Fusion Rock

From the late 60s into the mid 70s, rock and roll evolved considerably. It incorporated jazz, classical, and eastern influences while moving toward a higher level of instrumental precision. Here's some on that.


“East-West” – The Butterfield Blues Band (1966)
Formed in Chicago by singer/harmonica player Paul Butterfield, the Butterfield Blues Band brought the gritty Midwest blues sound to California in the mid ‘60s. One of the most important groups in setting the tone for experimental and acid rock, by their second album The Butterfield Blues Band were incorporating jazz and Indian music into their sound. An attempt to fuse eastern and western music, the song “East West” rides a droning groove as on a sitar, rather than a more traditional western chord progression. Guitarist Mike Bloomfield, who would later break off to form Electric Flag, is on fine display on this track, soloing almost constantly throughout the thirteen minute track.

“Flute Thing” – The Blues Project (1966)
The American jam band tradition is clearly rooted in the blues. Although one hears little blues in The Blues Project’s music, their improvisational aesthetic owes its ancestry to blues guitarists. Formed in the musical stew of New York City’s Grenwich Village in the mid sixties, The Blues Project’s members came from rock, folk, and jazz backgrounds. On “Flute Thing”, off of the band’s second album, bassist Andy Kulberg takes up the title instrument and leads the group through a psychedelic jazz journey with effective piano compliments.

“Spinning Wheel” – Blood, Sweat & Tears (1969)
After leaving The Blues Project, Al Kooper was looking for a new band in which his jazz influences could be more fully realized. Wanting to use horns as much as a traditional rock band used guitars, he formed Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1968. An incredibly tight band, the group sold more than six million albums in their first 3 years. “Spinning Wheel” would become one of 3 charting singles from their second record.

“Dark Star” – The Grateful Dead (1969)
It's impossible to consider the Grateful Dead’s music without considering first their historical context and mythos. At the center of the band is Jerry Garcia, a bluegrass guitarist who moved to Palo Alto in 1960 and soon formed The Warlocks with members who would help the group become the Dead. Tapped by author and LSD pioneer Ken Kesey to be his house band at the notorious bay area Acid Tests, The Grateful Dead became synonymous with the psychedelic experience. One of the first groups to experiment with oil lamp light shows, the Dead’s jamming was exploratory and expansive. Moving away from the mainstream demands of short, self-contained pop songs, the Dead produced their concert recording Live/Dead in 1969, which opens with the 23 minute long epic “Dark Star”. For the short attention spanned, listen to minutes 7 through 10 for a taste of the Dead’s free-flowing genius.

“Soul Sacrifice” – Santana (1969) [or something else by them]
The most visible member of the Latin-American jamming contingent, band leader and guitarist Carlos Santana combined hand percussion and tribal chanting into his rock and jazz arrangements. Renowned for his six-string skills, Santana plays on “Soul Sacrifice”, the last track off his first and self-titled album, like a jazz saxophonist before taking off on a blazing solo.

“Miles Runs the Voodoo Down” – Miles Davis (1969)
Miles Davis is one of the most important figures in American music, contributing in some way to nearly every musical evolution from the 40s to the 80s. As a trumpet player, he has no equal, playing with a lyrically melodic style, assisted by his careful use of the mute. On his 1969 release Bitches Brew, critics have argued that he at once gave birth to and killed jazz-rock. With help from virtuosic pianist and keyboard player Chick Corea, Davis created the epic “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down”, a funky guitar heavy track which takes listeners from twelve-part jazz glory to the edges of noise-music chaos.

“25 or 6 to 4” – Chicago (1970)
One of the top selling US bands of all time, Chicago was formed by R&B club musicians who joined forces with a DePaul University horn section. Since their formation in 1969, the band has released 30 records with their jazz-meets-traditional rock sound. Opening with driving guitars which give way to the signature horns, “25 or 6 to 4” became Chicago’s first Top 5 hit when it was released on their second album.

“Didja Get Any Onya” – Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (1970)
Frank Zappa is one of the most prolific and talented American musicians of the rock & roll era. Releasing over 60 records over his four decade career, Zappa has been a composer, band leader, guitar god, satirist, and storyteller. On this experimental track from his ninth album, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Zappa plays with jazz hookswhile moving through the parts of the song with abandon.

“In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” – The Allman Brothers Band (1971)
What the Grateful Dead was to the San Francisco sound, The Allman Brothers were to southern rock. Bringing a mature jazz sensibility into blues-rock jamming, brothers Gregg and Duane Allman (keyboards and guitars) formed the group in 1969. Within a few years they were playing regular shows at the famous Fillmore East. Recorded live during this period, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” shows how the band can groove, while still allowing the soloists to have room for experimentation.

“Meeting of the Spirits” – The Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughlin (1971)
Formed around former Miles Davis guitarist John McLaughlin, The Mahavishnu Orchestra is the missing link between jazz and prog-rock. The ultimate fusion group, they rocked hard while maintaining an almost academic level of musical sophistication. On “Meeting of the Spirits”, the first track off their debut album The Inner Mounting Flame, intimate passages are juxtaposed against searing guitar solos and driving hard rock, all filtered through a sense of melodrama.

“What is Hip?” – Tower of Power (1973)
Tower of Power got its start playing around the Bay Area in the early 70s, honing its horn driven funk rock sound. With the addition of vocalist Lenny Williams on their 1973 self-titled album, the band scored a hit with “What is Hip?” The driving bass work provides a frame upon which the band shows off their technical chops. An extremely tight outfit, Tower of Power is still a major touring act today.

“Chameleon” – Herbie Hancock (1973)
A virtuosic pianist who was playing with the Chicago Symphony by the age of 11, Herbie Hancock began experimenting with jazz legend Miles Davis in 1963. Drawing on the early funk sound of Sly Stone and James Brown, Hancock made fusion jazz that became a sound unique to him. A pioneer of electronic music, his Rhodes keyboard and organ playing is untouchable. In 1983 he helped bring turntableism to the mainstream with an electronic post-rock album featuring Grand Mixer D. ST