This is interesting… (well, okay, you’ll probably think I went too far there đ ) In summer 1975, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra (rock band with guitar maestro dressed in white + orchestral string trio) co-headlined a US tour with Jeff Beck. If John had said to Jeff, ‘I’ve just had this premonition – in 44 years you’ll still be touring the US, dressed in white, with orchestral strings, playing Mahavishnu music…’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guNLta0chs4&fbclid=IwAR2LtajkT5cJsLMaPbley_a1qqtLkIj-L2L-y3-Kc_HzEmDKl1NtEWK4Dc0
Wonder why the link isn’t fully posting… Anyway, from last week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guNLta0chs4&fbclid=IwAR2LtajkT5cJsLMaPbley_a1qqtLkIj-L2L-y3-Kc_HzEmDKl1NtEWK4Dc0
Yep more than interesting.
My view is that Mahavishnu and Jeff Beck with Blow by Blow and Wired were the pinnacle of jazz/rock , fusion music. I play them now and they still stand the test of time. The Vish esp you need to immerse yourself in. A bit like Zappa. Jeffrey toured here 3 times in as many years and I skipped the tour where he played a lot of Mahavishnu stuff. One of those âwhat the fuck was I thinkingâ tours.
I caught a free gig featuring Blow By Blow drummer Richard Bailey last week, at the Woodman pub at the top end of London’s Archway Road. A quartet with a keyboard player (Sean Hargreaves) and a bass guitarist (Chris Dodds) both of whom I’ve seen a few times in another local place, plus guitarist Bobby Quigley who was new to me.
Just jamming around some familiar funk, soul, jazz, latin and reggae things. A jolly good evening out. I was surprised to learn that Richard Bailey was just 18 when he played those album sessions for Jeff Beck and had already been a professional for 2 years. Still a great player.