Quotes from John McLaughlin

Interplay and interaction are the integral parts of music - they're as important as the notes.

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.

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

The music dictates to me which instrument I use. I'm basically waiting for orders as it were.

The moment you start to talk about playing music, you destroy music. It cannot be talked about. It can only be played, enjoyed and listened to.

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

Music is closer to poetry than anything.

When I was five, I heard the end of Beethoven's 'Ninth Symphony' with my mother, and I got goosebumps all over my body.

I don't have any message in the music. Music will be fine as long as you take care of yourself.

At the risk of sounding hopelessly romantic, love is the key element. I really love to play with different musicians who come from different cultural backgrounds.

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

The whole point of working and practicing your whole life is so that you're ready when that moment arrives; when the inspiration arrives, you are ready to be at the disposal of inspiration.

My entire life is dedicated to music, and at my age, that makes a lot of years! But all the work and dedication is only that I'm able to forget myself and let the music do the 'talking.'

You can have the greatest player in terms of mastering an instrument and you could be yawning your head off when you hear them. So, it's not what you do, but the way you're doing it and in the end that's all that we have.

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

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!

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.

When I hear a great musician, I can feel his life inside the music.

I just want to keep exploring music and hopefully the orders will keep coming in and I'll be able to keep growing the interior and exterior sides of my life.

I've been more or less vegetarian for about 40 years. Health diet really helps. I do meditation every day, and either yoga or sport several times a week.

At the risk of sounding hopelessly romantic, love is the key element. I really love to play with different musicians who come from different cultural backgrounds.

I find Indian music very funky. I mean it's very soulful, with their own kind of blues. But it's the only other school on the planet that develops improvisation to the high degree that you find in jazz music. So we have a lot of common ground.

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