McLaughlin has been cited as a major influence on many generations from the ’70s and ’80s fusion guitarists, prominent players such as Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern, Al Di Meola, and Scott Henderson. His influence did not stop in the ’80s as Hardcore Punk guitarist Greg Ginn of Black Flag cited Birds Of Fire by The Mahavishnu Orchestra which inspired him to record more progressive guitar work and even recording instrumental songs ,current players still hold him as highly influential including Omar Rodriguez of The Mars Volta. According to Pat Metheny, McLaughlin has changed the evolution of the guitar during several of his periods of playing. McLaughlin is also considered a major influence on composers in the fusion genre. In an interview with Downbeat, Chick Corea remarked that “…what John McLaughlin did with the electric guitar set the world on its ear. No one ever heard an electric guitar played like that before, and it certainly inspired me. John’s band, more than my experience with Miles, led me to want to turn the volume up and write music that was more dramatic and made your hair stand on end.” In 2010, Jeff Beck called him “the best guitarist alive.”

Friday Night In San Francisco

It was a historic occasion. The appearance of John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, and Paco DeLucia at San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre one Friday night in 1981 was a musical event that could be compared to the Benny Goodman Band’s performance at Carnegie Hall in 1938. The Guitar Trio did for the acoustic guitar what Goodman had done for jazz. The acoustic guitar had gone commercial.

In 1979 and 1980, McLaughlin and de Lucia had actually toured Europe with Larry Coryell. McLaughlin tried to release a recording of this group but Columbia would have none of it, claiming Coryell was not a big enough name. Coryell had some personal problems at the time that did not help either. (The video Meeting of the Spirits features this version of the Trio, and it also appears on one cut on DeLucia’s album Castro Marin ). When the time came to tour America, DiMeola stepped in. His presence suddenly made the Trio commercial. At any rate, Friday Night In San Francisco was the result.

FNSF truly caught these players’ energy, amazing technique and humor to a generous degree. There is no doubt that McLaughlin is the leader (center channel gives that away), but DiMeola and DeLucia more than hold their own. DiMeola, though one of the world’s greatest guitar players, lacks the emotional intensity and overall musicality to match McLaughlin or DeLucia. But the Latin influenced music of the Trio allows him to excel in a genre in which he had long dabbled. Not being a jazz player, DeLucia’s improvisational work is understandably weaker than the other two. However, the music is as much in DeLucia’s bag as anyone’s. The concert is full of call and response, unison playing, heavy chords (courtesy of McLaughlin), and audience screams.

The album’s highlight is McLaughlin’s duet with DeLucia on an Egberto Gismonti piece, “Frevo Rasgado”. The beautiful melody and stunning improvisation leads to an absolutely hair-raising finale duel. (Gismonti has recorded a beautiful version of his tune on piano.) The recording’s lightest moments occur during a hilarious duet version of Chick Corea’s “Short Tales of the Black Forest,” featuring McLaughin and DiMeola in which the two masters quote back and forth from various sources including Mancini’s “Pink Panther.” All three players finish the event with a studio version of McLaughlin’s “Guardian Angel.”

Friday Night in San Francisco may be considered the most influential of all live acoustic guitar albums. Though some have criticized it for its muscular tendencies, the recording certainly captures the excitement of the event itself. In a world of electric guitars, it was quite unusual to hear a crowd go absolutely ballistic over acoustic strumming. It is not so unusual today, and this record is one major reason for that.

By Walter Kolosky

John McLaughlin Discography

Where Fortune Smiles, 1970, One Way
My Goal’s Beyond, 1970, Rykodisc
Devotion, 1970, Douglas
Electric Guitarist, 1978, Columbia
Electric Dreams , 1979, Columbia With One Truth Band
Friday Night in San Francisco, 1981, Philips
Belo Horizonte, 1981, Warner Bros. (reissued by Wounded Bird Records)
Passion, Grace and Fire, 1982, Columbia
Music Spoken Here, 1982, Warner Bros. (reissued by Wounded Bird Records)
Mediterranean Concerto (For Guitar and Orchestra) (Live), 1988, Columbia
Live At The Royal Festival Hall, 1989, JMT
Que Alegria, 1991, Verve
Jazz, Vol. 2, 1991, Rhino
Time Remembered: John McLaughlin Plays Bill Evans, 1993, Verve
Tokyo Live, 1993, Polygram
After The Rain, 1994, Verve
Guitar Concerto, 1995, Sony Classical
The Promise, 1995, Verve
The Guitar Trio, 1996, Verve
The Heart of Things, 1997, Verve
Remember Shakti: The Believer [Live], 2000, Verve
The Heart of Things: Live In Paris, 2000, Polygram
Saturday Night in Bombay: Remember Shakti, 2001, Verve
Thieves And Poets, 2003, Verve
Industrial Zen, 2006, Verve
Floating Point, 2008, Mediastarz/Abstract Logix
To The One, 2010, Mediastarz/Abstract Logix

