“This is Mahavishnu Orchestra’s second record, and it features Billy Cobham on drums. It was the first time he ever played double bass, but you can’t tell – he’s already a master in his approach to the setup.

“Killer musicians were in the band. You’ve got John McLaughlin on guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards – everybody’s just at the top of their game. The record was cut live, so there’s lots of improvisation going on, and the intuition between the players is remarkable. There’s incredible riffs, but nothing sounds planned or forced. The music just seems to happen very naturally.

“There’s one song on the album called Miles Ahead that sounds like what Jimi Hendrix would have played if he were a straight-ahead fusion musician. But Cobham is just a monster here. His playing is so ahead of its time. Along with what he did on his debut album, Spectrum [1973], he raised the bar for what could be done on the double bass.”