Jazz Fusion

Jazz fusion is the electric, rock- and funk-influenced wing of jazz that emerged at the end of the 1960s. Standard fusion instrumentation is electric guitar (often with distortion), electric bass (frequently slapped or fretless), Fender Rhodes electric piano, synthesisers (Minimoog, Oberheim, ARP), and a drum kit set up to rock dynamics. Tempos run from medium-up to extremely fast, and odd meters (7/8, 11/8, 5/4) are common. Compositions tend to be longer than rock tracks and shorter than free-jazz collective improvisations, often with multiple sections and a pre-arranged head over which extended improvised solos unfold. Recordings of the 1970s typically have an analogue warmth and an open dynamic range that later generations have treated as the canonical fusion sound.

Miles Davis's In a Silent Way (1969) and Bitches Brew (1970) gave the form its initial direction. Davis's sidemen on those records went on to lead the four major fusion bands: Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter formed Weather Report; Chick Corea formed Return to Forever; John McLaughlin formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra; Tony Williams formed Lifetime. Herbie Hancock's Headhunters (1973) brought funk into the conversation. From Japan, Casiopea (founded 1976) and T-Square developed a parallel tradition centred on technical precision and pop-length composition. The 1980s saw the fusion language split into smoother, commercial offshoots (which became smooth jazz) and a denser, more virtuosic strand carried by Allan Holdsworth, Brand X and players associated with the Berklee College of Music.

Listen for the dialogue between electric bass and synth bass — Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report) made the fretless electric bass a lead instrument, with sustained notes that work like a horn. Odd-meter compositions like Mahavishnu's Birds of Fire (in 18/8) sound complicated but resolve into clear groupings if you tap along with the longest beats. Joe Zawinul's synthesiser textures on later Weather Report records anticipated the ambient and electronic music of the 1980s and 1990s.

Weather Report's Heavy Weather (1977), with its opener Birdland, is the standard introduction. Mahavishnu Orchestra's The Inner Mounting Flame (1971) is the rock-leaning option. Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters (1973), particularly Chameleon, sits on the funk side. From Japan, Casiopea's Mint Jams (1982) is a clean, melody-forward entry.

Jaco Pastorius died in 1987 at age 35 after being beaten outside a Florida nightclub. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was largely homeless in his final years. His Bass of Doom — a stripped-fret Fender Jazz he modified himself — passed through several owners before being recovered and authenticated for the Pastorius family in 2008.