If you love a fast guitar, nobody does it faster than John McLaughlin.
The British guitarist, who'll perform at the Fox Tucson Theatre next Friday, was also experimenting with fuzz-buster explosions right along with Jimi Hendrix in the late 1960s.
That combination caught the ear of Miles Davis, who invited McLaughlin to be a part of Davis' landmark albums "In a Silent Way" in 1969 and "Bitches Brew" in 1970. From there, McLaughlin stayed at the forefront of the jazz-rock fusion movement as a bandleader, seeking his own frontier-bending music with the flavors of India blended into the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Then came a 40-year career in jazz alchemy to create new sounds while playing lots of acoustic guitar and exploring the music of other Asian cultures. Now the 68-year-old Grammy Award-winning McLaughlin is back on the road with a new CD, "To the One," inspired in part by tenor sax giant John Coltrane.
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McLaughlin is coming to Tucson with his trio, the Fourth Dimension, courtesy of Rhythm and Roots. The group consists of Gary Husband (keyboards, drums), Etienne Mbappe (electric bass) and Mark Mondesir (drums).
"To the One" is a homecoming of sorts. McLaughlin has always credited Coltrane's 1965 album, "A Love Supreme," as the recording that gave his playing purpose.
But it wasn't until the summer of 2009 that McLaughlin was getting up in the middle of the night to write down music with subconscious connections to Coltrane's '65 album. Even then, it wasn't the notes so much that were evocative of Coltrane. It was the attitude.
"My work in music is always a work of the spirit," he explained in a Down Beat interview. "It's a development of my spirit, and the development of myself as a human being."
"Coltrane had written a beautiful poem/prayer on the back of the LP which helped and encouraged me beyond any words," McLaughlin told the Washington Post. "I'd already begun my own personal search for answers to the eternal questions of life and death, but the fact that in one stroke Coltrane integrated in such a lovely way the dimension of spiritual awareness into jazz was a gigantic accomplishment.
"Musically, of course, he is today still a guru to me."
"To the One" doesn't sound like John Coltrane, but follows a parallel track compositionally, with similar rhythmic dynamics, modal scales and the intricate interplay of four musicians improvising as one. Most exciting is that full-out willingness to just keep on blowing.
In a broader sense, the overall sound is also reminiscent of the entire jazz fusion movement. There are no flavors of India in the air here. In other cities on the tour, McLaughlin has been emphasizing this album. But he also pulls some solid gold favorites from his thick music book of successful fusion blends.
IF YOU GO
John McLaughlin and the Fourth Dimension
• Presented by: Rhythm and Roots.
• When: 8 p.m. next Friday.
• Where: Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.
• Tickets: $35-$75.
• Reservations, information: www.rhythmandroots.org, 547-3040.
Chuck Graham has written about the Tucson arts scene for more than 35 years. Read more of his arts coverage online at "Let the Show Begin," www.tucsonstage.com
