John McLaughlin was born on January 4, 1942 in Yorkshire (Great Britain). Although his mother was a violinist, he starts learning piano at the age of 9. Two years later, he changes his mind for guitar that he learns autodidactly.

By the end of the 50's, he performs a while with banjoist, Pete Deuchar and his Professors of Ragtime, then he decides to leave for London where he makes his first professional steps in rock and blues groups.

In the beginning of the 60's, he crosses his path with Georgie Fame and Blue Flames, performs with Alexis Korner, the Graham Band Organization and Trinity, the group of organ player Brian Auger. Then he spends six months in Germany amid the Gunter Hampel band.

In 1968, at the age of 26 he initiates his first personal projects and forms his own group with John Surman, Tony Okley and bassist Brian Odges. The same year stands for the kick-off of his discographical career as a leader with the recording of his first album:"Extrapolation" (1969).

Now on, events are going faster; on Dave Holland's advice, Tony Williams who has just left Miles Davis, appeals to John McLaughlin. With organ player Larry Young, they record "Emergency" (1969). Then will come "Turn it over" (1970). McLaughlin so much enjoyed that group, that he declined to leave it to join Miles Davis; he is besides committed to many ambitions projects, including records and performances. Later on, when Lifetime breaks up, John McLaughlin contributes to many Davis master pieces including especially several album of reference by the end of the 60's and the beginning of the 70's: "In A Silent Way", "Bitches Brew", "Big Fun" in 1969, then "A tribute to Jack Johnson", "Live Evil" in 1970, and "On The Corner" in 1972.

Meanwhile, John McLaughlin has been recording with Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles and Dave Holland: the tapes of this session remain unreleased.

New times are coming, electric fusion attracts musicians coming out from different horizons. After becoming a disciple of guru Shri Chinmoy Ghose, the guitarist takes the name of Mahavishnu. After a new solo album "My Goals Beyond" (1970), he sets up one of the outstanding groups of these jazz rock years: The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Billy Cobham, Jam Hammer, Jerry Goodman, and bassist Rick Laird feature in the original line up. "The Inner Mounting Flame" (1971) is the beginning of a series of recordings that meet the enthusiasm of an audience delighted by the innovating accents of this music that fits the technological evolutions of the time. The band gives sold out performances for huge crowds.

In spite of the success of the following records, especially "Birds Of Fire" (1972) and"Mahavishnu Orchestra" (1973) (albums which sold by thousands), the adventure of the band comes to an end, but will start episodically again with new musicians: Jean-Luc Ponty et Gayle Moran ("Visions of the Emerald Beyond" in 1974), Bill Evans, Jonas Hellborg, Mitchell Forman, Billy Cobham, Danny Gotlieb, Katia Labeque, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Hussain ("Mahavishnu" 1984, then "Adventure in Radioland" 1986).

After a brief guitarist summit encounter "Love Devotion Surrender" (1972) with Carlos Santana, another disciple of Shri Chinmoy Ghose), John McLaughlin decides to play with Indian musicians: violinist L. Shankar, percussionist Zakir Hussain and Raghavan. Shakti was born in1975, and until 1977, the band is touring the world. This formation celebrates long before the "world music" mode, the properties of a real thorough confrontation such as on "Shakti" (1975), "A Handful of Beauty" (1976), and "Natural Elements" (1976). Shakti disbanded in 1978, L. Shankar follows John McLaughlin amidst the One truth Band, an electric formation that will live shortly.

The guitarist then asserts his rights: he composes first of all "Electric Guitarist" (1978) which title is explicit. Then after a French period with especially pianist katia Labeque,"Music Spoken Here" in 1980, he has been committed himself to exploding acoustic performances with Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia. A whole generation of guitarist is conquered the summits of virtuosity reached out by the three musicians, and recorded on the unforgettable "Friday night in San Francisco" (1980) and "Passion Grace and Fire" (1983).

In1985, John McLaughlin joins Miles Davis again in studio to record "You're Under Arrest". Then he takes part to Bertrand Tavernier's "Round Midnight", before forming in 1988 a guitar-bass-percussion trio based on his complicity with the genius Trilok Gurtu. Throughout four years, the group, in which Jonas Hellborg, Jeff Berlin, Kai Eckhardt and Dominique Di Piazza feature successively on bass, is on tour, records "Live At The Royal Festival Hall" (1990) and "Que Alegria" (1992), and pushes always further the limits of its free figures. "The Mediterranean" concerto for guitar and orchestra is released too in 1990.

In 1993, John McLaughlin turns a new page, and decides to come back to his former passion for trio with an Hammond organ. He appeals to es-funk drummer Dennis Chambers, and a fresh new young talent discovered by Miles Davis, named Joey De Francesco. With concerts all around the world and such an eminent spectaculary formula, The Free Spirits trio is triumphant: Tokyo Live (1994). In the meanwhile, John McLaughlin gives concrete form to a long term and exacting task: a re-writing for guitars of Bill Evans'music amidst the classical quartet Aighetta. "Time Remembered" (1993) pays tribute to the refinement of the composer, and the romanticism of the pianist. In the course, in 1994, the guitarist revisits John Coltrane 's music with Joey De Francesco on the Hammond organ and, that time, Elvin John on drums: "After The Rain" is a dense and intense album; the fierce drumming of the legendary drummer pushes his partners to inspired chorus blown by the spirit of the great saxophonist.

1996 opens for John McLaughlin on a recapitulative album "The Promise", with a prestigious casting among which Jeff Beck, Michael Brecker, David Sanborn, Sting. That album was recorded as a retrospective look over the guitarist's journey across different times, different encounters: Miles Davis, the organ trio, Indian rhythms, fusion, his fellow partners Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia. "The promise" showed that he was open to all possibilities, never superficial, summing up the history of a musician out of reach always looking for news paths to be discovered. That very year, he forms again the same guitar trio as 15 years ago with Paco De Lucia and Al Di Meola: the magic is still there.

In 1997 amidst a new group bearing the name of the Heart of Thing, John McLaughlin continues to pursue his quest for excellence. He has been committed to reshaping the musical language into a personal powerful expression of his inner voice.

Among the numerous artists featuring on the album "the Promise", drummer Dennis Chambers and Jim Beard, the wizard of keyboards, have met again within an electric jazz group. They have created together the subtle and dynamic New York fusion style as can be heard on "The Heart Of Thing". On this album Beard and Chambers return to the fray along with percussionist Victor Williams, saxophonist Gary Thomas, and the young Matthew Garrison on electric bass.

On the occasion of their performance at "La Cigale" in november 1998, with Otmaro Ruiz on keyboards, the concert will be recorded live for the second album "The Heart Of Things Live in Paris". John remains the "Young tiger" of modern guitar, keeping sharpening his claws with young musicians, drawing from them the indispensable energy and inspiration to his musical development, trusting them totally in return."(…) I welcome a new keyboard player in the group, Otmaro Ruiz. He comes from Venezuela. He is 23 years old and I am 56. So what? Ok I have got much more experience than him, and I am the leader, but on the first minute of music, he will understand that he is among us because I admire him (…)"

In the autumn 1997 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of India's independence, Shakti joins together again, twenty years later under the name of Remember Shakti. John McLaughlin records a new live album, "Remember Shakti" with Zakir Hussain, T.H. Vikku Vinayakram and Hariprasad Chaurasia, fruit of several recitals given in Great-Britain. To many, Shakti remains the golden age of John McLaughlin a founding myth for close encounters of the third kind. In regaining consciousness after a quarter of a century, reopening the great book of emotion and putting ink to new good sheets of blank paper.

Of the former Shakti only remains Zakir Hussain on tablas. The violon of L. Shankar has been replaced by the mandolin of U. Shrinivas -the man who has imposed mandolin in the karnataka music of South India-. The percussion player has changed too: V. Selvaganesh is no other than T.H. Vinayakram's son. He plays all sorts of percussion, among which ghatam and kanjira, and perpetuates with virtuosity the family tradition. This group, which album "The Believer" (2000) was recorded during the European tour in 1999, is a skilful alchemy mixing jazz and Indian music to produce a rich surprising outcome. "Saturday night in Bombay" (2001) , in Sanskrit "Shakti" literally means"energy" or rather the feminine version of divine energy.

This is probably the best way to end this never-ending century: by reminding us that it was the age of musical adventure.!