[Cherokee Mist]

Fusion is the amalgam of jazz and rock music which affords the musicians to showcase their individual talents and at the same time dazzle the listener with tight group interplay. Sometimes fusion leans more towards the jazz idiom and other times it has distinctly more rock leanings - oftentimes this occurs in the same song. The one common denominator with all true fusion music is INTENSITY.

I've been a major fusionhead ever since I heard Tony Williams'
Lifetime "Believe It" cd and "Inner Mounting Flame" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra way back in the seventies when I was in high school. It seems that fusion has been making a bit of a resurgence in the past couple of years and during this time there has been some killer cd's that have been released. Here are some of my favorite fusion cd's of all time and a good place to start for those who are new to the genre:

- Billy Cobham - Spectrum
- Jean Luc Ponty - Upon The Wings Of Music
- Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds Of Fire
- Tony Williams - Believe It!
- Return To Forever - Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy; Romantic Warrior
- Jeff Beck - Wired
- Coster, Smith, Coryell - Cause And Effect
- Stanley Clarke - Self Titled
- Dixie Dregs - What If
- Allan Holdsworth - Road Games
- CAB - Self Titled
- Vital Tech Tones - Self Titled
- Garsed/Helmerich - Uncle Moe's Space Ranch
- Michael Landau - Tales From The Bulge

Anyone else share a passion for this type of music?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Cherokee Mist Anyone else share a passion for this type of music?

Yeah, definitely. There's a couple of albums by bands you listed, that I would definitely have put in there:

Jeff Beck - the entire trilogy of Wired, Blow by Blow and There & Back
Dixie Dregs - Night of the Living Dregs and Industry Standard

...but the one I can't believe you forgot completely was Al Di! (Well, alright, he was represented with the Romantic Warrior listing.)

Al Di Meola - Casino, Splendido Hotel, Elegant Gypsy, and, if you like those offerings, Land of the Midnight Sun and Electric Rendezvous -- highly recommended!

 

[wab]

Those artists are very nice but my fav fusion band is Weather Report. Their albums "Black Market" and "I Sing The Body Electric" are pure genius.
Also, Jaco Pastorius rocks. His self-titled debut is the best IMO. I think there's been a thread about them in the past.
Oh, let's not forget Miles' incredible "Bitches Brew" and "In a Silent way", featuring a lot of the same people that later formed Weather Report.

 

[BenG]

I have to agree with Wab, the early Weather Report, Bitches Brew, and In a Silent Way.

Herbie Hancock - Thrust or Sextant.

I too would be interested in some more obscure fusion recommendations.

 

[roll-man]

Major fusionhead here...firstoff, if you don't know about this you are missing out on the single best fusion resource on planet earth. Everyone has mentioned some of the great fusion classics and masterpieces but how about:

Tribal Tech: Thick
Fiucznski's Headless Torsos: Amandala
Vital Tech Tones: VTT1
Brand X: Unorthodox Behaviour
Smith, Gambale, Hamm: Show me what you can do
Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane & Apt. Q258: Temporal Analogues of Paradise
Chad Wackerman: Scream
Just to name a few...

btw, I'll be seeing Mike Stern with Dennis Chambers and Victor Wooten next Thursday at Yoshi's in Oakland. Does that mean anything to anyone?

 

[dhwilkin]

See, this is why I like this forum so much. I hadn't heard of any fusion artists before, but I'm listening to some samples of Dixie Dregs right now, and it's extremely cool stuff! Very nice, looks like I've got some more items to add to my "to buy" list for the next big music-buying spree.

 

[Cherokee Mist]

I know that I left out MANY cd's that I own, but if I listed them all it would take pages!

I love Al D! His solo at the end of "The Wizard" blows me away every time that I hear it! I should say that my preference is for the more guitar oriented fusion stuff. The other stuff is great, but... where's the GUITAR?! No offense to anyone it's just my preference. About once a week I will listen to guitarless music. I call it my decompression sessions.
I love Brand X! If anyone has not heard them, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Phil Collins (yes that Phil Collins) used to be a MONSTER drummer. And the bassist, Percy Jones, is the best bassist nobody has ever ever heard.
I just got a cd called "Uncle Moe's Space Ranch" and it is killer! It consists of the Garsed/Helmerich duo on guitar, Gary Willis and Scott Kinsey from Tribal Tech on bass and keyboards respectively and the drum acrobat himself Dennis Chambers. Amazing stuff!
I also just got the "Screaming Headless Torsos Live" cd. I guess that you could categorize this band as fusion with vocals. It is probably the best sounding live cd I have ever heard. Oh and the band is awesome!
Check out the link in roll-man's response. He's not joking about it being the best fusion resource on Earth. They have recently added sound samples to almost every selection that they have available. This place has long been a source of burning a hole in my bank account.
I saw Mike Stern with Dennis Chambers at Yoshi's last year I think it was. My jaw was on the floor the whole night. DC does things that doesn't seem humanly possible. I wish that I could go this time around but I'm busy.

