Mahavishnu Orchestra: Vital Transformation
Track
Vital Transformation
Group
Mahavishnu Orchestra
CD
The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia CK 31067)
Musicians:
John McLaughlin (guitar), Jan Hammer (keyboards),
Jerry Goodman (violin), Rick Laird (bass guitar), Billy Cobham (drums)
.Composed by John McLaughlin
.Recorded: New York, August 1971
Rating: 99/100 (learn more)
Cobham's drum shuffle begins "Vital Transformation." McLaughlin introduces a dastardly multi-note pattern, which is most likely a compound 9/8 meter. Goodman quickly enters, playing in quick time, doubling on the initial pentatonic minor, first high on the neck and then sliding down it. The repetition builds tension. En masse, the band breaks away from the tune's restless anxiety with a resolving section dominated by Goodman and McLaughlin's soaring lines. John launches into a cutting guitar solo that becomes airborne, flying over an active polyrhythmic accompaniment. The piece resolves again, only to be diverted by the reappearance of Cobham's muscular shuffle. A group fadeout, accented by Hammer's ring-modulated electric piano, completes the transformation.
Reviewer: Walter Kolosky
Related Links
In Conversation with John McLaughlin by Walter KoloskyThe Dozens: John McLaughlin on Standards by Walter Kolosky
Tags: 1970s jazz · fusion · vital transformation
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