John McLaughlin: The Emerald Beyond

by Ken Trethewey

John McLaughlin is a jewel among guitarists. After coming to prominence in Miles Davis’s experimental fusion bands of 1969/70, he became one of the early electric guitar superstars with his jazz-rock band Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971. In the years since then his career has covered a broad range of styles and genres. As comfortable on acoustic as he is on electric guitar, John’s music ranges freely through mainstream jazz, Flamenco and traditional European classical music, but always returns to electric jazz-fusion. A major part of his work has been the development of his own style of jazz fused with Indian music, and he was one of the first musicians to work in the now established genre of World music. This book presents a commentary on John McLaughlin’s music through his recorded works. It provides an analysis of his unique style and his remarkable achievements in both performance and composition.

Paperback

First published March 26, 2013

About the author

Ken is a retired marine engineer specialising in corrosion and materials engineering. He obtained his PhD at Leicester University in 1976 and became a chartered chemist. However, thanks to a career in the Royal Navy, Ken was able to cross over into the world of engineering where he became a chartered engineer also. He currently works as a pharologist. Based in Cornwall UK, he has written books about corrosion engineering, lighthouses and jazz. When he is not pursuing pharology, he operates his own publishing business, Jazz-Fusion Books.