Jazz Week
The Song of the Day is: 
Mahavishnu Orchestra – “Birds of Fire”
From the album Birds of Fire (1973)
Time for our heady jazz fusion excursion this Jazz Week. Much like the other bands that I would consider to be pillars of jazz fusion (Joe Zawinul’s Weather Report, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, and Chick Corea’s Return to Forever), John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra is a direct descendant of Miles Davis’ In a Silent Way/ Bitches Brew/Jack Johnson sessions. There was, and still is, some derision concerning the 2006 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction of Miles Davis, but I think when it’s considered that his band and the offspring bands created the subgenre that mixed rock and jazz, his induction is beyond fitting. In fact, I think it’s a shame that many of these band members (Hancock, Corea, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams) were not included in that induction as well. Perhaps the most rock-ist of the Miles crew was guitarist John McLaughlin. McLaughlin, who’s now 78, may have a strong claim at world’s greatest living guitarist (especially now that Eddie Van Halen recently passed away), and his contemporaries Al Di Meola and Jeff Beck will argue that position. McLaughlin is an English guitarist whose skills include jazz, flamenco, and psychedelic rock (he is known to be as effects driven and proficient in utilizing feedback as Hendrix). He also has a notable interest in Indian music and eastern scales. He began his career playing with the Graham Bond Organization (also for with future Cream members Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce), and then played with Tony Williams’ Lifetime before joining Miles Davis in the late sixties and early seventies. In 1971, after three solo albums, he formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra, his own group that fused his jazz, Indian and psychedelic tendencies. The first lineup of the band, which lasted three albums, consisted of keyboardist Jan Hammer (who’d find his own fame a decade later for scoring Miami Vice), violinist Jerry Goodman, bassist Rick Laird and drummer Billy Cobham (also known for his work with Miles Davis). The group was actually very successful, with this album surprisingly reaching number 15 on the pop charts. Though they had plenty of spacey epics and were chasing some new and unique sounds, they split shortly after this release. In 1974, McLaughlin reformed the group with a new lineup that was anchored by violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, but the critics and public were not as enthralled with this formation, and the Mahavishnu property was shelved until 1984, with only drummer Billy Cobham returning. Mahavishnu Orchestra has ceased to operate since 1987, but McLaughlin has continued to record, with his most recent release arriving just this past January.
If you enjoy the blog, please consider helping me pay the dues paypal.me/MichaelSliwa.
Thanks!
Hear Today, Grown Tomorrow 