Biography of Mahavishnu Orchestra

The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz-rock group formed in 1971 by British guitarist John McLaughlin and featuring drummer Billy Cobham, violinist Jerry Goodman, pianist Jan Hammer, and bassist Rick Laird; the name Mahavishnu was that given McLaughlin by his guru. The group featured dynamic, often quick-fingered playing and some fiery interaction between the players, and gained enormous success in 1972 and 1973 with the albums The Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire, and Between Nothingness & Eternity. But the original unit only survived for those three records. Through 1976, McLaughlin recordings such as Apocalypse, Visions of the Emerald Beyond, and Inner Worlds continued to be credited to Mahavishnu, but other musicians were used. McLaughlin later renounced The Mahavishnu name, but in 1984 recorded an album that also featured Billy Cobham, again as "Mahavishnu." ~ William Ruhlmann