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Original Mahavishnu Orchestra
- Thread starter sonic 7
- Start date
I thought that the Original MO was just fine the way it was, and apparently, so did John.
Saw them in 1972 on the bill with Frank Zappa & TMOI.
Presuming by "progressive" the OP means "busier" or "flashier" or "more conspicuously chops-infused" etc. ...then my answer would be No.
If the original Mahavishnu Orchestra had a bassist who was any less bedrock than Rick Laird they would've floated away in a miasma of cacophony. Somebody had to hold the thing together.
If the original Mahavishnu Orchestra had a bassist who was any less bedrock than Rick Laird they would've floated away in a miasma of cacophony. Somebody had to hold the thing together.
Laird grounded that version of the band. Those albums would be a lot different without him, and I don't mean better. IMHO and all that.
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- Dec 3, 2003
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A swerve from discussing the albums, but did you actually see the band play live? IMHO the last thing they needed was another big ego on stage.
I saw Ralphe Armstrong with Jean Luc Ponty in the late '70s. That was a good matchup.
I think I saw that same RA/JLP tour. Ever catch Alphonso with Weather Report?
Check out Alphonso with that crazy-good Japanese gal playing a version of Afro Blue that smokes!
Check out Alphonso with that crazy-good Japanese gal playing a version of Afro Blue that smokes!
I’d agree that Laird, with his relatively basic playing, tethered the band. I appreciated their manic cacophony(I knew many people back in the day who thought they were just noise, including some ‘jazz nazis’), but yeah, somebody had to anchor it. Around the same time, Beck Bogart Appice was a similar(in rock terms)hyperactive three way fight to the finish, and while as impressive as it sounded to my teenage ears then, I understand now what a train wreck it was, and why bands like that don’t last too long. It’s the reason Clapton soured on Cream.
I saw Mahavishnu in concert in 1972. I remember that there was so much going on between John, Billy Cobham , Jan Hammer, and the violinist(I forget his name) that it was pretty overwhelming. I don’t know that there was much room for an expanded bass role.
The most notable thing about the concert was that Cheech and Chong were the other half of the bill. A monumental mistake!
The most notable thing about the concert was that Cheech and Chong were the other half of the bill. A monumental mistake!
I saw them several times, starting in 1972, twice with Laird, and at least once with Armstrong - don’t remember who was on the Visions of the Emerald Beyond tour). A busy, bright fusion bass would have been a disaster with all the frills that McLaughlin, Hammer, and Goodman were throwing into the high mids.
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I agree Laird was the right choice at the time. I do wonder how John Wetton or Tony Levin might have sounded with them though..,
1979 was the tour year. Angela Bofill was the opening act here.
The only time I'd seen Alphonso was in the '90s when I was at the old Bass Exchange in Tarzana; he came in to pick something up from them and spent some time in the room I was in checking out a Rob Allen bass, so he got to hear me play!
Never saw Weather Report, either, although I did see Peter Erskine, Joe Zawinul, and Jaco Pastorius, each on separate occasions; The Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble, Zawinul Syndicate, and Joni Mitchell, respectively.
Have you heard Abraxas Pool? Alphonso's on it. Great album. Here's a couple songs from it (1997).
Edit: spelling!
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Abraxas Pool was all former Santana members, Alphonso was also in Santana for a few years back in the 80's.1979 was the tour year. Angela Bofill was the opening act here.
The only time I'd seen Alphonso was in the '90s when I was at the old Bass Exchange in Tarzana,; he came in to pick something from them and spent some time in the room I was in checking out a Rob Allen bass, so he got to hear me play!
Never saw Weather Report, either, although I did see Peter Erskine, Joe Zawinul, and Jaco Pastorius, each on separate occasions; The Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble, Zawinul Sydicate, and Joni Mitchell, respectively.
Have you heard Abraxas Pool? Alphonso's on it. Great album. Here's a couple songs from it (1997).
The only time I'd seen Santana was in 1974, on a bill that included Jesse Colin Young, The Band, and CSN&Y.
1979 was the tour year. Angela Bofill was the opening act here.
The only time I'd seen Alphonso was in the '90s when I was at the old Bass Exchange in Tarzana; he came in to pick something up from them and spent some time in the room I was in checking out a Rob Allen bass, so he got to hear me play!
Never saw Weather Report, either, although I did see Peter Erskine, Joe Zawinul, and Jaco Pastorius, each on separate occasions; The Ohio State University Jazz Ensemble, Zawinul Sydicate, and Joni Mitchell, respectively.
Have you heard Abraxas Pool? Alphonso's on it. Great album. Here's a couple songs from it (1997).
