Jazz Rock & Fusion

[grindy]

[grindy]

Okay, this is stretching it a bit, I guess Hello Ocho are usually regarded as a somewhat progressive psychedelic band but honestly, this stuff is pretty jazzy and at times sounds downright like Canterbury.
Super unknown band but certainly deserve more love.

[Guybrush]

Nice video, @grindy 🙂 I like it! Added their song In Portuguese to my rotation 👍

[Lisnaholic]

Good one, Lisna. Excellent choice. You've got a talent to spot good jazz rock fusion. In it's purest form. The fucking extended seconds and thirds. Yes man! Good concert.

Thank you for the very kind comment Saulaac.  My apologies for only noticing it today; I don't know how that happened.

My apologies too, for this band: I have a vague sense of guilt because I feel like I'm trying to squeeze Southern Rock in through a jazz door. Sea Level are a jazzy rock band, with a noticable touch of the Allman Bros about them. That's not surprising as...

" Jazz-rock combo Sea Level was formed in 1976 by keyboardist Chuck Leavell, bassist Lamar Williams, and drummer Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson following their exit from the Allman Brothers Band; guitarist Jimmy Nalls completed the lineup."

Rain in Spain is the opening track from their debut album (1977), so it's really beginning at the beginning of their discography:-

[Saulaac]

Hey Lisna, Thanks for posting "Rain In Spain". Solid jazz fusion. You're part of the jazz fusionati aren't you. Go on admit it. You sneaky bastard.

[Saulaac]

And what's more, Southern Rock and Jazz goes so well together doesn't it?

[Lisnaholic]

And what's more, Southern Rock and Jazz goes so well together doesn't it?

^ Yes, to me they do, but they still feel somehow distinct, in a way that I, for one, couldn't explain - so I genuinely appreciate your verdict: 

Hey Lisna, Thanks for posting "Rain In Spain". Solid jazz fusion. You're part of the jazz fusionati aren't you. Go on admit it. You sneaky bastard.

^ 

[Saulaac]

Sorry I forgot the rock element as I so often do. So it's Rock Jazz Fusion. Yes, makes more sense now. Right on. 

[Saulaac]

Okay, this is stretching it a bit, I guess Hello Ocho are usually regarded as a somewhat progressive psychedelic band but honestly, this stuff is pretty jazzy and at times sounds downright like Canterbury.
Super unknown band but certainly deserve more love.

"Hello Ocho" sounds brilliant, grindy. The bass reminds me a lot of Mont Campbell and Dave Stewart from "Egg". These guys are bringing it to another level. Yes mon.

[Lisnaholic]

I've heard some Chicago tracks over the years, but never anything that inspired me to dig deep into their stuff. Still, I recently came across a review full of praise for their first album, the self-titled double, Chicago Transit Authority.
This track has a nice swing to it, and I wonder if anyone else has a verdict on this band ?

[Saulaac]

Mid-eighties Jazz Rock Fusion (JRF to closet connaisseurs  ) is perhaps personified in this performance of "Beirut" by Steps Ahead.

Traditional jazz structure with a rhythmic bassline and solos, crazy chromatic scales and arpeggios (e.g. 4:51 to 6:11 sax and 7:11 to 9:00 vibraphone), fused with a strong rock beat / white sneakers / baggy shirts / foot tapping / warm lighting / a New York flavor / on tour in Japan...


Steps Ahead - "Beirut" - 1986

[Lisnaholic]

^ Nice ! I can't really identify scales or arpeggios, but I certainly noticed the white sneakers when they came in. I thought the baggy shirts were a bit low in the mix, though, and to be honest, I could hardly hear them at all.

Here's the title track of an album that has really grown on me since I first heard it* : Eros by Dün:-

* Thanks to old MB member, Sneer, iirc, who introduced it to an album club that Guybrush used to operate there.

[Buckeye Randy]

My intro to fusion was the album 'Journey To Love' by Stanley Clarke.  I still listen to it after all these years and the opening track is one of my favorites.

[Saulaac]

Always had huge difficulty getting into Miles Davis's fusion, because a lot of it sounded very atonal, random and erratic, with few clear grooves that I could hear. However, his group's performance at The Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 suddenly makes things a lot clearer, because not only can I hear the music but I can also see it. A documentary film was made about the whole festival (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Message_to_Love) and I'm going to try and get hold of a copy.

Currently digging "It's About That Time" at 17:39, but the whole concert is incredible! 

Miles Davis - Call It Anything (Miles Electric) - The Isle of Wight Festival, 1970

0:00 Directions
7:30 Bitches Brew
17:39 It's About That Time
23:55 Sanctuary
25:05 Spanish Key
33:21 The Theme

Miles Davis - Trumpet
Gary Bartz - Soprano and Alto Sax
Keith Jarrett - RMI Electra piano
Chick Corea - Hohner Electra piano w/ Oberheim Ring Modulator
Dave Holland - Bass Guitar
Jack DeJohnette - Drums
Airto Moreira - Percussion

[Saulaac]

I'd just like to make one more entry in the JRF thread b4 I start over-populating it.

Being a fan of Herbie Hancock and Jaco Pastorius (I saw Herbie at Marciac Jazz Festival a few years ago, but I was too young to see Jaco), I never realised their closeness until I listened to both Herbie's "Sunlight" album and Jaco's self-titled album "Jaco Pastorius".

Herbie it seems was going through his late '70s foray into mainstream jazz pop (not quite Rockit tho), and Jaco was enjoying the whole carnival jazz/steel pan drum ambience before joining Weather Report.

I picked out the one track from each album which I think embodies Herbie and Jaco together. The tracks sound similar, and it's no wonder, because Herbie played keys on Jaco's album and Jaco played bass on most of Herbie's album. Lovely.

Herbie - Good Question (1978)

Jaco - Kuru/Speak Like a Child (1976)

Although these are not classed as jazz standards, the scales and modes are extremely intricate.