John McLaughlin Archive Videos
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Weather Report's full performance, filmed for an episode of Beat Club in Hamburg, Germany, August 9, 1971. A little known fact is that John was originally invited to become a member of this incarnation of Weather Report, but had to decline the offer - as he would explain about those initial stages of the band's formation :
"I knew Wayne Shorter, of course, through Miles, and I'm on a couple of his solo albums. I was also very friendly with the bassist Miroslav Vitouš. I asked him to join Mahavishnu Orchestra but he said, ‘We’re making our own group with Wayne and Joe Zawinul’ - which of course became Weather Report, one of the best bands ever! Miroslav said, ‘We all want you in our band, John.’ But I was under orders from Miles to form my own band!"
Interestingly, it was Billy Cobham who would record the first demo tape with the original Weather Report - at that point, the band was a quartet - Joe, Wayne, Miroslav and Billy. Billy was already committed to working with John, so the band would choose Alphonse Mouzon as their first official drummer. This demo tape has never been heard before, but if it ever surfaces, you will hear it in the Archive for sure.
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Weather Report's full performance, filmed for an episode of Beat Club in Hamburg, Germany, August 9, 1971. A little known fact is that John was originally invited to become a member of this incarnation of Weather Report, but had to decline the offer - as he would explain about those initial stages of the band's formation : "I knew Wayne Shorter, of course, through Miles, and I'm on a couple of his solo albums. I was also very friendly with the bassist Miroslav Vitouš. I asked him to join Mahavishnu Orchestra but he said, ‘We’re making our own group with Wayne and Joe Zawinul’ - which of course became Weather Report, one of the best bands ever! Miroslav said, ‘We all want you in our band, John.’ But I was under orders from Miles to form my own band!" Interestingly, it was Billy Cobham who would record the first demo tape with the original Weather Report - at that point, the band was a quartet - Joe, Wayne, Miroslav and Billy. Billy was already committed to working with John, so the band would choose Alphonse Mouzon as their first official drummer. This demo tape has never been heard before, but if it ever surfaces, you will hear it in the Archive for sure.
Here is a rare audience recording of Shakti performing at the ITF Pavilion in Kolkata, India on March 20, 1984. The pieces that the band performed are 'Joy', 'Face to Face', 'Bridge of Sighs' and 'India'.
Jean Luc Ponty performing at the Frankfurt Jazz Festival in 1972. The other players are Joachim Kuhn on keyboards, Philip Catherine on guitar, Peter Trunk on bass and Oliver Johnson on drums.
Jean Luc Ponty performing in Hamburg, September 20, 1972. The other musicians are Jasper van't Hof on keyboards, Philip Catherine on guitar, Peter Trunk on bass, Aldo Romano on drums and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion.
Jean-Luc Ponty performing with Tony Williams and Stanley Clarke at the Festival de Chateauvallon in France, August 23, 1972. The band was billed as the Life Time Experience.
Jean Luc Ponty performing with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at Palais Gaumont in Paris, France, December 15, 1970. The footage was first broadcast on the French 'Pop 2' program in early 1971. Soon after, John approached Ponty about joining the original Mahavishnu Orchestra (previously having already proposed the idea of him joining the Tony Williams Lifetime), but since he was living in France, he had to decline the offer due to the various expenses which would have been in the way of his being fully committed to the new band. As fate would have it, Jean-Luc would become an official member of Zappa's band in 1973, and eventually, finally became the violinist in the second Mahavishnu Orchestra at the beginning of 1974.
A special feature on Jean Luc Ponty from the French 'Jazz Harmonie' TV program, broadcast on June 17, 1972.
Jean-Luc Ponty performing on the Old Grey Whistle Test, October 21, 1975. This was Ponty's first TV appearance after leaving the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Here's a very rare recording of the Mahavishnu Choir performing at St. John's Episcopal Church in New York on October 20, 1975. The repertoire is mostly comprised of John's music set to Sri Chinmoy's poems, written during the years of John's discipleship. The choir was conducted by Tanima Weiss.
Here's something truly special - the first known video footage of John who can be spotted in the audience during Oscar Peterson's appearance on the BBC Jazz 625 program in 1964. After Peterson's performance of Bill Evans' 'Waltz for Debby', you can see John clapping at the 15:45 mark, visibly moved by the composition which he would himself record almost 30 years later. Needless to say, Oscar is in top form, of course, being one of the absolute greatest pianists of all time. This all must have made a huge impression on the 22 year old John who was at this time still earning his living as a session musician. A life-changer for sure. The episode was filmed on April 1, 1964. P.S. Since I can see from the reactions that some people are unable to spot John, I repeat what I have already written - he is seen at the 15 MINUTE and 45 SECONDS mark, not at the beginning. I don't know why that is so difficult to understand. After seeing this, if you still cannot tell that this really is John, then you might want to pay a visit to an eye-specialist, you obviously have problems with your vision. Yes, it's John. For goodness' sake...
John and Mahavishnu performing at the Arena Civica in Milano, Italy in 1986. This was the final incarnation of the band with Jim Beard on keyboards and featured David Sanborn as a special guest.
Precious footage of John, Carla Bley, Jack Bruce and Paul Motian, filmed by director Steve Gebhardt during the recording sessions for Carla's 'Escalator Over the Hill' in 1970. The album features one of John's most memorable solos on the song 'Rawalpindi Blues' - those who are not familiar with this jewel can hear it at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDGIirtPQ
Carla Bley and Jack Bruce filmed during a recording session for 'Escalator Over the Hill' in January of 1971. The footage was shot by film-maker Shirley Clarke on a 1/2 inch open reel videotape and shows the two working on the album's vocal tracks.
Wishing Joni Mitchell a happy 80th birthday. Here she can be seen during a photo session with photographer Norman Seeff in 1977.
John, Alice Coltrane (on Wurlitzer organ) and Carlos Santana performing the song 'Angel of Sunlight' at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco, March 14, 1974. The rest of the band features Armando Peraza on congas, Reggie Workman on bass, Jules Broussard on saxophone, Michael Shrieve on drums and Tom Coster on keyboards.
John and Alice Coltrane (on harp) performing the song 'Angel of Water' at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco, March 14, 1974. Accompanying them are Carlos Santana on guitar and Jules Broussard on saxophone.
A rare recording of John and wife Eve Mahalakshmi performing an acoustic set at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco, March 14, 1974. Their performance was followed by Carlos Santana and wife Deborah who also played an acoustic duet, after which Alice Coltrane performed her solo set. The concert ended with a performance by the full electric band featuring John, Carlos, Alice and others, rounding out a special evening of devotional music.
Vikku Vinayakram performing with M.S. Subbulakshmi on Indian national television in 1976. The other musicians are Radha Viswanathan on vocal, Kandadevi Alagiriswamy on violin and Karaikudi Mani on mridangam.