To defend McLaughlin here, this was LIVE, he was miked from a distance with a shotgun mike, and who knows WHAT he was hearing through his monitors; a classical acoustic guitar with a pick vs a big band...VERY tough to do. And at 380 BMP, which is what this is at...pretty much impossible to do. This is one of the greatest guitar tracks EVER recorded. Live - no screwing around. God Bless you, John McLaughlin, and RIP Mr. Ed Shaughnessy; thank you BOTH for several lifetimes of great music.
John McLaughlin doesn’t need defending. The two chord keyboard warriors who criticise him aren’t fit to tie this man’s shoes, let alone pass judgement on his music. This performance is off the scale.
The Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaughnessy played for 30 years in that band with thousands of remarkable guest musicians. He says, "One of the thrills of my life was a couple of years before we finished, John McLaughlin came on and played a very fast Cherokee and told me afterwards how good I sounded. ... I always wished I could work with John McLaughlin. It was like a real thrill to play with him, you know?" Personally, I'll give Ed's views much more credence than those from jealous musicians.
Shaughnessy also backed Jimi Hendrix (with Billy Cox) when Jimi appeared on the Tonight Show in the Summer of 1969. Unfortunately that show was lost to the sands of time (actually it was recorded over)
@Walter Kolosky. John M is interviewed somewhere on YT. Great interview by another jazz guitarist-- think it's this one: "Conversations with John McLauglin"(th-cam.com/video/1VlldJhIFSE/w-d-xo.html). I didn't see this in the comments anywhere, but he says when they rehearsed it beforehand they played it at about half the speed they are playing it here. He thought it was going to be some relaxed version of Cherokee. Then he gets out there live and they start in at this breakneck tempo. He said he nearly shit his pants but basically had to jump in and pick his way through it to survive public humiliation. I have no reason to doubt his account of it, and in light of that, it's truly amazing.
With all my respect to McLaguhlin. This posture is rather impolite, potentially exposing sole into audience, and not ergonomic. This unergonomic posture makes his fingers rather bent away from his torso, prevent certain fingers and palm position (e.g. palm lift and elbow squeeze, see his palm mostly behind neck and having thumb lateral to palm, resembling violinist than pianist for comparative illustration) I usually play with a support or strap, so my sole never exposed into audience. It's rather uncomfortable when I attend concert and sole are flying like Vai on his 3 neck guitar, or some germany guitarists keep lifting their soles on their footstools because they are not confident so unvoluntary contraction happens
This man is beyond genius. Every note ,no matter what speed ,makes sense . Like Wayne Shorter , its not just shit being played quickly . Its jazz at its very best . Bravo Sir John . High time for a Knighthood !
Oh, absolutely. Then again, all those cats were working pretty hard. Doc Severinsen referred to that crew as “a musical Rolls Royce.” This night they had a Formula One driver at the wheel.
It is astonishing. He's a guitar god. But, as you asked, I'd criticise his tone here. He's playing so fast a lot of the notes are deadened. I think this would be better if he slowed it down and focused more on tone.
@@cenegwhat he said was that in rehearsal they played it kinda uptempo but when the show went live Shaughnessy counted off at a ridiculous pace - basically he tried to ‘cut’ McLaughlin, who effortlessly swatted the attempt aside. That’s how you seperate the merely good from the truly great.
According to John's website, the instrument he's playing here is a 1985 Abraham Wechter Acoustic Cutaway. "This guitar was played extensively with my Trio featuring Trilok Gurtu and Kai Eckhardt. A Fishman condenser microphone and piezo midi captor - a great instrument."
John M. is one of the best guitarist on the planet. He makes it look so easy. Notice his dexterity, speed and accuracy with the explosion of notes when he solos.
People in the audience were rushed to a hospital after having their brains melt down by John's performance. This video shows John's upward pick slanting picking technique perfectly.
wow, anyone remember ever seening the tonight show band applaud a guest before? what a machine that group was, and to play an acoustic guitar with them backing you, that takes some ballz.
Completely agreed. Anyone thinks it is shredding is just not up to the level, all advanced guitarists can hear the incredible dynamics, the impeccable lines and the joyful interaction with the big band harmony. I just cannot help putting a smile on my face everytime I listen to this.
John McLaughlin sits at the top of the hierarchy of all guitar players. Every other guitarist (Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMeola, Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc. etc.) has paid homage to John. This man is completely self-taught.
