Fusion Jazz Guitar Gear?

**helios** · 03-30-2018, 09:55 PM

Originally Posted by 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!

I agree-I like this one too:

**RonD** · 03-30-2018, 10:07 PM

When this was broadcast I was hoping the would post or offer it for sale.
Didn't think I'd watch the whole thing. I did. More than once!

**mr. beaumont** · 03-30-2018, 10:41 PM

Still confused...

Which is not to diss the jackets, as this tune has changes most here would smile and sit out...

**rpguitar** · 03-30-2018, 11:28 PM

Agreed (I think) with Jeff... Yellowjackets are one of my favorite bands in the jazz continuum. Definitely not smooth, cheesy, or anything remotely like that. Great chops, and even better songwriting with lots of texture. Jimmy Haslip is a tremendous bass player too (not to slight Ferrante or Mintzer!). My favorite albums are The Spin and Four Corners.

**helios** · 03-30-2018, 11:31 PM

I liked the Yellowjackets when Robben Ford played for them:

Don Gilbert Playing the same song: Imperial Strut

Not the Yellowjackets, but the first 3min & 15 sec is Larry Carlton at his best:

**LtKojak** · 03-31-2018, 03:27 AM

For me, the world of music came tumbling down when in 1981 I heard live on the FM radio the performance of "Yellow Jackets" w/Robben Ford in the Montreaux Jazz Festival the following song, starting @ 1:08

The song is called "Rush Hour". I still feel goosebumps when I revisit this song. It means a lot to me for a lot of reasons.

Oh, the memories...!

**cosmic gumbo** · 03-31-2018, 03:32 AM

Fusion in 2018 covers a lot of ground, I'm happy to say. Dozens of great players still exploring their take on the fusion or electric side of jazz.

**Jehu** · 03-31-2018, 03:35 AM

I usually find fusion super cheesy, but I'm actually shocked at how much I'm digging the Tim Miller clips being posted.

**jorgemg1984** · 03-31-2018, 06:57 AM

Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo

Fusion in 2018 covers a lot of ground, I'm happy to say. Dozens of great players still exploring their take on the fusion or electric side of jazz.

Mike is more of a straight-ahead player, IMO. A great one, though.

Even Tim can sound more straight-ahead when he turns the OD off and uses more "picked" notes.

Tim's great, his online videos are also VERY good.

**mad dog** · 03-31-2018, 08:28 AM

I guess this counts as fusion. Jean Paul Bourelly gets me. A musical chameleon, with heavy rhythm chops. Here he is with the great Darryl Jones, Will Calhoun, stream of consciousness funk groove:

And much earlier, on an original:

Otherworldly good.

**xuoham** · 03-31-2018, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Incredible Santiago Bosch at 4"26-4"36 ... just brilliant.

**jzucker** · 03-31-2018, 08:36 AM

back in the '70s and '80s I was closed minded and didn't consider fusion jazz but I love it all now. Anything creative with improvisation and jazz influenced changes piques my interest if done well. Love the yellowjackets. Even their most cheesy stuff sounds better to me than much of the jazz guitar music I hear today with old guys playing tunes written in 1947. Not to say you can't do that beautifully but to survive, jazz needs to evolve, not get stuck in a strict time period.

I love what Robert Glasper does with fusion R&B / Hiphop in with jazz. This is what jazz needs IMO.

**wildschwein** · 03-31-2018, 08:44 AM

Tommy Bolin's playing on Cobham's Spectrum and to a lesser extent Mouzon's LP Mind Transplant were my gateway into Fusion and Jazz more generally. After I heard these I got more interested in playing Strats and extending my harmonic vocabulary and musical taste beyond Rock music. I'm happy in front of a Twin with a fuzz or OD pedal -- big fan of the VS Open Road. Boss DD-20 is always around for a bit of faux tape echo too.

**xuoham** · 03-31-2018, 08:49 AM

Steve Coleman is worth mentioning regarding the evolution of jazz.
He has a really unique approach, but i wouldn't call it fusion.

Recordings | Steve Coleman

**marcwhy** · 03-31-2018, 10:07 AM

Fun stuff with Tim:

**jorgemg1984** · 03-31-2018, 10:17 AM

Terence Blanchard's approach is cool, too. And Charles Altura is great at fusion!

**grahambop** · 03-31-2018, 11:47 AM

Vintage British fusion with a WWII RAF fighter pilot on keyboards (true) and some bloke with a white SG:

**medblues** · 03-31-2018, 12:08 PM

**Cavalier** · 03-31-2018, 02:01 PM

I think of fusion as a melding of different styles and genres beyond the rock/jazz starting point. The old Shakti was a good example of North meets South Indian and western influences.