Regards,

CG

 

[roll-man]

Quote:

I saw Mike Stern with Dennis Chambers at Yoshi's last year I think it was. My jaw was on the floor the whole night. DC does things that doesn't seem humanly possible. I wish that I could go this time around but I'm busy.

And did you notice that this year Victor Wooten will be joining them on Bass...5 nights, 2 shows per night...you should find the time to go.

Have you heard Shawn Lane play? another monster. Also, the Kevin Eubanks album "Turning Point" is a mindblower. Lastly, the Torso's cd Amandala is totally instrumental...Fuze really rips on this one.

 

[Troy]

Yeah! Lotsa great bands mentioned in this thread. Too bad the genre seems to have died in the 70's . . . or has it?

Here's a couple of modern fusion releases.

Michael Manring's "Thonk". Windham Hill virtuoso bassist that typically did predictable Windhamhill sappy newage junk for years released this album in 1995-ish and it is a fusion monster. Guest musicians include Steve Morse, Tim "Herb" Alexander and Alex Skolnick. Bordering on metal, this album is fast and furious.

"Vertu" is a total throwback to the 70's sounds and features geezers that were heavy hitters in the genre in it's heyday including Stanley Clarke and Lenny White. Also in the band are Rachel Z. Richie Kotzen and Karen Briggs on violin. Awesome players , one and all. This album has the feel of a long lost Return to Forever session recorded using top notch modern recording equipment. Great sounding dramatic stuff.

Bruford/Levin's "Upper Extremities" Freaky 25th century hard cocktail fusion from the 80's King Crimson rhythm section. It's like it's from a small jazz club in the seedy part of town . . . on Mars. Chris Botti and David Torn and their strangest.

Bozzio / Levin / Stevens's "Black Light Syndrome" is barely fusion, but fusion it is. The 3 musicians stumble into the studio for a week in between gigs to record 60 minutes of improvised jazzmetal thrashings with a Flamenco twist. By far, the best, most stylish drumming I've ever heard. The second BLS album is just as good, but is more structured.

Are there more post 90's fusion acts like these? Obviously I like a harder sound.

One of my faves from the old guard no one has mentioned was Frank Zappa.

 

[coolvij]

The only "fusion" i like so far, sadly, has been Liquid Tension Experiment (mp3s) and Birds of Fire (which I own) - a masterpiece in its own right.

My mom digs Mahavishnu Orchestra a lot.......she likes Apocalypse - I do not.....

 

[roll-man]

you're lucky to have a mom that likes the Mahavishnu Orchestra...I can see how you might not like Apocalypse, however, have you heard Inner Mounting Flame? This is the Fusion classic of all time. The boys in Liquid Tension were not yet born when McLaughlin was turning the world inside out with that monumental record. Give it a listen...

 

[coolvij]

Yes, I think my mom is quite extraordinary.

And...thanx for the rec.

 

[Cherokee Mist]

First of all let me tell you all that I just scored some tix to see "The Billy Cobham 30 Year Anniversary Spectrum Tour" on March 31st! For those who don't know, "Spectrum" is widely considered the pinnacle of fusion albums - a true masterpiece! To me it is a perfect example of what I was trying to describe in my first post when I started this thread - INTENSITY; DYNAMICS; VIRTUOSO JAZZ MUSICIANSHIP WITH ROCK SENSIBLITIES. If I were to recommend just one fusion cd, it would be this one.

Here are some recommendations for some recent heavier fusion stuff:
CAB (Chambers; McAlpine; Brunel) - Self Titled
Bozzio, Levins, Stevens - Situation Dangerous
Vital Tech Tones - Self Titled
Mastermind - Excelsior!
Coster, Smith, Coryell - Cause And Effect
Garsed/Helmerich - Uncle Moe's Space Ranch
Network - Refusal To Comply
The Hermanators - Twisted
Herring, Lavitz, Hayward, Gradney - Endangered Species
Project Z - Self Titled

CM

I forgot to mention:
Gordian Knot - Self Titled
McGill; Manring; Stevens - Addition By Subtraction
Attention Deficit - Self Titled & The Idiot King
Spastic Ink - Ink Complete
Fire Merchants - Self Titled & The Lords Of Atlantis

Please let me reiterate to check out these sites:
audiophileimports.com
w*w.lasercd.com

Regards

 

[source direct]

Fiucznski's Headless Torsos = Screaming Headless Torsos ?

 

[Cherokee Mist]

Yes minus the vocalist and a little more jazz experimental.