Concise Guide to Jazz Chapter Summary-Chapter 10

(fusion)


1. Jazz and rock represent different streams in African American music, but they have occasionally overlapped.

2. Jazz differs from rock in its (a) smaller amount of repetition, (b) larger amount of improvisation, (c) greater complexity, and (d) higher level of musicianship.

3. Guitarist John McLaughlin led several innovative bands containing musicians who were themselves important jazz -rock bandleaders.

4. Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea were important jazz pianists during the 1960's who became better known as composers and bandleaders during the 1970's and 80's because of the fusion styles they created.

5. Joe Zawinul's compositions and arrangements formed the bases for the important 1969 Miles Davis jazz-rock albums Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way and for Weather Report, an innovative fusion band which lasted from 1971 until 1985 with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

6. Weather Report originally began with much collective improvisation but eventually adopted approaches employing extensive preset repetition and the feeling of soul music. This culminated in Zawinul's riff-based hit "Birdland".

7. The post-1968 work of Miles Davis displayed a blend of the jazz tradition, funk music, and the music of India and South America.

8. New Age music and "smooth jazz" became the easy listening variants of jazz-rock fusion. George Winston and Kenny G were the best know practitioners.

9. Acid Jazz emerged during the late 1980's as a blend of hip hop and rap music with jazz improvisations added as decoration.

10. Acid Jazz was devised by disc jockeys mixing excerpts from old recordings with the sounds of drum machines and repeating loops of accompaniment sounds.