Alright folks - you can still post your top 10 after the 29th, but it won't be considered to compete.
How the competition works:
submit nominations of your top 10 albums - where #10 = 1 point and #1 = 10 points. The ten albums with the most points from these nominations will be in the running for the olympic medal for the genre and then people could listen to all ten and rank the ten with the same points structure to determine the winners.
For now, here's a top ten from me (but I'm not convinced of it, just a sampling really):
Don’t understand why Miles’ “Second Great Quintet” records don’t rank higher on here. His most advanced acoustic jazz album except for Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2.
Shorter’s the second best small-group jazz composer after Monk (not counting Mingus because Mingus more often had mid-size groups or larger), and from 1964 to 1967 was Miles' main songwriter. Wrote quite a bit for Art Blakey too.
Jazz’s answer to The Mothers of Invention (and so much more than that). A smorgasbord of free jazz, German cabaret, jazz-rock, surreal pop opera, Indian music and more. Uneven, but its unique achievement is undeniable. The first studio triple album? With Jack Bruce (vocals and bass), John McLaughlin, Don Cherry, Don Preston, Charlie Haden, a young Linda Ronstadt and many others.
The best jazz album since 1980 IMO. Inside-outside jazz influenced by Mingus, New Orleans jazz (all pre-war jazz styles really), circus music and the blues.
Falling somewhere between free jazz and the mainstream, this album sustains a wonderful haunting atmosphere, thanks in large part to Bobby Hutcherson’s eerie vibes (he plays a similar role on several other Blue Note albums including Out to Lunch). An all-star ensemble (granted, Blue Note had a lot of those) including Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean and Tony Williams. Equally recommended is Jackie McLean’s One Step Beyond, which has the same core of musicians -- McLean, Moncur, Hutcherson and Tony Williams -- and also features Moncur’s compositions.
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
To keep the discussion going, here's a personal top 20 fusion (not necessarily for scoring since it's not my overall jazz top 10). For diversity, I'll limit to one entry per artist. I'll keep the discussion to one liners for brevity sake; that and I hope to start an actual jazz diary when I stop traveling so much.
1. Spectrum - Billy Cobham
See my description on page one of this thread.
2. Birds of Fire - Mahavishnu Orchestra
This was the fusion record that got me to put down my metal albums for a while in the early '80s, long before I encountered real jazz.
3. Jack Johnson - Miles Davis
So if you say my post on page one, you know I have 'In a Silent Way' near the top of my overall jazz list, so why the change here? While In a Silent Way is Miles and it is Fusion, this is the one I think of first when I think fusion. Miles said he would take jazz artists and create the greatest rock band of all time, and this album has him true to his word.
4. Universal Syncopations - Miroslav Vitous
This is my first fairly obscure entry here, especially if you aren't European, but this one is well worth a listen, not only for its musicianship, but also its incredible composition.
5. Splendido Hotel - Al DiMeola
This has Al straddling his fusion period and pointing to his world music period, so it fuses more than just jazz and rock, and he pulls it off perfectly.
6. Sunbirst - Eddie Henderson
It's a shame this very exciting trumpeter has faded into obscurity. This album rocks!
7. Gateway - John Abercrombe
Another compositional marvel backed up by incredible musicianship. I prefer this even to his more highly acclaimed "Timeless."
8. Sextant - Herbie Hancock
Herbie fuses the jazz more with the funk here, as well as avant garde (no mean feat) and this one was positively groundbreaking. More challenging, and more satisfying to me, than even his more popular "Head Hunters."
9. Emergency! - Tony Williams Lifetime
One of Jazz' great drummers/band leaders, Tony Williams could do anything from classic jazz to any manner of fusion, and this is his best effort.
10. 54 - John Scofield
Jazz fused with rock fused with classical! Imagine Jeff Beck at his jazziest doing Days of Future Passed.
11. Introducing the Eleventh House - Eleventh House
Eleventh House was short-lived but intense. Think Mahavishnu drifting further to the rock side of fusion.
12. Romantic Warrior - Return to Forever
It's impossible to not have this fusion supergroup's seminal album in any serious fusino collection
13. School Days - Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clark'es best of his consistently impressive fusion string.
