@stuartk , with respect (sincerely!), I think that you are “viewing” the process of the evolution of Jazz with “markers” that are too broad. I never said that the sound of the “second great quintet” was Fusion-like. I wrote:
*** A stylistic period of Miles’ that clearly showed him headed toward a Fusion/Rock sensibility ***.
“…headed toward…”. Now, obviously, to identify why it can be said that it is “headed toward” there must be some characteristics in the style of the compositions and the style of how they are played that points to a change and a departure from the then current general Jazz sensibility. That departure/change had begun a few years earlier still.
The reason KOB is such a landmark recording is that it changed everything. It ushered in modal Jazz. Most of the tunes on KOB have very simple chord progressions and those are based on “modes”. While standard Jazz tunes written up to the time of KOB might have up to two or three different chord changes in each and every measure of a thirty two measure chorus, in modal Jazz you might have one single chord change every eight measures. It was Miles’s way of freeing up the soloists from the harmonic constraints of complex chord changes. Well, what is one of the main identifying traits of Fusion (as being discussed here)? Very simple chord progressions and the use of modes. Sheer coincidence? It’s part of the continuum that is the evolution of the music and those changes happen over time in much finer increments than we often consider.
Then there is the change in the general approach to rhythm. By the late ‘50’s Jazz starts becoming less “swingy”. Less of a triplet feeling and closer (ultimately almost entirely) to a straight, more even, feel. This is reflected in the way that the players play. As always, what drives these changes has a lot to do with societal sensibilities as a whole. Artists are people too and they express what’s happening at the time. Tony Williams was a young Jazz drummer living in a time when R&R was taking off. A music with very even rhythmic feel, zero swing of the usual type. And he goes on to record projects that had very strong Rock elements. Is it any surprise that Williams would have a certain sensibility in his playing that was what Miles was looking for as he moved his music forward stylistically? I don’t think so. Herbie Hancock. Herbie went on to record a great deal in a funk/fusion/electronic groove. Wayne Shorter. Shorter went on to co-found probably the biggest name in Fusion, Weather Report. More coincidences??? No way! It had all been set in motion by the time that the music became overtly and obviously “FUSION”. Miles chose those particular players for a reason.
That is what I mean when I say Miles was “clearly headed toward a Fusion/Rock sensibility”. That’s the way it always works. Doesn’t matter the time period. In many general ways the same things can be said of the the evolution of Jazz from traditional/Dixieland to Swing, to Bebop, to the present.
Miles was a great musical genius. He was obviously the main driving force in his bands regardless of time period, but he chose players that played in a way that supported his broader musical vision at any point in his career.
Thanks for the dialogue. I enjoy your commentary,
Btw, perhaps I don’t understand this part of your question about Tony Williams’ first two Blue Notes. To me, “Lifetime” is full fledged Fusion by then.