, Jim Capaldi, Eric Clapton, Paul Kossoff, Christine McVie, Stan Webb e Chris Wood. Dizem que este disco é muito bom, mas eu nunca ouvi.

Agora, o que pouca gente sabe, é que no início de 1970 Mitchell fez parte de uma super banda integrada por Jack Bruce, Larry Coryell e Mike Mandell. O grupo se chamava Jack Bruce & Friends, mas lamentavelmente não possui nenhum registro oficial, existem apenas alguns bootlegs. Ao final de abril, ele se juntou novamente com Jimi Hendrix e Billy Cox para uma série de apresentações da turnê Cry of Love nos Estados Unidos e na Europa. O fim da turnê culminou com a apresentação no Fehmarn Love & Peace Festival da Alemanha, em 6 de setembro. Mitch comentou o desejo de Hendrix em continuar a trabalhar com ele e um outro baixista, não Cox, provavelmente Jack Casady ou Jack Bruce e possivelmente mais alguém como os Brecker Brothers nos metais e músicos da Motown, mas o guitarrista morreu dias depois e nada disso aconteceu.

No ano seguinte, Mitchell trabalhou ao lado do engenheiro de som Eddie Kramer, para finalizar a produção de algumas gravações incompletas de Hendrix que resultaram em lançamentos póstumos como The Cry of Love (1971) e Rainbow Bridge (1971). Em 18 de setembro, no primeiro aniversário da morte de Jimi, o baterista se apresentou com Larry Coryell e Jack Bruce no Nice Festival, na França e existe até uma gravação dessa apresentação feita por uma rádio local. Em 72, ele voltou a se aventurar em uma banda e ao lado da guitarrista April Lawton e Mike Pinera (que depois iria para Iron Butterfly) formou o Ramatam. O primeiro disco homônimo foi produzido por Tom Dowd, que já tinha trabalhado com Eric Clapton e os Allman Brothers. O som da banda era bem original agregando diferentes estilos como R&B, hard rock, soul e psicodelia. Eles abriram alguns shows para o Emerson Lake & Palmer e Humble Pie, e a beleza de April Lawton arrancava suspiros e diversos elogios dos críticos e das revistas especializadas. No entanto, o grupo não obteve êxito comercial e Mitch pulou fora no ano seguinte, não participando da gravação do segundo álbum. Esta foi a última fez que o baterista participou realmente de uma banda fazendo shows, turnês e gravações, depois disso ele ainda trabalhou com muita gente boa, porém nada muito extenso. Participou de apresentações com Terry Reid, Jack Bruce, e até Jeff Beck (substituindo Cozy Powell, quando este ficou doente). A lenda também reza que ele chegou a ser cogitado como baterista do Wings em 1974, mas foi preterido em favor de Geoff Britton (mas que vacilo Sir McCartney!).

De lá para cá, pouca coisa aconteceu em termos musicais na carreira de Mitchell, ele ficou nessa de apresentações esporádicas aqui e ali, volta e meia gravava alguma coisa com alguém, na maioria dos casos com pessoas e bandas não muito conhecidas como Dave Morrison, Hinkley’s Heroes, Roger Chapman, Greg Parker, Junior Brown e Bruce Cameron. Por um bom tempo ele resistiu à idéia de fazer tributos a Hendrix tocando suas obras. “Nunca seguirei adiante com algum projeto de tributo a Jimi, porque as pessoas interpretam as músicas de modos diferentes”. Dizia. Mas acabou fazendo algumas apresentações nos anos 90 com Randy Hansen, um famoso cover de Hendrix, e mais tarde participou de um projeto chamado Gipsy Sun Experience, junto com Billy Cox. Em seus últimos dias, ele esteve numa turnê de quatro semanas chamada Experience Hendrix Tour 2008, que cruzou os EUA de costa a costa em tributo ao gênio da guitarra. Os espetáculos sempre contavam com algum convidado especial, entre os quais: Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, Cesar Rosas, David Hidalgo, Brad Whitford, Hubert Sumlin, Chris Layton, Eric Gales e Mato Nanji. Cinco dias após o encerramento da turnê Mitchell foi encontrado morto, aproximadamente às 3 horas da manhã de 12 de novembro num quarto do Benson Hotel, na cidade de Portland. Segundo o relatório médico divulgado pelo Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office, ele morreu de causas naturais (?!) durante o sono. No mesmo dia o corpo foi enviado para Inglaterra a fim de ser sepultado em sua terra natal. Lá se foi o último integrante vivo da lendária Jimi Hendrix Experience. Descanse em paz amigo!
Fontes: Whiplash, Wikepedia, All Music Guide, MitchMitchell.de

