Mclaughlin

The beloved, historic & previously unreleased recording by the famous Guitar Trio: Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin & Paco De Lucia – ‘Saturday Night in San Francisco’ will be released on July 1st, 2022.

Since the late '60s, John McLaughlin's name has been synonymous with electric fusion guitar. But McLaughlin is equally accomplished on the acoustic guitar; he has a long history of excelling on that instrument, which he plays exclusively on Thieves and Poets. This 2003 release, in fact, isn't fusion in the amplified jazz-rock sense but rather acoustic-oriented post-bop with Euro-classical leanings. Thieves and Poets finds McLaughlin joining forces with two of Europe's classical outfits: the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie (with Renato Rivolta serving as conductor) and the much smaller, guitar-oriented Aighetta Quartet.

The Mahavishnu revival misadventure now over and done with, John McLaughlin fields a quieter, stripped-down trio in London's Royal Festival Hall and gets far more pleasingly musical results. Engaging in interplay at all kinds of tempos with bassist Kai Eckhardt and supported by the fleet, subtle drums and percussion of Trilok Gurtu, McLaughlin concentrates his energies on the acoustic guitar. Now and then, he flips a switch and plays through a guitar synthesizer whose broad attacks and occasional organ-like timbres often compensate nicely for the lack of a keyboardist. This trio encourages McLaughlin to display a funkier touch on his instrument without giving up any blinding speed; "Pasha's Love" contains unison flurries as furious as any from the first Mahavishnu group, only at a lower volume level…

Two guitar giants. A collective band comprised of virtuosic instrumentalists. One shared goal. And one tremendous album, commonly referred to as the equivalent of aural nirvana. Still the only meeting of Santana and John McLaughlin, Love Devotion Surrender more than lives up to the promise offered by its principal creators as it’s a spiritual journey based in divine faith, religious toleration, and the forward-thinking philosophy that music can take us closer to the truth. These enlightening concepts are reflected in the playing of Santana and McLaughlin, who repeatedly hit a higher plane on this stunning 1973 set…