Miles Davis - Sanctuary, Live in Rome 1969

Mesmerizing. Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter (it's his tune they're playing), Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette.

Also, this fucking rules:

"Jazz-Rock" vs "Jazz Fusion" Part 2

"Jazz-Rock" vs "Jazz Fusion" Part 2

A Comparative Analysis, Demystification, and a Set of Examples Which Hopefully Serve to Distinguish Between The Two. Part 2, by Sri Sarcastic. In part 1 of this analysis, Mr. McFuzak outlined a simplified view of the debate, where jazz rock was equated with raw production values, and jazz fusion (henceforth simply fusion) was equated with slick production values. In this second part of the dissertation Sri Sarcastic proposes a more complex definition of the terms in question, and some valuable tools for making distinctions. First of all, when speaking of genres, idioms, stylistic terms, and the like, it is important to note that there will always be disagreement between various camps, confusion about exact boundaries, and cross-over between various artists and sounds. Any definition of what fusion is must be able to account for, and welcome, this type of tension. A new model of fusion does just this. 

Fusion, like many style-specific musical terms (ie. classical, jazz, baroque, techno, electro) is a term that can be used in at least two ways: a) the first, more often employed by non-specialists or non-experts, finds the word fusion used as an umbrella term, generally describing a unspecified body of work, sounds and ideas. b) the second, more specific use of the word fusion describes, for experts in the field, a specific sound and musical ideology, exemplified by such bands as Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra. This can alternately be described as 'pure fusion'. 

In Mr. McFuzak's discussion of various fusion-related genres such as jazz-rock, jazz-funk, or the proto-fusion (as i will argue) of albums like Spaces or Bitches Brew, Mr. McFuzak and many other musicologists make the error of using fusion in two senses at once. For example, McFuzak defines Frank Zappa's Hot Rats album as borderline jazz-rock/fusion (an ineffective term, to say the least). A new understanding of these terms clearly places Hot Rats (and Steely Dan, or even Blood, Sweat & Tears or early Chicago) in the jazz rock camp. 

A new understanding of these terms also shows that jazz-rock and fusion are not mutually exclusive terms, especially when fusion is being used as an umbrella term. Hot Rats is a fusion album, in the larger sense of the word (fusion employed as an umbrella term) but it certainly does not represent 'purist' fusion; so-called real Fusionists (capital 'f' being employed creatively here, just to make a point) would never put Hot Rats in the same stylistic family as Visions of the Emerald Beyond, for example. However any discussion of fusion in the wider sense should be able to accommodate Zappa's oeuvre as easily as John McLaughlin's.

 

The album in question. 

 

Perhaps the largest contribution of the 2nd dissertation must be a wider appreciation and understanding of the term jazz rock. Terms will be defined, in this 2nd dissertation, without reference to production values (such as slick or raw) but instead in terms of songwriting, arrangement, instrumentation, and properties of the creative process itself: 

Henceforth, jazz-rock will be more likely to reference the main tenets of rock'n'roll: a 4/4 time signature; a prominent and relatively fast-paced backbeat; blues-based song arrangement that may allow for repeated playing of one riff or short melodic sequence. 

Fusion on the other hand is a term that will be preferable to describe music that rests more comfortably on the basic attributes of jazz: strong structures that incorporate forms, often quite lengthy, with various instruments taking solos; experimentation with different time signatures, especially during changes; an emphasis on improvisation and spontaneity especially within solos. 

Jazz-Rock and fusion are only two specific genres within the larger use of the word fusion as an umbrella term. Other types of music that fall within the fusion rubrik are: proto-fusion, fuzak, jock fusion, singer/songwriter fusion, and more. As we may argue throughout the course of this discussion, much prog-rock and avant-jazz arguably falls into the genre in the widest sense. 

This definition is in keeping with widespread understanding of the word fusion (from wikipedia): "Fusion albums, even those that are made by the same group or artist, may include a variety of styles. Rather than being a codified musical style, fusion can be viewed as a musical tradition or approach. Some progressive rock music is also labeled as fusion. Fusion music is typically instrumental, often with complex time signatures, metres, rhythmic patterns and extended track lengths, featuring lengthy improvisations. Many prominent fusion musicians are recognized as having a high level of virtuosity combined with complex compositions and musical improvisation in complex or mixed metres." 

As mentioned earlier, jazz rock, used in the specific sense, refers to those artists and elements of fusion that utilized rock and roll conventions: 4/4 time signatures with a percussive element on the beat itself; a snare used/accentuated on the 3rd beat of each bar, et al. Contrary to Mr. McFuzak's conception of jazz-rock as a term that includes (ie) Larry Coryell's Spaces album, or Miles Davis Bitches Brew (both of which certainly fall into the larger rubric of fusion), this updated vision of the term jazz-rock is much more specific to bands more traditionally equated with rock n' roll and its trappings. Steely Dan is demonstrative of this definition of jazz rock, as they employ jazz instrumentation, extended solos and alternative voicings in tandem with the repetitive drum beat that is rock's and jazz rock's signature. Other classic or typical jazz-rock bands include: early Chicago, Chase, Blood Sweat & Tears, Traffic, Van Morrison. I would argue, for example, that Pink Floyd's The Great Gig in the Sky, if only for its lack of vocals and use of a saxophone solo, as prototypical jazz-rock in this sense (though to argue that Pink Floyd, as a whole, should be defined as jazz-rock is certainly questionable).

<<<Guitarist Larry Coryell is revered for more than just his hair. 

Taking up the subject of Larry Coryell's 1970 album Spaces once again, if we refer to the album's opening composition, Spaces, penned by Coryell, and featuring McLaughling and Cobham on drums, not until the 4-minute mark (at 4:10) do we hear Cobham begin to hit the snare on the third beat of the bar with any regularity, and only for a couple of measures. This mark of jazz-rock returns, albeit briefly again, at the songs' 8-minute mark. While this rock-inflected playing was ground-breaking at the time (and certainly added enough experimentalism to classify the album as proto-fusion, and allow it a key place as a seminal fusion (in the larger sense) album), it does not rear its head again throughout the album's entire six-song length. 

Miles Davis' Bitches Brew album references rock and roll in a different way, through songwriting patterns that get away from jazz's form-based schema and instead allow a bandleader (Miles, in this case) to lead the group through extended one-chord or one-riff jams (much in the style of Iron Butterfly or other jam bands of the era). As such, both BB and Spaces should be considered as proto-fusion, within the larger rubric of fusion, due to their early use of rock elements in a jazz arena. This does not, however, make these albums shining examples of jazz-rock (such as Countdown to Ecstasy or Chicago II). 

Henceforth, fusion should be understood as a term with multiple layers of meaning. Like many other terms in the field of musicology it can be applied as an umbrella term, to indicate the larger body of music that is fusion, and as well as a more specific term by fusion purists or experts, to describe that individual camp with fusion that is most representative of the genre. 

For further discussion, I propose a new set of observations: Steely Dan: all of their albums are jazz-rock Larry Coryell: Spaces is proto-fusion. The Great Escape and Larry Coryell, for example, are jazz-rock. Coryell employs standard rock/pop song composition (verse, choruses) and uses an unmistakably rock-influenced percussive backbeat. The Eleventh House, in their classic 1973-74 lineup, are fusion in the purest sense. Miles Davis: Bitches Brew is proto-fusion. In a Silent Way, Miles in the Sky and Filles de Kilimanjaro are similarly proto-fusion, as Miles begins to experiment with electric amplification and rock rhythms. We Want Miles is funk-fusion. Nothing Miles Davis ever recorded can be regarded as fusion in the purest sense (sorry to break it to you). 

Though Return to Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra may reign as the finest examples of fusion in the truest sense, John McLaughlin's Devotion is jazz-rock (Buddy Miles -not to take anything away from this skilled beatsmith, is a rock drummer); Chick Corea's use of ring modulation and his orientation towards dissonance marks his proto-fusion contributions (on Miles' aforementioned albums as well as with Circle). Return to Forever itself, due to its early reliance on Brazilian, Latin and Spanish-American styles and modes, do not quite qualify as fusion in its truest sense until 1973s Hymns of the Seventh Galaxy.

Mahavishnu Orchestra's 1971 album "Inner Mounting Flame" may be the first example of fusion in its truest sense, and was a large influence on Chick Corea's songwriting over the ensuing years. 

Jazz Rock vs. Jazz Fusion: A Comparative Analysis, Demystification, and a Set of Examples Which Hopefully Serve to Distinguish Between The Two, will be continued... In the meantime, we welcome your comments and criticisms.

The Fusion Party proposes its first fusion mix: 83 minutes of seminal fusion for listening and discussion.

The first of series of fusion mixes I made earlier in the year, "First Intimations of the Cosmic Pilgrimage" is 83 minutes in length, and all songs are recorded directly from vinyl . Precedence is given to the original recordings in their entirety; of course there's no scratching or beat-matching of any kind at all. Listen to or download the mix here, it will be availabe for a limited time. www.level4productions.com/fusionparty1.mp3 The intro is a track called 'ping pong' from Finnish fusion trio JTB. Guitarist Jukka Tolonen's name is synonymous with 'guitar god' in Finland, from what I've heard, and this is one of many European acts that are out there to be discovered. Note the album cover, all the way on the other side of the sea, has some typical '500 miles high' imagery at play here; complex multi-faceted entities beam down from the heavens.  Mr. McFuzak will be happy to hear that Coryell's composition "Spaces" (at 1:00), with the incredible lineup of Corea, McLaughlin, Vitous and Cobham, recorded in 1970 and certainly reflecting a sound very distinct from the traditional fusion equation (for more on this look at michael's nov. post on the distinctions of fusion, jazz-rock) is the thematic focal point for the first section of the mix. In keeping with the idea that this mix would reflect First Intimations of the Cosmic Pilgrimage, some of these selections are tunes that only hint at what would come later on to be definied as fusion, upon the genre's larger explosion to its full brightness in the mid and late 70s. Coryell's Spaces album, though not released until 1974, is a must-have for anyone looking to explore these fruitful times .  

