Jazz-Rock/Fusion albums

I can recommend any of the Ohm albums myself (not that I'm an expert). Anyone heard the new one yet?

Charlie Mariano's Helen 12 trees with Jan Hammer's rapid moog excursions.

Jeremy Steig's Temple of Birth (with Alphonse Mouzon). Bit flute heavy, but groovy fusion. 

Bill Connor's Double Up - amazing Holdsworth style fretwork.

Volker Kriegle and the mild maniac orchestra - Elastic Menu, classic melodic  fusion.

 

 

Probably Brand X's  Moroccan Roll is their finest moment, although Masques comes close. Dzyan's Time Machine is a fusion classic, keeping the listener on edge with their fiery improvisations. Early Leb I Sol are worth seeking out, mixing Macedonian folk with great guitar and keys. Mahagon (self - titled) from 1977 is a classic of the Hungarian scene.

Gong's Espresso (Gazeuse!) - Holdsworth guitar is incredible, and Moerlen's drumming and compositions are superb, plus, I got this when I was 18 and it kicked my ass!!!

Edited by Fusion 101 - June 12 2008 at 11:34

I would also like to mention the WDR Big Band, who have played with the Who is Who in jazz and jazz-rock and are all top musicians themselves. They usually have one or more guest stars for their concerts (who will solo on every track they play), but they all get some time to get in their own solos, and they are very fine musicians indeed. Here a few videos with the Brecker brothers as guests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiO1BF_xloI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIBaR3b1jWA


They won two Grammies for their recording with the Brecker brothers in 2007 (and those were not their first ones). Jean and I saw them live with the Labeque sisters (Katia and Marielle), doing a special program with Gershwin tunes only.


Edited by BaldFriede - June 12 2008 at 09:16

The excellent read on the subject Stuart Nicholson's Jazz Rock: A History, has a discography compiled by a mutual acquaintance Jon Newey (editor of Jazzwise magazine) - it is claimed to list 4000+ albums but I haven't checked. Jon also compiled a listed of the ten most collectible jazz fusion albums for Mojo Collectibles magazine a number of years ago, and I've just reminded myself that 6 or 7 of the albums in my list were common to that. Jon (of course) had Davis's Bitches Brew, an early  90's Tribal Tech album,  a solo Scott Henderson album and Third.

Edited by Dick Heath - June 12 2008 at 09:37

A question that comes up on a irregular basis, but worth responding to reinforce the idea of what excellent music is out there in this genre, and still remains very fresh, some of it 30+ years old. I am afraid 80% are 70's recordings but two come from the 90's. Have to comment that releases over the last 3 years have been pretty good and there is a strong likelihood  future favorites will come from the newer generation of players e.g. Alex Machacek. My immediate top ten

Edited by Dick Heath - June 14 2008 at 19:02

What are some of your favorite jazz fusion albums? Give a description as to why you love it and why others should get it.

And have any of these albums been your favorite for a long time, or are they new favorites? And why does this happen? Certain albums stay in your favorites list forever, whereas some are there for a while when you get them, then they move on, either because you found something that topped it, or it wasnt as good as you thought? anyway, here's my list, in no particular order.

Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior - this album was my first introduction to jazz-fusion and jazz in general, so it has a special place in my music library, even if I dont really listen to it that much these days, but even after having this for over 3 years, i still love it. There's a reason it's well received on this site and is still considered a seminal jazz recording to this day.

Brand X - Livestock - I had Unorthodox Behavior for the longest time before i got anymore Brand X albums, and i loved it. But then I got this album and was really blown away. The atmosphere on this album is perfect.

Jan Hammer Group - Oh Yeah? - I've only had this album for a little while but it's ridiculous 70's prog-jazz. This may stay on my top list for a long time. Everyone should get this!

Larry Coryell - Spaces - I used to think that The Eleventh House Band was superior to Coryell's solo work, but I've been wrong the whole time (especially when the 11th House only has a few albums). This album is fantastic, one of the best examples of jazz TRULY fusing with rock. It's more jazz than rock, but very even IMO.

John Scofield - Loud Jazz - I love Scofield. He's one of my favorite guitarists. I didn't know what to think of this album, considering it came out in 1988, not the best time for jazz. Luckily the title of the album made me get it. Then I saw the lineup - John Scofield, George Duke, Dennis Chambers, Gary Grainger, and Don Alias, and i thought "WOW, that's a great lineup" So my expectations went up a little. When i listened to the music, i realized that it didnt really sound that "80's" and every song grooved and was a fire song. Great album, i recommend this and its companion album "Blue Matter"

Frank Zappa - Wazoo (2007) - This album just came out about 6 months ago, but was recorded during Zappa's Grand Wazoo tour in '72. I'm sure many on this site have heard this album, even though there's a lack of reviews. If you havent gotten this and you enjoy jazz-fusion you're missing out on a great record. This is live, with 22 musicians plus Frank. It's avant-guard big band jazz-fusion with one of the best versions of Big Swifty and probably a better version of The Grand Wazoo than the studio version.

i cant think of more right now, but i'll add more albums later.