Emerged
during the late 1960s
Became the most popular jazz for the next thirty years
Jazz, rock, and Funk?
Similar roots
1. Gospel music
2. Work songs
3. Blues
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Late 1960’s? (Jazz verses Rock/Funk) (G, 161-163)
Jazz
Employs aspects of formal European concert music (forms and use of extended harmony)
Primarily instrumental music that is almost as complicated as 20th century symphonic music
Attracted a small and specialized audience
Rock and Funk
Emphasize vocals
Stick largely to simple compositional forms i.e. four-chord, twelve-bar blues and other short repetitive chord progressions
Became a main stream in popular music
The soul and funk groups of the sixties and early seventies strongly influenced the development of fusion.
Roots of fusion?
Two
influential Soul bands:
1. James Brown - featured horns, electric guitar, electric bass and drums
“Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” “I Feel Good”
Utilized:
Use of harmonies heard in jazz (ninth chord), rhythmically complex, with a strong backbeat and highly syncopated, rhythmically interlocking parts for the bass, guitar and drums. (polyrhythms)
The dense interplay of the rhythm section instruments in funk suggested a way for upcoming jazz-fusion players to integrate their jazz-oriented harmonies with syncopated rhythms.
2. Sly and the Family Stone
“There’s a Riot Going On,” “I Want to Take You Higher,” and “Everyday People”
Some of the rhythm section musicians working for Motown recording artists and for singer James Brown devised accompaniment pattern which were more complicated than those being used at the time by rock groups*. The work of accompanists for Sly Stone during the early 1970s was especially complex, having built upon the Motown and James Brown techniques.
Larry Graham - electric bass (Slap bass) influenced other funk players and fusion electric bassists Stanley Clarke, Alphonso Johnson, Marcus Miller and Jaco Pastorius
Funk and Soul brief lineage:
Blues - 20’s Bessie Smith
Blues - 40’s? Marketers called “race records”
In 1949? - Became Rhythm and Blues (R & B)
Early 1970’s A more complex R & B (syncopated drum patterns and complementary bass figures) eventually became referred to as “funk” and “soul”
*A brief Rock lineage:
Came of age 1950’s
Developed out of a complicated mix of:
1940’s R & B, country and folk music, Delta and electric blues
“British Envasion” mid-1960’s
The Beatles and Rolling Stones earned phenomenal popularity by covering compositions by African-American blues and R & B artists such as Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson.
Rocks influence (1960’s) on The Big Bands of Count Basie, Woody Herman (“Light My Fire”), Stan Kenton, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington (“All My Loving,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand”)
Jimi Hendrix - self-taught guitar virtuoso who used feedback, distortion, and electronic devices in his extended and flamboyant solos. Early fusion artists expressed admiration for his rock guitar solos
During the late 1960’s a partial blending of the soul-funk stream and the jazz stream occurred and was labeled “jazz-rock fusion”
Jazz-rock fusion mixed jazz improvisation with the
instrumentation
and rhythms of R & B
-2-
Two Rock oriented bands of the late 1960’s early 70’s who successfully (commercially) fused rock and jazz elements:
“Blood, Sweat, and Tears”- featured the soul-based singing of David Clayton-Thomas
“
Formula = Horns and jazz-based solos augmenting rock compositions
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the first Jazz oriented groups of the late 1960’s early 70’s who successfully (commericially) fused jazz and rock/funk/soul elements:
Miles
Davis and Fusion (G, 165-167):
The
two
“In a
Rhythm section gradually introduced elements that sounded more like rock than jazz i.e.
Drummer Tony Williams - began playing straight, repeating eighth notes on the ride cymbal, and occasionally stated each beat by sharply snapping closed the high-hat.
Bassist Ron Carter - sometimes complemented those drumming patterns with simple, repeating bass figures (no walking).
Electric piano(s) electric guitar(s)
Post
Bitches Brew - He continued to explore creative, improvised music within rock,
funk, and computer-controlled synthesizer frameworks. In doing so, he gained
and even higher degree of popularity and commercial success. He began playing
at rock music venues opening for Rock acts such as the Grateful Dead, The Band,
Santana, and
1975 to 1981 retired do to declining health
1981 “The Man With the Horn” - (Mike Stern)
1982 “Star People”- (John Scofield)
1985 “Tutu” extensive use of studio technology - layers of synthesized drum tracks, percussion, and keyboards Marcus Miller
1991 deceased of a stroke, last album “doo bop” was released incorporating hip-hop grooves and rap
-3-
Other
Fusion Pioneers:
John McLaughlin (G, 167)- fusion guitarist, bandleader, and composer
First became known to American musicians during the period 1969-71 when he started recording with Miles Davis and began playing with Lifetime (Tony Williams, former M. Davis drummer)
Rock guitarist sound, used wah-wah pedals and phase shifter, played with rock and blues inflections. His solos utilized long strings of sixteenth notes demonstrating a phenomenally high level of instrumental proficiency.
