There are many, many bands doing Klezmer these days - Klezmer, of course, being that maverick-by-default fusion-music that wedded/weds jazz and Hebraic/Yiddish folk music o…
There are bands that specialize in the music of the Big Band era, Elvis Presley imitators, The Herbie Nichols Project, there’s even a Brooklyn band that plays only the song…
This group performs with high energy and enormous depth. Better to listen than to read, amen?The first three tracks, "Around the Bend," "Shifting Sands," and "Pursuit" w…
Larry Coryell is considered to be one of the pioneers and original innovators of jazz rock fusion. He got his start in the 60’s and continues to produce great and ground-br…
It’s hard to believe that this is Jean Luc Ponty’s first album in seven years. I was introduced to Ponty’s music in the early eighties while I was making my way around the …
11 May
Rooted: Origins of Now by The Miyumi Project Big Band
Friday, 11 May 2001
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
In 2001 the Chicago Composers Project, a joint venture of the American Composers Forum and the Jazz Institute of Chicago, commissioned bassist Tatsu Aoki to compose a music…
In the 60s & early 70s, Jeff Beck was considered by many to be in the Rock Guitar Pantheon with Clapton, Page and Hendrix. Even before Jimi Hendrix, Beck established himsel…
A really fresh and satisfying fusion release from this family trio. Over forty years ago, brothers Hugo and Jorge Fattoruso were playing in street festivals in Uruguay. Tod…
Aways back, I reviewed in these (web)pages the HiM album Sworn Eyes - that album was a fine jazz-oriented dub/world music disc. Their latest, New Features, finds HiM moving…
This is a good enough CD for what it is. If you are a fan of guitar driven jazz fusion a la Joe Satriani and the like, it will appeal to you. If you aren't, it will do noth…
12 Mar
Rudiments: The Billy Cobham Anthology by Billy Cobham
Monday, 12 March 2001
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
While Miles Davis didn't invent fusion, his groups of the late sixties and early seventies were certainly a major catalyst in the development of the style. Along with the t…
Jazz from North of the North American border via Canada? You bet, it's François Marcaurelle and he does have a unique sound to himself and his group. Track one is entitl…
While Gota has a solid background in smooth jazz, this project has more punch happening. Everyone here proves they can hit as hard as any band that professes to be funky.
07 Mar
Counts Jam Band: Reunion by Larry Coryell and Steve Marcus
Wednesday, 07 March 2001
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Before Miles Davis ever came up with "Bitches Brew" there was Count's Rock Band. Preceding Miles' electric shift by three years, Count's Rock Band paired saxophonist Steve …
Trumpeter Don Ellis led some of the most innovative big band music in the late 1960's and early 1970's. His orchestras could be creative to the point of being wild. The CD …
How can I begin to describe the genius that is Thom Hartwick? Thom Hartwick is a music instructor at the Atlanta Institute of Music. Thom Hartwick is an extremely capabl…
29 Jan
Grateful Dawg by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman
Monday, 29 January 2001
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Long before "fusion" became a much used (and abused) marketing term, many musicians sought a mix/combination/amalgam/whatever with jazz although they didn’t start from the …
In the 1970s and 80s, while many fusion bands in the US and the UK were going for flash, funk and speed, there was this German band who thought of other ways to fuse seemin…
While Gota has a solid background in smooth jazz, this project has more punch happening. Everyone here proves they can hit as hard as any band that professes to be funky.
