Greatest Fusion Musicians

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

fusion07 wrote:

No...I don't...otherwise I wouldn't have put them there...there was that 80's period where Joni was doing a ton of excellent music...and the world isn't overflowing with fusion videos...just because Joni sang tunes doesn't make them "pop"...when she played live, and even in that period's studio recordings she gave plenty of space for the guys to stretch and she played right with them, which is the big difference between her and so many other people who hire great players to tour with and then go out and play 3:00 exact versions of their hits. You don't find a 16 minute-plus tune like "Paprika Plains" on anyone else's "pop" records of the period. She wouldn't have gotten the killer players she did and the respect she has from them without really knowing music as well as she does and really being able to play and write excellent stuff. The stuff she did in that period was her best work, and also her most commercially unsuccessful for the most part, because it did have so many jazz and fusion elements in it her traditional folk/pop audience wanted little part of.

And yes...the video link you posted is from the Time Warp video. I think I already explained my rationale.

So that is a piece from the 1995 Time Warp. About how much more is missing from that video? I would like to see the whole thing.

fusion07 · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:03 am **Posts:** 69

It's a terrific video...better than the album - 67 minutes long. There are some bootleg DVD's on eBay from time to time of it...and some copies in public libraries. There are a couple of VHS copies of it on Amazon U.S. at the moment that are reasonable. The Japanese Laserdisc is nearly impossible to find. If you do a Web search you can find DVD copies for trade at times as well.

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

fusion07 wrote:

It's a terrific video...better than the album - 67 minutes long. There are some bootleg DVD's on eBay from time to time of it...and some copies in public libraries. There are a couple of VHS copies of it on Amazon U.S. at the moment that are reasonable. The Japanese Laserdisc is nearly impossible to find. If you do a Web search you can find DVD copies for trade at times as well.

Alright, thanks! Maybe I'll buy it. I don't really like the studio album. The live album seems to have a much more fusion edge to it then the studio album.

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

Fusion - Any thoughts on adding Hiromi Uehara to the fusion keyboard list? Here's some of her stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6pgM-NVfWg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb4xr8P0f_Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZaB9urlkgA

Also, when has Keith Jarrett been known as such a fusion powerhouse? I thought he was mostly known for post-bop and classical?

fusion07 · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:03 am **Posts:** 69

I think the subject of Hiromi has already been discussed, and yes, she will in the next revision. Jarrett's work back near the beginning of his career with Miles is where he fits in fusion.

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

fusion07 wrote:

It's a terrific video...better than the album - 67 minutes long. There are some bootleg DVD's on eBay from time to time of it...and some copies in public libraries. There are a couple of VHS copies of it on Amazon U.S. at the moment that are reasonable. The Japanese Laserdisc is nearly impossible to find. If you do a Web search you can find DVD copies for trade at times as well.

So, you don't think that Time Warp would deserve a top spot on the Best Fusion Albums list? Especially considering it is ranked very high on the Best Fusion Videos list.

fusion07 · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:03 am **Posts:** 69

Fusion videos are 1000x less common than the records...and the video is much, much better than the CD, odd as that is.

beaverteeth92 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:09 pm **Posts:** 1163

Victor Wooten should be at four here. Hopper and Johnson are good, but Victor happens to be much better than both of them.

fusion07 · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:03 am **Posts:** 69

Your opinion...and definitely not mine, and I just saw Victor play his own stuff on tour.

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

beaverteeth92 wrote:

Victor Wooten should be at four here. Hopper and Johnson are good, but Victor happens to be much better than both of them.

Victor is definitely better than Hopper. And that's just my opinion. I'd move Hopper considerably lower on the list considering he's more rock than fusion, which is not my opinion but a fact.

fusion07 · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:03 am **Posts:** 69

Oh dear...now Soft Machine is a rock band. That is funny. Hugh Hopper wrote a lot of great tunes, and was a real pioneer in fusion bass playing. I'm laughing here about the "fact" claim...too funny.

beaverteeth92 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:09 pm **Posts:** 1163

He wasn't nearly as much of a pioneer as Victor Wooten. Wooten happens to have influenced modern bass players MUCH more than Hopper has with his thumb technique and soloing style, and is infinitely more skilled. As in there's literally no comparison between the two. Holland still thrashes him in influence and longevity, which is why I don't think he should be above him, but Victor outright massacres the two players above him.

fusion07 · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:03 am **Posts:** 69

A lot of folks think Steve Vai is the greatest guitar player of all time...there's a reason Zappa referred to him as his "stunt guitarist". The set I saw recently reminded me of much the same thing on bass...it was a double bill with Stanley Clarke and SC's set was much more musical to my ears. A great player VW is, indeed, but there's much more to playing than just technique. I'm not a big funk fan, and VW's set was more funk than fusion...and there were gimmicks in it I didn't go for at all. There were a lot of incredible players and playing from the 70's lots of younger ears know very little about, and I appreciate that era for what it is, which was by far and away the greatest era of fusion music.

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

fusion07 wrote:

Oh dear...now Soft Machine is a rock band. That is funny. Hugh Hopper wrote a lot of great tunes, and was a real pioneer in fusion bass playing. I'm laughing here about the "fact" claim...too funny.

Soft machine was a band that did Canterbury Scene, Progressive rock, Psychedelic rock, and Jazz/fusion. It's your opinion that they are not a rock band. It's more of common knowledge and facts that they did the genres just mentioned. Sure, Hopper did do fusion. Probably not as much in a technical manner as guys like Wooten. I'd just put Hopper more in the 8-12 rankings.

fusion07 · **Joined:** Mon Mar 14, 2011 9:03 am **Posts:** 69

Soft Machine was the fusion end of the Canterbury scene, and spawned many other terrific bands from the UK including Matching Mole, Hatfield & The North and many others. One of the very best ensembles of all time in the fusion genre, bar none. A "prog rock band" with violin, oboe and baritone sax, my azz. :banghead:

Greatest Fusion Musicians

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