Jean-Luc Ponty - Imaginary Voyage (1976)

As of 1976, Jean-Luc Ponty's variations on the Mahavishnu Orchestra theme were still fresh and imaginative, cast in a distinctively different, more lyrical, more controlled framework. For Imaginary Voyage, Ponty's instrumental lineup is identical to that of Mahavishnu -- electric violin, guitar, keyboards, bass, drums -- but he turns the emphasis on its head, with all commands coming directly from the violin (his) and less competitive crossplay emanating from his colleagues. For starters, "New Country" is a lively jazz-rock hoedown, one of those periodic C&W side trips that some fusioneers attempted for a lark, and "The Gardens of Babylon" is a wonderfully memorable tune, the beginnings of which grow out of "New Country." The last half of the CD is taken up by the title composition, a strong four-part suite that hangs together with barely a sag in interest over its 20-minute span.
by Richard S. Ginell at All Music Guide.

Styles:
Fusion
Post-Bop
Crossover Jazz

Tracks:
01 New Country
02 The Gardens of Babylon
03 Wandering on the Milky Way
04 Once upon a Dream
05 Tarantula
06 Imaginary Voyage, Part 1
07 Imaginary Voyage, Part 2
08 Imaginary Voyage, Part 3
09 Imaginary Voyage, Part 4

Line-up:
Jean-Luc Ponty - electric and acoustic violins / organ and background synthesizers
Daryl Struermer - electric and acoustic guitars
Allan Zavod - electric keyboard and acoustic piano
Tom Fowler - electric bass
Mark Craney - percussion