He played on Miles Davis' albums "In a Silent Way", "Bitches Brew" (which has a track named after him), "Live-Evil", "On the Corner", "Big Fun" (where he is featured soloist on "Go Ahead John") and "A Tribute to Jack Johnson". In the liner notes to "Jack Johnson", Davis called McLaughlin's playing "far in". McLaughlin returned to the Davis band for one night of a week-long club date, recorded and released as part of the album "Live-Evil" and of the "Cellar Door" boxed set. His reputation as a "first-call" session player grew, resulting in recordings as a sideman with Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Joe Farrell, Wayne Shorter, Carla Bley, the Rolling Stones, and others.