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What is Jazz?
The Story of Jazz Guitar
Simon Jay Harper
Simon Jay Harper is a New York-based writer and journalist, and musician and composer.Apparently discovered by Quincy Jones when he was eight, George Benson is, of course, a huge mainstream popular music star. However, his jazz albums (including his singing) of the late-'60s and early-'70s are swinging. Here's a clip of Benson performing one of his early hits, "On Broadway," from a 2006 show:
John McLaughlin / John Scofield / Mike Stern
Fusion, no tunes and... feedback. The legacy of Jimi Hendrix on jazz is John McLaughlin and his angular successors. His first album, recorded in England, was the exotic Extrapolation (Polydor, 1969). Soon he was on Miles Davis' In a Silent Way (Legacy) and Bitches Brew (Legacy) in the same year, later making the two excellent Mahavishnu Orchestra albums The Inner Mounting Flame (Legacy, 1971) and Birds of Fire (Legacy, 1972). Bye bye Gershwin, hello Shakti (his Indian world music group of the mid-'70s). The 1960s resulted in fully electric jazz (electric pianos, sometimes trumpets, and more) and fusion jazz everywhere.
Here's a clip of John McLaughlin performing "Dance of the Maya," with Mahavishnu Orchestra, in 1972:
John Scofield is in the fusion mold, perhaps a breath of fresh air compared to the current laid back commercial jazz guitarists. Mike Stern was part of Miles Davis' comeback band in 1981, with Scofield joining in 1982:
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