John McLaughlin

I was dealing with a lot of spiritual questions like \"Who am I?\" \"What is God\" \"What is the meaning of life?\" All of these questions that I think we can either face head on or choose to ignore, it\'s up to us.

I practice all the scales. Everyone should know lots of scales. Actually, I feel there are only scales. What is a chord, if not the notes of a scale hooked together?

Question: Does it frost Jackson, Jesse Jackson, that someone like Obama, who fits the stereotype blacks once labeled as an Oreo -- a black on the outside, a white on the inside -- that an Oreo should be the beneficiary of the long civil rights struggle which Jesse Jackson spent his lifetime fighting for?

If I can get out of the way, if I can be pure enough, if I can be selfless enough, and if I can be generous and loving and caring enough to abandon what I have in my own preconceived silly notions of what I think I am - and become truly who in fact I am, which is really just another child of God - then the music can really use me. And therein lies my fulfillment. That\'s when the music starts to happen.

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

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

Every day, I discover something utterly unbelievable when I play.

I have a great affection for Indian culture and music.

I discovered flamenco when I was 14, before I even got involved with jazz music. I was so crazy about flamenco music. I wanted to be a flamenco guitar player.

Frankly speaking, if I care what people write, whether it is positive or negative, I believe, personally, I\'m on the wrong path.

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.

I\'m not the sort of chap who can sit down and write music. When it comes, I\'m happy.

I already experimented with free jazz in the 1960s and, in my opinion, to play free jazz, you have to be a perfect musician and a perfect human being - and none of us are!

You realize as you get older that tomorrow is not guaranteed for anybody.

I have a profound affection for Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism\'s particular ways of meditating.

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

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.\'

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

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.

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.

To pay attention to flattery or criticism is a waste of time for artists.

In my world, if you want to make a record to make money, you\'re already off to a bad start.

In my opinion, there is one singular problem with religions in general: they are exclusive. To me, this exclusivity is not right.

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.

Music is closer to poetry than anything.

The Beatles, they brought a whole new dimension to pop music. Of course, the psychedelic period is much more interesting to me, starting with \'Rubber Soul\' and on to the \'White Album.\' Great, great records. I was such a Beatles fan. I was very sad when they broke up.

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.

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.

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