Fusion Jazz Guitar Gear?

[wengr]

Tim?

Dirt pedal made by Paul Cochrane:

Paul Cochrane Tim Overdrive Pedal | Reverb

The thing I like about my blender is that I can place what ever effect I want in the loop.

[Fusionshred]

I believe it is Martin Miller that, along with Tom Q, that has the Ibanez deal.

Uye; you're absolutely correct. I was half asleep I guess.

All three are great players!

[jzucker]

by the way, Tim Miller is endorsing kiesel now. He's playing one of their new bolt-on headless guitars...

He has a couple videos demonstrating it but I think they're on facebook not youtube.

Hey Jack!

Oh, yeah, Tim Miller and I'm sure you're a fan of Tom Quayle too. These guys are mindblowing. They have the shredding chops, but also the ability to play tasteful, soulful things.

Both just got deals with Ibanez and have signature models based off of the new AZ series. I've not had a chance to touch an AZ yet, but like you and I both know, you really need a flat board (at least 12" radius if not greater) and I like the wider string spacing of the Ibanez Wizard neck. I'm not sure if the AZ is as flat or as wide, but I think it's a rounder profile than the Wizard, and probably feels closer to a Suhr modern C. . . I don't think there are any AZ models with a fixed bridge, which is a shame because that might work out really well for you.

There's this other guy, too, named Jack Zucker who's pretty amazing. But I don't know what he plays these days (LOL!!!)

Hey, by the way, Kiesel has some new pickups (Beryllium or something like that) which are supposed to be, I think, more vintage sounding than their others. I'm really curious whether they cure the sterility and/or brightness I've found the Carvins to have. I don't like having to wait for a build, but a Kiesel Aries 6 (which is a bolt with a nice neck heel) with the new PUs and a fixed bridge might be interesting and not that costly. And they do play well for fusion.

I'm also talking "FUSION" in the vein of Gambale and Holdsworth, as opposed to Beck or Henderson or Sco (great, but different. . . .)

[LtKojak]

I grew up listening to Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gentle Giant, Return to Forever, etc; I was in my early teens.

Becoming older, my musical taste evolved in a different direction. I don't enjoy the genre anymore.

[jzucker]

i don't see how anyone who is interested in improvisation and ensemble playing could not enjoy this?

[edit] - Actually, it doesn't surprise me on this forum since probably 90% of the postings I see are about big archtops and 20w amps!

[mr. beaumont]

Yeah, we should probably rename this place jazzguitarasplayedbyabunchofdeadoldguys.be



I'm not a huge fusion fan, as a lot of it sounds "cheesy" to me (generally the more "rock" ish stuff).but Tim miller? That stuff is awesome.

Honestly, I think he's one of very few players in jazz truly doing something that sounds new.

[joe2758]

I know right? It's like the time I went to Fusionguitar.be and started a thread on traditional jazz guitar. I was all like "what's up with all these guitars without headstocks" where's all the big archtops at?! lolololol omg it was weird

[LtKojak]

it doesn't surprise me on this forum since probably 90% of the postings I see are about big archtops

Yeah... my impression is that the demographic that populate this forum the most is, despite being an european site, american, over-fifty-year-old, male, white, republican, retired.

It'll be interesting (for me, at least) to see the actual data.

[joe2758]

I'm only 31 and I bet I'm considered a musical old fogey haha

[rpguitar]

American, over fifty, male, white... 4 out of 6 in my case. Has nothing to do with musical tastes, despite arguments to the contrary.

But anyway:

My entry points to jazz (in high school) were Al Di Meola, Return to Forever, Chick Corea's Elektric Band, early Spyro Gyra, Weather Report, Steps Ahead... in college it was Metheny, Scofield, and anyone playing with Weckl or Chambers, plus the GRP set which eventually became bland smooth jazz. At that point my jazz world expanded a lot to include older music - swing, bop, cool, etc.

I have a bunch of albums by guys like Holdsworth and Miller and Bill Connors and think their virtuosity is incredible. I don't listen much to these artists now though, as in my 40s and now 50s I gradually grew to seek quieter, less frenetic music in general.

[jzucker]

And by the way, Tim Miller is a jazz guitarist, period. I'm a bit tired of folks saying that Miller doesn't play jazz because he uses a solid body and/or plays with overdrive. Attempting to pigeon-hole the music is just one way that we keep it from evolving and make it less relevant.