Pretty sure this is more like 1989...in '85 he had an electric band called Mahavishnu, a bit of a throwback to the MO. In '87 he returned to the acoustic guitar for the next several years until the 1995 Coltrane tribute album After the Rain. In '88 he toured with Trilok Gurtu and Jonas Hellborg playing acoustic. I saw the "Mediterranean Concerto" tour in 1989, as Carson mentions it in his intro. He toured the U.S. and would play the concerto with the local Symphony Orchestras. I saw him perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1989. He was using that same Wechter nylon string guitar. Here was an astonishing performance with the Tonight Show band while still at the height of his playing. Too bad the interview with JM is not included here as he reveals that he arranged Cherokee for the Tonight Show band. And yes 380bpm, (which was faster than the earlier rehearsal), he could have done 400bpm too as far as I'm concerned, putting him up there with Bird.
I have been following JM since his days with Miles. This post is an example of why I believe that he is the GOAT. His lines are not only unbelievably long and flowing, but also beautiful if you listen to them.
One of the finest jazz guitarists in history. Look at his total oeuvre: the outside playing on Extrapolation, innovative fusion work (Miles, Mahavishnu), gorgeous acoustic pieces on My Goals, beautiful Bill Evans interpretations (Time Remembered). He is simply an incredible musician.
I was so into McLaughlin around this time, and before and since LOL but I never saw this. I was about 25. I would have lost my mind. Thank God for TH-cam so I can see it now He is the best
Tis clip is sooooo special. Apart from watching it daily for the music, to me it represents some sort of life afirming reassurance that there are things beyond the mundane. This shit is like red wine and Shakesphere. Makes you glad you trancended your lower primate status. Mclaughlin is a gift, I am so very thankful to of seen him perform.
...there is a legend that Bird once played this tune at 400 BPM. McLaughlin was trying to live up to that standard. This clocks in at about 380 BMP. It swings hard AND has soul, and very FEW big bands could ever play ANYTHING this fast and this clean. These guys played together 5 nights a week for almost 30 years; this calibre of musicianship does not come easily, and is NOT something we are likely to see ever again.
Young John... brilliant approach ..to a great standard.... tonight shows band burning Cherokee down like never before... but didn't lose Mclaughlin... ; ) sincerely, JD
This IS a technical display when you are unfamilier with JM. It takes a while to become so. However soon you realise this is a million miles from a technical display. JM plays 'exstatically'. Now when one gets from a to b in jazz you can go several ways. JM tends to go with many rythymic notes. It's not a display but a freeflow of constant & perfectly executed musical ideas. His technique is only important because it means he's able to express evrything his massive musical brain feels instantly
I haven't looked at this video in years, but John's proficiency on the instrument is so developed, it is easy to see why people can't handle it--it's overwhelmingly good ! The lines he is playing are all on the chord progression, unbelievable timing and phrasing, and precision that is almost too perfect to believe--but it's all there if you want to.
McLaughlin is obviously one of the greats, and on guitar, I think, one of a handful of the greatest so far-along with Holdsworth, Shawn Lane, etc. I love Johnny's reaction-spontaneous and honestly blown away-he'd seen a lot of talent, and he recognized when he was hearing a rare gem.
This was a great meta-musical and media moment- an awesome collision. For John McLaughlin, nee Mahavishnu, to appear & play with the staunchly traditional & conservative Johnny Carson Big Band is wonderfully bizarre on it's face. That the tune they played was an insanely swinging arrangement of Cherokee is priceless. JM brought his boldly punchy, articulated, & sequential style to the forefront. The big band swings the doors off the tune, but no one here even mentions it. Conformists!
It's very iconic cause back in the 60's he learnt hard by asking for joining musicians on scene at the end of random jazz gigs in England, and they told him to join only if he could follow them on Cherokee at more than 300bpm, he said that these nights were more decisive for his knowledge than all the hours spent practicing in his bedroom!!
Tell it, brother. I have believed since 1971, Woolsey Hall - Yale School of Music performance by Mahavishnu...John is unparalleled . A wizard, a true star and humble man. Yes, my friend, I feel you. We both sing to the body Electric.
MichaelAngelo Shefton This happens to be one of my favorite guitarist videos of all time, so perhaps it's personal taste, as In art, or maybe it's just because I've beem listening to John Mclaughlin, Miles Davis, John Coltrane etc etc. for over 30 years. So what Im saying is, just because someone has an opinion about certain musicians, it doesn't mean it's fact. Now lets say, he was playing a hollowbody here, the notes would be the same, but the sound would be completely different. That's just one example. Btw. beauty is in the eyes and ears of the beholder. It's just one of those things. Personally I think this video is absolutely amazing, and what I hear is amazingly gorgeous.
