在爵士乐大师Miles Davis周围，曾经有许多的音乐精英与之合作并受其影响，Fusion吉他大师John McLaughlin就是其中之一，他可以算是一位将Fusion乐发扬光大的音乐者。很多音乐人都爱用Fusion这个词来标榜自己，但John McLaughlin却从不喜欢这样。&我是一个Fusion音乐人，这只是因为找不到一个更好的词来形容我自己。&他曾经说过，&我敬慕爵士乐，我所作的就是将我喜欢的其它音乐形式与之结合。Fusion从何而来，又去向何处？谁是正宗的，谁又不是？其实全是胡说八道。&
 
McLaughlin从11岁时开始学习吉他，最初他从一些布鲁斯和Swing吉他手那获得了不少启发。60年代，他曾与Alexis Korner, Graham Bond, Ginger Baker（奶油乐队的鼓手）和其他乐手合作过，与Gunter Hampel一起玩了半年的自由爵士。1969年，McLaughlin移居纽约，结识了Miles Davis，参与录制了Miles的经典专集&Bitches Brew&和&In A Silent Way&。1971年，他组建了Mahavishnu大乐队，音乐风格偏于摇滚，尤其融入了当时英国流行的以贝司和鼓为主调的Jungle风格，却带有大量非常成熟的爵士即兴，成为最具爆炸性的爵士摇滚乐队。为在发行了三张很有影响力的专辑之后（&The Inner Mounting Flame&，&Birds of Fire&和&Between Nothingness and Eternity&），乐队于1973年解散。1975年，McLaughlin又组建了一只以印度音乐为核心的乐队-Shakti，开始弹奏原声吉他，他在音乐风格上的这种出人意料的迅速转变让音乐界感到惊讶。Shakti乐队维持了三年，那时，世界音乐这个概念还刚处于幼年阶段，Shakti的音乐就已经在这个领域造成了有力的冲击。从那时起，McLaughlin便徘徊在电吉他和原声吉他的演奏风格之间，他组建了另一只乐队One Truth Band，又与另两位原声吉他大师Al DiMeola和Paco De Lucia组成三重奏，演奏西班牙风格的音乐。80年代中期，又参与了Miles Davis的专辑的录制，并与著名的钢琴演奏家Bill Evans重新组合了Mahavishnu大乐队。McLaughlin始终保持着Miles Davis的激情，在爵士乐风格和音色的调色板上不断调和出新的色彩。
 
对于未来的发展，McLaughlin保持着很开放的态度，就象30年前的Miles Davis一样。&Miles并不知道他将去往何处，我对自己也同样不清楚，我只是向前走。&他说，&当人凭着本能和想象向前走时，会不可避免的和其他人交织到一起。难道人的道路不是这样的吗？我不知道还有其他的路可走。&
 
A household name since the early 70s, John McLaughlin was an innovative fusion guitarist when he led the Mahavishnu Orchestra and continued living up to his reputation as a phenomenal and consistently inquisitive player through the years. He started on guitar when he was 11 and was initially inspired by blues and swing players. McLaughlin worked with Alexis Korner, Graham Bond, Ginger Baker, and others in the 1960s and played free jazz with Gunter Hampel for six months. His first album was a classic (1969s Extrapolation) and was followed by an obscurity for the Dawns label with John Surman, a quintet set with Larry Young (Devotion), and My Goals Beyond in 1970 which was half acoustic solos and half jams involving Indian musicians.
 
In 1969, McLaughlin moved to New York to play with Tony Williams Lifetime and he appeared on two classic Miles Davis records: In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. In 1971, McLaughlin formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, a very powerful group often thought of as rock but having the sophisticated improvisations of jazz. After three influential albums (The Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire, and Between Nothingness and Eternity), the group disbanded in 1973. McLaughlin, who recorded a powerful spiritual album with Carlos Santana that was influenced by John Coltrane, put together a new Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1974 that, despite the inclusion of Jean-Luc Ponty, failed to catch on and broke up by 1975. McLaughlin then surprised the music world by radically shifting directions, switching to acoustic guitar and playing Indian music with his group Shakti. They made a strong impact on the world music scene (which was in its infancy) during their three years. McLaughlin then went back and forth between electric and acoustic guitars; leading the One Truth Band; playing in trios with Al DiMeola and Paco De Lucia; popping up on some mid-80s Miles Davis records; forming a short-lived third version of the Mahavishnu Orchestra (with saxophonist Bill Evans); recording an introspective tribute to pianist Bill Evans; and, in 1993, touring with a rollicking jazz trio featuring Joey DeFrancesco and drummer Dennis Chambers. Throughout his productive career John McLaughlin has recorded as a leader for Marmalade, Dawns, Douglas International, Columbia, Warner Bros., and Verve.