U.S. Jazz Fusion: 1973

Saperlipopette! wrote: Logan wrote: and have very much liked Larry Young's Lawrence of Newark. Oops, I forgot that one. In goes Larry & his Lawrence (and out goes Welcome)

Love that one! 5 stars all the way. Pharoah Sanders on sax, James Blood Ulmer on guitar. Polls like this give me a headache. Birds Of Fire was my pick but I could have picked many others. "Love, Love" and "Sextant" are great Mwandishi records. "Spectrum", "The Essence Of Mystery", "Realizaton" and "Love Devotion Surrender".

cstack3 wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: Big Sky wrote: Some great albums, BUT, where is the Mahavisnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire, one of Fusions short list of greatest albums? That would be my pick. From the list, RTF. Captain Senior Mouse is one of the great all-time Fusion tracks. Birds of Fire have flown the roost, having run out of room to include Mahavishnu in the poll.  I voted for them anyway!  Those were GREAT years for fans of jazz-rock fusion!  The genre was just taking off, and there were many experimental musicians showing their chops!

Yes they were. If you are a Prog and Jazz Fusion fan, that period from 71-77 is brimming with absolute classic albums.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Big Sky wrote: Some great albums, BUT, where is the Mahavisnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire, one of Fusions short list of greatest albums? That would be my pick. From the list, RTF. Captain Senior Mouse is one of the great all-time Fusion tracks. Birds of Fire have flown the roost, having run out of room to include Mahavishnu in the poll.

RTF ahead of a few other jazz rock classics ( Zappa, Mahavishnu, Cobham, Weather Report,.)

Big Sky wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: Big Sky wrote: Some great albums, BUT, where is the Mahavisnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire, one of Fusions short list of greatest albums? That would be my pick. From the list, RTF. Captain Senior Mouse is one of the great all-time Fusion tracks. Okay, I've belatedly added Mahavishnu Orchestra to the poll now (in place of Buddy Miles Express).  But, I have already voted

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Big Sky wrote: Some great albums, BUT, where is the Mahavisnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire, one of Fusions short list of greatest albums? That would be my pick. From the list, RTF. Captain Senior Mouse is one of the great all-time Fusion tracks. Okay, I've belatedly added Mahavishnu Orchestra to the poll now (in place of Buddy Miles Express).

But, I have already voted

Sextant gets my vote. Spectrum will probably win, and it's an excellent album, but for me Mwandishi era Herbie Hancock is pretty much unbeatable in the fusion category.

^ I understand why you did it, and I am no expert on MO, but I had meant to imply (badly, as I am multitasking) that I guess that PA put it under multinational despite the band being founded in the US because he is from England. I would have given more details but my wife called me off.

Psychedelic Paul wrote: Logan wrote: ^ I've read before at this forum (from it's early days) that Prog Archives' Jazz Rock/Fusion was basically created for Mahavishnu Orchestra, and with it particularly in mind. While it's not a favourite of mine, it is commonly regarded to be amongst the greatest, with Birds of Fire, much like the phoenix, having legendary status. I actually used to like MO much more, but still really like Visions of the Emerald Beyond (1975). I may have overlooked Mahavishnu for inclusion here as they're listed as a multi-national outfit on PA.

John McLaughlin is from England.

Edited by Logan - March 16 2025 at 12:29

^ I've read before at this forum (from it's early days) that Prog Archives' Jazz Rock/Fusion was basically created for Mahavishnu Orchestra, and with it particularly in mind. While it's not a favourite of mine, it is commonly regarded to be amongst the greatest, with Birds of Fire, much like the phoenix, having legendary status. I actually used to like MO much more, but still really like Visions of the Emerald Beyond (1975).