Apart from the influences of blues, swing, and jazz greats like Davis, John Coltrane, Muddy Waters, and Django Reinhardt, McLaughlin was inspired by one of India's foremost musicians, Ravi Shankar. Experimentation with rhythms from the subcontinent lead to jam sessions with Indian musicians for the 1970 album My Goals Beyond. This fusion evolved with the birth of the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971. The band wandered between jazz and rock, releasing the albums The Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire...