On Tour, a PowerBook and Logic replace his effects rack

  Currently touring with his Remember Shakti band, legendary guitarist John McLaughlin appears on stage accompanied by a 17-inch PowerBook. He uses Logic, Logic plug-ins and a MOTU 828 as preamp, equalization and effects processing for his guitar. He also uses a guitar-MIDI converter and plays synthesizer parts from his guitar using the Mac and Logic instruments.

“My sound technician and I successfully reproduced my effects rack using an Apple Titanium PowerBook and Logic with plug-ins,” says McLaughlin. “You cannot imagine the pleasure and relief I’ve felt since this day. From now on, I will tour with no effects rack, using only a PowerBook with Logic installed. For me, this is nothing less than a revolution.”

A musician who thrives on developing new forms of music and who has pioneered fusions of jazz, Eastern, classical and rock music, McLaughlin is one of the world’s most versatile and influential guitarists.

In addition to founding and leading the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Shakti and the John McLaughlin Trio, McLaughlin has worked with a diverse set of artists including Miles Davis, Carlos Santana, Billy Cobham, Michael Tilson Thomas, Chick Corea, David Sanborn, Trilok Gurtu, Elvin Jones and many more.

The Remember Shakti tour features McLaughlin on guitar, Zakir Hussain on tabla, V. Selvaganesh on ghatam, kanjira and mridangham and U. Shrinivas on mandolin.

  
Photo by Ray Baragary

The tour began in Boulder, CO, Sep 16. Highlights included dates at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts and the Minnesota Orchestra. He plays New York City’s Town Hall Oct 3. The tour ends in Cambridge, MA, Oct 10.

What’s next for McLaughlin? He writes on his website, “For the last couple of years, I have had a lot of crazy ideas running around in my imagination that deal exclusively with some ‘new music.’ For some strange reason I want to break all the forms that I have either created or used over the last 20 years or so.”