The Mahavishnu Project is...
Gregg Bendian, drums
Chad McLoughlin, guitar
Neil Alexander, keyboards
Zach Brock, violin
Brad Jones, bass
Melissa Stylianou, voice
Premik Russell Tubbs, reeds
Esther Noh, violin
Matt Szemela, violin
Jon Weber, viola
Leigh Stuart, cello
Randy Taber, live sound
and introducing....The VishnuVoices Choir

Back in 1971, when guitar-god John McLaughlin left Miles Davis and Tony William’s Lifetime to form the groundbreaking Mahavishnu Orchestra, he was the first to combine the fire of Hendrix-drenched rock with the groove of Coltrane’s modal jazz & the ethereal Indian ragas of Ravi Shankar. The critics called it “jazz rock” (of course it was much more) and the result was nothing less than a musical revolution. The Mahavishnu Orchestra has since been cited as a major influence on everyone from King Crimson to Phish, and was in many ways one of the first electric jam bands. Not surprisingly however, the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra hasn’t gone on to be covered and re-interpreted by the many bands it has affected, largely due to its extreme technical demands. That is, until now.

The Mahavishnu Project launches directly from where the original band abruptly left off. In 2001, this incendiary unit from New York City began performing their unique renditions of music from classic Mahavishnu discs such as Birds of Fire, Inner Mounting Flame, Between Nothingness & Eternity and Visions of the Emerald Beyond while remaining true to the cutting edge improvs of the original band, and to McLaughlin’s stunning compositions. Their take on the music must be quite special, as they have received the seal of approval from Maestro McLaughlin himself!