Fusion – Conclusion

Overview

As we saw in early lessons, swing or big band jazz dominated the popular music scene during the 1930s and 1940s. Jazz as a genre underwent a number of stylistic changes between the 1940s and the 1970s. The musician at the forefront of many important developments in jazz from the 1940s onward was the trumpeter Miles Davis. He drew the most attention and controversy in 1970 when he released Bitches Brew, an album that fused jazz with rock. Bitches Brew is still considered the seminal jazz-rock fusion album, and it inspired an entire movement of jazz fusion artists in the 1970s, including Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock, and Weather Report.

Objectives

Recall the major developments of jazz after swing, including bebop, cool jazz, and fusion
Recognize Miles Davis and his contribution to the major movements in jazz
Examine the musical language and controversy of Bitches Brew
Identify several musicians who formed successful fusion groups during the 1970s and the defining features of their musical styles

Conclusion

Miles Davis

Although a number of rock musicians were experimenting with the sounds and styles of jazz during the late 1960s, Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew was the first major release by a jazz musician who was experimenting with the sounds and styles of rock music. The album helped Davis reach new audiences, and at the same time, it upset jazz purists who accused Davis of selling out. Many of the musicians who played on Bitches Brew went on to create their own jazz fusion groups during the 1970s. Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, and Herbie Hancock had varying degrees of success. Each group innovatively approached the fusion of jazz and rock styles.

“I got a chance to work with Miles Davis, and that changed everything for me, 'cause Miles really encouraged all his musicians to reach beyond what they know, go into unknown territory and explore. It's made a difference to me and the decisions that I've made over the years about how to approach a project in this music.”

-Herbie Hancock

“See, if you put a musician in a place where he has to do something different from what he does all the time, then he can do that - but he's got to think differently in order to do it. He's got to play above what he knows - far above it. I've always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen, and that's where great art and music happens.”

-Miles Davis

"["Birdland"] has been covered many times over by the likes of The Manhattan Transfer and The String Cheese Incident."

Songfacts