Music 007 Quiz 12

Keith Jarrett

Miles Davis Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Motian You Don't Know What Love Is (b. 1945) followed Chick Corea as pianist with Miles Davis in 1970, staying with Davis until late 1971. After his departure from Davis' group, returned to acoustic piano, and he continues to favor the instrument to the virtual exclusion of electric keyboards. Jarrett is fully capable of straight-ahead, swinging jazz. He possesses a virtuosity that can match that of Hancock and Corea. However, he made his mark by cultivating a style that was less "jazzy" and more "classical," drawing large audiences from beyond the normal confines of the jazz-loving populace. In the mid-1970s Jarrett was performing solo concerts all over the world, pouring out his extraordinary creativity in spontaneously composed and improvised pieces. Amidst his solo work, he still found time to perform and record with two different quartets, as well.

Weather Report

Explored various facets of riff-based, jazz-rock fusion and enjoyed great popular success. Joe Zawinul Miroslav Vitous Wayne Shorter Jaco Pastorius Birdland Davis alums, pianist-composer Joe Zawinul and saxophonist-composer Wayne Shorter, formed the fusion band, Weather Report, along with bassist Miroslav Vitous. Weather Report was highly innovative and experimented with collective improvisation in a manner akin to that of the free jazz movement. Over time, the group's personnel changed. Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul remained the only "constants" for more than a decade-and-a-half. In the later 1970s Weather Report explored various facets of riff-based, jazz-rock fusion and enjoyed great popular success. Part of the band's change in style can be attributed to bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius (1951-1987), who joined the group in 1976. Pastorius played a fretless electric bass guitar with dazzling virtuosity and charismatic flair. He became the model for a new generation of aspiring bass players in the worlds of both jazz and rock music.

Pat Metheny Group

Forged a jazz-rock fusion style that is imminently "listenable," sometimes referred to as "smooth." Lyle Mays To the End of the World In addition to John McLaughlin, another excellent guitarist, composer, and bandleader who has explored fusion styles is Pat Metheny (b. 1954). Metheny is a versatile musician who can play in many different styles. (His recording credits include free jazz improvisations with Ornette Coleman). Metheny came to prominence in 1974 as a sideman in a group led by vibraphonist Gary Burton. The next year he recorded his first album as leader, Bright Size Life, a trio setting with bassist Jaco Pastorius and drummer Bob Moses. Pat Metheny's most notable contributions to jazz-rock fusion have been in collaboration with pianist Lyle Mays (b. 1953). In a series of recordings since the late 1970s, these two musicians—who form the core of the Pat Metheny Group—have created a smooth, layered style of jazz-rock fusion that sounds simpler than it is.

acid jazz

When Miles Davis died in 1991 he was in the midst of a project with rapper Easy Mo Be, striving to blend elements of jazz with rap music. (The album, published posthumously, received mixed reviews.) Four years earlier an English disc jockey, Gilles Peterson, had coined the term "acid jazz" as he was combining classic jazz recordings with synthesized percussion tracks at a house party in London.

Jaco Pastorius

(1951-1987), who joined the group in 1976. Pastorius played a fretless electric bass guitar with dazzling virtuosity and charismatic flair. He became the model for a new generation of aspiring bass players in the worlds of both jazz and rock music.

Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters

Anticipated many of the stylistic features of acid jazz and jazz hip- hop fusion. Bill Laswell Rockit Pianist Herbie Hancock, who had left Davis earlier, nevertheless rejoined Davis to play on In A Silent Way, and even took part in a Bitches Brew session. Hancock soon thereafter immersed himself in fusion projects, notably founding the band The Headhunters in 1973.

Miles Davis Ensemble with Joe Zawinul

Created variable, highly dissonant, multi-layered textures characterized by an almost hypnotic pulse and the inclusion of funk-style riffs. Joe Zawinul Wayne Shorter Bennie Maupin John McLaughlin Chick Corea Dave Holland Bitches Brew Miles Davis was once again a pioneer in forging a new jazz style, one that incorporated elements of rhythm-and-blues as well as its close cousin, rock-and-roll. Miles had signaled a move in this direction while still with his second great quintet. In May 1968, shortly before that group's breakup, Miles was exploring aspects of a Motown-influenced funk. For the first time in their recording sessions, Herbie Hancock played a Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Ron Carter, an electric bass guitar. At times the basic rhythmic feel began to show a rock influence. (1932-2007) was an Austrian-American keyboardist and composer who had immigrated to the United States in 1959 and made his mark during the 1960s playing in Cannonball Adderley's quintet. Zawinul's "funk" compositions—notably, "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"—helped Adderley cross over to the pop charts, and his adoption of electric piano was also noteworthy. In 1968, as Miles Davis was moving toward an electric-funk orientation in his music, Zawinul came to his attention. Shortly thereafter, Miles invited him to join his group. Zawinul was arguably Davis' most important collaborator on both his 1969 albums.

jazz-rock fusion

Weather Report explored various facets of riff-based, jazz-rock fusion and enjoyed great popular success

John McLaughlin

Guitarist Fusion bandleader: Mahavishnu Orchestra Incorporated Indian rhythms Miles Davis Englishman John McLaughlin (b. 1942) was a rock guitarist before he ever played with Miles Davis. Growing up in South Yorkshire, England, his influences were diverse—from Mozart, to Mississippi Delta Blues, to Flamenco, to Django Reinhardt, to South Indian Temple Music, to a host of jazz greats, notably Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, and John Coltrane. McLaughlin moved to London in the early 1960s and became part of its music scene, as he continued to absorb diverse influences. In 1966 he joined a band led by Graham Bond that included drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce—both of whom would soon rise to fame with guitarist Eric Clapton in the rock band, Cream. McLaughlin moved to the United States in 1969, and played briefly in Tony Williams' group, Lifetime, before joining Miles Davis on In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. McLaughlin stayed with Davis to play on additional albums, including A Tribute to Jack Johnson (1971). Shortly thereafter, he formed his own fusion band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, in which McLaughlin played what was, for a time, his signature double-neck electric guitar: one neck with six strings, the other with twelve.

Chick Corea

Incorporated Latin elements in his jazz. Fusion bandleader: Return to Forever Miles Davis Miroslav Vitous Roy Haynes Stanley Clarke Airto Moreira Steps - What Was Now He Sings, Now He Sobs Spain Chick Corea had taken over from Herbie Hancock the previous year, but even more significant was Miles' new collaboration with pianist-composer Joe Zawinul. Much as Davis had benefited from his earlier compositional collaborations with Gil Evans, Bill Evans, and Wayne Shorter, so Davis now reaped the benefits of his collaboration with Zawinul. When Herbie Hancock left the Miles Davis Quintet in 1968, Chick Corea became Davis' pianist-keyboardist. Like Hancock before him, Corea had absorbed many of the same bop and post-bop influences into his playing. In addition, Latin music has been—and remains—an important influence, along with the music of such twentieth-century classical composers as Bela Bartók (b. 1941) had already established himself as a combo leader with his landmark 1968 trio recording, Now He Sings, Now He Sobs, when Miles Davis summoned him later that year. Recall that we heard "Steps - What Was" from that album in the introduction piece. Let's revisit that piece, now with the benefit of considerable contextual knowledge. The bebop style of Bud Powell, as well as the trio work of Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, and Paul Motian clearly informs Corea's collaboration with bassist Miroslav Vitous (b. 1947) and drummer Roy Haynes.1 Corea, though, has forged his own style, distinguished as much by his compositional brilliance as his crisp, dazzling, percussive playing.