O problema deste post é: que disco mostrar? Porque de Mitch Mitchell mesmo, existe pouca coisa, eu adoraria poder disponibilizar aqui o Sweet Things de Georgie Fame, que foi o primeiro trabalho de gravação de um LP no qual Mitch teve participação integral, quando ele ainda assinava John Mitchell. Principalmente porque o tal Fame fazia um sonzinho bem bacana. Outra grande pedida seria o Fiends and Angels de Martha Velez, mas infelizmente não tenho nenhum desses dois discos, então optei por uma coleção de singles do Hendrix e o manjado Ramatam, pelo forte envolvimento dele nesses discos.

MITCH MITCHELL

John "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 1947 – 12 November 2008) was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Before the Experience, Mitchell gained experience touring and as a session musician and had starred in a children's television program when he was a teenager. Pre-Experience bands included Johnny Harris and the Shades, The Pretty Things, The Riot Squad and Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. He had also worked in Jim Marshall's (creator of the Marshall amplifier) music shop in London.

Mitchell was praised for his work with The Jimi Hendrix Experience on songs such as "Manic Depression", "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)", "Fire" and "Third Stone from the Sun". Mitchell came from a jazz background and like many of his drummer contemporaries was strongly influenced by the work of Elvin Jones, Max Roach, and Joe Morello. Mitchell played in Hendrix's Experience trio from October 1966 to mid-1969, his Woodstock band in August 1969, and also with the later incarnation of the "Jimi Hendrix Experience" in 1970 with Billy Cox on bass, known as the "Cry of Love" band. Jimi Hendrix would often record tracks in the studio with only Mitchell[citation needed] and in concert the two fed off of each other to exciting effect. Mitchell played in the band The Dirty Mac assembled for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in 1968. Other members included John Lennon as vocalist and rhythm guitarist "Winston Leg-Thigh"; Eric Clapton as guitarist, and Keith Richards as bassist. The group recorded a cover of "Yer Blues" as well as a jam called "Whole Lotta Yoko". Another noteworthy musical collaboration in the late sixties was with the Jack Bruce and Friends band featuring Mitchell along with ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce, keyboardist Mike Mandel and Jazz-Fusion guitar legend and future The Eleventh House frontman Larry Coryell.

After Hendrix's death, Mitchell (along with engineer Eddie Kramer) finished production work on multiple incomplete Hendrix recordings, resulting in posthumous releases such as "The Cry of Love" and "Rainbow Bridge". In 1972, he teamed up with guitarists April Lawton and Mike Pinera (who would later go on to join Iron Butterfly) to form the quite innovative act Ramatam. They recorded one album and were Emerson, Lake & Palmer's opening act at a number of concerts. Interestingly, Mitchell had been offered the drum spot in ELP during 1970, but turned it down in favour of playing with Hendrix. Ramatam never achieved commercial success and Mitchell left the act before their second LP release. Mitchell also peformed in some concerts with Terry Reid, Jack Bruce, and Jeff Beck (substituting for drummer Cozy Powell, then sick). According to Eddie Kramer's book Hendrix: Setting the Record Straight, Michael Jeffery, Hendrix's manager, an innovator in getting Hendrix promoted and established, relegated both Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding to the status of mere paid employees without an ownership share in future revenues. This limited their earnings to a very low rate and led to Mitchell and Redding being largely excluded from sharing in future revenues generated from their work with The Jimi Hendrix Experience. This arrangement pressured Mitchell in the mid-1970s to sell a prized Hendrix guitar. In addition, he sold his small legal claim to future Hendrix record sales for a sum reported to be in the range of $200,000. In 1974, he auditioned for Paul McCartney's band Wings, but was turned down in favour of drummer Geoff Britton. For the rest of the '70s through to the '90s, Mitchell continued to perform and occasionally record although essentially doing so under the radar of most of his previous fans. He kept reasonably busy doing occasional session work (such as Junior Brown's "Long Walk Back" album) as well as participating in various Hendrix-related recordings, videos, and interviews. In 1999, Mitchell appeared on the late Bruce Cameron's album, "Midnight Daydream" that included other Hendrix alumni Billy Cox and Buddy Miles along with Jack Bruce, with whom Mitchell had worked after Hendrix's death. Mitchell, seemingly in an attempt to satisfy the most enthusiastic fans of his drum work with Hendrix, even played a series of live shows with the Hendrix emulator Randy Hansen. Most recently, he was part of the Gypsy Sun Experience, along with former Hendrix bassist Billy Cox and guitarist Gary Serkin. He entered semi-retirement living in Europe.

His last days were spent celebrating the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix on the 2008 Experience Hendrix Tour. For nearly 4 weeks the tour travelled coast to coast in an 18-city tour in the US finishing in Portland. In addition to Mitchell the tour featured Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, Cesar Rosas, David Hidalgo, Aerosmith's Brad Whitford, Hubert Sumlin, Chris Layton as well as Eric Gales and Mato Nanji. Five days after the tour ended Mitchell was found dead at appoximately 3 AM 12 November in his room at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland. Following medical tests, it was revealed by the Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office that Michell had died, in his sleep, of natural causes. He was the last surviving member of the original Jimi Hendrix Experience. Mitchell was to leave Portland on Wednesday, November 12th, and return to his home in England. The Mitch Mitchell Trust has been established to manage the MMT Drug Rehabilitation Through Music programme based in Bettws, Newport in Wales.
From: Wikepedia.

Jimi Hendrix - The Singles Collection [2003]

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Ramatam - Ramatam [1972]

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Hiromi on Piano Jazz 2008 Re-Post

Hiromi Uehara & Marian McPartland

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Billy Cobham & George Duke Re-post

Live at the Hofstra Playhouse 1976

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JOHN McLAUGHLIN

Depois de Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin foi o meu maior ídolo na guitarra durante a adolescência. Hoje, já não tenho mais “um” grande ídolo, mas vários. Não foi amor à primeira orelhada, a coisa aconteceu gradativamente e na medida em que fui tomando conhecimento do seu trabalho. O primeiro disco que eu ouvi se chamava Extrapolation (1969), foi também o primeiro álbum solo da sua carreira. Achei um trabalho interessante, mas na época eu deveria ter uns 14 anos (isso foi lá em 1975) e a minha mente estava muito mais voltada para o rock, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, Humble Pie e coisas assim, portanto, não me cativou muito. Um ano depois eu comecei a estudar música e assim a minha percepção se abriu para outros estilos musicais, principalmente para o jazz. McLaughlin voltou a chamar atenção ao participar de uma gravação de Miles Davis, o famoso Bitches Brew (1970), um disco revolucionário, muito falado e coisa e tal, mas que até hoje eu ainda acho meio esquisitão. Então, Miles lançou o álbum A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1970), com algumas passagens bem roqueiras e mister McLaughlin simplesmente detonando na guitarra. Nossa! Pensei. Esse cara é realmente bom. O guitarrista levou o meu respeito, mas ainda não tinha me ganhado totalmente, até que, por volta de 1977, eu conheci a Mahavishnu Orchestra, a primeira audição foi de Birds of Fire (1972) e logo depois The Inner Mounting Flame (1971), Visions of the Emerald Beyond (1974) e o ao vivo Between Nothingness & Eternity (1973), mais ou menos nessa ordem. Caraca! O que era aquilo!? Nunca tinha ouvido ou imaginado nada parecido! Velocidade, técnica, espiritualismo, melodias incríveis e uma fantástica fusão de jazz e rock, tudo tocado de forma magistral por John McLaughlin e cia. A partir dali não teve jeito, passei a idolatrá-lo e ouvir tudo que eu pudesse. Até mesmo os primeiros discos como Extrapolation, My Goal's Beyond (1970) e o Devotion (1970) ganharam novas audições e acabaram se tornando alguns dos meus discos favoritos. Ao longo dos anos, McLaughlin continuou me surpreendendo por diversas vezes com trabalhos incríveis como Love Devotion Surrender (1973), gravado em parceria com Carlos Santana; com o grupo Shakti (1975-77), uma incursão pela música hindu; as apresentações em trio de guitarra (na virada dos anos 70 e 80), com Paco de Lucía e Larry Coryell que depois foi substituído por Al DiMeola; a volta da Mahavishnu (totalmente diferente em meados dos 80); o incrível Time Remembered: John McLaughlin Plays Bill Evans (1993); e muitos outros trabalhos.





