About Me
The Mahavishnu Orchestra were formed in 1971 by guitarsit John McLauglin, a session for much of Miles Davis's early fusion recordings and a creative force in Tony Williams's Lifetime. Under the spiritual guidance of his guru, Sri Chimnoy, he drafted into the band Jerry Goodman, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, and Rick Laird. The group released their first album, Inner Mounting Flame, to an amazed audience. The group's hard-psychadelic rock rhythms combined with their jazz chops and world-influences created one of the most unique sounds of the time. Jazz fans took notice immediately, but by their second album, Brids of Fire, rock fans caught on. The album soared all the way to ..15 on the Billboard Charts in America, and the group soon found themselves opening for rock and roll acts such as ZZ Top and Aerosmith, a sharp contrast to the somewhat timid jazz audiences they had entertained in years prior. However, egos within the band soon inflated, and a power struggle between McLaughlin, Hammer, and Goodman brought the band to its knees during the sessions for its third album.However, McLaughlin soon decided to reform the band with a new lineup, including Frank Zappa-vet Jean-Luc Ponty and R&B drummer Michael Walden. With influence from the latter and Ralphe Armstrong, the band became more aware of "funk-fusion", and also expanded into symphonic areas. Walden and pianist Gayle Moran's voices were also used occasionally. The new lineup released two albums (Apocalyse and Visions of an Emerald Beyond), and through the recordings, Ponty and McLaughlin grew into a spiritual brotherhood. This, howeve, prooved short-lived, as Ponty left the band shortly before going on tour with Jeff Beck. McLaughlin decided to finish the tour, and soon put Mahavishnu to rest.In 1984, McLaughlin gave the ensemble one more shot, re-incorporating Cobham and replacing the violinist slot with saxophonist Bill Evans. The recordings were not up to par, and Cobham soon left again. All of the ex-members have continued with their careers in music (except for Laird, who retired in 1982). The album Lost Trident Sessions is an issue of the original lineup's unreleased third album.This is a tribute page, wishing to inform others of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Songs are not downloadable, however, feel free to listen and rate them.This profile was edited with Thomas' myspace editor™ V2.5
