John McLaughlin (b. 1942) was brought up with the classical music and was initially inspired by the blues before discovering Jazz. On his first album, Extrapolation (1969), he plays with his adventurous compositions with distorted edge in a quartet with frequent unison guitar and saxophone lines, such as on the elliptical head for "Spectrum"; his solo, too, has an angular quality with flurries of lines and chords. He uses interesting rhythmic strumming on "Binky's Beam," while beauty and depth characterize the harmonies of the arpeggiated "This is for us to share," and "Peace Piece," which combines folk and Indian music.

In 1969, Mc Laughlin was invited to play on the miles Davis album In a Silent Way. On the title track, he contributes plangent chords and melody notes and is given the space for tentative exploratory lines on the extended open compositions. He also joined Lifetime with Tony Williams and Larry Young, playing a high-energy fusion. On the album Emergency (1969) he takes off as a soloist in an explosive setting of the title track, and on "Spectrum" his inventive articulation and original phrasing, derived from bebop and contemporary jazz thinking, has forceful declamatory accenting with a mixture of motifs, pentatonic elements, and bending.

Further Davis albums followed, including Bitches Brew (1969), where he adds lines to the poly tonal collage, Live Evil (1971), with a burning solo on "What I Say," and A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1970), on which he plays in a bluesy chordal groove. Other highlights include Miroslav Vitous' Mountain in the Clouds (1969), where he adds dissonant chordal edge and plays a furious elliptical solo on "Freedom Jazz Dance," and the contrasting Joe Farrell Quartet (1970); here he takes an emotional solo on "Follow Your Heart." With its rock settings and riffs, McLaughlin's first US solo album Devotion (1970) points to the future.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra

In 1971, John McLaughlin formed his own group, The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Their debut album, The Inner Mounting Flame (1971), was a groundbreaking template for jazz-rock. The group is driven by ferocious drumming with an uncompromising "heavy eights" feel, often using compound time signatures such as 10/8, anchored by minimal bass and washes of sustaining synth harmonies. The guitar, violin and keyboards play fast, extended unison parts and solos with a yearning, spiritual feeling, over unusual harmonies with elements from jazz, classical, blues, rock, and Indian music. McLaughlin's soloing is built around modes, pentatonic scales, and bluesy bends, which often sound similar to synth pitch-wheel movements, and he uses a compressed, sustaining distorted sound, as on the intense "Meeting of the Spirits," where it rides over a repeating violin figure, and the soft lyrical "Dawn." "Noonward Race" opens and ends with a funky guitar and drum duet McLaughlin playing tearing lines with the fills around the kit and builds up to a solo with cascading motifs and lines. An arpeggiated progression with unusual root movements forms the opening to "Dance of Maya," which goes into a compound time boogie and then a solo over vamped chords. "Awakening" and "Vital Transformation" feature surging riffs with the drums, but a peaceful side can be heard on "Lotus on Irish Streams" which sees acoustic guitar, violin, and piano creating a classical impressionist vision.