Jazz fusion
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The early promise of jazz rock -- that electronics, ethnic influences and rock rhythms could expand the sonic and textural matrix of jazz-- degenerated into the vapidity of fusion." Joel Lewis, The Wire #130 "In the 1970s, jazz fusion was being combined in the U.K. with progressive rock and psychedelic music. Bands who were part of this movement included Brand X (with Phil Collins of Genesis), Bruford (Bill Bruford of Yes), Nucleus (led by Ian Carr), and Soft Machine. Throughout Europe and the world this movement grew due to bands like Magma in France, Passport in Germany, and guitarists Jan Akkerman (Holland), Volker Kriegel (Germany), Terje Rypdal (Norway), Jukka Tolonen (Finland), Ryo Kawasaki (Japan), and Kazumi Watanabe (Japan)."--Sholem Stein "Although some jazz purists protested against the blend of jazz and rock, many jazz innovators crossed over from the contemporary hard bop scene into fusion. As well as the electric instruments of rock (such as electric guitar, electric bass, electric piano and synthesizer keyboards), fusion also used the powerful amplification, "fuzz" pedals, wah-wah pedals and other effects that were used by 1970s-era rock bands. Notable performers of jazz fusion included Miles Davis, Eddie Harris, keyboardists Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock, vibraphonist Gary Burton, drummer Tony Williams (drummer), violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, guitarists Larry Coryell, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Ryo Kawasaki, and Frank Zappa, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and bassists Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke. Jazz fusion was also popular in Japan, where the band Casiopea released over thirty fusion albums."--Sholem Stein |
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Jazz fusion (or "jazz-rock fusion" or "fusion") is a musical genre that merges elements of jazz with other styles of music, particularly pop, rock, folk, reggae, funk, metal, R&B, hip hop, electronic music and world music. Fusion albums — even those that are made by the same artist — often include a variety of these musical styles.
Influential recordings
This section lists a few of the jazz fusion artists and albums that are considered to be influential by prominent jazz fusion critics, reviewers, journalists, or music historians. Albums from the late 1960s and early include Miles Davis' 1969 album In a Silent Way (1969) and his rock-infused Bitches Brew from 1970. Throughout the 1970s, Weather Report -released albums ranging from its 1971 self-titled disc Weather Report (1971) (which continues the style of Miles Davis album Bitches Brew) to 1979's 8:30. Chick Corea's Latin-oriented fusion band Return to Forever released influential albums such as 1973's Light as a Feather. In that same year, Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters infused jazz-rock fusion with a heavy dose of funk. Virtuoso performer-composers played an important role in the 1970s. In 1976, fretless bassist Jaco Pastorius released Jaco Pastorius; electric and double bass player Stanley Clarke released School Days; and keyboardist Chick Corea released his Latin-infused My Spanish Heart, which received a five star review from Down Beat magazine.
In the 1980s, Chick Corea produced well-regarded albums, including Chick Corea Elektric Band (1986) and Eye of the Beholder (1987). In the early 1990s, Tribal Tech produced two albums, Tribal Tech (1991) and Reality Check (1995). Canadian bassist-composer Alain Caron released his album Rhythm 'n Jazz in 1995. Mike Stern released Give And Take in 1997. In 2003, Christian McBride released Vertical Vision. For a longer list, see the List of notable jazz fusion recordings article.
See also
