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Jazz Fusion recommendations?

J

jamisonsalamand

Aug 15, 2008
103
0
#1
I'm starting a jazz quintet and want to get into fusion type stuff, but I only know Weather Report(I have Black Market and Heavy Weather). I'll be able to cover Teen Town sometime soon, but I still have a bit to go for playing it all at full speed. Any suggestions for albums that I could listen to and possibly learn songs from? Even if I can't play some, I could use some suggestions just for listening pleasure
 
#2
Fusion is a beautiful thing. Folks say Miles started the whole genre with "In a Silent Way".

There are some very cool bands like Steps Ahead and artists like violinist Michael Ubraniak that did not dive off into the rock side of things.

Here is a list of good recordings:
List of jazz fusion recordings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would suggest the following:
Billy Cobham album "Spectrum". Amazing drummer.

Herbie Hancock "Headhunters "

Chick Corea and Return to Forever in the 1970s

One of my favorites, and something of a guilty pleasure, is the German group 7 for 4: 7 For 4 - Rockalaxy - YouTube

Anything with Larry Coryell. Great Album with Coryell and urbaniak.

Tribal Tech "Rocket Science"- I think that is the Police drummer's band with Levin on bass.

Jeff beck "Blow by Blow" - Especially the song Constipated Duck.

Frank Zappa "Waka/Jawaka"

UZEB- high energy, with Alain Caron on bass, very tight. Amazing work. UZEB - New Funk - YouTube
 
#3
I second the Return To Forever and Jeff Beck stuff as well as what has been mentioned and will add:

Mahavishnu Orchestra
Stanley Clarke
Al Dimeola
Jean Luc Ponty
Helmut Hattler
Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
Brand X
Michael Franks
Jeff Lorber Fusion
Jeff Berlin
Allan Holdsworth
Gong
I.O.U.
Pat Metheny Group
Kittyhawk
The Yellowjackets
The Seatbelts
Larry Coryell
Lee Ritenour
David Sanborn
The Brecker Brothers
 
#6
7thbass said:
Tribal Tech "Rocket Science"- I think that is the Police drummer's band with Levin on bass.
Click to expand...

???
Tribal Tech is Scott Henderson (guitar) & Gary Willis (bass)...with various drummers, keys, percussion, & horns.
Eventually, they settled into a 4-tet.
On Rocket Science, they are the 4-tet...w/ Scott Kinsey (keys) & Kirk Covington (drums).
TT's earliest albums included Bob Sheppard on sax & Brad Dutz on percussion/mallets.


...and Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow-
The whole album is a Rock-Jazz-Funk fest.
 
#7
JimK said:
???
Tribal Tech is Scott Henderson (guitar) & Gary Willis (bass)...with various drummers, keys, percussion, & horns.
Eventually, they settled into a 4-tet.
On Rocket Science, they are the 4-tet...w/ Scott Kinsey (keys) & Kirk Covington (drums).
TT's earliest albums included Bob Sheppard on sax & Brad Dutz on percussion/mallets.


...and Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow-
The whole album is a Rock-Jazz-Funk fest.
Click to expand...

OOOFF! You are right. It was Animal Logic, with Stanley Clark. My bad. I am now going to edit my post using the Wayback machine and pretend this never happened. . . .
(actually I don't care enough for that, but I appreciate pointing out the error).
 
#11
7thbass said:
Fusion is a beautiful thing. Folks say Miles started the whole genre with "In a Silent Way".

There are some very cool bands like Steps Ahead and artists like violinist Michael Ubraniak that did not dive off into the rock side of things.

Here is a list of good recordings:
List of jazz fusion recordings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would suggest the following:
Billy Cobham album "Spectrum". Amazing drummer.

Herbie Hancock "Headhunters "

Chick Corea and Return to Forever in the 1970s

One of my favorites, and something of a guilty pleasure, is the German group 7 for 4: 7 For 4 - Rockalaxy - YouTube

Anything with Larry Coryell. Great Album with Coryell and urbaniak.

Tribal Tech "Rocket Science"- I think that is the Police drummer's band with Levin on bass.

Jeff beck "Blow by Blow" - Especially the song Constipated Duck.

Frank Zappa "Waka/Jawaka"

UZEB- high energy, with Alain Caron on bass, very tight. Amazing work. UZEB - New Funk - YouTube
Click to expand...
Your take on tribal tech is a funny one!
Neither stewart copeland nor tony levin ar in TT.
Copeland did something with stanley clarke tho-animal logic, I think.
As to the OP
Levin is on a nice album by steps ahead...-NYC.
face first and nomad are a couple of my favorite TT albums.

