Modern Fusion with Modern Synth Technology?

[Matt Till]

I thought of something I've been interested in for a while, but haven't thought to ask. In the Alain Caron thread, UZEB was mentioned of course, and I stated my reason for not being able to get behind a lot of fusion is the super super dated tonality of old school fusion keys/synths.

I would love to hear someone of Joe Zawinul's musical capabilities with an amazing band playing with a modern synth setup. Synths have come a loooooong way since the 70s and are capable of so much more musically, and I'm wondering if there are any fusion-esque bands that fully take advantage of this.

I should also state, I'm not a fan of super smooth fusion, something with a little edge to it would be nice.

[jerry]

Zawinul was still at the peak of his capabilities on synths when he died, but thankfully* synth sounds have gotten more "organic" sounding in the last decade. You might want to check his last few CDs out.
Scott Kinsey is one of the cats that are still out there doing it in the Zawinul mode with modern technology.




* IMHO of course.

[Matt Till]

Yeah, I suppose my opinion is based on the Jaco era WR albums. I'll have to check out some more modern Zawinul.

[narud]

gimme an arp 2600 and an arp string ensemble and im happy

[JimK]

Originally Posted by jerry

Zawinul was still at the peak of his capabilities on synths when he died, but thankfully* synth sounds have gotten more "organic" sounding in the last decade. You might want to check his last few CDs out.
Scott Kinsey is one of the cats that are still out there doing it in the Zawinul mode with modern technology.

I agree the late Zawinul stuff (Big band, small group, whatever) is happening...the Kinsey/Tribal Tech stuff, too.
From the '90s, there are some Tom Coster albums (some feature Alphonso Johnson & Jeff Andrews) & the Chick Corea Elektric Band + their offshoots (Dave Weckl's band, Patitucci's electric-style groups, Gambale's bands, etc).

[JimK]

Originally Posted by narud

gimme an arp 2600 and an arp string ensemble and im happy

A lotta of guys prefer those old Skool machines.

[D.Don]

Originally Posted by narud

gimme a macbook, an arturia arp 2600 and an gforce/gmedia string ensemble and im happy

D.Don

[Matt Till]

It's weird, with a lot of the prog stuff I listen to, I love the old school synths... but for some reason, fusion guys make them sound so corny. I don't know where the line is.

[Barkless Dog]

Synths are a lot like movie effects- they date the piece.


But I really crave the old moog, mellatron (yes it's samples, but unique in it's sound) type stuff that sounded original vs samples.

[stretchcat]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

I would love to hear someone of Joe Zawinul's musical capabilities with an amazing band playing with a modern synth setup. Synths have come a loooooong way since the 70s and are capable of so much more musically, and I'm wondering if there are any fusion-esque bands that fully take advantage of this.

Originally Posted by jerry

Scott Kinsey is one of the cats that are still out there doing it in the Zawinul mode with modern technology.
IMHO of course.

I agree!

You should check out Scott Kinsey's solo album, "Kinesthetics". He utilizes a laptop in his live performances running Ableton Live software, which allows him to trigger loops, samples, etc on the fly. Meanwhile the group, which includes fusion heavyweights, is playing along. He's definitely carrying the torch for Joe Zawinul.

You might also enjoy Jeff Babko.

[MixBass]

Gonzalo Rubalcaba "Antiguo" comes to mind. It's world fusion from another planet w/synths.

[Matt Till]

What I was able to find

Scott Kinsey Group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tCBqgM_QuM
Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Cuban Quartet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uVEk_B33OU
Tribal Tech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCvY4Jrn2TA
Joe Zawinul and Syndicate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6SbaYPU2LA
Shogun Warrior (Jeff Babko): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTj0HsB2gpA
Tom Coster Band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0jYzdZHhQc
Chick Corea Elektric Band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rI9fevwT2s
Dave Weckl Band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjXgu-BSirk

[Matt Till]

Scott Kinsey Group - EXACTLY what I'm talking about, this is what I was looking for

Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Cuban Quartet - Seems more new age/ambient to me, I can dig it though. Not especially my thing, but I can dig it.

Tribal Tech - I've heard some of their stuff before, the synths are very much the modern idea I was talking about. I really like what everyone is doing, but the guitarist is too upfront for what he's doing, I don't know, there is something offputting about that guitar, I appreciate what he's doing, but something about the tone. I'll have to check out more of their stuff

Joe Zawinul and Syndicate - The most modern thing I could find from Joe, I think "dated" is just his sound. Once again, I can dig it, I like the world music vibe, but not overly my thing.

Shogun Warrior - Most Jeff Babko I found he was on piano, absolutely amazingly talented. I found this vid and really dug it! I'm down with his tone for sure, and the band is awesome. I like the rock edge it has.

Tom Coaster - Tonally super dated, to me, great percussion intro though, a great vid worth watching, but not what I'm looking for in the synth department.

Chick Corea Elektric Band - The most modern CCEB video I could find, 1991, I love Chick, but his tone is EXACTLY the synth tone I hate. I get a very Keytar vibe from it.

Dave Weckl Band - Not bad key tone, a little cheesy, but DAMN the band is smokin' on this, the bass playing is superb!


With Scott Kinsey being exactly what I'm digging in the fusion world, I should also state that I love what Jojo Mayer and Nerve do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf3fpULe6Ig PROBABLY leaning more in the direction of live drum and bass electronica, but the synth tonality and vibe I dig.

[The Lurker]

Originally Posted by Barkless Dog

Synths are a lot like movie effects- they date the piece.


But I really crave the old moog, mellatron (yes it's samples, but unique in it's sound) type stuff that sounded original vs samples.

+1.

Also, it may well be that people have had thirty years since then to digest the technology.

As far as advances in technology go, however.... seriously, who other than Julian Cope takes Mellotrons on the road with him anymore? Even Rush basically migrated all their stuff into new equipment.

[Matt Till]

If I could afford a Mellotron, I would take it with me everywhere I went.

[Barkless Dog]

Old Tech becomes new tech, Primitive is better, allows the human element, vs a lap top.

Things I wish I had-

Taurus Pedals
Mellotron
Working Gizmotron
Any moog synth
Real Space Echo
Guitorgan
Ludwig Phase II- just too cool.
Roland Bass Synth.

[JimK]

If you're into modern synths & laptops & a bunch of (sometimes) controlled chaos-
Electric Masada?

[jerry]

For laptop/Squarepusher type synth music pushed into jazz territory check out Actual Fiction by Gary Willis.