There’s something about Jazz…
There is something about the way brass, percussion and wind fuse together elements of R&B and funk in instrumental compositions that can liberate the body, mind and soul.
Jazz Fusion is characterized by the non particular formal elements such as, the incorporation of rock music’s amplification and use of electronic effects coupled with complex time signatures. But, improvisation is by far the most distinguishing. The Jazz Fusion genre was established in the 1960’s, but hit the main stream in the mid and late 70’s and continued into the later 20th century. Parallels between the music and movements of the 70’s can be made almost seamlessly. Neo-Expressionism rejected the conceptual and is characterized by vivid colors, trite harmonies, and violent emotion. It was coined as a “revival of traditional self-expression” much like Jazz Fusion and it’s individualist methods.
When listening to Miles Davis’s influential 1970’s recording, Bitches Brew, one of the most acclaimed fusion albums, there is vivid evidence of the musicians’ revolutionary style in the rhythmic selection. Ears will never tire with the sounds of jazz artists like Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Mike Stern, and Miles Davis who have fused together bodily elements with intangible feelings in innovative compositions.
by ashton capps
*Tune in to Jazz in the Morning every weekday from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.