Why does everybody hate on fusion jazz so much?
MorseCode
1,516 Posts
I mean I'm sitting hear bumpin Shunzo Ohno - Quarter Moon, and its mad decent. I've always dug this sound, of course alongside classic funk shit and sweet soul and all that, but anytime I hear that mellow rhodes shit it hits the spot.I'm talking like Stone Alliance, Hysear Don Walker, Mizell Bros. producto, George Duke, John Payne, Azymuth, Solar Plexus or a little bit rawer but still fusion like Norman Williams, Stanley Cowell or Doug Lucas, 
Or soul shit that's got that fusion feel to it, like James Mason. That's the shit that always gets me.DISCUSS
Or soul shit that's got that fusion feel to it, like James Mason. That's the shit that always gets me.DISCUSS
Comments
Now Spyra Gyra is
I love fusion.
Been feeling Japanese fusion lately... I even like the cheesey shit.
Peace...
FNM
At the beggining you had the whole "sons of miles" thing, w/john mclaughlin, herbie, joe zawinul, chick corea and others doing the main groundwork, but lots of little guys had dopeness that slipped past like joe farrell, julian priester, david liebman, eddie henderson, joe henderson, freddie hubbard, etc.
Fusion started out with a shitload of possibilities, but I think the problem was that the so called "next generation" of jazz musicians DIDN'T go into jazz, but into fusion/r&b/rock what have you instead...so you get technical greatness with no sensitivity that come from playing jazz and thus you have the overblown ridiuclousness of fuzak and such....which I still like (the best momemnts of it anyway) but i can understand if people hate on it and shit. spyro gyro, shadowfax and bad ECM and shit. fuck that shit.
WEATHER REPORT.
It's all about the classic fusion keyboard setup.
Rhodes on right side. (w/optional wah-wah, ring modulator, phase shifter, etc.)
Clavinet on left side. (even better with wah wah and ring modulator)
Arp 2600 on top of clav.
(Possible) mini-moog on top of rhodes.
Wurlitzer behind for extra soulful getting down.
Hell maybe even an acoustic piano to sweeten the deal.
STONE ALLIANCE
(posted these in another thread, but figured it warrents another shout)
http://www.pmrecords.org/StoneAlliance.shtml
STONE ALLIANCE LIVE 1976+ VIDEOS
Where Hace I Known You Before
Light As a Feather
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
These are ESSENTIAL.
Not even trying to be a wiseass, I honestly don't know if these are true "fusion" records or not, I just dig them and if someone asked me what kind of music they were, I would say, "uhhh...fusion?"
I'd be down to get a recommendation of the best Weather Report records to check out, since I have never picked up anything by them.
What's this one right here?
soul on ice- next time you see sweetnighter in a dollar bin pick it up. dope ass common lp.
HAHA "fuzak". Love that expression. Instantly added to my vocabulary.
Agreed on the cheesefactor of Spyro Gyra, Yellowjackets and soforth, but don't hat on early ECM (even some later). Many people don't like that "cold" Manfred Eicher sound, but there are plenty of gems from Wolfgang Dauner, Julian Priester, Terje Rypdal, Robin Kenyatta, Eberhard Weber and others that are
Now this is some serious soulful fusion illness right here:
His use of a clavinet was truly
Mint Jams???
*que nocturnal emissions
I'm gonna pull this out and get my Journey to Uranus on
Classic artist, but not one of his best elpees IMO. Maybe you might feel different...
(And for the rest of you: this is NOT fusion.)
real awesome real dirty, sounds like the oldest fusion record ever, 125th Street Congress sounds like theyre drumming on garbage cans, Non-Stop Home starts out with the illest drum keyboard wahwah madness, then changes into James Brown style bassline...
catalyst- s/t- cobblestone- 72
catalyst- perception- muse- 73
catalyst- unity- muse- 74
catalyst- a tear and a smile- muse- 75
and thats it. I don't think their later ones were that good...
Don't get me wrong, I love me some early ECM shit. MArion Brown-Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, DAvid liebman-drum ode Jan garbarak-Afric Pepperbird and even miroslav vitous-universal syncopations for some more recent shit, BUT.......I think the label has released some unbearably cheesy, pretentious crap. And thus will ever be tainted in my mind.
Early ECM=
AND DON'T SAY UNCLE GNZ NEVER GAVE YA NOTHIN.
agreed. i stay away from shit that is either too prog or too smooth.
OK, you had to bring in Chick Corea Electric Band. This is indeed an example of what gives the word "fusion" a bad name. I remember a friend of mine who was a drummer, had a Dave Weckl (drummer with CCEB and others) instruction video. He was always praising Weckl as the worlds greatest, and he tried to persuade me by showing the video. Didn't work. I mean, just look at the guy: