Mahavishnu Orchestra

One of the premiere fusion groups, the Mahavishnu Orchestra were considered by most observers during their prime to be a rock band, but their sophisticated improvisations actually put their high-powered music between rock and jazz. Founder and leader <a href="spotify:artist:4v0R1feRiuCDch7aAheVhY">John McLaughlin</a> had recently played with <a href="spotify:artist:0kbYTNQb4Pb1rPbbaF0pT4">Miles Davis</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:056ewKKC7ayMJeL7y5h2cb">Tony Williams' Lifetime</a>. The original lineup of the group was <a href="spotify:artist:4v0R1feRiuCDch7aAheVhY">McLaughlin</a> on electric guitar, violinist <a href="spotify:artist:1TSEcrPmHaxyeQMcFiKUO3">Jerry Goodman</a>, keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:50zRydJXfkLzGIOj9mITfy">Jan Hammer</a>, electric bassist <a href="spotify:artist:23R4UffHnZxPVYxvduB3v1">Rick Laird</a>, and drummer <a href="spotify:artist:0IwfuIL3gUJxjzUqY3wJ3j">Billy Cobham</a>. They recorded three intense albums for Columbia during 1971-1973 and then the personnel changed completely for the second version of the group. In 1974, the band consisted of violinist <a href="spotify:artist:3SInttLnvf5G4Aa95aAYPr">Jean-Luc Ponty</a>, Gayle Moran on keyboards and vocals, electric bassist <a href="spotify:artist:4crZ3zW7Q2aWe7xzfo8n6r">Ralphe Armstrong</a>, and drummer <a href="spotify:artist:37WGztoQRbNgo55GQCw75B">Narada Michael Walden</a>; by 1975 <a href="spotify:artist:7g33yqBWMJUqv9XGoRYiqx">Stu Goldberg</a> had replaced Moran and <a href="spotify:artist:3SInttLnvf5G4Aa95aAYPr">Ponty</a> had left. <a href="spotify:artist:4v0R1feRiuCDch7aAheVhY">John McLaughlin</a>'s dual interests in Eastern religion and playing acoustic guitar resulted in the band breaking up in 1975. Surprisingly, an attempt to revive the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1984 (using Cobham, saxophonist <a href="spotify:artist:4jXfFzeP66Zy67HM2mvIIF">Bill Evans</a>, keyboardist <a href="spotify:artist:0kv393u8VHuBfuNFy8pwnT">Mitchell Forman</a>, electric bassist <a href="spotify:artist:3RYBGGdroeHaw3D4HXnD4X">Jonas Hellborg</a>, and percussionist <a href="spotify:artist:29aflj7NM4ocg7fMqbhifM">Danny Gottlieb</a>) was unsuccessful; one Warner Bros. album resulted. However, when one thinks of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it is of the original lineup, which was very influential throughout the 1970s. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi