Mojo - The Music Magazine

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• Approaching jazz-rock aka jazz fusion or jazz-rock fusion requires going back to the 70s first. This is when the genre had its hey-day. From out of the Miles Davis camp came the talents of John McLaughlin on guitar and Joe Zawinul on keys. So was formed The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report respectively. Grab MO's Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire. For Weather Report with Jaco on bass, grab 8:30 and Heavy Weather. Alongside these giants you will need to grab Return to Forever's Hymn of the 7th Galaxy and Romantic Warrior. While you are at it be sure you sample early works on guitar by Allan Holdsworth with Bruford. Feels Good to Me and One of a Kind are must-haves for fusion fans. Grab Larry Coryell Introducing the Eleventh House release too. You can't be complete without hearing the works of Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs on What If. Flash forward a few years and sample another Miles Davis recruit gone solo, Mike "Sterno" Stern and hear him burn on Is What It Is and JigSaw. Little known but real genius jazz fusion was offered by Lost Tribe. Seek their hard-to-find CDs. Many echoes exist nowadays of bands re-doing the 70s fusion styles and they near-perfectly recreate the legato of Holdsworth or the ostinato of McLauglin. Keys players emulate Zawinul too. Just check out Scott Henderson and Tribal Tech CDs. Lastly, though I know I have left out some great bands and artists, do be sure to try out the dense, heavy-metal, jazz rock by bands like Planet X and Derek Sherinian. That's a good start and if you need even more tips, please tune into JazzRock-Radio.com where the best of the old and new fusion is streamed 24/7. Ciao!

  Posted by John W Patterson at 2:49 AM GMT 06/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• When you talk fusion, Miles Davis certainly turned his magic horn toward rock with amazing results. "A Tribute to Jack Johnson," whether the original release or the sessions set, is required listening. Davis opened doors by bringing Michael Henderson on electric bass...not a jazz insider, but schooled in funk and soul. John McLaughlin dazzles on guitar, really pulling out all of the rock stops. The rest of the line up is a who's who of Jazz/fusion. A remarkable head jamming recording.

  The mid 70's would not have been complete without Passport, especially the release "Cross-Collateral." Featuring monster drums of Curt Cress, the album is filled with ear candy spiced with gurgling synths and sax. The openning cut, Homonucleus, builds into a beautiful melodic sax line which drifts back to synths and drums. Jadoo could have been a discarded BBC electronics lab piece if not for Doldinger's sax. Definitely a keeper.

  Though Soft Machine has fusion throughout, two bands who feature Softies that are worth searching out are Nucleus(featuring Ian Carr on trumpet) and Isotope (with Gary Boyle on guitar). BGO released doublediscs on both of these groups. Their albums were released from 1971 to 74 and go where few had gone before. Ian Carr, in particular, gives Miles a run for the fusion crown. His playing and compositions are amazing.

  Fusion would not have been complete without Tony Williams. A true master on the drums, his band Lifetime featured Allan Holdsworth. What more do you need? But to bring fusion out of the 70's, I'd go with Arcana. Williams released several discs with band featuring Bill Laswell, Pharoah Sanders and Buckethead. This can be delicate listening with a metal edge, so watch your step and turn up your ears.

  Bill Laswell has been much maligned loved/hated...but he has certainly kept the fusion fire burning. "Hallucination Engine," by Material in 1994 features some of my favorites, including the Joe Zawinul composition "Cucumber Slumber." Wayne Shorter plays some lovely soprano sax. William S. Burroughs adds a few "Words of Advice." This is trance-jazz-fusion.

  Phil Collins freed himself from the prog of Genesis to form the side project Brand X. Featuring Pythonesque humor, Percy Jones' outlandish fretless bass and John Goodsall's incendiary guitar playing. Collin’s drumming is wonderful. Reach for "Unorthodox Behavior."

  Pat Metheny has explored many facets of fusion, from the early pastoralism of Watercolors to the amazing ethnofusion and crowd chorus on The Road to You. But save room for American Garage. When they toured this release in 78-79, they blew the roof off of every hall they played.

  Posted by David Gorrill at 2:47 PM GMT 06/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• my top 10 jazz fusion:1)bitches brew-miles davis 2)a tribute to jack johnson-m. davis 3)devotion-john mclaughlin 4)the heart of things-j. mclaughlin5)birds of fire-mahavishnu o.6)spectrum- billy cobham 7)school days-stanley clarke 8)thrust-h. hancock 9)no mystery-return to forever 10)heavy weather-weather report

  Posted by esad ramic at 2:52 PM GMT 06/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• Don't forget Billy Cobham's Spectrum, Bill Connor's Step It, Alphonse Mouson's Mind Transplant, Tribal Tech, Gong's Expresso, Herbie Hancock's Thrust, Brand X, Neil Larsen's Jungle Fever, Sco's Still Warm, and recent albums like Jeff Richman's Visions of an Inner Mounting Apocalypse.

  Posted by ken Micallef at 10:19 PM GMT 06/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• You know, the 70s are done and the new jazz rock was raised in Chicago - Tortoise, Isotope 217, Chicago Underground, Sam Prekop, Him and Sea & Cake.

  Posted by Mike Logan at 2:50 AM GMT 14/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• My nomination is 'L' by Godley and Creme. Lyrically, it's predominantly gallows humour stuff - the subject matter including school bullies, fumbling teenage sex, the dark side of the music industry, suicide as a spectator sport. Musically, however, it's spiritually uplifting, a dazzling kaleidoscope of styles and forms - folk, jazz, hard rock, samba, live playing vs. tape loops. It's 'One Size Fits All'-era Zappa without the puerile sex jokes and sneering, it's a less cryptic 'Aja'. G & C were always saddled with the 'clever-clever studio boffins' tag, as though anyone with wit and imagination were incapable of making music that was heartfelt, emotional or groovable. I'm babbling too much but, yeah, 'L' is the one. Transcendent stuff, and it still sounds gorgeous nearly - gulp! - 30 years on.

  Posted by Paul Hamilton at 5:13 PM GMT 14/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• Fusion is an idea which most likely revolutionized music, at some point. It's worthwhile to note, that the fusion movement beginning somewehere in the '69 with Davis' Bitches Brew, was ignited by Jimi Hendrix's band of Gypsys and their Live at Fillmore East double album. That was the starting point for me. Next came The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions and the magnificent, dazzling manouver On the Corner by Miles. These were groundbreakers, along with Return to Forever's Anthology, another double cd release. Billy Cobham's Spectrum is a must have. As well as Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. Then you can drift and find your own way to fusion jazz. Stanley Clarke, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Mahavishnu Orchestra, etc (just look above). We cannot forget about Parliament Funkadelic (and their affinities with Sun Ra and Arkestra, which was more of a jazz avant-garde, but which nonetheless inspired the fusion movement.) Parliament Funkadelic is esp. interesting as it drew much from Jimi Hendrix. Their guitarist Eddie Hazel performed on few albums such as Maggot Brain and Standing on the verge of Getting It On and Hendrix inspirations are self-evident. Parliament's P-Funk, as it was then, Was slightly fusionistic and is well worth exploring. The best way to start is Funk gets Stronger compilation (which remains my Top album for years).
  Weather Report's 8:30 as noted above is well-worth exploring. This live double cd explores their music and is a perfect introduction. I wouldn't recommend their earlier albums, which were more of experiments with jazz, than fusion, but which display musical motifs explored later by WR.
  Top 3 albums: Miles Davis - On the Corner, Return to Forever - Dream Warrior, Billy Cobham - Spectrum (best worth digging).
  What is most intriguing in fusion for me is that the crossover genre astounded and inspired decades of musicians. Currently, Im tracing the modern sampled cuts which draw on fusion. Bill Laswell is definitely in the lead.
  It is a continuous excitement to find fusion motifs in club and modern electro funk tracks. I'd recommend Scott George's Mothership Reconnection and... well that's it. Do you know any modern-day electronic artists drawing on funk and fusion? That is the question.
  Dig jazz-rock coz it might be the cornerstone of modern musical trends.
  Lazy fusionism for ever, Senor Mouse out.

  Posted by Senormouse at 5:01 AM GMT 21/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• While young rock musicians were digging Coltrane, jazz artists like Miles Davis were getting hip to the electricity of Jimi Hendrix. "Fusion" would later become a way to explain why George Benson's CTI records are jazz, but John Martyn is folk/rock. But there was a time when the lines were truly blurred. The quality of early jazz/rock was the sound of searching.

  1. In A Silent Way - Miles Davis
  For the first time in his career, Miles recorded an album that could & could not be understood as "jazz." The improvisation remained, and the modal harmonies were like the winter to "Kind of Blue's" summer. Underneath it all, drones, train rhythms, and new electronic textures gave the entire record a sense of momentum. This was future music and it still sounds that way.

  2. Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys - Traffic
  One of the most versatile musicians of any era, Steve Winwood personified the bridge between jazz & rock. Traffic, better than any rock band of the period, found a balance that was never more mysterious than the eleven-minute jam of "Low Spark." Chris Wood combined the uniqueness of Eddie Harris with his own penchant for understatement. The blend stays risky. Check out the distorted Hammond solo that ends on a fading atonal chord.

  3. Light As A Feather - Return To Forever
  4. Solid Air - John Martyn
  5. Third - Soft Machine
  6. Extrapolation - John McLaughlin
  7. Moondance - Van Morrison
  8. Streetnoise - Brian Auger & The Trinity w/Julie Driscoll
  9. Forest Flower - Charles Lloyd Quartet
  10.Turn It Over - Tony Williams' Lifetime w/Jack Bruce

  For one extra taste of the purity in early jazz/rock, "Donovan In Concert" with Harold McNair on flute is extraordinary. When people like Sting and Joni Mitchell hire virtuoso jazz artists such as Branford Marsalis or Herbie Hancock, it is the sophistication they are after.

  Posted by Spike Sikes at 10:57 PM GMT 22/01/2007 Report Abuse

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• What about Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Brand X, Terje Rypdal, Steve Tibbetts, Nels Cline, Bill Frisell, Jean Paul Bourelly, Pat Martino, Vernon Reid, Buckethead, Phil Mazanara's Quiet Sun and my favorite Nicky Skopelitis.

  Posted by Bill Dubilier at 2:52 PM GMT 14/02/2007 Report Abuse

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• RE: Bill Dubilier

  I was thinking the same, great names. There are so many musicians who really have taken the Fusion genre to a next level.

  Posted by Kima at 11:49 PM GMT 27/10/2008 Report Abuse

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