“I plugged my guitar in, and it was just like instant feedback”: John McLaughlin on how his jam with Jimi Hendrix ended in “disaster”

John McLaughlin plays his PRS live onstage. He wears a black tennis wristband; the guitar has a highly figured flame maple top and he wears a blue shirt. On the right, Jimi Hendrix plays his Gibson Flying V with the psychedelic paint job.

March 25, 1969, is a date that John McLaughlin will never forget. It was the day that Mitch Mitchell would introduce him to Buddy Miles, it was the day he met Jimi Hendrix for the first time – and he got to jam with him.

Hendrix’s revolutionary command of the electric guitar didn’t disappoint. Meeting Jimi Hendrix did not disappoint. In a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar, McLaughlin said Hendrix couldn’t be nicer. “He was a sweet guy,” says McLaughlin. “And I met him again, subsequently, where we had a chance to talk. And he was just totally unpretentious.”