[mr. beaumont]

Do people say Miller isn't playing jazz?

Wow. Fogeyism.

[joe2758]

yeah that's weird, I've never seen anything like that

[339 in june]

Gibson ES 339, with ECG 25, Mesa Boogie TA 15, home made cab, RAT2, Dunlop Wah
We did Stairway to Heaven with a string ensemble last week in a fusion mind
Last year, I made Stratus (Cobham) with this gear.

[TedBPhx]

Though I suspect most call it rock Chicago with Terry Kath is an early precursor of fusion to me. That CTA double album opened up my ears to a new world.

[mr. beaumont]

Though I suspect most call it rock Chicago with Terry Kath is an early precursor of fusion to me. That CTA double album opened up my ears to a new world.

Whatever it is, the first few Chicago records are something special.

[rob taft]

I plead guilty, I'm American, Caucasian, well over fifty actually closer to 70 and I'm retired and I grew up so to speak with fusion music when I first heard "Inner Mounting Flame" in 1971 . I have a boatload of LP/CDs of numerous bands and artists. Despite being of my age, I'm not a big fan of the 40's and 50's style of jazz. I appreciate it, but it isn't what I listen to on a regular basis. My guitar tastes today run more to Jonathan Kriesberg, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Tom Quayle etc.

That said, it is not what I play at home on guitar. While I have enough stuff to cover any genre except maybe Djent, my ears prefer the sounds of bare strings unadorned except for splash of reverb or delay. Since retiring and being able to play more I find myself listening to less music of any type. Having spent 40+ years in shipyards and the machinery spaces of ships, I have come to appreciate the sounds of silence. The most music listening I do today is either in the truck or when I'm trying to learn a particular piece.

But I still appreciate the masters like John Mac., Allan Holdsworth etc. In fact I was listening to a live cut in the truck today of Allan Holdsworth with Tony Williams. I had to park the truck and listen. There are times when I listen to Holdsworth when I either think he is just running his fingers up and down the fretboard and at the same time think he is just fr!g!ng unbelievable and all in the same solo and Tony Williams!! There is a cat who really had so much more to give.

[Jabberwocky]

I like tosin abasi a lot. Is he fusion? I don't know but he has great musical ideas. That Tim Miller Trio Arc YT link is an example of the stuff I hate about "fusion" although the drummer is really good. It is like a rehash of David Grusome, I mean Grusin, and David Benoit and The Frippingtons and The Yellowjackets, almost always on GRP Records...Can't stand that stuff today.

[mr. beaumont]

Huh?

Hold my white wine spritzer! Point me to a Yellowjackets record that sounds like that.

[helios]

i love beck's fusion stuff. I still occasionally play this one:

But I think guys like Tim Miller have taken "fusion" to a new level.

I thought "Blow By Blow" was great when it came out:

[helios]

Here's another-all of these guys are great!

All great in this one as well (Shawn Lane's playing is a "mind grenade")

[jzucker]

Huh?

Hold my white wine spritzer! Point me to a Yellowjackets record that sounds like that.

agreed. Tim Miller's music couldn't be more orthogonal to the examples mentioned.

[vernon]

The Tom Quayle link sounds like quintessential fusion guitar to my ears...

Regarding Fusion as a genre... it seems locked in the 70’s to me. I like it, but... I’m not sure it survived that decade as an identifiable music. When I think of fusion I think of all the tumultuous music that got stirred up as a response to “Bitches Brew” by Miles Davis. Meaning RTF, Weather Report, Mahavishnu, Herbie, etc. This is just my opinion... but I lived through this musical time period and saw all these guys live. Loved it all.

And hey... we’re NOT all republicans LT Kojak.

[Bach5G]

I recently streamed Where Have I Known You Before and hated it. It struck me as enormously pretentious. And I was a huge fan back in the day!

I do think Inner Mounting Flame and Birds of Fire have aged awfully well. I heard some local guys do Bitches Brew last year in a local watering hole and it was great. I finally got it after 40 years! I still love HH’s Chameleon (except for that execrable synth solo, which ruins the track).

If anyone would recommend some contemp fusion, I’d appreciate it.

[RonD]

Love fusion almost as much as "mainstream".
I was born in the fifties. Rock, R&B, Soul, etc... will always be in my blood.
I like the Tim Miller stuff.
I also really like Jimmy Herring. Love his tone, his groove, his chops!