14. Metal Fatigue - Allan Holdsworth
I doubt there has ever been a guitarist, or instrumentalist of any type, as original and consistently amazing, as Allan Holdsworth. I could have chosen from any of a half dozen of his albums as the must inclusion for this list, but Metal Fatigue is simply my personal favorite.
15. Duster - Gary Burton
This 1967 album predates even Miles' fusion! And it's no mere precursor; it's as fully realized and mature in the genre as it is groundbreaking.
16. Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
The best release, either solo or in group, by the undisputed master of fretless electric bass.
17. Electric Guitarist - John McLaughlin
John lights it up with some real edge on this one.
18. Spaces - Larry Coryell
Another guitar wizard, Coryell captivates throughout on this one, compositionally and insturmentally
19. Heavy Weather - Weather Report
One of the seminal works of the genre. Not my favorite sound, but the composition is strong enough to compensate.
10. Mind Transplant - Alphonse Mouzon
Another groovy, funky jazz drummer. If you like Billy Cobham at #1, you'll probably like this as well.
are you considering Recorded Live At The Monterey Jazz Festival by John Handy as jazz fusion, because I've seen that it gets considered as the first jazz fusion album but it still feels far away to me from what the genre represents. Sort of like with In A Silent Way, I would agree that Jack Johnson feels more like it belongs on a list with a focused look at the genre. That Handy album is still incredible though.
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
are you considering Recorded Live At The Monterey Jazz Festival by John Handy as jazz fusion, because I've seen that it gets considered as the first jazz fusion album but it still feels far away to me from what the genre represents. Sort of like with In A Silent Way, I would agree that Jack Johnson feels more like it belongs on a list with a focused look at the genre. That Handy album is still incredible though.
Yeah, that one sounds more like modal post bop evolving into free jazz than actual fusion. I think that, because the guitar often has a more bluesy vibe to it, that may be where the jazz-rock fusion tag comes into play. But I definitely don't think of it as fusion myself.
so on that Mimaroglu thing, I need to do more research and get a copy of "Myself When I am Real: The Life and Music of Charles Mingus" since that seems to cover some important stuff and I did want to get into those final 3 non-archival albums of his, since Mimaroglu was there for all of that and they are all worthwhile albums, especially Cumbia & Jazz Fusion. I'll let you all know when I get the writing done on that.
I mentioned my love for Blythe's Illusions to you once before, probably my second favorite jazz album since 1980 (counting 1980!) after Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket. The Sharrock's great too. Thanks again for turning me onto the Joe McPhee.
Fischman wrote:
that one sounds more like modal post bop evolving into free jazz than actual fusion. I think that, because the guitar often has a more bluesy vibe to it, that may be where the jazz-rock fusion tag comes into play. But I definitely don't think of it as fusion myself.
Have to agree with this. Jerry Hahn's guitar's so great it does really stand out, though, even with the generally high level of musicianship. Shame he didn't record more solo albums in that 60s-70s era -- he's a straight-ahead/modal jazz-guitar monster.
8. Sextant - Herbie Hancock
More challenging, and more satisfying to me, than even his more popular "Head Hunters."
Totally agree. This is a transitional album between Hancock's Mwandishi group -- adventurous abstract jazz with increasing use of early synthesizer -- and the more commercial Head Hunters. It's the Hancock album most like Electric Miles, who was more experimental than most of the jazz-rock that followed him.
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10. Mind Transplant - Alphonse Mouzon
Just discovered this last year. Many years ago I'd heard another Mouzon album I didn't like, so it took me a long time to get around to listening to this. Very pleasant surprise. Powerful driving drums almost in Cobham's league. I like the relative restraint for a fusion album: the only soloist is guitarist Tommy Bolin -- no bass, keyboard or drum solos, even though the drummer's the leader.
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7. Gateway - John Abercrombie
I prefer this even to his more highly acclaimed "Timeless."
I'd always liked Timeless -- thought it deserved to be better known as a classic fusion album due to Jan Hammer's presence. But when I revisited it several years ago, I was taken aback by how much Abercrombie was imitating McLaughlin on it. Gateway's a great record (not that fusion-y because of Holland's acoustic bass). The third Gateway album, Homecoming (1995), is quite good too.
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