John McLaughlin por: V.A. Bezerra
O guitarrista britânico John McLaughlin, originário de Yorkshire, já era um músico com excelente preparo no blues, no rock, no jazz e no rythm & blues em 1969, quando iniciou-se uma fase meteórica em sua carreira. Naquele ano foi recrutado pelo baterista Tony Williams para o grupo Lifetime e por Miles Davis para o grupo que gravaria os clássicos álbuns In a Silent Way e Bitches Brew. McLaughlin emergiu desses experimentos como guitarrista número um do jazz-rock, considerado por muitos como um digno sucessor de Jimi Hendrix. Em 1971 John formou a Mahavishnu Orchestra, juntamente com Jerry Goodman (violino), Jan Hammer (teclados), Billy Cobham (bateria) e Rick Laird (contrabaixo). O grupo duraria até 1975, já então com outra formação. Nesse ano, McLaughlin formou com músicos de origem indiana o Shakti, um grupo acústico que contrastava com os megawatts antes despendidos pela Mahavishnu.

Alguns anos mais tarde, John formaria um novo grupo elétrico, a One Truth Band, com David Sanborn (sax), Stu Goldberg (teclados), L. Shankar (violino), Fernando Saunders (contrabaixo), Tony Smith (bateria) e Alyrio Lima (percussão). Em 1980, com Friday Night in San Francisco, disco que se tornaria cult entre os violonistas e os apreciadores do flamenco, iniciou uma colaboração intermitente com os violonistas Al Di Meola e Paco de Lucia, que originaria outros discos em 1982 e 1996. Em 1986 reativou a “marca” Mahavishnu com um grupo que teve curta existência. Nos anos 90, mais jazzístico, formou o grupo de denominou Free Spirits.

McLaughlin é um virtuose indiscutível do violão e da guitarra. Além disso, é um grande músico (uma coisa nem sempre implica a outra), no sentido de que tem uma inesgotável vontade de criar novas estruturas e explorar novas sonoridades. Apesar de alguns exageros fusion, de um certa overdose de misticismo oriental e de algumas tentativas equivocadas de reviver fases anteriores de sua própria carreira, John é um músico de grande integridade artística. Seus acertos e erros são sempre derivados de suas próprias convicções.
Fonte: EJazz

JOHN McLAUGHLIN

John McLaughlin (born January 4, 1942), also Mahavishnu John McLaughlin is a jazz fusion guitarist and composer from Doncaster, Yorkshire in England. He played with Tony Williams's group Lifetime and then played with Miles Davis on his landmark electric jazz-fusion albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. His 1970s electric band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused eclectic jazz and rock with eastern and Indian influences. His guitar playing includes a range of styles and genres, including jazz, Indian classical music, fusion and Western Classical music, and has influenced many other guitarists. He has also incorporated Flamenco music in some of his acoustic recordings. The Indian Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain often refers to John McLaughlin as being "one of the greatest and most important musicians of our times".

Before moving to the U.S., McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969, in which McLaughlin showed technical virtuosity, inventiveness, and the ability to play in odd meters. He moved to the U.S. in 1969 to join Tony Williams's group Lifetime. He subsequently played with Miles Davis on his landmark albums In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew (which has a track named after him), On The Corner, Big Fun (where he is featured soloist on Go Ahead John) and A Tribute to Jack Johnson — Davis paid tribute to him in the liner notes to Jack Johnson, calling McLaughlin's playing "far in". McLaughlin returned to the Davis band for one recorded night of a week-long club date, which was released as part of the album Live-Evil and as part of the Cellar Door boxed set. His reputation as a "first-call" session player grew, resulting in recordings as a sideman with Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Joe Farrell, Wayne Shorter, Carla Bley, The Rolling Stones and others. He recorded Devotion in early 1970 on Douglas Records (run by Alan Douglas), a high-energy, psychedelic, fusion album that featured Larry Young on organ (who had been part of Lifetime), Billy Rich on bass and the R&B drummer Buddy Miles (who had played with Jimi Hendrix). Devotion was the first of two albums he released on Douglas. On the second Douglas album, however, McLaughlin went in a different direction in 1971 when he released My Goal's Beyond in the U.S., an amazing collection of unamplified acoustic works, including extended performances on side A of "Peace One" and "Peace Two", offering a fusion blend of jazz and Indian classical forms. Side B features some of the most melodic acoustic playing McLaughlin ever recorded, including such standards as "Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat", by Charles Mingus whom McLaughlin considered an important influence on his own development. Other tracks that expressed some of McLaughlin's other influences include "Something Spiritual" (Dave Herman), "Hearts and Flowers" (P.D. Bob Cornford), "Phillip Lane", "Waltz for Bill Evans" (Chick Corea), "Follow Your Heart", "Song for My Mother" and "Blue in Green" (Miles Davis). "Follow Your Heart" had been released earlier on Extrapolation under the title "Arjen's Bag". My Goal's Beyond was inspired by McLaughlin's decision to follow the Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, to whom he had been introduced in 1970 by Larry Coryell's manager. The album was dedicated to Chinmoy, with one of the guru's poems printed on the liner notes. It was on this album that McLaughlin took the name "Mahavishnu." Around this time, McLaughlin began a rigorous schedule of woodshedding, resulting in a transformation in his playing from his usual odd-timed, angular guitar lines to a more powerful, aggressive and fast style of playing, which would be put on display to great effect in his next project, the Mahavishnu Orchestra.




McLaughlin's 1970s electric band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra included violinist Jerry Goodman (later Jean-Luc Ponty), keyboardist Jan Hammer (later Gayle Moran and Stu Goldberg), bassist Rick Laird (later Ralphe Armstrong), and drummer Billy Cobham (later Narada Michael Walden). The band performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused eclectic jazz and rock with eastern and Indian influences. This band established fusion as a new and growing style within the jazz and rock worlds. McLaughlin's playing at this time was distinguished by fast solos and exotic musical scales. In 1973, McLaughlin collaborated with Carlos Santana, also a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, on an album of devotional songs, Love Devotion Surrender, which included recordings of Coltrane compositions including a movement of A Love Supreme. He has also worked with the jazz composers Carla Bley and Gil Evans. The Mahavishnu Orchestra's personality clashes were as explosive as their performances and consequently the first incarnation of the group split in late 1973 after just two years and three albums, one of which was a live recording "Between Nothingness and Eternity". In 2001 the "Lost Trident Sessions" album was released, recorded in 1973 but shelved when the group disbanded. Mclaughlin then reformed the group with Narada Michael Walden (drums), Jean Luc Ponty (violin), Ralphe Armstrong (bass) and Gayle Moran (keys and vocals). The incarnation of the group recorded a further two albums, after which time Mclaughlin was almost completely absorbed in his acoustic playing with his Indian classical music based group Shakti (see below). A third album was recorded in 1976 largely due to contractual obligations. Around this time, McLaughlin also appeared on Stanley Clarke's School Days album, among a host of other musicians.

After the first reincarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra split, McLaughlin worked with the far more low-key, acoustic group Shakti. This group combined Indian music with elements of jazz and thus may be regarded as a pioneer of world music. Mclaughlin had already been studying Indian classical music and playing the veena for several years. The group featured Lakshmirnaraya L. Shankar (violin), Zakir Hussain (tabla), Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram (ghatam) and earlier Ramnad Raghavan (mridangam). John was the first westerner to attain any acclaim performing Indian music for Indian audiences. In this group, Mclaughlin played a custom made steel string acoustic guitar made by luthier Abe Wechter and the Gibson guitar company, which featured two tiers of strings over the soundhole: a conventional six string configuration with an additional seven strings strung underneath on a forty-five degree angle - these were independently tunable and were played as "sympathetic strings" much like a sitar or veena. The instrument also featured a scalloped fretboard along the full length of the neck which enabled Mclaughlin to play bends far beyond the reach of a conventional fretboard. In 1979, he teamed up with flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía and jazz guitarist Larry Coryell (replaced by Al Di Meola in the early 1980s) as the Guitar Trio. For the fall tour of 1983, they were joined by Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, who opened the show as a soloist and participated with The Trio in the closing numbers. The Trio, again featuring McLaughlin along with de Lucía and Di Meola, reunited in 1996 for a second recording session and a world tour. In 1979, Mclaughlin recorded the album "Johnny Mclaughlin: Electric Guitarist". This was the title on Mclaughlin's first business cards as a teenager in Yorkshire. This recording was a return to more mainstream Jazz/Rock fusion and to the electric instrument after three years of playing acoustic guitars, particularly his Gibson 2-tier custom-made steel string with the Shakti group. Mclaughlin was so used to the scalloped fretboard from his Shakti days and so accustomed to the freedom it provided him that he had the fretboard scalloped on his Gibson Byrdland Electric hollowbody. He also formed the short-lived One Truth Band who recorded one studio album: "Electric Dreams". The group had L. Shankar on violins, Stu Goldberg on keyboards, Fernando Saunders on electric bass and Tony Smith on drums. 1979 also saw the formation of the very short-lived Trio of Doom. Here McLaughlin teamed up with Jaco Pastorius (bass) and Tony Williams (drums). They only played one concert, at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, Cuba on March 3, 1979, this concert was part of a US State Department cultural exchange program known by some musicians as the 'The Bay of Gigs'. They went on to record three of the tracks at CBS Studios in New York City, United States on March 8, 1979.

In the late '80s and early '90s Mclaughlin recorded and performed live with a trio including bassist Kai Eckhardt and percussionist Trilok Gurtu. The group recorded two albums: "Live at The Royal Festival Hall" and "Que Alegria", with latter featuring Dominique DiPiazza on bass for all but two tracks. These recordings saw a return to acoustic instruments for McLaughlin, performing on nylon-string guitar. On "Live at the Royal Festival Hall" McLaughlin utilised a unique guitar synth which enabled him to effectively "loop" guitar parts and play over them live. The synth also featured a pedal which provided sustain when pressed. McLaughlin played parts which sound overdubbed and creating lush soundscapes, aided by Gurtu's unique percussive sounds. This approach is used to great effect in the track "Florianapolis", amongst others. In 1986 he appeared with Dexter Gordon in Bertrand Tavernier's film "Round Midnight." He also composed The Mediterranean Concerto, orchestrated by Michael Gibbs. The world premier featured McLaughlin and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was recorded in 1988 with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. McLaughlin does improvise in certain sections.

In the early 1990s he toured with his Quartet on the Que Alegria album. The quartet comprised John McLaughlin, Trilok Gurtu, Kai Eckhardt and Dominique DiPiazza. Following this period he recorded and toured with The Heart of Things featuring Gary Thomas, Dennis Chambers, Matthew Garrison, Jim Beard and Otmaro Ruiz. In recent times he has toured with Remember Shakti. In addition to original Shakti member Zakir Hussain, this group has also featured eminent Indian musicians U. Srinivas, V. Selvaganesh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivkumar Sharma, and Hariprasad Chaurasia. In 2003, he recorded a ballet score, Thieves and Poets, along with arrangements for classical guitar ensemble of favorite jazz standards, and a three-DVD instructional video on improvisation entitled "This is the Way I Do It" (which contributed to the development of video lessons) In June 2006, he released a hard bop/jazz fusion album entitled Industrial Zen, on which McLaughlin experiments with the Godin Glissentar as well as continuing to expand his guitar-synth repertoire.

