Jazz rock first concert. Modern jazz rock. This direction can be attributed to the origins of the entire fusion style

Such a direction in music as jazz-rock or fusion, as it later became known, became known in the 70s of the last century, when groups such as Mahavishnu Orshestra, Weather Report, Return To Forever, Larry Coryell Eleventh House, New Lifetime appeared , as well as Al Di Meola, Jean Luc Ponty, Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke in the USA; Brand X, Soft Machine, Gong, National Health, Colosseum II, Bill Bruford, Steve Hillage in the UK. There were jazz-rock groups in other European countries: Edition Speciale, Transit Express, Volkor, Coincidience, Spheroe in France; Iceberg, Iman, Guadalquivir, Musica Urbana, Borne, Pegasus in Spain; Perigeo, Barichentro, Nova in Italy, Sloche in Canada.
This was the golden age of jazz rock.

In the 1980s, there was a natural decline. There have never been so many musical masterpieces. Few new groups appeared, but they were there. First of all, it is necessary to say about the Canadian Uzeb, the most interesting new jazz-rock group of the 80s, in which the famous bass guitarist Alain Caron played.
In the 80s, many bands appeared playing jazz-rock in Japan: Ain Soph, Kenso, Prism, Keep, Space Circus, GAOS. In the USSR there were Arsenal, Quadro, Kaseke, Radar, Gunesh. In France, Didier Lockwood Group. In the USA Drama, Ken Watson, Scott Lindemuth, Woodenhead, Karizma.

In 1984, John Mclaughlin recreated the Mahavishnu Orshestra, Chick Corea created a new project Electric Band, Joe Zawinul 2 groups: Weather Update and Syndicate, Billy Cobham assembled a new group. They began recording their solo albums
guitarists Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield,
Kazumi Watanabe,
Bill Connors
bassists Jeff Berlin, Bunny Brunel, keyboardist T Lavitz.

In the 90s The main jazz-rock projects were such groups as Tribal Tech and the Mark Varney Project. Frank Gambale has recorded several solo albums.
As well as guitarist Jeff Richman, bass players Adam Nitti and Victor Bailey. Keyboardist Adam Holzman created his own band. Another keyboardist, Mitch Forman, formed the band Metro. Bass guitarist Uzeb Alain Caron created a new group LeBand. Several new bands have appeared in the USA: Gongzilla
guitarist of Bon Lozaga, Stratus, Gamalon, Jam Camp.
In Canada The Code, 5 After 4.
In Germany Matalex, 7For4, Jazz Pistols, Susan Weinert, Leni Stern. In Japan Side Steps, Fragile, Group Therapy, Kehell, Wisywyg, WINS.
In the UK Persy Jones Tunnels, Network, Sphere3.

In 2000 Many bands playing jazz-rock have appeared: in Japan Exhivision, IzgitNine, Trix; several projects from France - Fugu, Jac La Greca, Fusion Project, Quidam; Italy - Virtual Dream, Zaq, Periferia Del Mondo; Spain - Planeta Imaginario, Onza, Gurth. In the Netherlands Richard Hallebeek Project. In the USA Garaj Mahal, Helmet Of Gnats, Bad Dog U, Kick The Cat, Code3, Whoopgnash, Savant Guard, Facing West, Rare Blend, Ecstazy In Number, Redshift.
Drummer Dennis Chambers, who participated in the best bands of modern jazz-rock: Cab, Niacin, Uncle Moe's Space Ranch, "Boston T Party" with T Lavitz and Jeff Berlin, "Extraction" with Greg Howe and Victor Wooten, "Gentle Hearts" with Greg Howe and Tetsui Sakurai.

The Tone Center Records label, created by Mark Varney and Steve Smith in 1998, plays a special role in the revival of jazz rock.
For this label, Steve Smith created several projects: Vital Tech Tones with guitarist Scott Henderson and bassist Victor Wooten; GHS with guitarist Frank Gambale and bassist Stuart Hamm), the disc "Strangers Hand" with the famous violinist Jerry Goodmen, bassist Oteil Burbridge; "Cause and Effect" with guitarist Larry Corryel and keyboardist Tom Coster; "Count Jam Band Reunion" with guitarist Larry Corryel, bassist Kai Eckhardt.

This label also released 2 discs by the Tribal Tech group, 99 and 2000. Two discs of the famous early 90s band Mark Varney Project have been reissued.
The best modern jazz-rock groups published by Tone Center Records: Cab, Uncle Moe's Space Ranch, "Boston T Party" with T Lavitz and Jeff Berlin, "Extraction" with Greg Howe and Victor Wooten, all of these projects featured drummer Dennis Chambers.

Also released were recordings by such groups as Bass Extremes of bass guitarists Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten; Jing Chi featuring guitarist Robben Ford, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, solo discs by bassist Bunny Brunel "La Zoo", guitarists Greg Howe and Scott Henderson, Steve Khan, Bill Connors.
Albums "Cosmic Farm" featuring Wasserman, Erickson, Lavitz, Sipe; "Endangered Species" featuring Herring, Lavitz, Harvard, Gradney.