I tend to use a solid body violin to traverse the challenges of the musical terrain when in less defined territory. For guitars it always seems like a rack of them would be nice to cover the range of sounds. I do appreciate the range of sounds and volumes my semi hollow is happy with which makes it a good grab when bringing one. My electric mandolin is a solid body, with a body that small I'm not sure a semi hollow would make much difference.

**gcb** · 03-31-2018, 03:55 PM

My exposure to fusion started in the early 70s with “CaliforniaConcert” and “Straight Life: ”
Red Clay Freddie Hubbard:

Leavin’ West Stanley Turrentine

Straight Life Freddie Hubbard (full album):

In view of his subsequent, later and up today production I regard George Benson as a Father of Fusion, Father Fusionist or Father Fuser,whichever –if any- might be correct English, and the greatest of them all. And Stanley Banks as a Prominent Fusion Bass Player:

Tomo Fujita (and Nick West/John Blackwell) might have a place in fusion too, what do you think?

Do I still play fusion songs? Yes.
Gear?
Gibson L5 Studio guitar (the blue one, from the avatar), Fender USA P Bass, Yamaha HR 50 w. bass amp ( at home); 94 model 100w valve Fender Twin Amp (with 2x15s local made Celestion equipped cab when used for bass) everywhere .
Fusion Jazz Guitar Gear?-imagen-018-jpg

Fusion Jazz Guitar Gear?-dsc_0253-internet-jpg

Fusion Jazz Guitar Gear?-fotos20guitarra20039-jpg

Just for the record: I wish we could refrain from any sort of categorisation of Members into categories suspicious of being construed as discriminating, demeaning or otherwise having negative impact into coexistence (i.e. “Old”, “Retired,” or reverse discriminating (i.e. “White” “American” “Republican.”) Just want to state this. Will not enter into a debate on this matter, as a) I consider it as alien to this Forum; b) it could contribute to foster the present drain of valuable Members; c) don´t feed Trolls.
Back to my Ron Carter book.

**gcb** · 03-31-2018, 05:06 PM

Back in the late 90s, when ordered my first L5 Studio (the blue one from the avatar) was inspired by Mark Whitfield.

Here is a great DVD from this great player, which I guess could qualify as fusion.

**Thumpalumpacus** · 03-31-2018, 08:23 PM

I've loved Will Calhoun's drumming since I first heard Living Colour ... but man, that guy uses some goddamned logs.

**jameslovestal** · 03-31-2018, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by wildschwein

Tommy Bolin's playing on Cobham's Spectrum and to a lesser extent Mouzon's LP Mind Transplant were my gateway into Fusion and Jazz more generally. After I heard these I got more interested in playing Strats and extending my harmonic vocabulary and musical taste beyond Rock music. I'm happy in front of a Twin with a fuzz or OD pedal -- big fan of the VS Open Road. Boss DD-20 is always around for a bit of faux tape echo too.

Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow and that Spectrum album with Bolin was also my 'ticket' to jazz. One reason is that I could play these albums with my friends and generally not be scolded (since most wanted only to listen to Zeppelin and other similar bands).

I got into some other fusion bands for a while but then moved into another direction; 50s Jazz Guitar and that is what I still listen too, 80% of the time. Yea, when I hear some fusion I say to myself 'I should listen to that more', but I just don't get around to it. One reason being that while the wife loves jazz (which is a blessing), she doesn't like the sound of distortion, E.g. even Scofield gets on her nerves.

**neatomic** · 03-31-2018, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by wildschwein

Tommy Bolin's playing on Cobham's Spectrum and to a lesser extent Mouzon's LP Mind Transplant were my gateway into Fusion and Jazz more generally. After I heard these I got more interested in playing Strats and extending my harmonic vocabulary and musical taste beyond Rock music. I'm happy in front of a Twin with a fuzz or OD pedal -- big fan of the VS Open Road. Boss DD-20 is always around for a bit of faux tape echo too.

i'm with you all the way..i'm a first generation nyc fusion fan kid..coryell(was then king!), mclaughlin, connors(a bit later)..knew beck & bolin from rock..everything was all melded together..clapton loved jimi loved coryell loved mclaughlin..it was all the same..in spirit!

gear- my fave "fusion-y playin days" setup was steinberger headless thru a fender twin...with pedals in between...compressor, wah, tube fuzz and digi delay....amp had tube spring reverb...

was/am into all the rack stuff too..but in retrospect..(to me...now!) nothing really sounds better than a well set up guitar into a couple of pedals into a big clean volume a$$ kicking amp (12's or a single 15")...i know its not age friendly at this point in life (ridiculously heavy-cumbersome) ..but don't ever forget that it totally killed for tone! it still sounds great!!

i play thru modeling stuff daily...and (with tweaks) its sounds fine..can dial in some good tones..but playin' through a tube fender twin, an old vibroverb or a vox ac-30 is still a superlative experience...like a fresh sea breeze!

cheers