VA - Jazz Funk & Fusion (1995)

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VA - Jazz Funk & Fusion (1995)

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Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed in the late 1960s from a mixture of elements of jazz such as its focus on improvisation with the rhythms and grooves of funk and R&B and the beats and heavily amplified electric instruments and electronic effects of rock. While the term "jazz rock" is often used as a synonym for "jazz fusion", it also refers to the music performed by late 1960s and 1970s-era rock bands when they added jazz elements to their music such as free-form improvisation. After a decade of development during the 1970s, fusion expanded the improvisatory and experimental approaches through the 1980s and 1990s.

Fusion albums, even those that are made by the same group or artist, may include a variety of styles. Rather than being a codified musical style, fusion can be viewed as a musical tradition or approach. Some progressive rock music is also labelled as fusion. Fusion music is typically instrumental, often with complex time signatures, metres, rhythmic patterns, and extended track lengths, featuring lengthy improvisations. Many prominent fusion musicians are recognized as having a high level of virtuosity, combined with complex compositions and musical improvisation in complex or mixed metres. According to bassist/singer Randy Jackson, jazz fusion is an exceedingly difficult genre to play. According to Jackson, " I […] picked jazz fusion because I was trying to become the ultimate technical musician-able to play anything. Jazz fusion to me is the hardest music to play. You have to be so proficient on your instrument. Playing five tempos at the same time, for instance. I wanted to try the toughest music because I knew if I could do that, I could do anything."

Trumpeter and composer Miles Davis had a major influence on the development of jazz fusion with his 1968 album entitled Miles in the Sky. It is the first of Davis' albums to incorporate electric instruments, with Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter playing electric piano and bass guitar, respectively. Davis furthered his explorations into the use of electric instruments on another 1968 album, Filles de Kilimanjaro, with pianist Chick Corea and bassist Dave Holland. In 1969, Davis introduced the electric instrument approach to jazz with In a Silent Way, which can be considered Davis's first fusion album. Composed of two side-long suites edited heavily by producer Teo Macero, this quiet, static album would be equally influential upon the development of ambient music. It featured contributions from musicians who would all go on to spread the fusion evangel with their own groups in the 1970s: Shorter, Hancock, Corea, pianist Josef Zawinul, guitarist John McLaughlin, Holland, and Williams. Williams quit Davis to form his own group, The Tony Williams Lifetime. Their debut record of that year Emergency! is also cited as one of the early acclaimed fusion albums.

Many fusion pioneers credit guitarist Jimi Hendrix as a primary influence in the emerging genre. Tracks from the "Are You Experienced?" and "Electric Ladyland" LPs, "Third Stone From The Sun" and "1983 A Merman I Should Turn To Be", respectively, were some of the earliest popular fusion tracks, before the term fusion was an official genre. The Jimi Hendrix Experience live performances featured extended free improvisational jamming with Mitch Mitchell, who was a British jazz drummer prior to joining Hendrix.