To this very day the musical genre of fusion remains one of the most controversial, divisive subjects amongst jazz musicians and music critics. According to critic Richard S. Ginell, “…by the old definition, fusion was a mixture of jazz improvisation and the rhythms, timbres and energy of rock music…a much tougher, more driving, and more abstract form than those that followed” (Ginell 1413) . While Ginell’s definition is valid, I do not believe that is adequate due to the fact that it is loose enough for many artists to be placed in the fusion category. Therefore, to provide a clearer definition I suggest defining fusion through a variety of criteria: emphasis on improvisation, (generally) a strong backbeat, electric pianos, synthesizers, electric guitar, a consistent “groove” and jazz harmony. Without satisfying all of these criteria, an artist/band/song cannot be considered to be fusion.
Over the course of the years, there has been a large amount of confusion as to what groups/artists belong under the fusion banner. Ginell agrees when he writes, “the term fusion has been erroneously expanded over the years to take in other forms that are more closely related to easy-listening pop or lightweight R&B—e.g., the Grover Washington Jr., Kenny G brand of instrumentals. Even the term jazz-rock was distorted to accommodate pop/rock groups in the late 1960s who added horns for flavoring (Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago, The Ides of March)” (1413) . In other words, Ginell believes that far too many groups have been mislabeled as belonging to the fusion genre. I agree that Ginell correctly depicts that these groups have been mistakenly placed under the fusion genre. For example, the album Bitches Brew (1969) by trumpeter/bandleader Miles Davis (1926-1991) is credited by music critic Thom Jurek as “having virtually created the genre known as jazz-rock fusion” (312) . This album exhibits characteristics that are completely different from the albums of groups like Spyro Gyra and the Yellowjackets, which some critics would argue fall under the category of fusion (Porter, Ullman and Hazell 393) . Consequently, the need for criteria to define fusion is necessary.
The first criterion that must be met is an emphasis on musical improvisation. Author Ron Gorrow writes in his book Hearing and Writing Music: Professional Training for Today’s Musician, “Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate (“in the moment”) musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians” (212) . Based on my own experience as a jazz musician, I agree with this definition but would like to add my own: improvisation in music is the spontaneous expression and development of pre-conceived musical ideas over the course of a musical segment or an entire music composition. A prime example of improvisation in fusion would be the bassist Jaco Pastorious’s (1951-1987) composition, “Teen Town” off the 1976 Weather Report album Heavy Weather (Weather Report) . After a short, angular melody, the bassist proceeds into a long improvisation which lasts for the remainder of the track.
The second criterion that must be met is a “groove”. The most basic way of defining a groove is that it is a set of interlocking repetitive rhythmic/harmonic parts established by the rhythm section of a band (e.g. piano, guitar, bass, drums, etc.). Each instrument has its own separate part that locks together with the other members of the rhythm section and usually contains little to no improvisation. A song can consist of (usually no more than) two grooves or one groove repeated indefinitely. A prime example of a tune with a groove is “Chameleon” from the 1973 album Head Hunters by Herbie Hancock (1940-present). A two-bar melodic fragment over 4/4 time is played repeatedly by bassist Paul Jackson and Hancock on the ARP Odyssey Synthesizer, forming the majority of the piece. After a one minute break the piece forms a completely different groove and remains there for approximately five minutes before transitioning back into the original groove with a saxophone solo (Porter, Ullman and Hazell 384) .
The third criterion that must be met is the use of one of the three following instruments: an electric piano, synthesizer, electric guitar. An electric piano is basically a keyboard that utilizes a primitive pick-up system to amplify the sound made by its mechanical components. An example of a recording utilizing one of these keyboards would be “500 Miles High” by Return to Forever, featuring Chick Corea (1941-present) on the Fender Rhodes. A synthesizer is essentially an electronic instrument that produces sound by generating electrical signals of varying frequency. “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock features the use of ARP Odyssey and Soloist synthesizers. When referring to an electric guitar, I am chiefly referring to a solid-body electric guitar as opposed to its hollow and semi-hollow bodied counterparts. Al Di Meola (1954-present) is featured predominantly on the electric guitar on “Majestic Dance” off of Return to Forever’s Romantic Warrior (1976).
The fourth criterion is a pronounced backbeat. A backbeat is an accent placed on the even beats (2 and/or 4) in 4/4 time. This sort of emphasis is evident on beat 4 of the main groove of “Sorceress” off of Return to Forever’s Romantic Warrior while Miles Davis’s ”Right Off” from A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1976) has emphasis on both beats 2 and 4.
The last criterion and most complex criterion that must be met is the use of jazz harmony or melodic concepts. In order to understand what jazz harmony is, one must have a basic understanding of what harmony is. Harmony is essentially the use of simultaneous notes referred most often to as a chord. Typically, rock music and other styles utilize only triads (notes 1, 3 and 5 of a scale) and an occasional 7th. Jazz harmony is different in that it utilizes the 9th, 11th and 13th notes of a scale in both its chords and melodies making it sound quite different. One may only need to listen to the song “Butterfly” off of Herbie Hancock’s Thrust (1974) to hear minor 11th chords. This is perhaps the most important of all the criteria, as it is unique to jazz.
Utilizing these criteria, we will now examine Miles Davis’s recording of “Directions I”. Recorded on November 27th, 1968 but not released until 1981, this recording features a strong drum part that emphasizes all four beats and a bass line doubled by Chick Corea on the Fender Rhodes that establishes a groove throughout most of the piece. After a jagged melodic introduction, Davis launches into his solo utilizing jazz harmony, specifically a “whole-tone” scale (Belden). Thus, “Directions I” is a perfect example of a fusion recording, containing all of the criteria necessary.
With these criteria in place, I believe that I have created an adequate definition of fusion. However, some criteria are less important than others. The album Light As A Feather (1972) by Return to Forever utilizes Brazilian rhythms and as a result no backbeat is present. Nevertheless, many including myself would still consider this to be a definitive fusion album, as it meets all of the aforementioned criteria. In conclusion, there is not one definition or set of criteria that perfectly captures what fusion is.
Bibliography
Ginell, Richard S. "Jazz-Fusion (Jazz-Rock)." All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide. Ed. Vladimir Bogdanov, Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Chris Woodstra. 3rd Edition. San Franscisco: Backbeat Books, 2002. 1413.
Gorrow, David. Hearing and Writing: Professional Training for Today's Musician. 2nd Edition. Gardena: September Publishing, 2002.
Jurek, Thom. "Bitches Brew." All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide. Ed. Vladimir Bogdanov, Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Chris Woodstra. 3rd Edition. San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2002.
Porter, Lewis, Michael Ullman and Ed Hazell. Jazz: From Its Origins to the Present. Ed. Jordan Ochs, Ed Therien and Lee Mamunes. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1993.
Weather Report. "Teen Town." Heavy Weather. By Jaco Pastorious. Prod. Joe Zawinul, Jaco Pastorious and Wayne Shorter. New York: Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 1997.
Belden, Bob. Liner notes. The Complete In A Silent Way Sessions. Sony Music Entertainment Inc., 2001.
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