John McLaughlin
Interview by Abstract Logix - 9/1/03
John
McLaughlin belongs to an elite group of musicians that have defined a
generation and style of music. His work has opened doors for musicians
of his
era as well as generations to come in bridging musical worlds of the
East and
the West . Just like Miles Davis opened the world to great talents like
Chick
Corea, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock and John himself, I think John has
successfully continued the tradition.
One of the most cherished human values is humility, and John's musical
life has
shown that. A few years ago, I had the privilege of attending a
electric show
with the 'Heart of Things' band, and I vividly remember that John put
his
guitar aside and meditated to the rest of the band playing his music.
Miles did
that and so does John.
2003 is a very fortunte year for world music as John McLaughlin travels
with
his musical brother and the greatest tabla player Zakir Hussain,
musical wonder
and mandolin maestro U Srinivas and percussion great V. Selvaganesh on
the
Kanjira as part of REMEMBER SHAKTI. History is also in the making as
the
greatest ghatam player alive, Vikku Vinayakram will be also performing
at
certain shows with his son V Selvaganesh. Shankar Mahadevan adds his
classical
Indian vocals to this eclectic mix of music at a few concerts during
the first
leg of the tour.
Here is what John had to say to us before his tour starts.
______________________________________________________________________________________
1.
YOU ARE PROBABLY THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT CATALYST FOR FUSING INDIAN
CLASSICAL
MUSIC WITH WESTERN JAZZ AND ROCK IDIOMS AND PERHAPS EVEN UNKNOWINGLY
CREATING A
NEW VOICE IN MUSIC. WITH THIS IN MIND, DO YOU EVER SIT BACK AND THINK
ABOUT THE
LEGACY AND/OR FEEL A CERTAIN KIND OF PRESSURE AND RESPONSIBILITY ?
Ans: I don't think of myself in the 3rd person in this way. I feel
really
grateful to have had the chance to dedicate my life to music, and
particularly
in view of my profound regard for the Indian people and their culture,
to have
the fortune to work and play with some of the greatest musicians of
2. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO TOUR THE WORLD ONCE
AGAIN WITH
'REMEMBER SHAKTI' ?
Ans : To me it's one of the best bands in the world. It embodies the
best
aspects of music both eastern and western. Spontaneity, intelligence,
and
humor.
3. IN ADDITION TO YOUR LONG TIME MUSICAL BROTHER, ZAKIR HUSSAIN, YOU
NOW HAVE
TWO INCREDIBLY BRIGHT AND YOUNG WORLD MUSICIANS, U.SRINIVAS AND
V.SELVAGANESH,
ON THE TEAM. DO YOU FEEL THAT THE WITH TIME, AGE, AS WELL AS 'FRESH
BLOOD',
MUSIC OF SHAKTI IS EVOLVING TO A NEW LEVEL?
Ans : Without doubt. Shrinivas and Selvaganesh play at an extremely
high level
of awareness. In any event, for evolution to take place one needs time
and
Shakti has certainly evolved since the 1970's.
4. YOU HAVE RARELY PERFORMED ON A PURE ACOUSTIC GUITAR IN RECENT YEARS,
JUST
WONDERING IF THERE WAS ANY PARTICULAR REASON ?
Ans : In 1997 when Zakir and I began playing together on a regular
basis, I had
planned to use one of the original Shakti guitars which I had loaned
out to be
kept in playing condition. Alas, when the guitars were returned to me,
their
condition was 'unplayable'. I had to take an electric guitar that had a
scalloped fingerboard that I'd played in the late 1970's. In fact in
view of
the association with Shrinivas and his electric mandolin, it worked out
extremely well. Incidentally, a new CD coming out in Sep. 2003 is all
acoustic
and contains a work with Symphony Orchestra, and 4 standards for the
"Time
Remembered" CD with the Aighetta Guitar Quartet and Helmut
Scharlmeuller
on Acoustic bass Guitar..
5.
HOW HAVE ICONS AS DIVERSE AS SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, SRI RAMAKRISHNA AND
CARLOS
CASTANEDA INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE AND MUSIC ? DO YOU EVER SEE A SIMILAR
VISION
AMONG DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL PATHS ?
Ans : Firstly, music follows life. By consequence anything that
influences your
life will have an effect on your music. The degree of such an effect
cannot be
calculated or qualified. Truly inspiring people such as Vivekananda,
Ramakrishna and Castaneda are but three of a very long list of people
who have
had, and continue to have a direct impact on my life. Spiritual paths
are
generally associated with Religions and it's fairly safe to say that
all
spritual paths are oriented towards personal enlightenment and true
oneness of
all and everything. The great paradox of religions is that they have a
tendency
to separate people with dogma.
6.
COULD YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR NEW PROJECTS - THE NEW CD 'THIEVES AND
POETS', THE
INSTRUCTIONAL DVD ?
Ans : I mentioned earlier the new CD "Thieves & Poets". I'm truly
happy with this recording. Hopefully the music will speak for itself.
The
instructional DVD is important to me. Firstly, I believe that it will
be
helpful in the world of the enthusiastic guitar student. It seems to me
that
guitar students could use some help on how to work correctly in the
development
of their technical and musical needs. These are some of the problems
that are
addressed. Secondly, over my life I've learned quite a few things about
music
and the guitar. This DVD allows me the chance to share these things
with the
students.
7.
HOW CAN WE COLLECTIVELY, MUSICIANS AND LISTENERS ALIKE, BRING A
RENAISSANCE OR
REVIVAL FOR THE 'FUSION MUSIC' MOVEMENT WHERE THE WORLD WOULD TAKE IT
MORE
SERIOUSLY ?
Ans : In my opinion we don't need a renaissance or revival for 'fusion
music'.
Plus, we don't need the world to take it more 'seriously'. Never
underestimate
the capacity of people to appreciate music: all kinds of music. All
people know
intuitively the power and beauty of music, and will react accordingly
when the
music is truly beautiful. In addition, I wouldn't concern myself with
the
future of music. there are so many young and gifted musicians coming
up, the
future of music is well and truly assured.
Thanks a lot for your time John. You are a great influence to all of
us. We
wish you continuing success.