John McLaughlin - Meeting Of The Minds The Making Of Floating Point

British guitarist, songwriter, and artist (not to be confused with the British pop songwriter ). Born: 4 January 1942 in Kirk Sandall in Yorkshire, England, UK. A household name since the early 1970s, John McLaughlin was a fusion guitarist when he led the . He started on guitar when he was 11 and was initially inspired by blues and swing players. He worked with , , , , and many others in the 1960s, and played free jazz with for six months. His first album was a classic, "" (1969), and was followed by an obscurity for the Dawn label with , a quintet set with on album "" (1970), and half acoustic solos and half jams involving Indian musicians on "" (1971). In 1969, McLaughlin moved to New York to play with ' and he appeared on two classic records: "" (1969) and "" (1970). In 1971 McLaughlin formed the , a very powerful group often thought of as rock but having the sophisticated improvisations of jazz. After three influential albums  "" (1971), "" (1973), and "" (1973)  the group disbanded in late 1973. McLaughlin, who recorded a powerful spiritual album with that was influenced by , put together a new Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1974 that, despite the inclusion of , failed to catch on and broke up by 1975. McLaughlin then surprised the music world by radically shifting directions, switching to acoustic guitar and playing Indian music with his group Shakti. They made a strong impact on the nascent world music scene during their three years. McLaughlin then went back and forth between electric and acoustic guitars; leading ; playing in trios with and ; popping up on some mid-1980s records; forming a short-lived third version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra with saxophonist Bill Evans; recording an introspective tribute to pianist ; and in 1993, touring with a rollicking jazz trio featuring and drummer . Throughout his productive career McLaughlin has recorded as a leader across labels, including , Dawn, , , , and .

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