"Fusion" refers to the merging of jazz and rock that happened in the mid-1970's through mid 1980's. It produced some of the most exciting music I am aware of, and a lasting impact on both jazz and rock. Rock and Jazz purists didn't like it, but that's often a sign that you're doing something right...
Setting the stage
Even if you are not a jazz fan, you have probably heard this. It’s the opening number from Miles Davis’ 1959 album “Kind of Blue”. Music theorists consider it an academic tour-de-force, but it broke through to the wider public in a way few jazz recordings had before. I think the reason is simple: “Kind of Blue” is filled with beautiful melodies and harmonies. You don’t have to be a theorist to “get” it.
This recording featured what some people call the “Mount Rushmore” of jazz: Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers and Jimmie Cobb, all of whom were major figures in their own right, and most of whom went on to lead their own bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylXk1LBvIqU
Miles Davis: Bitches Brew
The first Miles Davis album I purchased, as a teenager, was In a Silent Way, which I later learned was an inflection point for him. It led me to his earlier work including Kind of Blue. With In a Silent Way, he began diverging radically from mainstream jazz, introducing electric instrumentation and rock percussion, but with a restrained, almost ambient texture (musicians, please chime in, I’m probably way oversimplifying this!) His next album, Bitches Brew, was more radical, and more aggressive.
Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report and Chick Corea are widely considered the Big Four of fusion. All four acts were founded by members of the ensemble that recorded Bitches Brew. It says something that Miles Davis could pull this off not once, but twice—making a category-defining record with a team of all-stars to be. This clip is the first third of the title track. If you like it, it feeds directly into parts 2 and 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc7qiosq4m4&list=PL94gOvpr5yt0fSZzCnnYWwUFF3evnG4x4&index=2
Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke founded Return to Forever, and picked up where Miles Davis had left off--expanding the range of sounds and instruments, breaking the concept of genre, merging jazz with rock, throwing in classical influences...Sometimes it didn't work, but when it did it was amazing. This is one of their best, featuring their "classic" lineup, with Lenny White on drums and Al DiMeola on Guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7ehuAnD_kU
After Stanley Clarke left Return to Forever, he released a solo album called School Days, which hit us like a bomb. I remember heated debates in our dorms over whether this was a revolution or a sellout. After a career spanning a huge range of styles and collaborators, he reunited with Return to Forever, along with legendary jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, for a series of live concerts. Here, they play the title track from School Days. After 35 years, it’s as fresh as the day it was released. I also love how much fun they are all having with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DCahFBMEB8
What was on your college-age soundtrack? For many of my friends, it was Disco, Springsteen, and “soft rock” like Jackson Browne and the Eagles. For me it was Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, Heart, Black Sabbath, and Blondie. Beck’s albums Blow by Blow and Wired were not the only fusion albums out there—far from it; but they were among the most influential. This is from Jeff Beck’s 1975 album Blow By Blow—in this case, the original studio track. He could have stayed with blues and hard rock, but here he goes off in a new direction, merging rock, jazz, and funk. More than any of the other early fusion albums, this became part of our college soundtrack. More important, it was a sign of things to come from Beck, who would go on to cover more ground than any guitarist alive today. (I’ll be posting several clips of Beck, in different settings and genres.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk_Kb29CgLg
Here is Jeff Beck, many years later, playing his signature piece from the fusion era. He is accompanied by longtime partners Vinnie Colaiuta and Jason Rebello, along with 20-year old Aussie prodigy Tal Wilkenfeld on bass. Wilkenfeld had just made her American debut with them at Crossroads weeks earlier. I love her giddy delight at playing with these legends (check out the looks she and Beck trade starting at 2:43) and their open admiration of her abilities. Throughout his career, Beck has opened doors for new talent, and given them room to strut their stuff. Just another reason he’s my pick as "the greatest".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25q8nWZQGaQ
One of the first fusion groups I heard, before I was aware of Bitches Brew, was Mahavishnu Orchestra. The most radical thing I had been exposed to until then was Led Zeppelin, but MO quickly became part of my college soundtrack. Put simply, it bent my universe into a new shape. John McLaughlin was a disciple of Miles Davis, and in turn assembled a group of musicians who would become stars in their own right. I think this and his next album remain his best work to date. Listen for the drumming by Billy Cobham (also a Miles alum) - it’s an incredible blending of polyrhythmic improvisation, delicate fills and sheer power. I consider Cobham one of the three or four best drummers I’ve ever heard.
It was hard to choose a track to post. This one is long but well worth the time, and captures the bandmembers at the height of their powers, performing live.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USGf07Dlq4s
Herbie Hancock was a prodigy who was largely self-taught. When he was still a teenager, Miles Davis recruited him into one of his ensembles, and Herbie was off and running. He is one of the most prolific musicians I know of, with credits on hundreds of projects including many of his own, spanning a huge range of genres. I am sure I have only heard a small fraction of what he has done. This number is my favorite from Hancock’s 1973 album “Headhunters”, which had a big impact not only on fusion, but on jazz, rock, funk, and even pop music. It was not without controversy—I remember my jazz purist friends felt he had “sold out”. By that, I think they meant he had made something accessible and fun, that you could party to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bjPlBC4h_8
I’ll end this section with my favorite single piece by any of the landmark fusion groups. This is the finale from Weather Report’s second album. Hard to find words for it, so just hit play.
All I remember from my college soundtrack is a mad crush on Linda Ronstadt. Jeff Beck's 1970s jazz/fusion work is largely inaccessible for me, but I love his two most recent records. Scared for the Children from Lord Hailer runs deep for many reasons, but maybe most of all the brilliant and touching h/t to Hendrix. I'm sure you've heard the more recent material, Carlos, and am curious what you think of it.
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