Quiet One's Favorite Jazz Rock/Fusion Records

Sorry if I'm a little touchy about SM Seven. I've read so many reviews about the Softs that totally write off any of their LPs after "Four". ( Same with the Mahavishnus after "Birds of Fire". ) Glad to hear that you're familiar with the subtlety of SM"Seven". At least there's two of us. Perigeo released a couple of Jazz rock fusion LPs in the mid 70s that also seemed to achieve an intimate trance-like subtlety. A few years ago,  my son had a screen saver with some New Age type music in the background. I was amazed to find out it was Jenkins and Ratledge!!!

Soft Machine Seven is much under appreciated. Especially Side Two (on vinyl), which to me sounds like Kraftwerk playing Miles Davis. The musicians sound as if they are in a trance. Way ahead of it's time!! Am I the only person who hears this?

Where Have I Known You Before - Return to Forever

I have to go with Time Control. The musicianship on that album is just fantastic. 

The Pessimist wrote: The Quiet One wrote: The Pessimist wrote: I must admit, I do love American Garage.    Great to know! It's indeed a fantastic record, specially the title track and 'The Epic'. Lyle Mays is simply amazing on this song. I cannot get enough of that piano solo... We should review it man. The page for it looks a little empty

Gazeuse!

Miles Davis was unstoppable during his fusion period.

The Quiet One wrote: Logan wrote: The Quiet One wrote: Logan wrote: LiquidEternity wrote: Jack Johnson. The very best Miles album I've heard. Would pick that one from what I know off this list, though I have a particular thing for Get Up With It (love that album) and Big Fun from his 70's studio albums .  Actually, there are several here I don't have, so I don't feel qualified to vote (most ridiculously, being a Soft Machine fan, I don't have Seven). And Pablo, thought Herbie Hancock's Sextant and/or Crossings ranked amongst your favourites, but I'm probably confused.  My memory has become terribly poor over the last few years (was once extremely good).   Get Up With It is indeed pretty good and is very innovating, but I've listened more to Jack Johnson and I'm more fond of it for now. Still haven't listened to Big Fun, but I'm very keen to listen what it's like.   About Hancock, I've recently acquired Crossings and Sextant, while I can't say they're favorites of mine, Crossings is indeed excellent. I'm a fan of Headhunters, but I think that's no surprise. Ah yes, I was thinking of Headhunters (thought of that after posting).  Good album, though it never had the same effect on me as the Mwandishi albums.  Really getting into Davis and Hancock led to me discovering so much great Fusion from related artists (Byrd's Electric Byrd, Priester's Love, Love, Henderson's Realization etc. etc.) and then ones further afield.  I think this last year really was the year of JRF for me (even though I discovered lots of other great music too).  And I think it's been the same for quite a few (even though I liked JRF before and when I was younger I listened to jazz regularly).  After Davis and Hancock's additions and discussions on whether they should be included, in particular, I saw quite a rise in jazz-rock, and jazz, threads (I mean, Mahavishnu Orchestra and some others such as Return to Forever and Brand X got attention, but not much else).   This year is being my jazz rock year, haha. I'm really loving a hell lot of Canterbury albums which are heavily inclined towards jazz rock. And of course some other bands too, Miles, Hancock's Mwandishi albums,  Mahavishnu's unpopular albums(Visions and Apocalypse), and others.   Like you, I've been listening to jazz since I was a kid due to my dad who is a big fan of jazz, classical music and prog. Bill Evans, Coltrane, early Miles, Corea, Jarrett, Metheny, Pastorious-era Weather Report, and some others.

I'm sure you knew jazz and jazz-fusion much better than I did at that age (though I got exposed to a fair amount then). Later, one of my bothers would often take me to a jazz club (when I was already of drinking-age), so it was more a live-based experience that I knew then (though I knew Jarrett and some others as a kid due to his albums).  And a friend's brother teaches Fusion and jazz guitar so I got to know various stuff from him.  My other brother introduced me to Prog as a kid, though he now hates it.  My dad was pretty much strictly classical (and disapproved of anything remotely rock), but my mum liked jazz.  I think I owe my resurgence of interest in Prog to hearing "Peaches en Regalia" on the radio, and then later hearing "Free Hand" which has a beautiful jazziness, then I quickly discovered the joys of Canterbury, jazzy Zeuhl, RIO, and ones now in Eclectic Prog, but I wasn't deeply exploring the joys of jazz-rock that is includable in the JRF category until some years later (and man, it is an amazing scene).  I'm still pretty green.  Last summer I was almost exclusively into jazz-rock and jazz.  Some years ago I discovered Coltrane, and his music had a significant impact on me.  Prog is often jazzy, so it really helped to deepen my appreciation for jazz (though I've seen a few at PA who say they don't like jazz at all, yet  jazz is such an important component of so very much prog).


Edited by Logan - February 17 2010 at 19:46

Logan wrote: The Quiet One wrote: Logan wrote: LiquidEternity wrote: Jack Johnson. The very best Miles album I've heard. Would pick that one from what I know off this list, though I have a particular thing for Get Up With It (love that album) and Big Fun from his 70's studio albums .  Actually, there are several here I don't have, so I don't feel qualified to vote (most ridiculously, being a Soft Machine fan, I don't have Seven). And Pablo, thought Herbie Hancock's Sextant and/or Crossings ranked amongst your favourites, but I'm probably confused.  My memory has become terribly poor over the last few years (was once extremely good).   Get Up With It is indeed pretty good and is very innovating, but I've listened more to Jack Johnson and I'm more fond of it for now. Still haven't listened to Big Fun, but I'm very keen to listen what it's like.   About Hancock, I've recently acquired Crossings and Sextant, while I can't say they're favorites of mine, Crossings is indeed excellent. I'm a fan of Headhunters, but I think that's no surprise. Ah yes, I was thinking of Headhunters (thought of that after posting).  Good album, though it never had the same effect on me as the Mwandishi albums.  Really getting into Davis and Hancock led to me discovering so much great Fusion from related artists (Byrd's Electric Byrd, Priester's Love, Love, Henderson's Realization etc. etc.) and then ones further afield.  I think this last year really was the year of JRF for me (even though I discovered lots of other great music too).  And I think it's been the same for quite a few (even though I liked JRF before and when I was younger I listened to jazz regularly).  After Davis and Hancock's additions and discussions on whether they should be included, in particular, I saw quite a rise in jazz-rock, and jazz, threads (I mean, Mahavishnu Orchestra and some others such as Return to Forever and Brand X got attention, but not much else).

^yeah, Apocalypse by Mahavishnu Orchestra bored me a hell lot at first listens. But after having liked the more accessible but very much in the same vein, Visions of the Emerald Beyond, Apocalypse clicked me entirely and now love it completely.

Edited by The Quiet One - February 18 2010 at 09:32