Home » Jazz News » Opinion

8

Poll (Results) and a New Poll: The 5 Best Jazz/Rock Fusion Recordings of All Time

Source:

Sign in to view read count
On January 29, 2009, I posted a poll here with links to it on various online music discussion groups, asking people to nominate what they felt were the 5 best jazz/rock fusion albums of all time.  A good number of responses came in by email, while quite a few were posted on the online forums and here on my blog.  As the months went on I would occasionally think the survey had run its course, but then a few more responses would show up—so I just let the polling continue, and it went on.  It wasn't until September 6, 2010 that the last comment/vote was posted here on Jazz (Jazzers Jazzing).  I don't recall when the last vote was emailed in—it was months later.

Not all the responses to the poll were cheerful or constructive.  Some jazz/rock aficionados objected to the idea of such a list, saying that narrowing the field and using competitive words like “best" and “all time" was bad somehow, maybe even a way of bullying less appreciated works.  Ha!

At the other end of the spectrum, moldy-fig “purists" who still have not forgiven Miles Davis for plugging instruments into amplifiers, continue to be upset with all of this music and the people who listen to it.  What has it been now...?  Forty-five years?

At any rate, the purpose is to do two things here. One, I want you to see the results so far; and two, I want to re-open the voting.  A lot has happened in the last three and a half years.  Several of the musicians listed in the results below—Jeff Beck, Stanley Clarke, Josef Zawinul, Lenny White, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin and Chick Corea—have won Grammys (Joe Z.'s posthumously).  Others have made interesting new music, or gone into retirement to live on record royalties, or come out of retirement to play live music because they can't live on their royalties, or...  A newcomer not even on the list back then, Esperanza Spalding became the first-ever jazz artist to win a Grammy for Best New Artist, certainly a sign of something good.

After reviewing the list, or before, go to the bottom of this page to where it says “post a comment," log in and list what you consider the 5 best jazz/rock albums of all time; if you want to nominate fewer than 5, that's okay, too.  You can also vote by email at [email protected] and put “5 Best" in the subject line.  If you voted in the original poll, go ahead and vote for another 5—but don't vote for any album a second time—this isn't a contest, it's a way of assessing the popularity of this great musical legacy.

Feel free as well to vent, rant, critique, analyze, cogitate, rave, glorify or otherwise opinionate.  This is a moderated blog, though, so don't get carried away with the expletives.  

Here are the results so far.  The first 43 of them are listed according to the number of votes received, most to least.  Any albums receiving the same number of votes are listed alphabetically:

Top Vote-Getters:

Romantic Warrior – Return To Forever (20)
Inner Mounting Flame, The – Mahavishnu Orchestra (17)
Bitches Brew – Miles Davis (16)
Heavy Weather – Weather Report (11)
Believe It - Tony Williams Lifetime (9)
Wired – Jeff Beck (6)
Birds of Fire – Mahavishnu Orchestra (5)
Head Hunters – Herbie Hancock (5)
In A Silent Way – Miles Davis (5)

The following received four votes:

Blow by Blow – Jeff Beck
Elegant Gypsy - Al Di Meola
No Mystery – Return To Forever
Where Have I Known You Before – Return To Forever

The following received three votes:

Black Market - Weather Report
Enigmatic Ocean – Jean Luc Ponty
Hot Rats – Frank Zappa
Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy – Return To Forever
Metal Fatigue - Allan Holdsworth
On the Corner - Miles Davis
One of a Kind - Bill Bruford
School Days - Stanley Clarke
Spectrum – Billy Cobham
Tribute to Jack Johnson, A - Miles Davis
Trout Mask Replica - Captain Beefheart
Unorthodox Behaviour - Brand X
What If – Dixie Dregs

The following received two votes:

Cosmic Messenger - Jean-Luc Ponty
Devotion - John McLaughlin
Inside Out - Chick Corea Elektric Band
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
Journey to Love – Stanley Clarke
Light As A Feather – Return To Forever
Live In Tokyo - Weather Report
Mysterious Traveller – Weather Report
Night Passage - Weather Report
Return to Forever ­– Return To Forever
Smokin' in the Pit - Mike Mainieri and Steps Ahead
Sweetnighter – Weather Report
Temporal Analogues of Paradise - Shawn Lane, Jonas Hellborg and Jeff Sipe
Thrust - Herbie Hancock
Time Control – Hiromi
Turn It Over – Tony Williams Lifetime
Visions of the Emerald Beyond - Mahavishnu Orchestra