Fantastic performance on so many levels. McLaughlin is a master and an innovator. To nail all those changes at that tempo is extraordinary. The critics on here are either ignorant or completely envious.
@@sleddy12345 Really? Go into your settings and slow it down to .75 or .50 speed and I think you'll hear it differently. He's not missing the changes at all.
@John Thijm Thijm Possibly you mean 'too' advanced. It's precisely because I'm so well acquainted with good guitar playing and complex forms that I can perceive the fundamental flaws in JM's playing. He's not a jazz player: completely lacking in restraint, taste and lyricism. I've never heard any other player create such a hideous frenzy of notes - truly awful
Sae him Joey DeFrancesco and Dennis Chambers in Montreal years ago. Mannnnnn that was top shelf. Johns just different. He’s got blues, soul jazz and rock roll in his veins. Then there’s the classical Indian fusion. So much more. He probably ran it down once with Doc and the band then went in.
What a delight! Too bad the interview portion afterwards isn't shown where Johnny Carson points out that JM himself prepared this arrangement of 'Cherokee' for the Tonight Show band.
This was an incomparable age of rock. Jeff Beck swore John McLaughlin was the best. Many thought Glenn Cambell was. The list is unfathomable. Great schools. MCLAUGHLIN went to the same school as Carlos Santana. Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Wade Allman on and on and on. Incomparable age of great guitarists.
...One thing separates JM from all the others mentioned: his versatility. I don't think he has ever claimed to be a bop guitarist because he's much much more. Where as martino, benson, bird etc. are known for one type of guitar and one style of playing JM has gone from the uk free jazz scene of the 60's to his stuff with lifetime and miles, through hi energy jazz rock to indo jazz fusion, to his european acoustic jazz to state of the art synth guitar..
I just listened to an interview from last year where he said they had an afternoon rehearsal and then this performance was 20bpm faster than the rehearsal...
John friggin' McLaughlin...My goodness can this guy play! I saw this when it first aired and was completely knocked out by his ability. Glad to find it here.
A masterpiece. McL plays this in his own style, not trying to recreate the hollow body bop cats, which of course he could do many years ago. This is what every artist should try and emulate...do music your way...
Listen to the way Ed McMahon enthusiastically cries out at the end! Hey! Hey! He probably had a few Scotch and Sodas before the show and hearing McLaughlin sent him over the top!
Wow, so many mean and lame comments. People who don't understand jazz, particularly bebop, will not hear how fantastic this performance was. Period. They'll just hear a lot of notes and get confused or annoyed. Very few players living or gone could nail this song at this tempo, whether on sax, piano or guitar. According to John, he brought in the chart and they rehearsed at a slower tempo but on the show Ed Shaughnessy kicked it up a few. John didn't bat an eye, or even look at his guitar! He just burned down the house. Hear Doc at the end? "Yeah!" That's what someone who really gets it would say.
Many players play straighter at medium and especially faster tempos, the “swing feel” comes from accents and articulation rather than long-short eighth note duration. Ironically, this is true even with players from the swing era.
I think it fits perfectly. I( love JM on nylon. I like how he is playing one of Tal Farlows favs and I( think this version is exquisite. I dont buy that nylon is a mistake. I dont buy that it is too 'notey' and I sure as fuck believe he swings. You people are all wrong.
McLaughlin is a God to me..... he stretches the world with his playing. I been listening to so much of his 70's Indian Fusion and I dig this, especially for the Django Rheinhardt flourishes.... just amazing.
Its so wonderful to hear someone "not" play the same ol cliche's that 95% of jazz clone guitarist's play.... This is the the language of the true jazz improviser and what its meant to be, taking it to another level. Bravo John****
Brilliant....inspiring.....genius. Comparisons to 'shredding' dont come close. The harmony and melodic phrasing is in a totally different league from shredders. I love the nylon string thing. A big jazz semi would be so boring and generic. John sounds at his best on acoustic guitars in my opinion. WONDERFUL. Thankyou for sharing.
