Mahavishnu Project: The Music of John McLaughlin & The Mahavishnu Orchestras Birds of Fire

Back in 1971, when guitar-god John McLaughlin left Miles Davis and Tony Williams Lifetime to form the groundbreaking Mahavishnu Orchestra, he was the first to combine the fire of Hendrix-drenched rock with the groove of Coltranes modal jazz & the ethereal Indian ragas of Ravi Shankar. The critics called it jazz rock (of course it was much more) and the result was nothing less than a musical revolution. The Mahavishnu Orchestra has since been cited as a major influence on everyone from King Crimson to Phish, and was in many ways one of the first electric jam bands. Not surprisingly however, the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra hasnt gone on to be covered and re-interpreted by the many bands it has affected, largely due to its extreme technical demands. That is, until now. The Mahavishnu Project launches directly from where the original band abruptly left off. In 2001, this incendiary unit from New York City began performing their unique renditions of music from classic Mahavishnu discs such as Birds of Fire, Inner Mounting Flame, Between Nothingness & Eternity and Visions of the Emerald Beyond while remaining true to the cutting edge improvs of the original band, and to McLaughlins stunning compositions. Their take on the music must be quite special, as they have received the seal of approval from Maestro McLaughlin himself The Mahavishnu Project is led by extraordinary drummer/composer Gregg Bendian, widely known for his work with Pat Metheny, Ornette Coleman, & John Zorn. Bendian has received rave reviews for his (with Nels Cline of Wilco fame) Interstellar Space Revisited: The Music of John Coltrane (Atavistic), his band Interzones Requiem for Jack Kirby (Atavistic) and his sterling drum and vibes work on the long-awaited We Saw A Bozo Under The Sea (ZHR) by former Beefheart guitar whiz, Zoot Horn Rollo. Bendians talents are uniquely suited to the daunting challenge of another shining icon of creative music - The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Bendian is joined by guitar whiz Chad McLoughlin (no relation, but a killer shred-master nonetheless, keyboardist Neil Alexander from The Machine, bassist Brad Jones (Elvin Jones/Don Byron) and violinist Zach Brock who works with Stanley Clarke and Ravi Coltrane. The Mahavishnu Project recently was given the unique honor of performing with original Mahavishnu keyboard master Jan Hammer who asked The Project to be his band for his first performance in over 15 years at MoogFest 2006 at NYCs BB Kings. The Mahavishnu Project are currently celebrating the release of Mahavishnu Re-Defined on ESC Records an All-Star compilation disc honoring the legacy of one of the worlds greatest jazz-rock units. The album is receiving an ecstatic response from fans and critics alike, and the band will tour throughout the North America and Europe 2009 in support of this thrilling new release.