Your Essential Jazz Guitar Fusion Albums ?

[Wildcat]

This might not be the right place for this but I am really trying to expand my music listening library this coming year. Specifically Jazz Fusion guitar albums that you consider tops and essential to the style genre. So to start:


1. Larry Carlton - Kid Gloves.

[docbop]

Need to listen to Tony Williams when he had Alan Holdsworth. Tony was probably one of the greatest drummers of all time so required study for that alone, but his later band with Holdsworth was part of the beginning of Fusion.

TONY WILLIAMS - Lifetime: The Collection - Amazon.com Music

I dig Larry but I'd say that album is more the begins of smooth Jazz not Fusion.

[D.G.]

These albums were all pivotal to me in the late 70's:

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire
Al Di Meola - Splendido Hotel
Jeff Beck - Live with the Jan Hammer Group
Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior
Jean Luc Ponty - Cosmic Messenger
Stanley Clarke - School Days
Pat Metheny - American Garage

[GNAPPI]

Of course this is the place :-)

Jazz doesn't stop (or start) with a piano, string bass, git and drums Y'know!

Demiola, Coryell, Akkerman, McLaughlin, Ponty, Corea, maybe Keaggy and Petrucci too.

[Stringswinger]

Larry Coryell: Spaces, Offering, Introducing the eleventh House

Billy Cobham: Spectrum

Chick Corea: Light as a feather

Miles Davis: Bitches Brew

Gary Burton: Duster

Mahavishnu JM: Inner Mounting Flame

Weather Report: Weather Report

Joe Farrell: Moon Germs

Those would be my top ten. I was there when all of this stuff came out. I saw all of these artists live. Over time fusion was watered down. This early stuff is, IMO, the best.

[vinlander]

I love Larry Coryell's Spaces with McLo

[marcwhy]

Any Tribal Tech album with Scott Henderson.

[destinytot]

Here we go - back in time...

[Jim Soloway]

The two that have stayed in constant rotation the longest for me are "Laid Back" by Zachary Breaux and "The Antidote" by Ronny Jordan.

[Bach5G]

Essential to the style?

I'm partial to RTF's Where Have I Known You Before.


Inner Mounting Flame for sure.

To approach it from another direction, Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow.

[jads57]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned any of the CTI (Creed Taylor) 1970's records by different famous sidemantaking turns being leaders. George Benson "White Rabbit" , Freddie Hubbard "Red Clay", Joe Farrell , etc.... Not the Rock side of fusion so much but more R&B, Jazz,

[Moominpapa]

Check out George Duke, Billy Cobham, John Scofield and Alphonso Johnson:

Sort of funk-fusion, I guess, but good stuff

[icr]

These are the guitarists I listened to in the 1980s that I called "fusion" at that time. If you ask me today I might, in a synical mood, say fusion never existed; everything could be classified as ROCK, POP or JAZZ.

Allen Holdsworth
Kazumi Watanabe
John Scofield
Mike Stern
John McLaughlin
Al Dimeola

[vernon]

John McLaughlin and Mahavishnu buddies - Inner Mounting Flame
I witnessed their raw fury at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago in 1972... or was it '73???

[neatomic]

first generation fusion fan as well- exciting times

liked most posted above..cti stuff less so



some "other/weirder" ones...but great!

john abercrombie- timeless..with jan hammer
gateway trio- 1st album
stanley clarke-stanley clarke--with jan hammer bill connors and tony williams
terje rypdal- whenever i seem to be faraway
weather report- mysterious traveler- last with miroslav vitous, first wth alphonso johnson -bass
nucleus- solar plexus- with holdsworth
brand x-first lp-percy jones on bass
gong -gazuese- holdsworth
miles davis-tribute to jack johnson
samla mammas manna-maltid


cheers

[vernon]

YES! Tribute to Jack Johnson!!! Absolutely! I swear, the first eight measures changed my life.

[neatomic]

Larry Coryell: Spaces, Offering, Introducing the eleventh House

Billy Cobham: Spectrum

Chick Corea: Light as a feather

Miles Davis: Bitches Brew

Gary Burton: Duster

Mahavishnu JM: Inner Mounting Flame

Weather Report: Weather Report

Joe Farrell: Moon Germs

Those would be my top ten. I was there when all of this stuff came out. I saw all of these artists live. Over time fusion was watered down. This early stuff is, IMO, the best.

nice list...coryell was hot back then..esp. in nyc

him & sharrock with herbie mann!

good stuff

cheers

[Stringswinger]

Jads57, I mentioned Joe Farrell...His Moon Germs album is top notch. I like a lot of the 70's CTI stuff.

Since this is a gear section...Let's add gear to this discussion. My fusion rig is a Gibson Les Paul Custom into an Ibanez tube screamer into a Fender Deluxe amp

[mr quick]

Massive fan of Yellowjackets' "Yellowjackets"(1981).

[neatomic]

first holdsworth solo lp was on cti..tho he was none to pleased..they tended to be overproduced/slick

ken scott was the fusion producer

gear-well les paul or sg through a boogie mark 1 type is classic... tho coryell used a hagstrom swede! at one point..and connors used marshalls...rypdal a ric and a strat!

these days i'd use a prs through a vox ac15 or ac30

really any double humbucker guitar thru slightly gainy (od pedal if needed) smallish amp is head start..

cheers

[Bach5G]

Not much guitar on weather report albums.

[Drifter]

Many great recommendations. Here's one more:

[neatomic]

Not much guitar on weather report albums.

unless you count fender bass guitar!!

alphonso johnson fretless was killer..then jaco

earlier virtuoso miroslav vitous played acoustic and electric..in another dimension


fusion actually highlighted the bass guitar as a lead instrument..ala percy jones... stanley clarke..he played short scales!!! then picolos

cheers

[Bach5G]

Has anyone mentioned Head Hunters?

[neatomic]

Has anyone mentioned Head Hunters?

no guitar!

haha

love herbie..

cheers