McLaughlin Plans Shakti Tour, New Album

By I Aug. 22, 2003

John McLaughlin and his Indian fusion group, Remember Shakti, have announced a nationwide tour to promote the release of their new studio album, Thieves And Poets (Verve).

Remember Shakti, with guitarist McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain on tabla, V. Selvaganesh on ghatam, kanjira and maretangham, and U. Shrinivas on mandolin, will be joined by vocalist Shankar Mahadevan from Sep. 16–21.

Thieves and Poets begins with a three-part suite of the same title and according to McLaughlin, “is in a way, a story of my musical journey through life.” The album also includes four standards dedicated to pianists who have influenced McLaughlin: “My Foolish Heart” for Chick Corea, “The Dolphin” for Gonzalo Rubalcaba, “Stella By Starlight” for Herbie Hancock and “My Romance” for Bill Evans.

Tour dates for John McLaughlin and Remember Shakti are:
Sept. 16: Boulder, Colo.; Boulder Theater
Sept. 18: Westwood, Calif.; UCLA Tennis Center
Sept. 19: Monterey, Calif.; Monterey Jazz Festival
Sept. 20: Berkeley, Calif.; UC Berkeley
Sept. 21: Saratoga, Calif.; Villa Montalvo Center for the Arts
Sept. 25: Seattle; Paramount Theater
Sept. 26: Portland, Ore.; Symphony Hall
Sept. 28: Houston; Verizon Wireless Theater
Sept. 29: Minneapolis; Cedar Cultural Center
Sept. 30: Cleveland; Wexner Center
Oct. 1: Chicago; Chicago Theater
Oct. 3: New York; Town Hall
Oct. 4: Washington, D.C.; Lisner Auditorium
Oct. 9: Burlington, Vt.; Flynn Theatre for the Performing Arts

For more information, go to www.johnmclaughlin.com or www.ververecords.com