@bazonics Came back as critically as I possibly could - to try to find as little in it as MD Tommy Newsom apparently did - and cannot - I mean just they eye contact and spirit is indefinable, unmatched - like that last head cue to the band & guitar arpeggio, damn - honestly folks, here ya got Django meets Yardbird meets Kenton Band actual alumni - a million views are justified PS this is a performer who''s about to get banned from this show - for real
I remember watching this on The Johnny Carson show in the early 80's and that night after he blew Johnny away, Carson asked him to sit with him. McL walks over and Grace Jones had already been on, McL sits next to her & Johnny says, "I hear you're divorced..." Unbelieveable!! Anyway, if you think he plays fast here on an acoustic - pick up his Shakti: A Handfull of Beauty...
An acoustic guitar in the context of a big band?! Who'da thunk? With Mr. McLaughlin's ultra-fast double picking and crazy left-hand technique he pulled it off. Took some guts. The drummer's ride cymbal was a great accompaniment to the guitar here. Don't mistake the low sound quality for thinking an acoustic guitar doesn't fit with a big band. With the right sound mix it's like a new frontier. Larry, Taiwan
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To defend McLaughlin here, this was LIVE, he was miked from a distance with a shotgun mike, and who knows WHAT he was hearing through his monitors; a classical acoustic guitar with a pick vs a big band...VERY tough to do. And at 380 BMP, which is what this is at...pretty much impossible to do. This is one of the greatest guitar tracks EVER recorded. Live - no screwing around. God Bless you, John McLaughlin, and RIP Mr. Ed Shaughnessy; thank you BOTH for several lifetimes of great music.
very well said!
I measured it at 364bpm
@@benvye4279 six beats per second 😎
@@mongoharry 6.066667 beats/second
John McLaughlin doesn’t need defending. The two chord keyboard warriors who criticise him aren’t fit to tie this man’s shoes, let alone pass judgement on his music. This performance is off the scale.
The Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaughnessy played for 30 years in that band with thousands of remarkable guest musicians. He says, "One of the thrills of my life was a couple of years before we finished, John McLaughlin came on and played a very fast Cherokee and told me afterwards how good I sounded. ... I always wished I could work with John McLaughlin. It was like a real thrill to play with him, you know?" Personally, I'll give Ed's views much more credence than those from jealous musicians.
Wow two greats McLaughlin and Shaughnessy!!!
Shaughnessy also backed Jimi Hendrix (with Billy Cox) when Jimi appeared on the Tonight Show in the Summer of 1969. Unfortunately that show was lost to the sands of time (actually it was recorded over)
@Walter Kolosky I just want to give a plug for your fine book on the Mahavishnu Orchestra titled 'Power, Passion & Beauty'. Highly recommended.
@Walter Kolosky. John M is interviewed somewhere on YT. Great interview by another jazz guitarist-- think it's this one: "Conversations with John McLauglin"(th-cam.com/video/1VlldJhIFSE/w-d-xo.html). I didn't see this in the comments anywhere, but he says when they rehearsed it beforehand they played it at about half the speed they are playing it here. He thought it was going to be some relaxed version of Cherokee. Then he gets out there live and they start in at this breakneck tempo. He said he nearly shit his pants but basically had to jump in and pick his way through it to survive public humiliation. I have no reason to doubt his account of it, and in light of that, it's truly amazing.
@@stlrockn wow sanx loss. Thank you for sharing
I love the way he casually crosses his leg in a most unrecommended guitar posture and then rips off those superhuman licks.
Why is that posture unrecommended?
@@wadsmitter511 Wow I don't know. I don't even remember making that comment 13 years ago but I love it when these things get resurrected years later!
@@jefsut Haha, that's alright!
With all my respect to McLaguhlin.
This posture is rather impolite, potentially exposing sole into audience, and not ergonomic.
This unergonomic posture makes his fingers rather bent away from his torso, prevent certain fingers and palm position (e.g. palm lift and elbow squeeze, see his palm mostly behind neck and having thumb lateral to palm, resembling violinist than pianist for comparative illustration)
I usually play with a support or strap, so my sole never exposed into audience. It's rather uncomfortable when I attend concert and sole are flying like Vai on his 3 neck guitar, or some germany guitarists keep lifting their soles on their footstools because they are not confident so unvoluntary contraction happens
I’ll have what he’s having ☝️
This man is beyond genius. Every note ,no matter what speed ,makes sense . Like Wayne Shorter , its not just shit being played quickly . Its jazz at its very best .
Bravo Sir John .
High time for a Knighthood !
You got that right.
He's getting that sound with just some plastic, wood and metal. Unreal. No effects. Amazing creation from the great John McLaughlin.
props to whoever was manning that bass/bassline
Oh, absolutely. Then again, all those cats were working pretty hard. Doc Severinsen referred to that crew as “a musical Rolls Royce.” This night they had a Formula One driver at the wheel.
The house band applauds. Says it all. Superb. Thank you John.
How can anyone criticise John''s performance? It's astonishing!
People who criticize him can’t play guitar
It is astonishing. He's a guitar god. But, as you asked, I'd criticise his tone here. He's playing so fast a lot of the notes are deadened. I think this would be better if he slowed it down and focused more on tone.
@@ceneg No, he has a very Django-inspired tone here, I love it. He's in total command of harmony, rhythm and melody.
@@cenegwhat he said was that in rehearsal they played it kinda uptempo but when the show went live Shaughnessy counted off at a ridiculous pace - basically he tried to ‘cut’ McLaughlin, who effortlessly swatted the attempt aside. That’s how you seperate the merely good from the truly great.
According to John's website, the instrument he's playing here is a 1985 Abraham Wechter Acoustic Cutaway. "This guitar was played extensively with my Trio featuring Trilok Gurtu and Kai Eckhardt. A Fishman condenser microphone and piezo midi captor - a great instrument."
John M. is one of the best guitarist on the
planet. He makes it look so easy.
Notice his dexterity, speed and accuracy with
the explosion of notes when he solos.
People in the audience were rushed to a hospital after having their brains melt down by John's performance.
This video shows John's upward pick slanting picking technique perfectly.
wow, anyone remember ever seening the tonight show band applaud a guest before? what a machine that group was, and to play an acoustic guitar with them backing you, that takes some ballz.
Completely agreed. Anyone thinks it is shredding is just not up to the level, all advanced guitarists can hear the incredible dynamics, the impeccable lines and the joyful interaction with the big band harmony. I just cannot help putting a smile on my face everytime I listen to this.
John McLaughlin sits at the top of the hierarchy of all guitar players. Every other guitarist (Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMeola, Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, etc. etc.) has paid homage to John. This man is completely self-taught.
Pretty sure this is more like 1989...in '85 he had an electric band called Mahavishnu, a bit of a throwback to the MO. In '87 he returned to the acoustic guitar for the next several years until the 1995 Coltrane tribute album After the Rain. In '88 he toured with Trilok Gurtu and Jonas Hellborg playing acoustic. I saw the "Mediterranean Concerto" tour in 1989, as Carson mentions it in his intro. He toured the U.S. and would play the concerto with the local Symphony Orchestras. I saw him perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1989. He was using that same Wechter nylon string guitar. Here was an astonishing performance with the Tonight Show band while still at the height of his playing. Too bad the interview with JM is not included here as he reveals that he arranged Cherokee for the Tonight Show band. And yes 380bpm, (which was faster than the earlier rehearsal), he could have done 400bpm too as far as I'm concerned, putting him up there with Bird.
I just listened to an interview where he talks about how this was faster than the rehearsal.
I have been following JM since his days with Miles. This post is an example of why I believe that he is the GOAT. His lines are not only unbelievably long and flowing, but also beautiful if you listen to them.
Really? Somebody is dissing this?Amazing guitar player,innovator and human.What a world.
One of the finest jazz guitarists in history. Look at his total oeuvre: the outside playing on Extrapolation, innovative fusion work (Miles, Mahavishnu), gorgeous acoustic pieces on My Goals, beautiful Bill Evans interpretations (Time Remembered). He is simply an incredible musician.
Da gibts nichts zu sagen,ausser Gitarrenspiel von einem anderen Stern.zuhören und schweigen!
Grossartig.the Best!!!
Cherokee is one of the hardest songs to play ever. John is a lovely musician. Wow!
I was so into McLaughlin around this time, and before and since LOL but I never saw this. I was about 25. I would have lost my mind. Thank God for TH-cam so I can see it now
He is the best
I'm a big rock fan but maaan I can recognize when I see talent and this John Mclaughlin has to be one of the best guitarists I have ever seen !!!!
This is my all time favorite video of John Mclaughlin. It's quite rare to see him playing standard songs in a straight form.
John is one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Tis clip is sooooo special. Apart from watching it daily for the music, to me it represents some sort of life afirming reassurance that there are things beyond the mundane. This shit is like red wine and Shakesphere. Makes you glad you trancended your lower primate status.