The following received one vote:

6 - Supersilent
8:30 - Weather Report
Adventures of Astral Pirates - Lenny White
Agharta/Pangaea – Miles Davis
A Go Go - John Scofield
Alivemutherforya - Billy Cobham
All Kooked Out - Stanton Moore, Charlie Hunter
American Garage - Pat Metheny
An Evening of Magic, Live at the Hollywood Bowl – Chuck Mangione
Anti-Social Club, The - Alan Pasqua
Arbeit Macht Frei - Area
As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls - Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays
Assembler - Bill Connors
Atavachron - Allan Holdsworth
At Fillmore - Miles Davis
At Fillmore East - Allman Brothers Band
At the Mountains of Madness - John Zorn & Electric Masada
Awakening - Pharaohs
Badfoot Brown and the Bunions Bradford Funeral & Marching Band - Bill Cosby
Beneath the Mask - Chick Corea Elektric Band
Best Laid Plans - David Torn
Belladonna - Ian Carr & Nucleus
Big City – Lenny White
Big Picture, The - Adam Holzman and Brave New World
Black Sheep - Jan Hammer
Black Rock - James Blood Ulmer
Blue Nights - Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, David Torn
Blue Train - John Coltrane
Breezin' - George Benson
Bright Size Life - Pat Metheny
Buena - Morphine
Burnt Weeny Sandwich - Frank Zappa
CAB - CAB
CAB 4 - CAB
Captain Marvel - Stan Getz
Caravanserei - Carlos Santana
Casino - Al Di Meola
Cellar Door Sessions, The - Miles Davis
Chasing Shadows - Tony Grey
Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago
Chicago (AKA Chicago II) - Chicago
Chicago III - Chicago
Chicago VII - Chicago
Chick Corea Electric Band - Chick Corea Electric Band
Children of Forever - Stanley Clarke
Chinese, The - Janne Shaffer
Close to the Edge - Yes
Consequence of Chaos - Al Di Meola
Coup de Tete - Kip Hanrahan
Court & Spark - Joni Mitchell
Crossings - Herbie Hancock
Crossings - Steve Khan
Crosswinds - Billy Cobham
Dancing In Your Head - Ornettte Coleman
Dinosaur Swamps - Flock
Double Nickels on the Dime - Minutemen
Double Up - Bill Connors
Dr. Hee - Scott Henderson and Tribal Tech
Dragon's Head - Mary Halvorson
Dropper, The - Medeski, Martin and Wood
Dry Humping the American Dream - Gutbucket
Eat A Peach - Allman Brothers
Elastic Rock - Nucleus
Electric Rendezvous - Al Di Meola
Electric Bath - Don Ellis
Electric Byrd - Donald Byrd
Electric Guitarist - John McLaughlin
Emergency! - Tony Williams Lifetime
Escalator Over the Hill - Carla Bley
Evolution - Tony MacAlpine
Expresso - Gong
Extrapolation – John McLaughlin
Farewell Shows - Seattle, WA - Zony Mash
Feels Good to Me - Bill Bruford
Filles de Kilimanjaro - Miles Davis
First Album, The - Ella Guru
First Light – Freddie Hubbard
First Seven Days, The - Jan Hammer
Five Hundred Miles High/Live at Montreux – Flora Purim
Flesh on Flesh - Al Di Meola
Floating Point - John McLaughlin
Flock, The - Flock
Focus - Jan Ǻkerman
Fourth - Soft Machine
Free – Airto Moreira
Freefall - Dixie Dregs
Full Circle (Coming Home) - Bon
Funky Serenity - Ramsey Lewis
Gary Burton and Keith Jarrett - Gary Burton, Keith Jarrett
Gazeuse! - Gong
Gil Evans Orchestra Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix, The - Gil Evans Orchestra
Good - Morphine
Grand Wazoo, The - Frank Zappa
GSM3 - Frank Gambale, Steve Smith, Stuart Hamm
Hatfield and North - Hatfield and North
Hapless Child, The - Michael Mantler
Hard Normal Daddy - Squarepusher
Heaven and Hell - Shine (Bill Laswell, Buckethead, Shin Terai)
Heavy Metal Be-Bop - Brecker Brothers
Hejira - Joni Mitchell
Imaginary Day - Pat Metheny
Improvision - Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe, Matthew Garrison
Industrial Zen - John McLaughlin
Infinite Desire - Al Di Meola
Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
Introducing the Eleventh House – Larry Coryell
I Sing the Body Electric - Weather Report
It's A Beautiful Day - It's A Beautiful Day
James White and the Blacks - James White and the Blacks
Jazz from Hell - Frank Zappa
Jewel in the Lotus - Bennie Maupin
Jing Chi - Robben Ford, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Haslip
Juju Street Songs - Gary Bartz
Kamakiriad - Donald Fagen
Kinesthetics - Scott Kinsey
King Kong- Jean Luc Ponty
Kiss My Axe - Al Di Meola
Land of the Midnight Sun - Al Di Meola
Last Train to Hicksville - Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks
Larry Carlton - Larry Carlton
Lawrence of Newark - Larry Young
Light Years - Shin e
Like Children - Jann Hammer/Jerry Goodman
Live at the Fillmore East (March 7, 1970): It's About That Time – Miles Davis
Live at the Greek - Stanley Clarke
Live at the Baked Potato - Greg Mathieson, Abraham Laboriel, Michael Landau and Vinnie Colaiuta
Live at the Rainbow - Focus
Live from Elario's (the First Gig) - Chick Corea Electric Band
Live On Tour In Europe - Billy Cobham - George Duke Band
Love Devotion Surrender - Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin
Mad Hatter - Chick Corea
Man-Child - Herbie Hancock
Masques - Brand X
Merry-Go-Round - Elvin Jones
Michael Brecker - Michael Brecker
Miles in the Sky - Miles Davis
Milestones - Miles Davis
Mind Transplant - Alphonse Mouzon
Mint Jam - Yellowjackets
Modern Man - Stanley Clarke
Moon Germs - Joe Farrell
Moonshadows - Alphonse Mouzon
Moonshine - Dave Douglas and Keystone
Moroccan Roll - Brand X
Morph the Cat - Donald Fagen
Mountain in the Clouds – Miroslav Vitous
My Spanish Heart - Chick Corea
Mystical Adventures - JeanLuc Ponty
Napoli Centrale - Napoli Centrale
Native Dancer - Wayne Shorter
New Grass - Albert Ayler
Nightfly - Donald Fagen
Elastic Rock - Nucleus
Octave of the Holy Innocents - Jonas Hellborg, Buckethead and Michael Shrieve
Of Human Feelings - Ornette Coleman
Oh Yeah? - Jan Hammer
One Size Fits All - Frank Zappa
Out of the Woods - Oregon
Overtime - Lee Ritenour
Pachuco Cadaver - Captain Beefheart
Panthalassa - Bill Laswell
Passion and Warfare - Steve Vai
Pat Metheny Group, The - Pat Metheny
Personae - Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane, Jeff Sipe
Picchio dal Pozzo - Picchio dal Pozzo
Pieces - Matthew Larkin Cassell
Planet End - Larry Coryell
Polytown - David Torn, Mick Karn, Terry Bozzio
Powers of Ten - Shawn Lane
Preludes and Rhapsodies - Deodato
Present Tense - Lenny White
Primal Scream - Maynard Ferguson
Progressivity - Tunnels
Pyramid - Eef Albers
Red Clay – Freddie Hubbard
Return of the Brecker Brothers - Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker
Return to the Emerald Beyond - The Mahavishnu Project
Rip, Rig & Panic - Rashaan Roland Kirk
Road Games - Alan Holdsworth
Rocks, Pebbles and Sand - Stanley Clarke
Rotters' Club, The - Hatfield and North
Sad and Tragic Demise of Big Fine Hot Salty Black Wind, The - Universal Congress Of
Safe As Milk - Captain Beefheart
Sand - Allan Holdsworth
Save the Robots - Conrad Shrenk and Extravaganza
Secrets - Allan Holdsworth
Seven Songs - Fredy Studer
Sextant - Herbie Hancock
Shack Man - Medeski, Martin and Wood
Shangrenade - Harvey Mandel
(sic) - Alex Machacek
She's Too Much for My Mirror - Captain Beefheart
Sky Train - Barry Miles
Soft Machine, The - Soft Machine
Soul Experiment, A - Freddie Hubbard
Song X - Pat Metheny
Soul Vaccination: Live - Tower of Power
Spaces – Larry Coryell
Spice of Life - Kazume Watanabe
Splendido Hotel - Al Di Meola
Staircase - Keith Jarrett
Stanley Clarke - Stanley Clarke
Step It - Bill Connors
Still Warm - John Scofield
Super Nova – Wayne Shorter
Tales from the Acoustic Planet - Bela Fleck
Tales of the Exonerated Flea - Horacee Arnold
Tauhid - