John McLaughlin Looks Back on Jazz-Rock Purity and Playing Ronnie Scott’s
Guitar legend John McLaughlin has spent decades pushing the boundaries of improvised music, moving fluidly from the birth of jazz-rock fusion with Miles Davis and Tony Williams to the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. Looking back at his trailblazing career, the guitarist remains as focused on the visceral, intimate connection of live performance as ever.
Breaking the Jazz Rule Book
Arriving in New York from the UK in the late 1960s at the invitation of drummer Tony Williams, McLaughlin joined the genre-defying band Lifetime for their landmark album Emergency!. That explosive work quickly caught the attention of Miles Davis, who recruited McLaughlin for the revolutionary sessions that yielded In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew.
“It was a great period, the end of the 60s going into the 70s,” McLaughlin reflected. “I just happened to be in the middle of it all. It was just luck really.”
Returning to Ronnie Scott’s
Having recently performed a two-night stand at London’s historic Ronnie Scott’s, McLaughlin explained that the choice of venue was deeply personal. Back in 1966 and 1967, he played as part of the club’s house band, the Mike Carr Trio, alongside a formative community of young musicians nurtured by Ronnie Scott himself.
“Maybe it’s age and nostalgia, but I thought how wonderful it would be to be back in Ronnie’s after how many years,” he said. Praising the intimate atmosphere unique to clubs compared to massive concert halls, McLaughlin added: “There’s an intimate atmosphere in clubs that’s really hard to reproduce in a concert hall… They can see the dirt under your fingernails.”
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