If there's one genre I know less about than rap, it's jazz. My first exposure to it was Miles Davis's Bitches Brew, an album I still enjoy (and a beer I very much enjoy). And while a Miles post may be forthcoming, today I wanted to spotlight a less familiar artist.
As with Who's Next, my dad had an album by Mahavishnu Orchestra on tape for his reel-to-reel; however, he wasn't sure which album it was. The opening track stuck with me for years, and it was probably 15 years after the fact that I saw a cheap used copy of Birds of Fire on vinyl and decided to see if it was the album I remember. From the opening gong (yup, gong) it was pretty clear that I had found it. The guitar playing, by Bitches Brew sideman John McLaughlin, is nothing short of amazing. The track is probably more rock than jazz, and you certainly don't have to give two shits about jazz to realize this guy can tear it up.
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