Mclaughlin is a gift, I am so very thankful to of seen him perform.
Our treasure of all time. I hate to see JM grow old.. 😭
He won’t.
No worries, when he "passes" he will still be with us. All great musicians get that privilege.
Simply one of the greatest muscians ever to grace this planet
...there is a legend that Bird once played this tune at 400 BPM. McLaughlin was trying to live up to that standard. This clocks in at about 380 BMP. It swings hard AND has soul, and very FEW big bands could ever play ANYTHING this fast and this clean. These guys played together 5 nights a week for almost 30 years; this calibre of musicianship does not come easily, and is NOT something we are likely to see ever again.
Young John... brilliant approach ..to a great standard.... tonight shows band burning Cherokee down like never before... but didn't lose Mclaughlin... ; ) sincerely, JD
This IS a technical display when you are unfamilier with JM. It takes a while to become so. However soon you realise this is a million miles from a technical display. JM plays 'exstatically'. Now when one gets from a to b in jazz you can go several ways. JM tends to go with many rythymic notes. It's not a display but a freeflow of constant & perfectly executed musical ideas.
His technique is only important because it means he's able to express evrything his massive musical brain feels instantly
yes!!!!!! perfect desription of how John plays.
His guitar playing enlightens
I haven't looked at this video in years, but John's proficiency on the instrument is so developed, it is easy to see why people can't handle it--it's overwhelmingly good ! The lines he is playing are all on the chord progression, unbelievable timing and phrasing, and precision that is almost too perfect to believe--but it's all there if you want to.
John you give me a warm feeling all over my body. Thank you. Christian, Oslo, 24.08.23
@196177 I wholeheartedly agree, and am glad to hear that other people enjoy that as much as I do.
John McLaughlin has always been fabulous. He arguably invented 'fusion' with Inner Mounting Flame & Birds of Fire. He could play anything.
absolutely sublime playing... I keep coming back to watch this clip over and over again.
And damn he's a handsome man with that guitar Lol
I saw him in concert last night. Almost 70 and still the fastest fingers in the west. Marvellous evening.
John is playing with one of the best bands with Ed shangessy on drums!!! Wow!
Never knew he was on the tonight show. What a great guitar player.
John is the man. His discography is so broad and remained interesting and fresh over the many, many years he has been recording.
John McLaughlin wow nobody can be that good. Jeez. There is a human being inside of us all. Isn't there? Jeez.
Sensational. Only tone deaf people will criticise this. Bless them.
That is one bad assed picker; and, the band backing him is awesome too!
McLaughlin is obviously one of the greats, and on guitar, I think, one of a handful of the greatest so far-along with Holdsworth, Shawn Lane, etc. I love Johnny's reaction-spontaneous and honestly blown away-he'd seen a lot of talent, and he recognized when he was hearing a rare gem.
Why is there even a debate about this guy? He's clearly very talented regardless of whether you like his style or not.
Mid-Way thru tune he just Completely OWNS IT... Such a great JAM from the 70's
This was a great meta-musical and media moment- an awesome collision. For John McLaughlin, nee Mahavishnu, to appear & play with the staunchly traditional & conservative Johnny Carson Big Band is wonderfully bizarre on it's face. That the tune they played was an insanely swinging arrangement of Cherokee is priceless. JM brought his boldly punchy, articulated, & sequential style to the forefront. The big band swings the doors off the tune, but no one here even mentions it. Conformists!
It's very iconic cause back in the 60's he learnt hard by asking for joining musicians on scene at the end of random jazz gigs in England, and they told him to join only if he could follow them on Cherokee at more than 300bpm, he said that these nights were more decisive for his knowledge than all the hours spent practicing in his bedroom!!
This is one of my favorite music videos of all time. I love this, it is so full of joy.
this is the sheer extent to which humanity can descend onto craft and material this complexity or rawness however it is is louder somehow
man i really love John. Seen him twice, he s amaizing. Long live Jazz!!!
he came, he saw, he shreds and he conquers.
John McL I love you!
John mc Laughlin fantastic guitarist with fantastic technik the best guitarist on the wordl!!
Tell it, brother. I have believed since 1971, Woolsey Hall - Yale School of Music performance by Mahavishnu...John is unparalleled . A wizard, a true star and humble man. Yes, my friend, I feel you. We both sing to the body Electric.
