Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mahavishnu Orchestra: The Lost Trident Sessions

195

Mahavishnu Orchestra: The Lost Trident Sessions

By

View read count
Mahavishnu Orchestra: The Lost Trident Sessions
This lost-in-the-vault-for-26-years session represents the near-impossible fusion archivist's dream: to find a complete studio release by the fusion era's seminal band at the very height of the creative powers (and the height of tension between members off the stage). Most musicians and fans who remember the force and tides of change generated by John McLaughlin's greatest ensemble will agree this one was worth the wait. Engineered by 70's production legend, Ken Scott, the tracks and takes have at times a rough, raw and unfinished edge — but it doesn't matter. Why this album is so critical to the fusion canon is that it captures the frenzy of a band about to break up, but still at their creative peak — and particularly with compositional contributions from members such as bassis Rick Laird and violinist Jerry Goodman — which showcase their monstrous improvisational (and writing) capabilities, which were too dominated by McLaughlin in earlier releases. Jan Hammer demonstrates his prowess on Rhodes piano and mini-moog, and reminds us once again, that little has been accomplished in jazz with electronic keyboards that improves upon what Hammer routinely unleashed upon audiences in 1973.

Featured here are two fine extended mega-jams/suites by McLaughlin, who's playing and exchanges with Cobham's drumming runs the gamut from serene and subtle to molten ferocity. Bill Milkowski's liner notes, featuring comments from all the band members offer a healthy dose of musical history and perspective on one jazz's most revolutionary ensembles. It's also a reminder that since this time, rock-influenced instrumental jazz has rarely risen to the level of interplay and inspiration heard here. The Lost Trident Sessions offers us a veritable rendering of fusion's equivalent to the "Lost Sea Scrolls."

Track Listing

Dream; Trilogy; Sister Andrea; I Wonder; Steppings Tones; John's Song #2

Personnel

Mahavishnu Orchestra
band / ensemble / orchestra

John McLaughlin; Guitar: Jerry Goodman; Violin: Jan Hammer; Keyboards: Billy Cobham; Drums

Web: www.legacyrecordings.com

Album information

Title: The Lost Trident Sessions | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Columbia Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.