Overview
This section examines how Miles Davis became a driving force in the effort to combine jazz and rock music to form a new style of jazz known variously as jazz fusion, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion. We will focus particularly on Davis’ seminal 1969 album, Bitches Brew.
A number of the musicians who worked with Miles Davis in forging the new fusion style of jazz eventually formed their own bands. We will consider the work of Miles Davis’ sidemen as leaders in their own fusion bands, particularly Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, John McLaughlin, and Herbie Hancock. We will also look at other artists who explored various currents in jazz-rock fusion.
Finally, having already examined Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock in some detail, we'll take a closer look at two more trend-setting Miles Davis keyboardists, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, and their work as pioneers in acoustic settings.
Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to do the following:
- Identify influential jazz-rock fusion musicians and their contributions
- Appreciate the accomplishments of Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett
- Identify musicians who collaborated with Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett
Miles Davis Sidemen
Miles Davis was an extraordinary musician and innovator who had a knack for bringing together very talented musicians and drawing from them some of their best performances. As we have observed, many of these artists went on to become bandleaders themselves and contribute substantially to the art and evolution of jazz.
Among the abundance of talent associated with Miles Davis, note the remarkable succession of pianists from 1959 to 1971: Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett. Each made his mark, not only in collaboration with Davis, but also in subsequent work as pianists, composers, and/or bandleaders.
Thus far, we have considered three of these musicians. Let's turn our attention now to the fourth musician, Keith Jarrett.
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" was re-recorded multiple times. The version recorded by The Buckinghams reached #5 on the charts in August, 1967.
