GUITARIST JOHN MCLAUGHLIN REVISITS THE LEGACY OF HIS LEGENDARY MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA ON UPCOMING AMERICAN TOUR WITH CO-HEADLINER VIRTUOSO GUITARIST JIMMY HERRING.
In a career that spans more than five decades, John McLaughlin has honed a personal vision that transcends all boundaries, becoming one of improvised music’s most influential guitarists, composers, and bandleaders. McLaughlin will be joined by the remarkable Jimmy Herring, who has been in the creative forefront of the thriving American rock-jam band movement for 25 years, for what has been dubbed The Meeting of the Spirits tour. Highlighting this musical adventure, will be John McLaughlin revisiting the pioneering music he introduced with his deeply influential, genre-defying Mahavishnu Orchestra. McLaughlin will be backed by his current band, the 4th Dimension – Ranjit Barot (drums), Gary Husband (keyboards, drums), and Etienne M’Bappé (bass) – each an established composer and recording artist in his own right.
Jimmy Herring, best known for his inspired contributions to the Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Allman Brothers, Widespread Panic, The Dead, and others, will be co-headlining each show with his own band. “Herring possesses the heart and soul of a rocker, the chops and harmonic awareness of a jazz artist, and the simpatico personality of a jam-band player,” according to Guitar Player magazine. 2017 also marks the return of Jimmy Herring as a bandleader since touring after his widely acclaimed “Lifeboat” (2008) and “Subject to Change without Notice” (2012).
On The Meeting of the Spirits tour, separate sets by Herring and McLaughlin will be followed by the two joining forces for an expansive closing jam based on classic Mahavishnu Orchestra material. The tour will feature the first extended collaborations between two of world’s foremost improvising guitarists. Expect special surprise guests to be added when available.
“The music of Mahavishnu is part of my personal and musical history, and as such it is inseparable from me,” McLaughlin reflects. “To return to these pieces with the experience I’ve had for the past 45 years, since the majority of those pieces were played all those years ago, is very exciting.”
Herring adds, “John’s influence on me is far-reaching. When first hearing him, I was struck by the raw emotion and technical prowess he has. If you listen to John long enough, the layers of all the things that make him unique will reveal themselves…Inner Mounting Flame changed my life and the way I heard music. By the time I heard it in 1980, John had long since moved on and recreated himself, as he has done many times throughout his career. It is an honor and a privilege to do this tour with John and the 4th Dimension.”
McLaughlin’s first extensive U.S. tour in seven years, The Meeting of the Spirits also marks his first extended exploration of the Mahavishnu Orchestra material from seminal albums such as Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire, Between Nothingness and Eternity, Visions of the Emerald Beyond and more since the band’s original heyday in the 1970s.
“To play the music of Mahavishnu is not for the faint-hearted,” says McLaughlin, who celebrates his 75th birthday in 2017. “In fact, among the only people I know who have succeeded in interpreting Mahavishnu music are my two all-time favorite guitarists: Jimmy Herring and Jeff Beck. Jimmy is simply a great guitar player, and since we see so eye to eye in music, I know we will have some extraordinary musical experiences touring together.”
McLaughlin strongly feels that this will be his last American performances. He is hoping that all of his friends who have supported him over the years can come out to celebrate this tour with him. After all, it was in America that he met Miles Davis and Tony Williams and played on such trailblazing albums as In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. America was the true birthplace of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
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Photo Credit : Photo Credit: Kim Allegrezza/Misty Grove Photography
This is a major cause for celebration and reflection, I’m sure these US dates will be a memorable experience for all & I hope to be in attendance for NYC area dates along with my wife who be witnessing Mr. McLaughlin for the very first time
When and where are the dates?
John,
Will you be coming to Southern, California for the 2017 tour?
Please come back to Colorado…..
When and where can I get tickets! Loved the shows at C W Post in NY on Long Island, Schaefer Music Festival at Central Park NY and Delhi State College NY, Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead Long Island, NY with Al & Paco. Now I can travel and would love to see John again!
….want to buy the tickets right now!
Thanks in advance for keeping me posted!
Best
Gabriel
Je m’y intéresse!
Dear John, what a beautiful news about your american tour, great thing! By the way is there anything new about your
project with SHANKAR MAHADEVAN?
thank you maestro !
Lucia Otello
john
will the tour be coming tae Glasgow?
when will the dates be posted?for the us tour?
I was curious when you expect to have Meeting of the Spirits tour dates in the US. I am particularly interested in dates near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra in Berkeley and San Francisco way back when. James Gang opened in Berkeley and Captain Beefheart opened at Winterland in SF. Captain Beefheart’s bass player had a double neck bass. The Winterland concert was the best I ever beheld. The place was packed to the rafters and at the end of the encore there was stunned silence. Everyone blown away. Awesome!
I also saw the S.F. Japan Center show with Alice Coltrane, Reggie Workman, and Carlos Santana. A cherished memory.
Whatever form this upcoming tour takes may you rekindle those inner flames!
Please bring this to Chicago!
Where? When? Please post the dates of this tour with Jimmy Herring!
Hi,
would you mind telling me when the tickets are on sale?
Please tell me asap , so I can planify to buy also my trip plane tickets !!
(I live in Buenos Aires..,,,)
Thanks in advance!!!
Gabriel
When are the dates and where are the venues? (And when/how can we book?!)
Where in US. When?
Come back to Seattle! Where are the dates?
In the article it says that John feels that these will be his last American performances.
John, are you planning to retire?
If so, please come the Netherlands once again to play, or some place near (remember the school theatre in the little German town of Neuenhaus in 2008?)
Any Canadian dates?
John,
I saw you play with the Orchestra, Santana and even, I believe, at a Buddhist temple in the Chicago area, back in the day. You totally changed my perception of what music could be. I can’t wait for an opportunity to see you live again. I doubt that you be in Reno NV. But I’ll drive or fly to the nearest show!
Please come to Minneapolis, Minnesota!
You have a lot of Fans here.
Thanks,
When and where will tickets be made available?
See you at The Warfield (with any luck)
Supposedly …
November 1 Buffalo, NY – University at Buffalo Center for the Arts
November 2 Albany, NY – The Egg
November 3 New York, NY – Town Hall
November 4 Port Chester, NY – Capitol Theatre
November 5 Cranston, RI – Park Theatre
November 8 Boston, MA – The Wilbur Theatre
November 9 Philadelphia, PA – Keswick Theatre
November 10 Newark, NJ – Prudential Hall
November 11 Washington DC, Lincoln Theatre
November 12 Durham, NC, Duke Performances at DPAC
November 15 Ann Arbor, MI – TBA
November 17 Chicago, IL, Vic Theatre
November 19 Indianapolis, IN, Clowes Memorial Hall
November 21 Nashville, TN, Schermerhorn Symphony Center
November 22 Atlanta, GA, Atlanta Symphony Hall
November 24 Jacksonville, FL, Florida Theatre
November 25 Clearwater, FL, Ruth Eckerd Hall
November 27 New Orleans, LA, The Joy Theater
November 30 Austin, TX, Paramount Theatre
December 5 Seattle, WA, Moore Theatre
December 6 Portland, OR, Revolution Hall
December 8 San Francisco, CA, The Warfield
December 9 Los Angeles, CA, Royce Hall-UCLA
Bought my tickets for the November 9, 2017 show in Glenside, PA north of Philly. Saw you play in the 90’s at the Valley Forge Music Fair with Trilok Gurtu and Jeff Berlin (opening for Miles Davis).
Really looking forward to this!
Got my tickets this AM inviting all my friends to see the greatest of the greats
How do I get tickets for DPAC in Durham, NC on November 12th? We grew up with Jimmy and would love to see him perform.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing John a few times. First was in 1971 with the original Mahavishnu Orchestra. Cobham, Laird,Goodman,Hammer and John doing « The Inner Mounting Flame ». Again with Shakti in San Juan, PR. Twice again with the « Apocalypse » and « Visions of the Emerald Beyond » band. Jean Luc Ponty and Ralph Armstrong, Gayle Moran, Carol Shive, Narmada Michael Walden…….awesome. I am excited to be able to see him one more time in Austin, TX on Nov 30, 2017. Truly THE GREATEST GUITARIST of ALL TIME!
John please considers adding Montreal QC Canada in the farewell tour, we miss you in Montreal
I’ve waited 44 years to see John Mclaughlin perform The Inner Mounting Flame. Although I’ve seen him perform 10 times since, I never witnessed the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, and he’s never performed the material since; except at Chick Corea’s 75 birthday at The Blue Note in Dec 2016.
I had a ticket to see the Dec 30, 1973 show at the Masonic Temple Detroit, their final performance. But I was invited to the Bahamas, missed the show and regretted it ever since.
Although I went on to become an MD, I think no other artist has inspired me more toward creative enlightenment than Mahavishnu John Mclaughlin.
Shows I have seen include:
April 1974 Detroit / Leo Kotke opening
July 1974 Pine Knob, Mi
April 1975 Detroit / with Jeff Beck Group
October 1976 Ann Arbor (Inner Worlds)
September 1977 Detroit (Shakti)
March 1979 Ann Arbor (One Truth Band)/ Larry Coryell opening
January 1983 Philadelphia / with Paco and Steve Morse
June 1985 New York (The New Mahavishnu Band)
September 1989 Philadelphia(duet Jonas Helborg)/ +Miles Davis
With some good fortune, all things come to those who wait.
I’ve got 2nd row tickets for Philadelphia 11/6
This will be my first opportunity to see John(ji), I’m 53 and excited like a young boy. Decades in the waiting. See you in Philadelphia. I too shall be in the 2nd row. Sadhu-Orange shirt. I’d love to ask him about parenthood, especially with his youngest since I will be in a similar situation.
peace, Z
In follow up to my post above. I finally met John and spoke with him, thanking him for the inspiration his artistry has given to us all these many years. I told him that after my wife’s passing not long ago, I was determined not to miss a chance to see what turned out to be his farewell tour in America. Some years ago, she had tried to arrange a meeting between, even calling his management at one point to no avail. She had always understood how much his music meant to me, and by extension to her.
To you John, thank you again for standing in that cold rain after the Keswick Theatre Philadelphia show to share that time. Your name was the only one on my bucket list to meet and I’ll never forget and always be grateful.