Jazz/Rock Fusion

A New Source

Rock music captured the attention of America's listeners by the late 1960s. In rock, jazz found another opportunity to merge with new musical idioms, sounds and concepts. Fusion used newer electronic instruments, greater amplification, and borrowed complex rhythms from rock music. These rock patterns made use of straight (or even) 8th notes instead of the uneven 8th notes that were typical of swing or bop.

Fusion inspired many changes in the rhythm section. The jazz/rock bass players now used an electric bass or bass guitar instead of the stand-up string bass. The keyboard and rhythm guitar played the chords and drums moved to a more prominent position. Meters and accents were extensions of rock patterns creating rhythmic complexity.

Jazz/rock fusion groups used a tighter compositional approach and used electronic technology. Fusion emphasized a virtuosic playing style, angular melodies, and increased volume levels.

The Performers

Acoustic guitarist John McLaughlin (1942– ) played in British rock bands as he was growing up. He formed the Mahavishnu Orchestra and recorded several high-energy albums. He also used a newer synthesized guitar and developed a virtuosic technique and high-energy sound. Pianist Chick Corea (1941– ) demonstrates a virtuosic skill in both technique and ensemble work. His music flows smoothly between up-tempo jazz, complex rock, and commercial rock style. Corea led Return to Forever, one of the most popular fusion groups of the 1970s and 1980s.

Pianist Joe Zawinul (1932– ) and saxophonist Wayne Shorter (1933– ) formed Weather Report, one of the most commanding fusion bands of the 1970s and 1980s. Zawinul explored the electronic medium of synthesizers. Tenor saxophonist and composer Michael Brecker (1949– ) is a seven-time Grammy winner and had a great deal of experience with rock bands. During the late 1980s he showed that the EWI (electronic wind instrument) could be a viable jazz instrument.

Jazz: A New Popularity

The controversy in the jazz world that surrounded the new jazz/rock fusion was accentuated by the new generation of players and groups who embraced stylistic and sound ideals often found in the popular music of the 1980s. Saxophonist David Sanborn (1945– ) was regarded by many as the new saxophone sound in jazz. He uses and imports strong blues and rhythm-and-blues influences and has figured prominently in the promotion of jazz's new popularity at that time.

Guitarist Pat Metheny(1954– ) blended jazz, rock and Latin influences into his musical style of playing. The group Spyro-Gyra created a type of jazz/rock/Latin fusion involving rhythmic and ensemble innovations. The Yellowjackets, formed in 1980, create complex, energetic arrangements that borrow from previous jazz styles but also blend in popular sounds.

Trumpeter, composer, arranger Quincy Jones (1933– ) uses a wide cross-section of styles in music that includes swing, jazz/fusion, and rap among others. Herbie Hancock (1940– ) worked with the Miles Davis quintet. The jazz/rock fusion musician brings to his music a technical skill and approach that is more typical of an accomplished jazz player.

1970s, Latin Jazz Fusion

Throughout the 1970s, Latin jazz was becoming more intertwined with diverse jazz streams. It was no longer easily identified as a new stylistic fusion but rather as a subtler flavor of jazz itself.

Jazz in Rock

From its beginning, rock shared much in common with jazz, particularly a strong commitment to rhythm. Many of these new players are not protégés of the jazz art world but come out of the rock or pop style.