Next up is Bob James-penned tune "The Golden Apple" (at 9:49), perhaps a reference to well-known off-broadway musical by the same name (which was itself an adaption of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey) -or maybe it's an Asimov reference. Tunes like this go a long way in support of my pro-Bob James movement within the Fusion Party. The turning point happens with the insertion of a phenomenal 7/4 bass riff (at 11:58) courtesy of Gary King (a CTI mainstay who also recorded with Tom Scott, George Benson, Hubert Laws, Earl Klugh and many more). The incomparable Steve Gadd is on drums, and King and him provide a perfect backdrop for a really tasteful, assertive Richie Resnicoff guitar solo, showing how James got beyond the much-reviled worlds of pop and funk (more on that later) to craft a real fusion gem. Teruo Nakamura is a bassist who played with Lenny White extensively, Steve Grossman, Hubert Eaves, Onaje Allan Gumbs and more, based in NYC in the 60s and 70s. His tune "Precious One" (at 16:59) is another example of rock and roll's beat structures rubbing off on otherwise jazz-oriented players, taken from his exceedingly rare 1975 album Rising Sun -if you see this, buy it! Grossman works the saxophone, Shiro Mori plays a real sharp guitar solo (at 20:27) and Harry Whitaker a nice electric piano solo. The aptly named Art Gore is on drums and Nakamura, as expected, lays a phenomenally mobile bass line underneath the whole thing. Following Weather Report's well known hypnotic 'big room' fusion cut "Nubian Sundance", Miles Davis' track "Kix" will, like James' inclusion, almost certainly provoke ire from so-called fusion purists (which if anything raises this more important question: can something that is inherently a fusion of various elements itself ever be pure?), but I firmly believe that Miles' "We Want Miles" is a more perfect portrait of the possibilities of fusion than is, for example, the much lauded "Bitches Brew" album, though BB had far more talent involved in its recording, and has met with much more acclaim in the years since. Marcus Miller owns the funk/fusion bass groove on this beautiful, wistful tune, the only low-point being an unfortunate feedback occurrence (at 35:57) onstage in the midst of a Davis solo.  The mix closes with a series of classic fusion pieces from Mahavishnu, Jeff Beck, Billy Cobham and George Duke, and Return to Forever that illustrate, among other things, the musicians' growing fascination with the occult and more specifically the Church of Scientology. There's even a later Corea work, 1978's "Madhatter Rhapsody" (at 62:52) from Corea's roundly-dismissed "Madhatter" album, in a creepy Latin circus mode typical of Corea, with Steve Gadd and noted non-scientologist Herbie Hancock helping out in addition to Gayle Moran, Chick's wife and fellow disciple of Scientology (judging by her wiki page, there's some sort of Church ban, probably Corea-initiated, on providing detailed information about her many real-life accomplishments) adding vocals on the coda (her ominous verse here actually closes the entire album). More on that in a sec. Solo works of Corea provide a window into the soul of the man, his compositions here unfettered by the concerns of band mates and the like, his concepts allowed to grow freely from what was clearly a rampant imagination. Moran closes the album with a coda verse that has never, unsurprisingly, been transcribed by any of the seemingly endless lyrics-based websites (see: Church of Scientology vis a vis internet). Remember little friends I'm always loving you Now I can see I can be Here or there, everywhere Times will lie Love never dies Living on, on and on I'm not 100% sure about the 'Times will lie' line, but it's quite clear what's going on here. To paraphrase Moran, 'Xenu will always be loving his little followers. Give him your soul and your money, and good things will happen.' Whether Gayle is acting as Corea's brainwashed drooling Sci-ton, or whether she's a vehement believer herself (maybe Corea was seduced into the church by her vixen's call?) is not made evident... Only many repeated listenings to Corea's oeuvre will give us a clue (thank M. McFuzak for the stylistic merits of above bold usage). Works like this will lead those listeners not already familiar with fusion music's close ties with Scientology into a deeper understanding of the spirituality behind the music. Even Mahavishnu Orchestra weigh in on the eternal debate here with two songs on the topic of the great thetan dream of revisiting the mother-planet. Track listing and mix info: L4Pcd0100: Fusion Party 001: FIRST INTIMATIONS OF THE COSMIC PILGRIMAGE 1-JTB - Ping Pong 2-Larry Coryell - Spaces (Infinite) 3-Bob James - The Golden Apple 4-Teruo Nakamura - Precious One 5-Weather Report - Nubian Sundance 6-Miles Davis- Kix 7-Mahavishnu Orchestra - Celestial Terrestrial Commuters 8-The Billy Cobham -George Duke Band - Juicy 9-Jeff Beck - Scatterbrain 10-Chick Corea - The Mad Hatter Rhapsody 11-Mahavishnu Orchestra - On the Way Home to Earth 12-Return to Forever - The Magician All vinyl. mixed & arranged by Sri Sarcastic. Wed. June 03 2009 @ Saint Dominique's Preview

500 Miles High

I am loving this trio version of Chick Corea's classic composition 500 Miles High, which he's played in a variety of settings over the years. The original version, as we all know, was on the 1972 sophomore effort by the first incarnation of Return To Forever - i.e. the smooth latin vocal lineup with Flora Purim on vocals and her husband Airto Moreira on the percussion - Light as a Feather.

This version seems to have Chick's intro cut off. Also, CC is on acoustic piano as opposed to the softer Rhodes piano. The original version (here's a nice live version from that period, albeit no vocals) has a nice chordal preface, which is accented by Flora's lovely vocal line, the lyrics of which are:

Some day you'll look in to her eyes
Then there'll be no goodbyes
And yesterday will have gone
You'll find yourself in another space
500 miles high

You'll see just one look and you'll know
She's so tender and warm
You'll recognize this is love
You'll find yourself on another plane
500 miles high

Be sure that you love stays so free
Then it never can die
Just realise this is truth
And above the skies you will always stay
500 miles high
500 miles high
500 miles high

This is a typical example of the Scientology-laden imagery that Chick was espousing around that time. You'll find yourself in another space? On another plane? 500 miles directly above the Earth's surface? Indeed.

