Favourite 70s Continental European Fusion Artists

I had to correct the title of this poll so it would fit properly.

Edited by presdoug - July 07 2025 at 07:33

I'm more into album polls over band or song polls but... there's two that stand out. Dedalus and Terje Rypdal, but I have to go the latter for the many great albums he has released compared to the one great record from the Italians.

I listen to two bands in this poll, so i don't know if my vote matters here.
I'll try and explore the other bands in the poll, when i have the time.

I vote for Passport based on the quality of their best material even though they also have quite a bit that is not for me. Also love Terje Rypdal.

Edited by Lewian - July 07 2025 at 11:25

I'm throwing a bone to Il Baricentro because I love their two albums.

Wow! I have to say, "NONE!" I don't consider any of these artists "top tier" European Jazz-Rock Fusion artist except perhaps Klaus Doldinger.
My list would look like this (in no particular order):

Area
SBB
Arti E Mestieri
Iceberg
Atoll
Eberhard Weber
Fermáta
Cortex
Etna
Janne Schaffer
Pop Workshop
Michal Urbaniak
Jan Akkerman
Missus Beastly
Zao
Perigeo
Secret Oyster
Pekka Pohjola
Chris Hinze
Cervello/Nova
Atila
Association P.C. (Pierre Courbois)
Out of Focus
Moose Loose
Volker Kriegel
Extra Ball
Jukka Hauru
Jukka Tolonen
Didier Lockwood

ALL of these artists I would rate/rank higher than the ones you gave us to choose from, Doug! Sorry! No disrespect but perhaps we have very different definitions of Jazz-Rock Fusion. (Are we even talking about Jazz-Rock Fusion? You use the single-word term "Fusion." Perhaps you mean something completely different from me with that term!)

Out of my Eastern European Slav shіthole, String Connection was one of the very few standouts.

The ideal Solution.

Saperlipopette! wrote: BrufordFreak wrote: Wow! I have to say, "NONE!" I don't consider any of these artists "top tier" European Jazz-Rock Fusion artist except perhaps Klaus Doldinger. Kind of sh*tty comment. But if you think everyone on your list is superior to Terje Rypdal, your opinion doesn't matter anyway.

Again, I'm wondering if Doug's definition of "Fusion" is different from my understanding of "Jazz-Rock Fusion," so, in that instance, yes, my comment might have been rather brash and "sh*tty."

As for Terje Rypdal's prowess, I know his reputation, absolutely LOVE "Bleak House," but have yet to find enough consistency in A) his commitment to Jazz-Rock Fusion and B) his stylistic choices to find any consistent impression, much less enjoyment, of his playing. Due to my lack of finding any connection to his work either with George Russell and the Esoteric Circle stuff (often credited to Jan Garbarek--and I also lack connection to the majority of Jan Garbarek's output) as well to his solo stuff after Bleak House, I have lacked the motivation to listen to a lot of Terje's solo stuff over the course of the last three years and the over 700 Jazz and J-R Fusion albums I've reviewed.

I welcome and ask for the albums to listen to that will get me re-excited for Terje's music. Any suggestions? (Have not connected AT ALL with Afric Pepperbird or "Terje Rypdal"--and I do usually choose to listen to an artist's discography in near-chronologic order.)

At the same time, I stand by my statement and list: those are the albums I've heard over the past three years from European Continental BANDS that I have most connected with--who I esteem on a par with the Greats in the Anglo-American Scene.



Edited by BrufordFreak - July 08 2025 at 12:34

From Presdoug:
'I'm talking Jazz-rock Fusion, but in my title for the Poll, I had to lower the amount of letters in it for it to work, so I changed it to just "fusion", but yes, we're talking Jazz-rock fusion, here. I know some of the ones on your list, and of those I know, they don't hold a candle to my selection! I guess we will have to agree to disagree on the definition of quality in this time and genre!'


Agreed! (to agree to disagree!)

. . . "hold a candle" . . . that's a pretty strong statement, Doug! Would that be a beeswax candle, tallow, or glycerine?

Area, SBB, Jan Akkerman, Fermáta, Michal Urbaniak ... not being able to hold a candle to *choke* anybody on your list! That's amazing! Guess I don't know my Jazz-Rock Fusion!

So much to learn! And enjoy the process along the way! I've learned so much about Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion thanks to PA and YouTube. I'm very excited for how far I've come--and even more excited for how much more there is to learn! Before 2007 I thought Prog was dead and gone! I've been so fortunate to be prog-educated--to keep expanding my brain and knowledge--to watch my preferences change and grow. So there's more!?!?! BRING IT ON!


   

Edited by BrufordFreak - July 08 2025 at 12:48