The second of the two International Jazz Day 2016 promised to all of you I would start bringing out of the archives. #jazzday #JazzFusion #Jazz #JazzRock

Note: Biographical/historical information about each selection follows below the track listing.

Even though the seeds of what we now call the first wave of Jazz Fusion had been sewn for most of the 1960’s, it wasn’t until Bitches Brew by Jazz luminary Miles Davis was released in 1969 did the form first gain widespread notoriety. As with most immediate and radical departures of a signature sound, there were many who derided the genre, and in this instance, as pandering to rock audiences, regardless of the classic Jazz pedigree that many of the biggest names in this new music form carried. Oddly, unlike Jazz or Rock and Roll, the first wave of this hybrid was steadily developing among the Blues, Psychedelic and Progressive Rock scenes of England prior to gaining acceptance in the U.S.

To the uninitiated, the sound of Jazz Fusion is a heady mix of not just traditional Jazz and Rock and Roll, but often with elements of avant grade or Free Jazz sounds, and with some of these artists, an extension as well of R&B and the then newly emerging Funk sound. Most notably, Jazz Fusion is the sound of Jazz going completely electric; this also meant amplification and a volume at times that would rival many of the major heavy groups of the period. Additionally, Fusion brought new musical instruments into the realm of Jazz that were previously unheard of, such as the violin, the electric bass and synthesizers, sometimes at the expense of brass instruments, which had previously been a mainstay.

The Ace Of Spades PDX International Jazz Day 2016 event poster, by yours truly. Click on image to download.

Regardless of the derision by so-called “purists”, Fusion also brought Jazz music and Jazz musicians onto stages typically only reserved for the most successful Pop and Rock acts for the first time in United States.

First Part

* Stratus, 1973, Billy Cobham, Spectrum* 1916/Elastic Rock, 1970, Nucleus, Elastic Rock* Emergency, 1969, The Tony Williams Lifetime, Emergency!

Second Part

* Eurydice, 1971, Weather Report, Weather Report* Freeway Jam (live), recorded 1976, released 1977, Jeff Beck, Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live* Moon Dreams, 1973, Flora Purim, Butterfly Dreams

Finale

* Miles Runs the Voodoo Down, 1969, Miles Davis, Bitches Brew

Biographical/Historical Info Pt. 1

First Part

* Stratus, 1973, Billy Cobham, SpectrumThe first solo outing for the former drummer of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, this release features Tommy Bolin on guitar. Bolin would again work with another Jazz Fusion drummer, Alphonse Mouzon of Eleventh House, before his last gig, which was with heavy rock group Deep Purple. Additionally, Jan Hammer also plays on this track. 

* 1916/Elastic Rock, 1970, Nucleus, Elastic RockFounded by Ian Carr, Nucleus was a British Jazz Fusion band with an eventual 20 year history. Carr had previously been in the psychedelic and progressive rock scenes in the U.K. prior to his founding the band. Their fame rose fairly quickly among music aficionados after winning first prize in their first year of existence at the world renowned Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

* Emergency, 1969, The Tony Williams Lifetime, Emergency!