John McLaughlin - Portrait (2000)

One of fusion's most virtuosic guitar soloists, John McLaughlin placed his blazing speed in the service of a searching spiritual passion that has kept his music evolving and open to new influences. Whether shredding on electric or simmering quietly on acoustic, McLaughlin's intensity and underappreciated versatility have nearly always kept his playing vital, and his best moments -- whether as a solo artist or bandmember -- represent some of fusion's greatest recordings, including 1971's The Inner Mounting Flame and 1973's Birds of Fire with his supergroup Mahavishnu Orchestra, which included keyboardist Jan Hammer and drummer Billy Cobham. In 1976, he formed the acoustic quartet Shakti with a trio of Indian musicians. They issued three acclaimed albums as one of the first world fusion outfits. He continued to balance his time between electric fusion and acoustic projects, the most notable of the latter was the live A Night in San Francisco with guitarists Al Di Meola and Paco De Lucia. They split after a studio offering and reunited in the '90s with the celebrated The Guitar Trio. In the 21st century, McLaughlin continued to deliver and tour a wealth of diverse projects, but his focus was once again on incorporating fusion from both ends of the rock and jazz spectrum, as evidenced by 2008's Floating Point and 2015's post-psychedelic Black Light with his band 4th Dimension.