Miles Beyond

John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension: John McLaughlin (guitar), Gary Husband (keyboards, drums), Etienne Mbappé (electric bass) and Ranjit Barot (drums, percussion, konakkol). From the album Live at Ronnie Scott’s (2017).

In 2003 McLaughlin released Thieves and Poets in which he plays acoustic post-bop along with classical music. First he interprets with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie orchestra a long three-movements composition with Spanish flamenco hints and then includes four jazz standards with the Aighetta Quartet. In 2006 he recorded Industrial Zen playing post-bop/jazz fusion in which he delves into programming loops and the digital world of high technology, and forms different groups with the musicians in each track. It became the ninth on Billboard’s jazz albums chart and received favorable reviews from critics.

In 2008 he published Floating Point for the Abstract Logix label in which he approaches with his synthesized guitar a more contemporary sound and the band is in tune performing fast melodies and rhythmic funk. That same year keyboardist Chick Corea, founder of jazz fusion band Return to Forever, brought together McLaughlin, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, double bassist and electric bassist Christian McBride and drummer and percussionist Vinnie Colaiuta to create the Five Peace Band, and make a post-bop/jazz fusion tour; as a result, in 2009 Five Peace Band Live went on sale.

In 2010 McLaughlin founded John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension with constant changes in formation and issued To the One (2010), Now Here This (2012), The Boston Record (2014), Black Light (2015) and Live at Ronnie Scott’s (2017). In 2017 he made a farewell tour of his musical career in the United States with rock and jazz fusion guitarist Jimmy Herring in which for the last time he enjoyed his wonderful experiences on stage. Finally, in 2018 appeared Live in San Francisco, which features a performance he gave at the Warfield Theater in that city in 1982. John McLaughlin is an important point of reference in today’s jazz and a source of inspiration for a multitude of guitarists.