Many listeners consider his band Mahavishnu Orchestra to have been the greatest of all fusion bands.
1971 “Inner Mounting Flame”
1972 “Birds of Fire”
Above recordings seen as ultimate models of group cohesion and inspired jazz-rock improvisation.
Founded by Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone)
and Joe Zawinul (piano, synthesizers) in 1971
-Used standard jazz instrumentation in fresh creative ways.
-Bassist rarely walked, drummer rarely played standard ride rhythms, Spurts of
melody might come from any member.
-There was often no distinction between soloist and accompanist.
-Each member’s work contributed to the prevailing mood and color rather than to
a solo. (They had exchanged the long solos of conventional jazz for a greater
variety of moods and sound textures).
Two
main phases:
1. Collective improvisation of textures.
2. Funk band emphasis (extensive preset repetition and the feeling of soul
music).
“
(Zawinul composed fusion-style “Birdland”
as a recollection of
hearing the
riff-style band of Count Basie play at the
City night club Birdland.)
Herbie Hancock (composer-pianist-bandleader)(G174-175):
-With M.Davis 1963-69
-Became the most sought-after band pianist of the 1960s
-Hardbop influences to Bill Evans use of space harmony/mode -based thinking to
twentieth-century classical composers. He synthesized the previous into a highly
recognizable style.
-As a
composer by the early 1970’s, he had written every tune on eight of his own
albums
and coauthored many of the tunes on seven others.
“Dolphin Dance” “Maiden Voyage” Watermelon Man”
Fushion:
Head Hunters - album a Sly Stone influenced album sold just under a million
Thrust -
-Mid-1970s and the mid-1980s his popular music has less and less jazz improvisation in
it, and more and more dance rhythms
-1983 “Rockit” his most popular recording utilizing funk rhythm all tightly arranged with
his usual sense of balance and completeness. It was included in Future Shock, an album
that went gold and stayed on the popularity charts for more than a year.
Chick
Corea (composer-pianist-bandleader) (G,175-177):
Like H. Hancock, he is better known to the public as a bandleader in the jazz-rock fusion style than as a jazz pianist.
-Followed Herbie Hancock as pianist in the 1968 Miles D. Quintet and soon became one
of the most prominent pianists in jazz.
-He introduced fresh and compelling styles as a composer and bandleader.
piano roots: B. Powell, H. Silver, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner as well as twentieth-century
composers Paul Hindemith and Bela Bartok. Latin American and Spanish music also
inspired his style.
Early
1970’s
Return
to Forever
Light
as a Feather - “Captain Marvel” Jazz Classics CD
Jazz Standards “Windows” and “Crystal Silence”
“
His jazz-rock fusion music acquired a mass following
The Chick Corea Electric Band of the 1980s and 90s was quite successful
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New
Age Music (G, 177-178):
1980’s (classical/jazz?)
Attributes:
-Some improvisation, void of swing feel, tensionless, tone qualities soft and smooth, tone
color /harmony change slowly and gradually, same chord or mode for an entire piece,
static dynamics
-Classical Composition models (minimalism):
Lamonte Young, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich influenced by Gregorian chant music
from the Middle Ages as well as by sounds of nature-wind and waves (calm and
soothing).
-Paul
Winter Consort,
-5-
Smooth
Jazz (G, 178-179):
1980’s - Radio stations that programmed new age eased into a “light fusion”
programming.
-Pieces were extracted from the repertoires of The Crusaders, Yellow Jackets, and Spyro
Gyra. These pieces utilized more activity (harmony, dynamics, tone qualities,
improvisations) than new age.
-Some were jazz musicians capable of more exciting work - Grover Washington, Jr.
Chuck Mangione.
-Kenny G epitomizes the genre selling millions of copies between 1986 and 1995.
“Fuzak” a derivative of the Musak company.
Acid
Jazz (G, 180-183):
Emerged during the late 1980’s. Utilized Hip Hop/Rap music with 1960s-70s sound bites (jazz improvisations) blended in the midst, over of a rap groove (used as decoration)
Is Fusion Jazz?
Jazzy Pop?
Rap?
Jazzness in Acid Jazz?
Watered-down Jazz?
-6-