John McLaughLin reMeMbers soMe odd advice he once received from Miles davis—cryptic words at the time, but later made perfect sense. it was 1969, and the young guitar master was working in the studio with the jazz titan when “Miles made this Zen statement,”recallsMcLaughlin.“hetoldme,‘Playlikeyoudon’tknow how to play guitar.’” davis wanted McLaughlin to free his mind and approach the music without preconceptions.
Speaking of which: A few years later M. Orchestra was burning up stages across the USA. I don’t dwell in the past, but it still strikes me as very sad that so little live material from the Cobham-era group has been released. I personally witnessed shows that blew away what is officially available on CD.