Recorded on August 14, 1971
After I'd decided to do this jazz-in-the-70s project and started discussing it with my music-loving friends (some of them jazz lovers), I was surprised to hear two questions come up repeatedly: "Which Miles Davis record are you choosing?" and -- perhaps even more frequently -- "Which Mahavishnu Orchestra LP are you picking?"
These questions reinforced my feeling that people who have a notion of jazz in the 1970s associate the time with jazz-rock fusion, first and foremost. After I'd answer their questions, I'd usually say something like, "I'm not particularly a fusion fan though!" Often, that would only confuse them. Then I'd explain that one of the reasons I'd embarked on the project was to dispel the idea that jazz in the 1970s was all about the music "going electric" (or, even more pernciously, "going commercial.") I felt like that was unfair portrayal of the time, and that jazz in the 70s was much more diverse and compelling than it was given credit for. Then I might say something like, "To me, much of the jazz that was made in the 70s compares favorably with music from earlier eras. In fact, it might be my favorite decade for jazz." Then they'd often look at me like I was crazy.
Why did they think I was crazy? Because I think many people's idea of jazz's history goes something like this: First, early jazz. Next, swing. Then, Modern jazz (bebop). After that, hard bop (East Coast) and cool jazz (West Coast). Sprinkle in some Ornette and Cecil (avant-garde), which brings everyone up to the 70s. Then... Fusion! Of course, I'm over-simplifying. But only just. Look at many jazz books, and you'll see this simplistic, linear narrative arc again and again. In reality, things are much, much, much more complicated, of course.
Keep all those cultural notions in mind, and now let's turn to today's selection. The Inner Mounting Flame is perhaps THE fusion album, an avatar of all that the sub-genre represents. (Bitches Brew is too singular, and Miles' subsequent music is too outré to be representative.) As such, The Inner Mounting Flame carries along all sorts of cultural baggage -- even to this day, nearly fifty years later. It's a Rorschach test:
- Is this music cosmic and grand? Or is it bloated and grandiose?
- Does it expand the jazz vocabulary? Or does it abandon jazz's roots?
- Does it keep jazz relevant? Or does it sell out to commercial pressure?
Well, that's hard to say! And I suppose our answers to these questions say as much about us as they do about the music.
I will admit to occasional feelings of ambivalence when I think about the Mahavishnu Orchestra. There's something about their music that says, "Not Jazz, ROCK!" As if their music is somehow forsaking the underlying assumptions of jazz and replacing them with rock's. For example, first and foremost, there's the amplitude. Electricity and amplifiers make this is LOUD music, designed for arenas, not jazz clubs. If you're drawn to jazz for its intimacy and subtlety and human scale, you're barking up the wrong tree with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. (It's no coincidence that fans of prog-rock have picked up this music, since it has as much in common with that sub-genre as with most jazz styles.) Plus, it doesn't swing in the traditional sense. And it doesn't have any blues sensibilities. And the instrumentation... No saxophones? No trumpets? And did I say that it's LOUD?!?! ... I'm exaggerating again to make my point, but you get the idea.
If that's the case, then why have I included The Inner Mounting Flame in my survey of favorites? Well, because it's AWESOME! If I'm honest and listen to the music as music, without all the baggage, then I really admire McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra -- especially this record, their debut. And that's what I want this project to be about: Hearing music as an expression of something particular and individual, resisting the impulse to categorize and generalize. Besides, nearly fifty years have passed, and the cultural context is completely different today.
Great Article, Scott. Yeah, the 70's was definitely more than fusion as you are illustrating in your articles every day. But for me it was definitely about fusion with Miles Davis leading the charge. This is when I started to listen to jazz, when I was 18 years old. So I got into McLaughlin, Weather Report, Chick Corea, Zawinul, Soft Machine, etc. I absolutely loved McLaughlin's Devotion, but I couldn't stand the Inner Mounting Flame. Yeah, I own it, but all those ultra fast guitar runs just never resonated with me. Like nails on a blackboard. Most of my current 70's collection was purchased from the 2000's on.
ReplyDeleteI was deeply into this album and Return to Forever's "Where Have I Known You Before" when they first came out. I haven't listened to either for many years, but I know every note. It's not all bombast and fast guitar playing. There are pastoral interludes (Irish streams) also. And complex time signatures. Pairing electric violin and guitar is not very common but works well here. "The Inner Mounting Flame" is the first but also best of the Mahavishnu Orchestra albums. I think of it not as representative of fusion, jazz-rock, or funk that all prospered in the 1970s, but rather as a unique "sui generis" monument to the creative forces behind it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough a more obvious tribute to John Coltrane, John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana's "Love Devotion and Surrender" appeals in the same way that "Inner Mounting Flame" does. Lots of power but lots of beauty (and beauty through power).