Weather report and return to forever are two obvious ones here too and have sure been mentioned before.
UZEB are alright
Things that Garry willis has done since tribal tech are fun.
Scott Kinsey has made a fun album too.I also like th esecond one of matt garrisons cds.
you may also like that thing yiorgos fakanas has done not too long ago , with Anthony Jackson and others on it-Interspirit...
Some Herbie Hancocks' 70s stuff is alright also.
Flashpoint by dave liebman, steve smith ayden esen and anthony jackson could be a great album but I find the sound quality problematic.
The brecker Brothers were good.
Michael landau's tales from the bulge is a great album and somewhat fusion I guess.
Same goes for allan holdsworth.
Metro was alright too.
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones have made some fun albums toowhich are fusion- the early ones like ofu tofu and the self titled one are fun.
Tony Levin's World diary is fantastic and fusion in a true sense of the word.
Trilok gurtu has made some fun albums too.
Wayne krantz's Signals and krantz carlock, lefebvre are both real nice.
John mclaughlin the heart of things and the live heart of things album are both fun- I much prefer the live album.
Some mike stern is alright-jigsaw is one of my MS favorites.
Yellow jackets are fun also, at least some of what they've done.

there's sooo much out there and ever increasing...


One guy you should not leave out, more so than most others I think, is Miles Davis
 
#13
cnltb said:
One guy you should not leave out, more so than most others I think, is Miles Davis
Click to expand...

+1 "In a Silent Way", "Tribute to Jack Johnson", "Bitches Brew".

Some others:
Carlos Santana: "Caravanseri" and "Love, Devotion, Surrender".
Larry Coryell's "Eleventh House".
Tony Williams "Lifetime".
Some of Tom Scott's stuff. Mike Stern. And look for the players on these and other albums mentioned in previous posts. Lot's of solo and one-shot bands and albums. Enjoy... there's some great stuff out there.
Al
 
#15
jamisonsalamand said:
I'm starting a jazz quintet and want to get into fusion type stuff, but I only know Weather Report(I have Black Market and Heavy Weather). I'll be able to cover Teen Town sometime soon, but I still have a bit to go for playing it all at full speed. Any suggestions for albums that I could listen to and possibly learn songs from? Even if I can't play some, I could use some suggestions just for listening pleasure
Click to expand...

I’ve been digging The Dave Weckl Band. Here’s just a taste of their vibe:

Dave Weckl - A Natural Evolution - Synergy - YouTube

The bassist (Tom Kennedy) is killer.
 
#16
I'm definitely a fan of original/old-school fusion (Miles, RTF, Mahavishnu, etc.) plus I really like the late-70s Bruford albums. The more modern bands - and by "more modern" I guess I mean "after 1980", LOL! - doesn't inspire me quite so much, because it seemed it got a bit formulaic by then.

Did anyone mention Tony Williams' New Lifetime, with Holdsworth, Pasqua, & Newton? That Believe It album was da bomb!

The very first Shadowfax album Watercourse Way is still one of the coolest old-school fusion albums ever recorded imho, totally unlike any of the New Age stuff they went on to record.

I have a soft spot for Pierre Moerlin's Gong, probably because I like mallet instruments...and Allan Holdsworth.
 
#17
+1 to the Jeff Beck stuff, and let me add Chuck Mangione. Doesn't seem to get mentioned a lot. I'm playing Children of Sanchez in band at the school(along with Letters From Home by Pat Metheny and Birdland by Weather Report...WITH harmonic intro. One of the hardest songs I've ever had to learn.) It helped me get back into a lot of his stuff.
 
#18
I'd really start with miles.
Most of those mentioned here learned from him.
Then I might seek out those who played with him-jack de johnette,carlos santana,foley,josef zawinul, mike stern, mino cinelu,john mclaughlin,dave holland,dave liebman,john scofield,wayne shorter, kenny garrett,Gary thomas,Marcus miller ( if you are more into pop grooves),carles benavent, daryl johnes etc.
 
#19
Saw RTF and Zappa Plays Zappa on Monday. One of the most amazing things I've witnessed live. You can't beat RTF for fusion, it's Stanley freaking Clarke on electric and upright. Oh and he gave a shout out to Bela, Vic, and Edgar Myer who were in the audience too as his greatest influences. Pure awesomeness.
 
#20
Dayman said:
Saw RTF and Zappa Plays Zappa on Monday. One of the most amazing things I've witnessed live. You can't beat RTF for fusion, it's Stanley freaking Clarke on electric and upright. Oh and he gave a shout out to Bela, Vic, and Edgar Myer who were in the audience too as his greatest influences. Pure awesomeness.
Click to expand...

Clarke called fleck,wooten and mayer his greatest influences?
You sure?
Funny , that!
:)
 

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