US-born Finnish Guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim (who's played with Nicky Skopelitis and Edward Vesala) has a sound out of the Greatr White North: not unlike Jan Garbarek and Te…
12 Jan
Live At The Baked Potato, Volume 2 by Various Artists
Friday, 12 January 2001
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Recorded at the famous Baked Potato jazz club in Hollywood, the lineup says it all. Guitarist Jeff Richman put together a series of dates feturing all-star lineups. This is…
The live recording, GREAT SKY RIVER, is the third release from the fusion-jam band, Jazz Is Dead. For those of you who don’t know, the band derives its name from the fact t…
02 Jan
See What Happens by Paul "Shilts" Weimar
Tuesday, 02 January 2001
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Early in his career Paul focused on the session scene and recorded with a list of music "legends" including David Bowie, Jimmy Page, and Bill Wyman. In 1988, feeling a need…
24 Oct
Alien Love Child - Live and Beyond by Eric Johnson
Tuesday, 24 October 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
It is a given at this point that any six-string genius that is worth his salt can be found on Steve Vai’s flourishing Favored Nations Label. Eric Johnson happens to …
23 Oct
Coming To Your Senses by Frank Gambale
Monday, 23 October 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
I remember watching Frank Gambale play at a Chic Corea concert while attending the annual Concord Jazz Festival in 1985. I was amazed with his lightning quick fingers and h…
Stuart Hart's sound is a mixture of Tommy Bolin, Steve Morse, and some of the other great guitarists who dominated during the late 70's early 80's. Stuart strikes a balance…
Weckl's latest "Transition" might cause you to think you've found a "Weather Report" disc you'd never heard and even check the cover again to be sure. The music is all orig…
31 Aug
Electric Rosary by Living Daylights
Thursday, 31 August 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
The third disc by Seattle’s honest-to-goodness fusion trio Living Daylights shows the group’s seventies-era jazz and Eastern European mix to good effect. The group has foun…
In Britain in the late 60s & early 70s, there was a loosely-defined movement of bands whose members routinely crossed the "lines" between rock and jazz, often blurring the …
Soft Machine were/are one of the most interesting bands the come out of England in the 1960s. From their beginnings as a quirky psychedelic rock band (with Kevin Ayers), th…
14 Jun
Coming To Your Senses by Frank Gambale
Wednesday, 14 June 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Frank Gambale is filled with inspiration. After six years with Chick Corea's Elektric Band and Jon Luc Ponty prior to that, he concentrated on his solo career. This disc is…
Angel's Kiss, is hypnotic and mellow as is "Nine Flames'; Peterson's work on bass is deep and sharp. The latter swings and picks up the pace a little more with some trumpet…
29 Feb
Remember Shakti & Live In Paris by John McLaughlin
Tuesday, 29 February 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Hot on the heels of a global tour, Verve has put forth 2 CDs representing the wide scope of John McLaughlin's music, from his ground-breaking explorations with Shakti, to h…
09 Feb
The Mike Valeras Group by The Mike Valeras Group
Wednesday, 09 February 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
When I first played this new CD, I thought, "Good grief, what a blast from the past by way of a disco-fusion format from the 1970s!" The more I listened, the more I found a…
Galizen is interesting in a couple of ways. For starters, Runde 1 uses relatively mundane elements to create something that sounds far from mundane. Bright cymbals and plea…
Weckl's latest "Transition" might cause you to think you've found a "Weather Report" disc you'd never heard and even check the cover again to be sure. The music is all orig…
The term "contemporary jazz" has been mistreated in recent years, due mainly to the lack of new quality artists delivering the goods, and partially due to the industry care…
12 Jan
Remember Shakti: The Believer & The Heart Of Things: Live In Paris by John McLaughlin
Wednesday, 12 January 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Hot on the heels of a global tour, Verve has put forth 2 CDs representing the wide scope of John McLaughlin's music, from his groundbreaking explorations with Shakti, to hi…
02 Jan
Voices Of Other Times by Brian Auger
Sunday, 02 January 2000
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Brian Auger is a legend in the world of music. Having been on the scene for close to 40 years, influencing many musicians including Medeski, Martin and Wood with his signat…
09 Jul
In The Broken Fields Where I Lie by Beth Custer
Friday, 09 July 1999
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Beth Custer is a San Francisco-based musician who's known mainly as a clarinetist for the Club Foot Orchestra and taking part in the lively, vital Bay Area improv scene. Th…
Colours is a multi cultural group based out of Belgium. Featuring musicians from Italy, Ireland and Belgium, this is their second recording encompassing a mixture of Jazz, …
The first "jazz" show I stumbled into was in 1979, a seemingly odd double bill that paired the Bill Evans Trio (with Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera) and the then very popul…
Who H.I.M? H.I.M. is the nom de musique of sometime-rock drummer Doug Scharin and whom-ever else is around for the ride. Said ride in this case is shared bysome of the most…
A nice selection of tracks by the talented Christopher Cortez. He combines elements of Latin and Southern influence to spice up the menu. The tunes are generally short with…
The first "jazz" show I stumbled into was in 1979, a seemingly odd double bill that paired the Bill Evans Trio (with Marc Johnson and Joe LaBarbera) and the then very popul…
The debut album from Merge could lead the new wave of jazz fusion into the future. With Nima Rezai on Chapman Stick and Synth Stick, Dan Heflin on soprano and tenor sax…
I know this is not a new CD. But I just picked it up recently. Been listening to it constantly ever since. The truth is I'm a big Tim Hagans fan. I think he's one of the ho…
Featuring Billy Cobham, Alphonso Johnson, T Lavits(Dixie Dregs), & Jimmy Herring(Aquarium Rescue Unit) do their instumental interpretations of Grateful Dead songs.…
25 Jun
Gtr Oblq by Vernon Reid / Elliott Sharp / David Torn
Thursday, 25 June 1998
Published in
Fusion - CD Reviews
Ah, when 3 geetar players get together.... what? Rampant fretboard self-indulgence would be what many non-guitar-heads would expect, lots of "teckneek" but little actual co…
McCoy Tyner’s "Sama Layuca," which was released to critical acclaim in 1974 and remastered for a more fruitful sound in 2001, is considered to be post bop. While it is that…