Entry: Fusion

Encyclopedia of Ethnomusicology
SAGE Publications
From its origins in the New Orleans style of Dixieland, which employed facets of
ragtime, the blues, and marches, jazz has always been a syncretism. Its historical
trajectory illustrates that jazz has been either a revolution or evolution of previous styles.
In the case of the 1960s genre of Fusion, jazz musicians began to integrate the novelties
of Rock n Roll. The impetus behind this integration lies in the waning popularity of jazz
and the incalculable influence of rock, funk, and avant-garde. Moreover, many jazz
musicians who were inherently experimental found themselves attracted to the new style
and challenged to implement it into their playing.
Fusion, jazz-fusion, or jazz-rock are variants of a musical amalgam that developed from
combining funk and R&B rhythms, the amplification and electronic instruments of rock
music, complex meters derived from non-Western music, and extended collective
improvisations. Fusion is absent of the 4/4-swing feel that was a defining element in jazz.
The chord progressions and textures of jazz-rock are less dense and complicated, are
often characterized by slow harmonic changes, and tend to be less dissonant than its
predecessors.
Since the mid-1970s, the term fusion has been applied to a plethora of approaches and
styles. Some of the more well-known examples include:
Music played in rocks straight dance groove rather than jazzs swing rhythm. Pianist and
bandleader Chick Coreas ensemble Return to Forever exemplifies this approach.
Austrian keyboard virtuoso, Joe Zawinul, employed a funk-inspired aesthetic that made
use of the keyboard synthesizer. A unique ensemble called Blood, Sweat, and Tears
featured jazz-influenced horn section of trumpets and trombones along with a rock-based
rhythm section and lead singer.
The common thread that is interwoven within the fabric of fusion is the iconic trumpeter,
Miles Davis. In the late 1960s, Miles Davis was, once again, a pioneer in forging a new
jazz style, one that incorporated elements of R&B as well as its close cousin, Rock n
Roll. Miles, who was instrumental in the developments of earlier jazz styles such as cool
jazz and modal jazz, had earlier signaled a move in this direction while still with his
Second Great Quintet. This aggregate featured Davis on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor
saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums.
In May 1968, shortly before that group's breakup, Miles explored aspects of a Motowninfluenced funk: for the first time in their recording sessions, Herbie Hancock played a
Fender Rhodes electric piano and Ron Carter used an electric bass guitar. At times, the
basic rhythmic feel began to exhibit a rock influence.
The next year, 1969, marked a more thorough immersion for Miles Davis in this new
style of jazz-rock fusion that he was helping to define. In terms of socio-cultural
implications, the seemingly unorthodox yet forward-thinking style of music was a

reflection of the times. It was the year that men first landed on the moon, the year of the
Woodstock rock festival, and the final year of a tumultuous decade, still in the midst of
America's wrenching involvement in Vietnam.
Miles Davis recorded two highly influential albums that year: In A Silent Way and
Bitches Brew. Both were exceptionally important works, but Bitches Brew explored a
more radical approach to instrumentation, electronic effects, improvisation, and form.
The jazz-rock fusion of Bitches Brew was also infused with strong psychedelic
undercurrentsthe sort that would gain the music great popularity among a diverse
1960s youth counterculture.
Pianist Chick Corea had taken over from Herbie Hancock the previous year, but even
more significant was Miles's new collaboration with pianist-composer, Joe Zawinul.
Joe Zawinul (1932-2007), an Austrian-born keyboardist and composer, had emigrated to
the United States in 1959 and made his mark during the 1960s playing in Julian
Cannonball Adderley's quintet. The importance of Adderley to Miles Davis was twofold: he played a seminal role in the quintessential, modal album, Kind of Blue and
introduced Davis to Zawinul. Zawinul's funk-based compositionsnotably Mercy,
Mercy, Mercy launched Adderley into to the pop charts, and his adoption of electric
piano was also noteworthy. In 1968, as Davis was moving toward an electric-funk
orientation in his music, Zawinul came to his attention, consequently inviting the pianist
to join his group. Zawinul was arguably Davis's most important collaborator on both his
1969 albums.
Bitches Brew was a musical and cultural cauldron. From the instrumentation to radical,
unorthodox playing, the album was a proverbial pot of gumbo that simmered with
brilliance. Davis's ensemble on this album included three drummers and a percussionist,
two (sometimes three) electric pianists, two bass players, an electric guitarist, a soprano
saxophonist, and a bass clarinetist. Davis's trumpet playing was dramatically more
extroverted and explored the upper register of his horn with broadly scattered, expressive
gestures that were often subjected to electronic echo effects.
Miles directed his sidemen in and out of the mix, creating variable, highly dissonant,
multi-layered textures that are made pleasurable by the prevalence of an almost hypnotic
pulse and the inclusion of funk-style riffs. Bitches Brew exemplified the essence of jazzfusion.
The album was released on two vinyl records and its anthem was Bitches Brew. Due to
the long-play (LP) format, musicians were afforded the freedom to explore through their
melodic and harmonic improvisations like never before; this resulted in songs that could
last over twenty minutes! As something of a concession to radio stations, a single
version of one of the tunes, Spanish Key, was released. It was not so much a single
version as it was simply an excerpt from the larger piece, but for radio and jukebox
audiences, it was perhaps enough to suggest the breadth of Miles's musical conception
and to entice them to buy the album.

The title track was the album's longest, running nearly thirty minutes. More than any
other, it represented the risk-filled innovation that Davis and his band created. This was
new music that defied the conventions and expectations of both jazz and rock audiences,
drawing on key aspects of avant-garde jazz, particularly with respect to group and solo
improvisation. Yet it succeeded in drawing a large audience, becoming Davis's album to
sell one hundred thousand copies.
During the subsequent years after the Bitches Brew sessions, a number of Davis sidemen
came to lead fusion bands. Pianist-composer Joe Zawinul and saxophonist-composer
Wayne Shorter formed the fusion band, Weather Report. Pianist Chick Corea formed the
band, Return to Forever. Guitarist John McLaughlin led the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Pianist Herbie Hancock, who had left earlier, rejoined Davis to play on In A Silent
Way and take part in a Bitches Brew session. Soon thereafter, Hancock immersed himself
in fusion projects, notably founding a sextet in 1973. Hancock, arguably the most
successful post-Davis fusion leader, established himself with the October 3, 1973 release
of the album, Head Hunters. The record included two wildly successful and ebullient
tunes, Chameleon and Watermelon Man. The albums funky aesthetic and hypnotic,
repetitive nature landed it on Rolling Stone Magazines top 500 greatest albums of all
time!
Further Reading
Coryell, Julie. Jazz-Rock Fusion: The People, The Music. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard
Publishing, 2000. Print.
Hancock, Herbie. Herbie Hancock: Possibilities. New York: Viking Adult, 2014. Print.
Fellezs, Kevin. Birds of Fire: Jazz, Rock, Funk, and the Creation of Fusion. Durham:
Duke University Press, 2011. Print.
Michael Conklin
The College of New Jersey