Anyone help w JAZZ FUSION???

[darkhorse]

Lately I have been getting into some of the guitar work of these Jazz Fusion guys. Anyone know of some good sources for this type of Jazz, I have never listened to it before but listening to my Smooth Jazz channel on my DirectTV yielded a lot of new and unheard things. Some of the tones these guys get are just incredible and the musicianship is top shelf. I find it really inspiring to come up with riffs and lead runs.

I caught a couple of names Jeff Loger, Rohan Reid, I think. Anyone know of some cool others I can source on my Pandora. Not into all the horn stuff so much just want some of the more killer and inventive guitar cats.

[basmartin]

Check out Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson and Bryan Baker, if you´re not familiar with them.

[darkhorse]

Thanks, you know I have known of Holdsworth and Henderson's names for years but never listened to anything they have done. Holdsworth designed a signature model guitar w Carvin my main guitar source for many years. I feel rather stupid I never looked into Holdsworth even seeing him mentioned in numerous interviews by others. My only experience with anything fusion has been Jeff Beck's excursions into that style from Blow By Blow and Wired which is one of my fav albums of all time. First time I ever heard the word was related to Beck in reviews.

I am so getting into this fusion thing. I never knew I could play into that so well and effortlessly. I have always taught myself to be spontaneous and improvise into anything once I caught the key. Turns out all my feel and touch fits into this style like I was born to it. I dig it because you cab rip anything from clean, to warm overdrive, to intense filtered high gain and it is major coolness. Where has this been all my life, or perhaps it took me this long to become proficient enough to deal with it. Man if I had a drum machine that could carry that style I would be in heaven. I have a DR-3 but I cannot program drum machines to save my life. You would think someone would take some effort to make something better for guitarists to jam with. Your playing improves a 1000% having a background to play off.

[Jeff Scott]

Get all your jazz fusion here! You will find some amazing artist through these guys.

Welcome to Abstract Logix | Jazz, Instrumental,Progressive and World Music Portal-CDs, DVDs, Digital Downloads

Another place to check out is a radio show that a friend of mine does.

http://www.thefusionshow.com/news.html (Search his site, you'll find a photo of me with Brian Auger.)

[cortisol]

Some of my fav players of the Jazz Fusion style are John MacLaughlin, Carl Verheyen, Larry Coryell, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Al Di Meola, John Scofield, Roben Ford to name a few

[kafka]

Originally Posted by cortisol

Some of my fav players of the Jazz Fusion style are John MacLaughlin, Carl Verheyen, Larry Coryell, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Al Di Meola, John Scofield, Roben Ford to name a few

+1 on all these guys. Al Di Meola is sort of the quintessential Fusion-with-a-capital-F guitar hero. Also don't forget Jeff Beck's great fusion work. Also, listen to Jimmy Herring's work over the past 15 years or so with Jazz is Dead and Widespread Panic. I've only recently become acquainted with his playing, and he's fantastic.

[G. Kaye]

idk about current musicians, but check out the blackbyrds 1977 album "action". One of my fav jazz-funk fusion albums.

Not really guitar-centered, but just an awesome blend of many instruments, with some great guitar riffs/rhythms mixed in.

And I know you said you're not into the horn-based stuff, but check out chuck mangione, "feels so good" and "give it all you got", you might change your mind.

Some other greats from that era, Herb Alpert, Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock.

oh, and can't forget george benson for more guitar-based smooth jazz

[Jeff Scott]

Chieli Minucci is an amazing guitarist, well worth checking out.

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

Chieli Minucci is an amazing guitarist, well worth checking out.

Chieli is a fine guitarist, and actually most of the guys in Special FX are pretty great especially Lionel Cordew and Jay Rowe. Chieli and Lionel both played on a record I produced called "Groove With Me" by saxophonist Paula Atherton
As far other players, Chuck Loeb is great, just dig past the smooth jazz stuff,
Holdsworth is remarkable, my favorite records with him are still the Bill Bruford records, then you have to go back to John McGlaughlin, Bill Connors on
the Return to Forever album Hymn of The Seventh Galaxy, Al DiMeola, Mike Stern, Larry Coryell, Robben Ford, check out Steve Lukather on the Los Lobotomy's records

[krusty]

Don't forget Mike Stern.

[Igotsoul4u]

Larry Carlton, Bela Fleck, steve kahn, pat metheny, george benson.

[Musiclab]

BTW Rohan Reid is not only a fine guitarist, he's a killer bass player, I did a few gigs with him in florida last year

[dsw]

Wayne Krantz

[darkhorse]

Thanks guys. I have been using Pandora Radio to locate a lot of guitar fusion players. Pandora is just amazing and for free.
I really do not like all the horns and piano jazz stuff which is all the Jazz channel plays in my area, only once in great while do they play a guitar oriented track. Horns tend to drive me nuts after a while. Sounds like playing in random and someone playing piano with their elbows. But the guitar material, wow, impressive is not the word.