Since the mid-2000s Abstract Logix Label becomes the leading label in the field of jazz-rock. Thus, Abstract Logix released new albums by such musicians as John Mclaughlin, Lenny White, Jimmy Herring, Anthony Jackson, Gary Husband, Project Z, Sebastiaan Cornelissen, Alex Machacek, Scott Kinsey. In addition, Abstract Logix distributes CDs of jazz-rock groups from all over the world.

Miles Davis “In A Silent Way” (1969)

Connoisseurs can still argue about the roots and origins of jazz-rock (fusion). However, the moment when jazz rock became famous is not up for debate. Musical genius Mile Davis was the first to edit complex instrumental tracks from various sessions. And, most importantly, he encouraged his colleagues to explore a new path in music. This and Davis’s next album, “Bitches Brew,” are absolute classics of the genre.

Mahavishnu Orchestra “The Inner Mounting Flame” (1971)

Guitarist John McLaughlin, who took part in the recording of the two above-mentioned Miles Davis albums, assembled a group of outstanding instrumentalists - drummer Billy Cobham and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. The Inner Mounting Flame album taught a lesson in masterful performance to many rock stars from Deep Purple to Metallica and Dream Theater. Listen to what McLaughlin does with his guitar.

Herbie Hancock “Mwandishi” (1971)

The famous keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock was also greatly influenced by his collaboration with Miles Davis. By the early 70s, the musician left the Blue Note label and began collecting new electronic instruments. Mwandishi was Hancock's own name in Swahili, and he pioneered the integration of synthesizers into the jazz fabric. Those who find the sound of “Mwandishi” too avant-garde and improvisational should turn to Hancock’s funk project “Head Hunters” (1973), which received a wide response from the public.

Return to Forever: Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973)

Another pianist, Chick Corea, after collaborating with Miles in the 70s, changed his focus of interest from avant-garde to jazz-rock. The project's Return To Forever album features Corea on guitar, Bill Conors, Stanley Clarke on bass, and Lenny White on drums. Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy is no longer jazz-rock, but rock-jazz. Virtuoso performers create a real hard rock mix. A hitherto unheard of fusion of electro, jazz, funk and hard rock, i.e. real fusion (fusion - alloy).

History knows many examples when the ideas of innovators were not accepted by the public, sometimes even persecuted, but ultimately these pioneers were recognized as geniuses, and their achievements were used by the whole world. This happened in jazz too - musicians went beyond the traditional style and were often not misunderstood. Representatives of new trends, for example, Miles Davis, Tony Williams, or the groups Weather Report and Return to Forever, created their best jazz-rock albums without thinking that they would become world hits. But nevertheless, this is exactly what happened...

Best Jazz Rock Albums

Miles Davis – album Bitches Brew

The American jazz trumpeter's double album was released in early 1970 by Columbia Records. This album reflects experiments with the use of electronic instruments - guitar and synthesizer.

This album is considered the progenitor of the jazz-rock direction. Traditional jazz standards are replaced by viscous, unexpectedly exploding improvisation. The musicians rehearsed immediately before recording, which forced them to become more immersed in the music they were performing. From the instructions they received only the time signature, the basic chords and a small segment of the melody, from which improvisation later grew. By the way, the compositions “Pharaoh’s Dance” and the ballad “Sanctuary” are not authored by Davis.

After the album was released, opinions about it were divided. The very fact that Columbia Records released an album called Bitch Brew was scandalous.

The content did not lag behind the name - a stylistic direction close to jazz fusion or jazz rock, experiments with sound and special effects, electronic instruments - all this made it possible not only to split society into two parts - for and against, but also to bring the album wild popularity. The album quickly became the first gold in Davis' career, and a little later won a Grammy.

Return to Forever – album Romantic Warrior

Return to Forever was an American jazz fusion group from the 1970s. The album "Romantic Warrior", released in 1976, became the sixth and most famous in the history of the group. The music of the album, stylized in the Middle Ages, is varied, starting from the cover. The album opens with “Medieval Overture,” which is entirely acoustic.

“The Sorceress”, on the one hand, seems to be prepared by an overture, on the other, it is the opposite in style and a synthesizer appears among the instrumental composition. The composition “Majestic Dance” relies entirely on rock riffs and distorted “lead” guitar sound, which is supported by fast harpsichord-like passages.

Some critics confirmed that the record was worthy of being included in the best jazz-rock albums in history, while others argued that all the compositions were too classical and pompous, and the album itself was almost the worst in history.

Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters album

Head Hunters is the 12th studio album, which was released in 1973 on the same Columbia Records. The album has been added to the National Register of the Library of Congress.

It is quite difficult to unequivocally classify the album “Headhunters” as jazz-rock. This record is rather a clear indicator of how RNB rhythms, accentuated by African-American percussion instruments, can be extremely successfully combined with relaxed funk rhythms.

The album's eclectic sound not only continued to pave the way for all-electronic music, but also significantly influenced other musical genres, becoming another winner in the battle for the title of best jazz-rock albums of all time.

