OAKLAND, California — Jazz-rock fusion guitar tends to be the first thing that comes to mind when jazz buffs think of John McLaughlin. But, as Remember Shakti demonstrated Sunday night in the Paramount Theatre as part of the San Francisco Jazz Festival, that's just half his legend.

The English-born musician first came into prominence when Miles Davis introduced an electric rock-inspired edge to jazz during the late '60s. McLaughlin was introduced to the world when Davis titled one of the tunes on his landmark album Bitches Brew after the guitarist. The spirit of musical innovation always associated with Davis is as much a quality of McLaughlin. With the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early '70s, he began dabbling with Indian classical music, incorporating it into an aggressive but virtuosic electric sound that ignited much subsequent jazz-rock fusion.

McLaughlin began to seriously explore his Eastern influences during the mid-'70s by joining his Western guitar technique to formal Indian musical structures. He unplugged and recruited three musicians from India's classical tradition. The result was the band Shakti, a clean combination of Eastern and Western music that anticipated the world-music movement.

McLaughlin's dual paths, jazz-fusion and Indian classical music, offer distinct yet inseparable musical settings he continues to explore. Two live albums released this year showcase McLaughlin's parallel developments. Pure electric jazz fuels The Heart of Things to Come, while Remember Shakti pays homage to its original version on The Believer.

Remember Shakti reunites McLaughlin and master tabla player Zakir Hussain, who played in version 1.0. Percussionist V. Selvaganesh, son of the group's original ghatam (large clay pot) player, and mandolin virtuoso U. Srinivas joined the band in 1997.

McLaughlin's dichotomy was evident in the first two pieces the group performed Sunday, which marked the conclusion of their month-long North American tour. The opener, "5 in the Morning, 6 in the Afternoon" (RealAudio excerpt), revealed his Western side as McLaughlin wove rock elements into the rhythmic Indian framework. That work, though, was followed by the classical Indian piece "Giri Raja Sudha."

Together, McLaughlin and Srinivas imitated the sound of a sitar, with the guitarist providing a deep backing drone to Srinivas mandolin solos. The performance generally reflected the structure of Indian classical music, with each song starting slow and building up speed. The percussion provided a solid Eastern-looking anchor, and McLaughlin often launched into Indian-inspired phrasing alongside Srinivas.

Western elements were also obvious. Many of the chord progressions followed jazz, rock and blues traditions. McLaughlin tipped his hat to Miles by quoting the trumpeter's "Jean Pierre" briefly during first-set closer "Finding the Way" (RealAudio excerpt). Here McLaughlin's repetitive strumming also gave Hussain and Selvaganesh a chance to showcase their art. At one point they started tapping on their cheeks with the same rhythmic skill given to their instruments, provoking a conversational scat session.

The second set, more sedate than the first, offered moments of intense climax when all four musicians played in fervent unison. Some of the show's more poignant moments occurred when McLaughlin linked musically with Srinivas.

The spiritual side of Indian culture seems to appeal to McLaughlin, and Remember Shakti do their best to elevate music to a higher realm. But the great, and often funky, jazz lineage in which he was formed plays a part as well. All that really needs to be said is that McLaughlin's cultural duality has inspired some unique and exciting musical contributions.