This is perfectly in line with the sci-fi psychobabble that Chick was being fed mouth-and-spoon down at the old Org office around that time. Stories of aliens from 75 million years ago invading the planet (then known as Teegeeack, as everybody already knows). "Just realize this is the truth". I suspect that one of Chick Corea's auditors condescendingly uttered that exact phrase to him on at least one occasion...

Let's look deeper at what's going on in this clip. We know that Chick, a confirmed CoS member, is using "L. Ron Tech" on a day-to-day basis at this point in his personal life. But was he using it in Jazz, too? I think so. For instance,

Here, we see an excited C. Corea clearly fucking with his bandmates, egging them on with priceless facial expressions as he lays down a deft dotted-quarter-note chordal motif over the fast eighth-note pulse of the song. Is he invoking the well known hostile Fair Game doctrine or something? Why so confrontational, Armando?

Also, here. Look how he raises his eyebrow in a gesture of religious superiority as he first introduces that sweet melodic motif and then warps the notes to mesh with the clever harmonic changes of this universally loved jazz standard. He is fucking with Stanley and Lenny! He even throws in a look of "what you gonna do about it?" around the 4:00 mark. Then it cuts to Lenny on the drums and his face is painted with a pained expression as if to say "there ain't shit I even do about that shit right there..." Outrageous. Is he still pissed at Stanley Clarke for leaving the CoS? This video is from 1982, right around when Stan left the church. We have no real way of knowing what was up with the two them at this time, but I'm seriously feeling Chick's hostility, guys!

However, it is well known that personal hostility can lead to the creation of fantastic music (see Mahavishnu Orchestra, first incarnation). So I'm not mad at Chick Corea for using Scientological Tech in his musical endeavours. In fact, I say more power to him. Chick Corea is in the very highest tier of all time Jazz Fusion auteurs, and personally I wouldn't have it any other way. Jazz-Rock-On, sir!

Pat Meth Group Live in 78 - April Joy

This is fantastic. Love Pat's shirt. Danny Gottlieb's drum solo kills too.

"Jazz-Rock" vs "Jazz Fusion" Part I

A Comparative Analysis, Demystification, and a Set of Examples Which Hopefully Serve to Distinguish Between The Two. (Plus a preliminary treatise on the naming and usage of musical genres in general)


TERMS which supposedly describe musical styles are constantly being thrown around by people everywhere, every second of every day. These terms are often used as a cultural short-hand to save time explaining what one is talking about, when one is talking about music. Many people who think critically about music deride these terms, imagining that every single piece of music ever created is essentially unique, and that pigeonholing things into “genres” is a facile and superficial way of trying to impose order on the infinite.

Other music lovers embrace these descriptors, and endeavour enthusiastically to attach these cliched tags to any music they hear, reasoning that all music is somehow stylistically related to some other music that came before it; or perhaps related to something else that came after it.

To wit:
Person A: “what bands do you like?”
Person B: “I like Tull….”
Person A: “Oh so you like Prog?”
Person B: “Uh…I dunno man, I like all sorts of shit…..is Tull Prog?”

Some people want to enjoy music in peace, sans analysis, whereas others want to dissect the shit out of it and compare it to everything else and see how it all relates. We have seen how it is typical for a music journalist to categorize some musician’s music using one of these terms, and then how that very musician rejects such a categorization when they’re confronted with the same term in an interview. Vis,

“In all these years, I still haven’t figured out what Progressive Rock even means!”

- paraphrasing Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson

Well I’m sorry to say that I don’t believe that you

are really being sincere when you say that, Ian. Anyone such as yourself, who is clearly making some new kind of music, and releasing albums that are repeatedly being compared to other bands that make music that a whole bunch of different people all over the world also happen to like and find you stylistically similar to...and that those people consider your band to be in the same general category as, and when you’ve also done extensive tours where you shared the stage with many of those very bands – I hate to break it to you but you’re prog rock, and so is Yes, and so is Gentle Giant and King Crimson and ELP etc. Anyone in any of those bands who ever claimed that they weren’t Prog, or “don’t know what that even means”, was full of shit, and/or were pissed off about getting lumped in with guys that they met on tour and didn’t get along with or something.

My dear fusion fans: please don’t despair and lose interest now, just because I used Prog as an example to illustrate my thoughts on the general topic of Musical Idiom Names, aka Styles, Genres, etc.


“Everybody listen, you may not agree. But all y’all should try it one time and maybe you’ll see”

– George Duke

This is not a paper about whether or not musical idiom names are good or not. They exist. They get used. We use them, and others use them. Sometimes we are disgusted by the sound of some ignorant person using such a term

incorrectly, just as sometimes we elicit a parallel reaction in others by doing same. Oftentimes, laughs result. Other times lifetime hatreds result. I recall a friend who was repulsed when he overheard a mutual acquaintance of ours introduce himself to some strangers by saying “hey man, I’m Bob. I’m a Drum n' Bass DJ”. That was eons ago but I still understand my friend’s pissed-off reaction to having heard that dude say that.

I think the whole thing can be summed up in the following sentence: Name dropping genres is lame; using genre names when you know what you’re talking about is ok.

END OF PREAMBLE

“There is Jazz-Rock, and then there is Fusion” - Michael McFuzak

Ever since people have been making music that blurs the borders of Jazz and Rock, critics have used the terms Jazz-Rock, and Jazz Fusion (henceforth just “Fusion”) to describe a vast and often wildly disparate universe of musical vibes. It is perhaps best to start off by citing examples that exemplify and epitomize the differences between these two fully legitimate and distinct musical genres. Here are some off the top of my head:

John Mclaughlin: Devotion is Jazz-Rock; Visions of The Emerald Beyond is Fusion.

Larry Coryell: Spaces is Jazz-Rock; Eleventh House is Fusion.

Miles Davis: Bitches Brew is Jazz-Rock; and nothing Miles did in the 70’s can really be called Fusion. In a Silent Way and Live Evil are also Jazz-Rock, but not fusion.

Weather Report: The first two albums are amazing Jazz-Rock; Heavy Weather is definitely Fusion. The ones in between are up for debate(??? -ed).

Return To Forever: Light as a Feather is “latin-tinged jazz rock”. Hymn of the 7th Galaxy is archetypal, epic Fusion. Where Have I Known You Before is also epic Fusion.

George Duke is sometimes straight-up Fusion; but often veering towards Funk-Fusion (a vast and varied genre which I’m not that versed in – Fishmongerfunk will have to expound further on that whole scene….)

Frank Zappa has some Fusion. Hot Rats is borderline Jazz-Rock / Fusion and it fucking rules hard…

Eberhard Weber “Fluid / Rustle” is European arty fusion and not at all Jazz-Rock; there is zero rock therein.

Jeff Beck Wired is Fusion (specifically Jock Fusion – more on that later, - Ed).

Cream and Traffic are sometimes Early Jazz-Rock.

Some of Joni Mitchell’s albums are Singer-Songwriter Jazz-Rock. (Don Juan’s, The Hissing of).

Steely Dan flirted with and simultaneously intertwined themselves with Fusion, but could also be generally considered to be anything ranging from Rock (Show Biz Kids), Jazz-Rock (Your Gold Teeth), Fusion Dabblers (Gold Teeth II Live) , True Fusion (end of Aja), etc SD SD SD SD

So that might give you some indication of where we, meaning the The Fusion Party Crew stand on the matter.

There will be more to follow.
Best,
M McF

PS: as a Rule Of Thumb for those just joining us,

RAW = JAZZ-ROCK
SLICK PRODUCTION = FUSION

Welcome all

This is the Fusion Party. We will talk about all kinds of Fusion Music, the people that make it, the clothes they wear, and so on. Stay tuned!