Weather Report – album Heavy Weather

Once again a Californian album released by Columbia Records in 1977, this time from the band Weather Report.

Once again we are dealing with one of the best albums in the history of jazz, which was released when the jazz-rock phenomenon "began to spin out of control," as critic Richard Ginell commented.

One of the most striking compositions of the album is Birdland. It's absolutely amazing because it's entirely instrumental. Instantly becoming a jazz standard and greatly contributing to the album's popularity, Birdland represents the pinnacle of the group's creativity.

It is curious that, although the composition itself did not receive a Grammy, the song subsequently not only entered the repertoire of many famous performers, but its versions were awarded Grammys three times.

Tony Williams – album Believe It

The jazz-rock album Believe It (1975) by Tony Williams and his band The Tony Williams Lifetime is again recorded by Columbia Records. This is the group's first album. The first one, not the most famous, but extremely interesting at the same time.

It’s worth noting – the first only in Williams’ new stage, the first for the new line-up of the group. Up to this point, by 1974, as many as four albums had already been released from the constantly disintegrating Williams trio.

John Swanson writes that the album Believe it is like “a crazy fusion tasting.” The new British guitarist Allan Holdsworth became almost a sensation, memorable both for his expressive musical language - soft, harmonious and very lyrical, and for his masterful use of the instrument. However, we owe the fusion of jazz and rock, and they also owe it to Williams, with his concept of rhythmic freedom and incredible ingenuity.

The English word fusion best defines the name of the jazz movement, combining elements of funk, metal, folk, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, reggae and other styles. One jazz fusion album can contain music from all of the above directions, which makes it interesting for those who are looking for their own style and experimenting with jazz.

Performers

Jazz fusion is an “alloy” of jazz with elements of a variety of styles: metal, electronics, reggae, folk, pop, rock, hip-hop, ethnic, etc. Often, even in one artist’s album, you will find an explosive mixture of the above. Fusion originated in the late 60s of the last century, when jazzmen began experimenting with electronic music, rock, and rhythm and blues. At the same time, rock musicians were not alien to jazz elements and, with their help, diversified their compositions. In the 70s, fusion reached its peak, but in subsequent decades it enjoyed stable popularity among performers and listeners. This style can be called systematized; experts consider it as an approach or musical tradition, which is why, for example, progressive rock is considered fusion.

The most prominent representatives of fusion were musicians performing jazz-rock, for example, the groups “Eleventh House”, “Lifetime”. The origins of fusion were associated with such orchestras as the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report, which performed bright, interesting and varied music, often successfully experimenting with directions. Among the individual fusion musicians, drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, guitarists Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John Abercrombie and James "Blood" Ulmer, and saxophonist and trumpeter Ornette Coleman stand out.

Fusion is distinguished by instrumentality, complex bars, meter, long compositions with inclusions of improvisations. Most of the musicians performing this music are easily recognizable due to a high level of technique, which is rare in such forms. In the USA, fusion does not receive much airtime due to its complexity and lack of vocal component. However, in Japan, Europe, and South America there are entire radio stations broadcasting to a large number of fans of the style.

Fusion albums, even those made by a single artist, often include a variety of these styles.

Origins of fusion

Jazz musicians followed the advances of pop music and also began to use improved editing in modern recording studios, multi-track recording and electronic effects to complement compositions or improvisations. For example, trumpeter Miles Davis's albums In a Silent Way (1969) and Bitches Brew (1970) include long (over 20 minutes) compositions that were never recorded directly by the musicians in the studio, and musical themes of varying lengths were selected from recorded improvisations and edited into a single whole. It is considered the cornerstone of the genre's recordings.

Many rock musicians began to independently approach jazz forms in the mid-1960s. The Byrds recorded the first version of "Eight Miles High" in December 1965, an innovative single emulating the style of the classic John Coltrane Quartet. In 1966 Paul Butterfield ( Paul Butterfield) and Mike Bloomfield ( Mike Bloomfield) recorded a long improvisational piece “East-West”.

Other rock musicians also performed and recorded rock songs that included extended improvisations and long, multi-part compositions. For example, Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers Band in the US and King Crimson, Soft Machine, Yes (who performed The Byrds' "I See You" in a fusion style) and Frank Zappa released their first jazz-rock album, Hot Rats, in 1969 year He continued to occasionally record fusion music throughout his career (such as Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo), becoming a significant exponent of the genre.

Several notable jazz-rock bands also had significant success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the American Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago, Steely Dan, Dreams, and the British Colosseum and If.

Heyday of the genre: 1970s

Some groups (Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago and others) took the sound of big bands, rhythm and blues and various styles of rock music as a basis. Other groups, relying on free jazz, began to experiment more with the electric sound of instruments, different styles of music, and complicate the melody and rhythm. Jazz fusion gradually became so close to prog rock that often the same groups are classified as both directions at once. Fusion groups paid a lot of attention to improvisation, honing their performing technique, bringing it to the point of virtuosity. The most significant teams, accepted not only by jazz, but also by rock audiences, are the groups Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Return To Forever, Brand X.

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See what “Jazz-rock” is in other dictionaries:

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Modern encyclopedia

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