In 1965 guitarist John McLaughlin was twenty-three years old and was concerned with the issues of life that every human being faces sooner or later. What is the meaning of life? Is there such a thing as God? The answer was brought to him by John Coltrane with his album A Love Supreme. For the first time, McLaughlin heard back the dimension of spirituality in jazz. This experience led to the foundation
… of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and its constant exploration of spiritual Indian music. Forty-four years after his introduction to A Love Surpreme, McLaughlin saw the light again. He was hit by a violent onslaught of inspiration in which the music came naturally to him. This reminded him of the same spiritual feeling from 1965. To The One features compositions inspired by Coltrane and blended with elements of McLauglin's varied playing. At first hearing, especially in the solid first part of To The One, there is a world of difference between the two records, but if you listen deeper, you will gradually discover the similarities. (AD)more