2007, he left Universal Records and joined the small Internet-based Abstract Logix label that works closely with independent jazz, progressive rock, and world music bands. Recording sessions for his first album on the label took place in April. That summer, he began touring with a new jazz fusion quartet, the 4th Dimension, consisting of keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband, bassist Hadrian Feraud, and drummer Mark Mondesir. During the 4th Dimension's tour, an "instant CD" entitled "Live USA 2007: Official Bootleg" was made available comprising soundboard recordings of 6 pieces from the group's first performance. The album was available after that and all subsequent performances and a limited number were made available through Abstract Logix. Following completion of the tour, McLaughlin personally sorted through recordings from each night to release a second MP3 download-only collection entitled "Official Pirate: Best of the American Tour 2007". During this time, McLaughlin also released another instructional DVD entitled "The Gateway to Rhythm", featuring Indian percussionist and Remember Shakti bandmate Selva Ganesh Vinayakram (or V. Selvaganesh), focusing on the Indian rhythmic system of konnakol. John also remastered and released a shelved project dating back to 1980 called "The Trio of Doom" featuring jazz/fusion luminaries Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams. The project had been aborted due to conflicts between Williams and Pastorius as well as what was at the time a mutual dissatisfaction with the results of their performance. On April 28, 2008 the recording sessions from the previous year surfaced on the album "Floating Point", featuring the rhythm section of keyboardist Louiz Banks, bassist Hadrien Feraud, percussionist Sivamani and drummer Ranjit Barot bolstered on each track by a different Indian musician. Coinciding with the release of the album was another DVD, "Meeting of the Minds", which offered behind the scenes studio footage of the "Floating Point" sessions as well as interviews with all of the musicians. McLaughlin is set to begin a late summer/fall tour with Chick Corea, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenny Garrett and Christian McBride under the name "5 Peace Band".
From Wikipedia

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Live at Wichita KS 1974

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Mahavishnu Orchestra - Spirits of Bird [1972]

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Santana & Mahavishnu - At Saratoga Performing Arts Center [1973]

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John McLaughlin - Live at Antibes Jazz Festival [1996]

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Shakti - A Handful of Beauty [1976]

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Corea, McLaughlin, Holland & DeJohnette - Live in New York [1968]

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John McLaughlin - Extrapolation [1969]

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John McLaughlin & Mahavishnu - Live at Estival Jazz [1986]

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John McLaughlin - Time Remembered [1993]

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The Heart Of Things - Live In Paris [2000]

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Fusion for Miles - V.A. [2005]

Este disco eu ia postar na balada do Jimmy Herring, mas não o fiz porque, no final das contas, ele toca só numa faixa e tem muita gente boa junto nisso para ficar só nele. Além do mais, é um disco em homenagem a Miles Davis, um cara que para mim é o maior entre os melhores. Então eu poderia também colocá-lo em um post do Miles que estou preparando, mas cheguei à conclusão que este álbum tem mesmo é que ficar num post exclusivo. Fusion for Miles como o nome deixa bem explícito é um tributo a Miles Davis tendo como banda de apoio Alphonso Johnson no baixo, Vinnie Colaiuta na bateria, Deve Liebman no sax e Larry Goldings nos teclados. Mas não é só isso! Para cada faixa específica o grupo é completado por um renomado guitarrista, na verdade trata-se de um tributo de guitarristas à música de Miles Davis. Assim sendo, numa banda desse calibre não poderíamos ter ninguém menos que feras como: Mike Stern (que fez parte do grupo do mestre), Warren Haynes, Bill Frisell, Bireli Lagrene, Pat Martino, Jeff Richman, Steve Kimmock, Eric Johnson, Bill Connors e o já citado Jimmy Herring. Cada um deles fazendo a sua interpretação de clássicos deste que foi o maior jazzista do seu tempo, um homem que revolucionou a música mais de uma vez, e que é considerado o pai do fusion. O resultado? Eu achei simplesmente... Não! Não vou dizer nada. Tirem suas próprias conclusões.

Fusion for Miles - V.A.

Fusion for Miles features some of the greatest names in progressive jazz/ fusion guitar, each paying tribute to master musician and jazz legend Miles Davis, a pioneer of modern jazz and fusion. A gifted composer and powerful band leader, Miles left this world with a legacy of phenomenal compositions, a universal reputation for introducing the world to many important jazz artists who first apprenticed under him, and a vast number of people who were touched by and learned from his stylized harmonic genius. Those musicians, whose music he influenced, were not just trumpet players but nearly all students of jazz and among them are the incredible guitarists who have come together to lift up their guitars as their voices in this unique tribute. FEATURING GUEST GUITARISTS: Eric Johnson, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Warren Haynes, Jimmy Herring, Mike Stern, Bill Connors, Steve Kimmock, Bireli Lagrene and Jeff Richman.
Editorial Review from Amazon.com

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