Mahavishnu Orchestra

Import 25 CD boxset containing 25 of the finest Jazz albums ever released. Each album is packaged in a card wallet, and the box set includes a 40 page booklet in both English and French. The collection contains the following albums: Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown; Dave Brubeck - Jazz Goes To College; Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats; Miles Davis - Round About Midnight; Various Artists - The Sound Of Jazz; Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um; Sonny Rollins - The Bridge; Paul Desmond - Desmond Blue; Thelonious Monk - Underground; Freddie Hubbard - Straight Life; Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire…

Since the late 90s, Amorphous Androgynmous AKA The Future Sound Of London AKA Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans have been weaving together two-hour broadcasts of their favourite records that could be loosely classed as 'Cosmic Space Music'. After ten years of messing with our heads via the wireless, they now pick their choicest mind-melting moments on what promises to be a fine series of double CDs. It's a collection that perfectly runs the gauntlet from kitsch (Lord Sitar's I Am The Walrus) to uber cool (Miles Davis or Can). Donovan, Osibisa, Can, Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Hawkwind and many more.

If ever anybody deserved a two-disc anthology of his offerings as a solo artist it's fusion drummer Billy Cobham. After making his stellar debut with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham made eight records for Atlantic from 1973-1978. To varying degrees, these recordings were true statements on the state of jazz-rock fusion. Many blame Cobham for being a member of the technical-expertise-is-everything school, and to a degree it may be true. But the tracks collected here by Barry Benson and Nick Sahakian provide evidence of something else entirely: that along with technical expertise in spades, Cobham had soul, groove, and a handle on how powerful rock & roll could contribute to jazz improvisation if harnessed in the right way. And every single track on these two discs does exactly that and more.

French one-shot (from 1977) Rahmann plays in a fairly unique style, mixing fusion and Arabic flavours with a slight zeuhl feel courtesy of explosive bass lines and repetitive rhythmic patterns. Their music could be characterized as jazz fusion with zeuhl-associated musicians performing on it (Didier Lockwood and Liza Deluxe (Magma), and Gerard Prevost (Zao). The central point of all music is Mahamad Hadi's guitar sound, heavily influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra. Another musical layers are bouzouki and oud sounds. The mix is finished by energetic drumming, keyboards and some North African percussion. Whenever pure instrumental, it could be named as "instrumental Zeuhl" with Middle Eastern influence (what isn't strange, whenever band's leader is of Algerian origin)…

Sada is the second studio collaboration between Spanish guitarist Ángel Ontalva and beloved Russian space-prog-jazz-psych geniuses Vespero. The two previously broke ground on 2018’s ‘Carta Marina,’ which in turn led to the live album ‘Sea Orm Liventure’ before this latest work. Clearly, they have a good thing going, and they bring out the best in each other. I strongly recommend ALL of these albums. Ontalva and Vespero make a superb combination. Their works - all instrumental - remind me a great deal of Mahavishnu Orchestra. So kindle your inner mounting flame and come along for the ride.

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music
In 1977, French jazz fusion violinist par excellence Jean Luc Ponty released his outstanding ENIGMATIC OCEAN..

French one-shot (from 1977) Rahmann plays in a fairly unique style, mixing fusion and Arabic flavours with a slight zeuhl feel courtesy of explosive bass lines and repetitive rhythmic patterns. Their music could be characterized as jazz fusion with zeuhl-associated musicians performing on it (Didier Lockwood and Liza Deluxe (Magma), and Gerard Prevost (Zao). The central point of all music is Mahamad Hadi's guitar sound, heavily influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra. Another musical layers are bouzouki and oud sounds. The mix is finished by energetic drumming, keyboards and some North African percussion. Whenever pure instrumental, it could be named as "instrumental Zeuhl" with Middle Eastern influence (what isn't strange, whenever band's leader is of Algerian origin)…