Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion (sometimes referred to simply as fusion) is a musical genre that loosely encompasses the merging of jazz with other styles, particularly rock, funk, R&B, and world music. It basically involved jazz musicians mixing the forms and techniques of jazz with the electric instruments of rock, and rhythmic structure from African-American popular music, both "soul" and "rhythm and blues". The 1970s were the most important decade for fusion, but the style has been well represented also during later decades. Fusion albums - often even those that are made by the same artist - include a variety of musical styles. It can be argued that rather than being a coherent musical style, fusion is a musical tradition and approach.

The roots of fusion

Fusion has its roots in the late 1960s work of Miles Davis and the Tony Williams Lifetime. There had been earlier efforts in 1960s to fuse jazz and pop (most notably by Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, who worked with Joe Zawinul; as well as The Free Spirits, a group featuring Jim Pepper and Larry Coryell), but Davis and Williams were the most influential artists in this movement. Fusion bands used instruments such as electric guitar, bass guitar, and electric piano. Soon, others (most notably Herbie Hancock, Jan Hammer and Chick Corea) began incorporating synthesizers such as the minimoog, sometimes joining forces with more avant garde players who had also begun incorporating electronic sound in the wake of the "classical" avant garde.

Related Topics:
1960s - Miles Davis - Tony Williams - Julian "Cannonball" Adderley - Joe Zawinul - Jim Pepper - Larry Coryell - Electric guitar - Bass guitar - Electric piano - Herbie Hancock - Jan Hammer - Chick Corea - Synthesizers - Minimoog

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Jazz artists, in the wake of developments in pop music, also began using the recording studio—with its improved editing, multitrack recording, and electronic effects capability—as an adjunct to composition and improvisation. Trumpeter Miles Davis's In a Silent Way (1969) and Bitches Brew (1970), for instance, feature extended—more than 20 minutes each—compositions which were never actually played straight through by the musicians in the studio; instead, musical motifs of various lengths were selected from recorded extended improvisations, and edited together into a musical whole which only exists in the recorded version. These are considered cornerstone recordings of the genre.

Related Topics:
Miles Davis - In a Silent Way - Bitches Brew

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Also many rock-musicians started to approach jazz forms during the second half of 1960s. These include Paul Butterfield and Mike Bloomfield, who recorded a long improvisational piece, "East-West", in 1966. Other artists, notably Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, and The Allman Brothers Band in the US and King Crimson, Soft Machine and Cream in the UK, also performed, and eventually recorded, rock songs featuring extended improvisations and jazz-style instrumental interplay as well as longer, multipart compositions.

Related Topics:
Paul Butterfield - Mike Bloomfield - Jimi Hendrix - Grateful Dead - The Allman Brothers Band - King Crimson - Soft Machine - Cream

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