József Boro
He IS the best :)
the performance ok he's a speed demon that's all no feeling or taste..definitely not the best.
MichaelAngelo Shefton This happens to be one of my favorite guitarist videos of all time, so perhaps it's personal taste, as In art, or maybe it's just because I've beem listening to John Mclaughlin, Miles Davis, John Coltrane etc etc. for over 30 years. So what Im saying is, just because someone has an opinion about certain musicians, it doesn't mean it's fact.
Now lets say, he was playing a hollowbody here, the notes would be the same, but the sound would be completely different. That's just one example.
Btw. beauty is in the eyes and ears of the beholder. It's just one of those things. Personally I think this video is absolutely amazing, and what I hear is amazingly gorgeous.
Fantastic performance on so many levels. McLaughlin is a master and an innovator. To nail all those changes at that tempo is extraordinary. The critics on here are either ignorant or completely envious.
I am a fan. I am both ignornant and envious. What happens now?
To my ears he doesn't play the changes at all, simply blazes away at a scale or mode (kind of what he's famous for)
@@sleddy12345 Really? Go into your settings and slow it down to .75 or .50 speed and I think you'll hear it differently. He's not missing the changes at all.
@John Thijm Thijm Possibly you mean 'too' advanced. It's precisely because I'm so well acquainted with good guitar playing and complex forms that I can perceive the fundamental flaws in JM's playing. He's not a jazz player: completely lacking in restraint, taste and lyricism. I've never heard any other player create such a hideous frenzy of notes - truly awful
@@sleddy12345 There is a lot of crap in there..good call
Django, Benson, Hendrix, Montgomery, Green, Clapton, Beck, Holdsworth, on and on Guitar gods, John is amongst them all.
Don't forget Joe Pass!
John plays with precision and melodic, harmonic and rhythmic intelligence.
I love Carson's reaction. He knows what he just saw.
Incredible playing by a giant!!
Love this track! My students always drop their jaws when they watch this video!!
Sae him Joey DeFrancesco and Dennis Chambers in Montreal years ago. Mannnnnn that was top shelf. Johns just different. He’s got blues, soul jazz and rock roll in his veins. Then there’s the classical Indian fusion. So much more.
He probably ran it down once with Doc and the band then went in.
Pure genius
his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra is incredible
Saw Mahavishnu Orchestra a number of times. Still some of my favorite music memories. This is great! As Johnny said, "Oh Yeah!"
I didn't know who he was when i saw this and I now love him because of it. AMAZING
What a delight! Too bad the interview portion afterwards isn't shown where Johnny Carson points out that JM himself prepared this arrangement of 'Cherokee' for the Tonight Show band.
I agree, I have the whole thing on VHS somewhere.
This was an incomparable age of rock. Jeff Beck swore John McLaughlin was the best. Many thought Glenn Cambell was. The list is unfathomable. Great schools. MCLAUGHLIN went to the same school as Carlos Santana. Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Wade Allman on and on and on.
Incomparable age of great guitarists.
John McLaughlin's one of my favorites of ALL TIME!!!
One the geniuses of our time.
Johnny obviously had the clout to get major talent on the show back in those days. Wow!
...One thing separates JM from all the others mentioned: his versatility. I don't think he has ever claimed to be a bop guitarist because he's much much more. Where as martino, benson, bird etc. are known for one type of guitar and one style of playing JM has gone from the uk free jazz scene of the 60's to his stuff with lifetime and miles, through hi energy jazz rock to indo jazz fusion, to his european acoustic jazz to state of the art synth guitar..
Live, no rehearsal, mic at a far distance, first take playing bebop style, in a big band. Ladies and gentlemen, John McLaughlin.
I just listened to an interview from last year where he said they had an afternoon rehearsal and then this performance was 20bpm faster than the rehearsal...
one of favorite guitarists ... been lucky to have seen him a couple times ... definitely one of the BEST ALLTIME !!!
John friggin' McLaughlin...My goodness can this guy play! I saw this when it first aired and was completely knocked out by his ability. Glad to find it here.
Wow! Thanks for posting this. McLaughlin is a true guitar picking genius ...
John will always be my legend ...
No hyped up electronic wizardry-which is really noise anyway, no overrated theatrics, just pure unadulterated talent.
This is beautiful, John McLaughlin !!! Great Big Band !
An absolute genius
A masterpiece. McL plays this in his own style, not trying to recreate the hollow body bop cats, which of course he could do many years ago. This is what every artist should try and emulate...do music your way...
