Any modern band that comes close to Mahavishnu Orchestra ?

I love Fusion!  Ever since the old days of listening to Hendrix/Cream/Traffic and the like releasing extended instrumental jams, Fusion seemed like the natural next step in electric instrumental music.  The thing is, while there are many, many musicians with equal chops and intensity, the Mahavishnu Orchestra was lightning in a bottle, not to be replicated or duplicated, EVER!  That said, Fusion has never completely vanished, and while often maligned, there's always lines waiting to get in at shows and thankfully, to this day, there's still great Fusion being created and released.

- Simon Phillips (drums) has recorded a number of great solo Fusion records but has recorded 3 with his band Protocol (2 & 3 are favorites!)
https://youtu.be/2-MWuqD2_RA

- Gary Willis (bass) is a founding member of one of the greatest 'unknown' Fusion bands ever; Tribal Tech!  He's released a number of sterling Fusionfests but his latest; Larger Than Life, featuring the white-hot Fusion drummer of the moment; Gergo Borlai, is IMO one of the greatest Fusion recordings of the 21st century!
https://youtu.be/e5NyqFiSfrM

I could truly go on & on but....Nothing solidifies the ongoing popularity of Fusion more than the fact that Al DiMeola's currently on tour (Electric Tour - Elegant Gypsy meets the Romantic Warrior).As is Chick Corea who's recently reformed his Elektric Band for his 75th birthday(!) and started touring this month.  And last but certainly not least is a long rumored supergroup finally performing this month and preparing to tour - Carlos Santana/Wayne Shorter/Herbie Hancock/Marcus Miller/ & Cindy Blackman Santana!  Yeah, we're still flying our Fusion freakflag high!;)  

I was also lucky to have been able to catch the Mahavishnu Orchestra in a small club the 1st time I saw them, unbelievable!  I saw them again in larger venues (2X) and while they always delivered, it never compared to that 1st nightclub show!  When I think back for a minute, the club was My Father's Place in Roslyn, NY.  I also caught Return to Forever there as well as Larry Coryell's Eleventh House, not to mention Jaco Pastorious small band!  I lived close by so I was fortunate to have caught a lot of great music there (one especially memorable night was when I went to see Paul Winter's Consort and an unknown Bruce Springsteen & the E St. Band were 2nd billing!).  When Billy Cobham premiered his Crosswinds band (according to the liner notes in his fantastic compilation; Rudiments), the very 1st gigs they had were at My Father's Place.  I went 3 nights in a row!!!  Us fanboys would gather around the stage at the end of a set, Billy would toss his used, frayed (from all the rimshots!) wooden drumsticks to us.  I managed to get TWO from different nights!;)

A book I'd very strongly recommend to anyone interested in Fusion is Power, Passion, & Beauty - The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra (the greatest band that ever was) by Walter Kolosky.  Very well researched and written, beyond telling the definitive history of the MO, it also is a narrative about the roots of Fusion Jazz, and paints a general picture of the Jazz world at a pivotal point in its history, it's a great read!

"....a most enjoyable read.  Walter knows more about the MO than I do and I was the bass player!" - Rick Laird