"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.