John McLaughlin

“I have a great affection for Indian culture and music.”

“At the risk of sounding hopelessly romantic, love is the key element. I really love to play with different musicians who come from different cultural backgrounds.”

“As far as favorite tunes, 'You Know You Know' is one, and why it is important is difficult to say. The rhythmic cycle is very interesting and challenging to play, since it can be considered three bars of 4/4 or four bars of 3/4. 'The Dance of Maya' is another, and I have to mention 'Sanctuary.'”

“If I had to live on record sales, I'd be pushing up the daisies.”

“Miles Davis himself, I discovered him when I was 15, and he rocked my world.”

“I'm not a classical player. I don't want to be a classical player. I love to improvise, because things happen that never happen anywhere else.”

“The Mahavishnu Orchestra - when it came out, it was an explosion, completely unexpected as far as I was concerned. I was just forming a band.”

“I find Indian music very funky. I mean it's very soulful, with their own kind of blues. But it's the only other school on the planet that develops improvisation to the high degree that you find in jazz music. So we have a lot of common ground.”

“Only in spontaneity can we be who we truly are.”

“When Mahavishnu came out in '71, the unbelievable reaction to the band was a real shock to me. It was a shock to everybody.”

“The guitar l learned on was probably worth $4 or something, but it was priceless to me. It meant so much.”

“I was 11 years old, and I had been playing classical piano for three years, and suddenly the guitar came and landed in my arms. I fell in love with that instrument, and I still love it today. I love it so much.”

“The mathematics of rhythm are universal. They don't belong to any particular culture.”

“The day I stop making music would be the day I keel over, really.”

“In 1978, I was in Paris - I was in someone's car and listening to the radio - and on comes Paco de Lucia. I'd never heard of this chap, and I just thought, 'I have to meet him.' And I was very lucky; I found him very quickly. Crazily enough, he happened to be in Paris!”

“One of the advantages of playing in a club is that even with bass and drums, the atmosphere remains intimate with the audience.”

“The first LP, 'Inner Mounting Flame,' is, of course, one of my favorites, and also 'Visions of the Emerald Beyond.' But the others are also very dear to me.”

“Music is closer to poetry than anything.”

“I've been studying the cultures of Asia for many years, and I'm very attracted to the culture of Japan, in particular to the impact Zen has had on the Japanese mind and spirit.”