Thanks for sharing this.
Nice to see him getting applauded by the band as well.
I never get tired hearing this !
Listen to the way Ed McMahon enthusiastically cries out at the end! Hey! Hey!
He probably had a few Scotch and Sodas before the show and hearing McLaughlin sent him over the top!
That was actually guest Pet Barbuti, a comic of the time and a musician himself, who yelled that out. :-)
I love John he is one of the greatest guitar players in the world
Sherman Broomfield Indeed :))
Wow, so many mean and lame comments. People who don't understand jazz, particularly bebop, will not hear how fantastic this performance was. Period. They'll just hear a lot of notes and get confused or annoyed. Very few players living or gone could nail this song at this tempo, whether on sax, piano or guitar. According to John, he brought in the chart and they rehearsed at a slower tempo but on the show Ed Shaughnessy kicked it up a few. John didn't bat an eye, or even look at his guitar! He just burned down the house. Hear Doc at the end? "Yeah!" That's what someone who really gets it would say.
I've heard this over a dozen times. And each time, I can't stop smiling! :^)
John McLaughlin, siempre genial y con esa inspiración infalible.
at this speed, tell me the difference between straight 8 or swingin 8 ? amazing of course ...
Many players play straighter at medium and especially faster tempos, the “swing feel” comes from accents and articulation rather than long-short eighth note duration. Ironically, this is true even with players from the swing era.
A blast of pure joy! I think you could say he enjoyed it. Would love to hear him do some more 'big-band'-type stuff.
Thank you so much for posting this - awesome...
I think it fits perfectly. I( love JM on nylon. I like how he is playing one of Tal Farlows favs and I( think this version is exquisite. I dont buy that nylon is a mistake. I dont buy that it is too 'notey' and I sure as fuck believe he swings. You people are all wrong.
He gave Jimmy Page lessons. True story
Oh yeah. Page and Beck met him in early 60s
Very possible! they both used to hang around in the same London cafés.
were both doing tons of sessions at the time too
@@Batboxgriffin It's confirmed in multiple interviews, both by Page and Mclaughlin
@@frankrichards3089 He also played with Carlos Santana I believe.To me just my opinion I'd rather listen to Mc laughlin
McLaughlin is a God to me..... he stretches the world with his playing.
I been listening to so much of his 70's Indian Fusion and I dig this, especially for the Django Rheinhardt flourishes.... just amazing.
Its so wonderful to hear someone "not" play the same ol cliche's that 95% of jazz clone guitarist's play.... This is the the language of the true jazz improviser and what its meant to be, taking it to another level. Bravo John****
Brilliant....inspiring.....genius. Comparisons to 'shredding' dont come close. The harmony and melodic phrasing is in a totally different league from shredders. I love the nylon string thing. A big jazz semi would be so boring and generic. John sounds at his best on acoustic guitars in my opinion. WONDERFUL.
Thankyou for sharing.
@bazonics
Came back as critically as I possibly could - to try to find as little in it as MD Tommy Newsom apparently did - and cannot - I mean just they eye contact and spirit is indefinable, unmatched - like that last head cue to the band & guitar arpeggio, damn - honestly folks, here ya got Django meets Yardbird meets Kenton Band actual alumni - a million views are justified
PS this is a performer who''s about to get banned from this show - for real
just amazing!!!!thanx for posting the vid
I remember watching this on The Johnny Carson show in the early 80's and that night after he blew Johnny away, Carson asked him to sit with him. McL walks over and Grace Jones had already been on, McL sits next to her & Johnny says, "I hear you're divorced..." Unbelieveable!!
Anyway, if you think he plays fast here on an acoustic - pick up his Shakti: A Handfull of Beauty...
not only is he genius...he sold Pete Townsend his first guitar!
He also gave guitar lessons to Jimmy Page
He also designed the Fender Jazz master on a mountain top and sent a drawing on a napkin to Leo Fender, true..
An acoustic guitar in the context of a big band?! Who'da thunk? With Mr. McLaughlin's ultra-fast double picking and crazy left-hand technique he pulled it off. Took some guts. The drummer's ride cymbal was a great accompaniment to the guitar here. Don't mistake the low sound quality for thinking an acoustic guitar doesn't fit with a big band. With the right sound mix it's like a new frontier.
Larry, Taiwan
right on Doc!
thumbs up for us!
The Band is SMOKIN!!