Meeting Of The Spirits Tour To Feature John McLaughlin & Jimmy Herring

In November and December of 2017 John McLaughlin And The 4th Dimension will embark on a co-headlining “The Meeting Of The Spirits” tour with Widespread Panic guitarist Jimmy Herring. McLaughin and Herring will each play a set with their own bands before coming together for “an expansive closing jam based on classic Mahavishnu Orchestra material.” A press release announcing the tour, for which dates have yet to be revealed, mentions “McLaughlin strongly feels that this will be his last American performances.”

The coming tour marks McLaughlin’s first extensive U.S. tour in seven years. Meeting of the Spirits also marks his first extended exploration of the Mahavishnu Orchestra material from seminal albums such as Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire, Between Nothingness and Eternity, Visions of the Emerald Beyond and more since the band’s original heyday in the 1970s. “To play the music of Mahavishnu is not for the faint-hearted,” said McLaughlin, who celebrates his 75th birthday in 2017. “In fact, among the only people I know who have succeeded in interpreting Mahavishnu music are my two all-time favorite guitarists: Jimmy Herring and Jeff Beck. Jimmy is simply a great guitar player, and since we see so eye to eye in music, I know we will have some extraordinary musical experiences touring together.”

Look for McLaughlin will be backed by his current band, the 4th Dimension featuring Ranjit Barot (drums), Gary Husband (keyboards, drums), and Etienne M’Bappé (bass). The members of Jimmy Herring’s band for the jaunt have yet to be revealed. The press release announcing the tour states, “expect special surprise guests to be added when available.”

“The music of Mahavishnu is part of my personal and musical history, and as such it is inseparable from me,” McLaughlin reflects in a statement. “To return to these pieces with the experience I’ve had for the past 45 years, since the majority of those pieces were played all those years ago, is very exciting.” Herring added, “John’s influence on me is far-reaching. When first hearing him, I was struck by the raw emotion and technical prowess he has. If you listen to John long enough, the layers of all the things that make him unique will reveal themselves…Inner Mounting Flame changed my life and the way I heard music. By the time I heard it in 1980, John had long since moved on and recreated himself, as he has done many times throughout his career. It is an honor and a privilege to do this tour with John and the 4th Dimension.”