Jazz Rock
tagStarted 1969Peak 1972-1978Last big hit still active
Located in 3 routes
Rock energy fused with jazz harmony and improvisation: electric pianos and synths, complex extended chords, virtuoso soloing over rock and funk rhythms, and odd-meter heads. Often instrumental and dazzlingly technical, it swaps verse-chorus structure for extended workouts. Slick, restless and chops-driven, blending amplified rock attack with jazz fluency.
History
Crystallized when Miles Davis plugged in for Bitches Brew (1970) and his sidemen scattered to form fusion's first wave - Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Weather Report. British prog players ran parallel via Soft Machine and Brand X. The style peaked in the mid-1970s and later seeded smooth jazz and the modern instrumental-fusion revival.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_fusion
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/fusion-ma0000002780
- https://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=20