I am really digging this material makes me realize what I loved about Beck's Blow By Blow and Wired. If I ever did the band thing again I would much rather move into this style, just damn fun to play and improvise, and suits me more than anything ever has.

[ivansc]

I understand those afflicted with Jazz Fusion respond well to a topical antibiotic cream.

Some experimental therapies have included intensive bombardment with high level doses of REAL jazz....

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by ivansc

I understand those afflicted with Jazz Fusion respond well to a topical antibiotic cream.

Some experimental therapies have included intensive bombardment with high level doses of REAL jazz....

yeah let's keep regurgitating standards so everyone who want's to be Charlie Parker and Diz can continue. Or let's make some jazz that's so harmonically outside that only the players can get with it. At one point, a long time ago, fusion was somewhat of an evolution. In my opinion, sadly jazz is a dying art form

[AstroZon]

Al DiMiola is blazingly fast but most people can't copy him, so he's really not the first fusion guitarists you want to try to emulate.

Here are some non-guitarists that front excellent fusion bands that almost always include top shelf fusion guitarists:

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew was the birth of fusion.

Passport - especially their album Cross Collateral.

Billy Cobham - including none other than Tommy Bolin at one time.

Any of Chick Corea's Elektric Bands.

Christian McBride - Vertical Vision or Sci Fi.

Hiromi Uehara - amazing keyboard player with an excellent band.

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

yeah let's keep regurgitating standards so everyone who want's to be Charlie Parker and Diz can continue. Or let's make some jazz that's so harmonically outside that only the players can get with it. At one point, a long time ago, fusion was somewhat of an evolution. In my opinion, sadly jazz is a dying art form

Absolutely. Agree 100%.

I quit playing jazz in the late fifties for that reason. Once the whole concept of "stating melody and then improvising round it" goes out the window, I would just as soon not bother any more. Shame.
And the other side of that coin, what I call the Kenny G syndrome, is even more horrific as you rightly say.

Suspect you mis-interpreted my negativity towards so-called jazz fusion as indicating that I was pro-MuzacJazz....

I am an equal opportunity hater of both schools.

and Jazz fusion so very very often winds up being mostly a bunch of rock guitarists seeking some weird sort of jazzy credibility to boost their own flagging feelings of self- worth

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by ivansc

I understand those afflicted with Jazz Fusion respond well to a topical antibiotic cream.

Some experimental therapies have included intensive bombardment with high level doses of REAL jazz....

Sounds a lot like people playing horns in random scales and keys with someone playing piano with their elbows. Exceedingly boring and everything I hate about Jazz. The fusion realm brings in tones and feel "real Jazz" lacks much less any real sense of melody and consistency. I first heard anything resembling Jazz fusion with Jeff Beck's Blow and Blow and Wired which remains one of my all time fav works. Crank tones and feel, love it.

I've been getting into it here and there, something decent and different to listen to and gain inspiration in a rather vacuous musical era.

[allphourus]

Check out Frank Gambale's Technique books one and two for introduction to the musical knowledge to play fusion, all of his other instructional materials are great too.

[Joe Cole]

Many guys think he is a bit of a light weight but....my guitarist brother in law has been a lifelong Lee Ritenour fan. Coming from a macho rawk background, I initially resisted really listening to him, too many goofy faces and flowery album covers....

But seriously.... Ritenour can pretty much play anything. He is really good. And from what I have read, he is the best sight-reader of the entire California studio scene.

Check out his Overtime DVD.... great soloist, great accompanist....

[darkhorse]

I sort of like developing my own techniques and have never been much a copy artist or having the patience for lessons, not at my age.

After playing over 35 years I can manage to adapt my scale knowledge and techniques. I am not interested so much in the really complex chord voicings and way too complex theory analysis. Music without a feel and groove is just not appealing for me.

I understand some purists like "real jazz" but most of that does not ring my bell, sounds a little atonal and keys all over the place, the horns tend to drive me nuts.
I think that is why most do not like it. I am pretty sure a monkey could not type out Shakespeare in a length of time but randomly hitting a piano, it's jazz...yeah I know that is a little harsh, but where's the fun in agreeing? I get the purist thing and those who hate pedals but there are some of us who just might be able to manage a few cool notes outside the orthodox.

Fusion adds elements that old jazz lacks and provides a sense of groove and feel that just works. Some "real jazz" I have heard sounds like everyone in the group is playing a different song and in a different key. Something about horns grates on my nerves after a few minutes.
At any rate, I never was much of a parrot but adapt and use what is useful to come to something more unique sounding. Sort of what is cool about the guitar to me, its infinite range of sonic landscape.