1973 Birds of Fire Full-Length
1973 The Lost Trident Sessions Released in
1973 Between Nothingness and Eternity Live Album
1974 Apocalypse Full-Length
1975 Visions of the Emerald Beyond Full-Length
1976 Inner Worlds Full-Length
1980 The Best of Mahavishnu Orchestra Full-Length (compilation)
1984 Mahavishnu Full-Length
1986 Adventures in Radioland Full-Length
1994 The Collection Full-Length (compilation)

Own Up, Twice as Much, 1966, Immediate
Experiments With Pops, Gordon Beck, 1968
Infinite Search, Miroslav Vitous, 1969, Embryo
Super Nova, Wayne Shorter, 1969, Blue Note
Emergency!, Tony Williams Lifetime, 1969, Polydor
Turn It Over, Tony Williams Lifetime, 1970, Polydor
Things We Like, Jack Bruce, 1970 (recorded 1968)
Purple, Miroslav Vitous, 1970, Columbia
Follow Your Heart, Joe Farrell, 1970, CTI
Innovations, Duffy Power, 1970, Transatlantic
Solid Bond, The Graham Bond Organisation, 1970, Warner Bros.
Spaces, Larry Coryell, 1970, Vanguard
One Man Dog, James Taylor, 1972, Warner Bros.
Love Devotion Surrender, 1973, Columbia (with Carlos Santana)
Welcome, Santana, 1973
Escalator over the hill, Carla Bley and Paul Haines, 1974, ECM
Moto Grosso Feio, Wayne Shorter, 1974, Blue Note (recorded 1970)
Journey To Love, Stanley Clarke, 1975, Epic
Planet End, Larry Coryell, 1975, Vanguard
Live (1976-1977), Stanley Clarke, Epic (released 1991)
School Days, Stanley Clarke, 1976, Epic
The Alternative Man, Bill Evans, 1985, Blue Note
Round Midnight (Soundtrack),1986, Columbia
Other Side Of Round Midnight, Dexter Gordon, 1986, Blue Note
Gladrags, Katia And Marielle Labeque, 1986, Angel
Making Music, Zakir Hussain, 1986, ECM
Love Of Colours, Katia and Marielle Labeque, 1990, Columbia
Divine Light: Reconstructions & Mix Translation, Carlos Santana and Bill Laswell, 2001, Sony
Finally The Rain Has Come, Leni Stern, 2002, Leni Stern
Someday, Ithamara Koorax, 2002, Huks
Universal Syncopations, Miroslav Vitous, 2003, ECM
Hymns For Peace: Live At Montreux 2004, Santana, 2007, Eagle Eye
Hadrian Feraud, Hadrien Feraud, 2007, Dreyfus
Five Peace Band, Chick Corea etc, 2009, Concord

Shakti With John McLaughlin, 1975, Columbia
Natural Elements, 1977, CBS
A Handful Of Beauty, 1976, Columbia
Remember Shakti, 1999, Universal Distribution
Collection, 2000, Import

Bitches Brew, Miles Davis, 1970, Columbia
A Tribute To Jack Johnson, Miles Davis, 1971, Columbia
Live-Evil, Miles Davis, 1971, Columbia
On The Corner, Miles Davis, 1972, Columbia
Big Fun, Miles Davis, 1974, Columbia
Get Up With It, Miles Davis, 1974, Columbia
The Cellar Door Sessions, Miles Davis, recorded 1970, released 2005, Columbia
Circle In The Round, 1979, Columbia (outtakes recorded 1955-1970)
Directions, Miles Davis, 1980, Columbia (unreleased material recorded 1960-1970)
You’re Under Arrest, Miles Davis, 1985, Columbia
Aura, Miles Davis, 1989, Columbia