Jazz for aficionados

I think we all know where this is going, so in the interest of saving time and typing:, allow me:

O-10's response to Learsfool:  How do you know how much Jazz I have heard.   Not only do I live and breath and listen to Jazz,  I eat it also. So there!!

The Frogman:  O-10, no one is questing how much Jazz you have devoured in your life time.

O-10:  Frogman, you are the most unique person I have ever met.
The Frogman: Why thank you O-10:
O-10:  but you don't have any idea of what happened in Seattle.
The Frogman: HUH??
O-10:  Just answer the question Frogman.  Answer the question.
The Frogman: what question?
O-10: Don't play that game with me.  I have spent almost 2 years in South Korea.  I don't play that Jive!
The Frogman:  WTF are you talking about?
O-10: I am talking about the fact that I have heard 2.3 trillion bars of Jazz played.   How many have you heard?  Answer the question Frogman!

At this point Learsfool will intervene once again.

Learsfool:  The Frogman is just too modest.   Not only does Frogman Play, Live, Breath, make Jazz, HE INVENTED JAZZ!!   And I don't wanna hear any of that Jelly Roll Crap!!

The Frogman:  (modestly) Thanks you Learsfool.

At this point O-10 will attempt to defuse the situation by posting a clip of a Group of one legged guys from South Sudan playing Sudanese-funk Fusion by banging on their wooden legs.

Lord help us.

Cheers

 

Best I could do. I swear I can hear their wooden legs hitting together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aagky9IPqFU

Did something happen while I was away?  And what are those thumping sounds?...like the banging of sticks  ☺️

Don’t worry Rok, take a deep breath and check this out; it’s going to OK. Here’s another for 1976. Non-fusion from one of the best and most interesting piano players that most have never heard of:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T01se2ZNnBg

Back to fusion, 1976:

Weather Report’s breakthrough album:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jp-cwoZWoGA

Weather Report member Jaco Pastorius would forever change the way that the electric bass was played and previous ideas about what was possible on the instrument::

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-0NNA6w8Zk4

Chick Corea’s "Romantic Warrior":

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=giup9k87MMo

I am afraid that I am not doing Return To Forever's (Chick Corea) "Romantic Warrior" justice with the lack of some commentary.  This recent romp through Fusion has led to my revisiting some of these records and I have to say that this record is an absolute masterpiece of the genre.  Amazing compositional values from one of the most creative minds in contemporary music (including jazz-jazz), Chick Corea. This should be approached like one approaches listening to a symphony.  Elements of Baroque music can be found along with strong rock and traditional jazz fusings.  Just like Kind Of Blue is often cited as possibly THE record to play for someone who has never heard jazz, this could be my pick for demonstrating the genre Fusion to the curious.  I recommend listening to it beginning to end.  Even if you generally don't like Fusion, give it a shot and see what you think at the end of the ride.  Their last record as a band:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=giup9k87MMo

I don't get it.  But, I realize it could be me, so I read a lot of the reviews and comments on you-tube and Amazon.

"Corea is a god".
"This is the best record ever recorded"    Yikes!!!

I'm thinking, what planet are these people from.   I'm thinking, how can people get all that from this music, when I get nothing.  Then I ran across a review on Amazon that provided a little insight.

paraphrasing:

It depends to a large degree on your age.  He said during the formative years when he became interested in music, Fusion was Jazz.  He was not aware of anything else.   There was Rock, and there was Jazz(fusion).   Fusion being a more 'sophisticated'  form of Rock??  Bebop was no where to be heard.
Several people said after being 'raised' on Fusion, they later discovered Bebop, and never looked back.  As if Fusion prepared their ear for real Jazz.

I say, whatever!  I know the first music I ever heard with which I associated the word 'Jazz' was probably Duke Ellington, Count Basie maybe Cab Calloway..  That was the type of music my family listened to.  We also listened to Church music, Broadway tunes, Blues, R&B and early R&R..

Which means, Rock was noise to my ear from day one.   Still is mostly.   And that includes this so-called Fusion.  Everyone can't like everything, although I wish I could.

My son loves Rock.  That was the music he heard during his formative years.  If I had known that, I would have locked him in my stereo room with Monk and Mingus going 24/7.  Hindsight.

Back in the day, one professional Jazz critic once said, "Young people think any instrumental music is Jazz".  He may have been on to something.

Romantic Warrior:  For what it is, not extremely irritating.  There are a few measures here and there where you could almost think it is Jazz.

Cheers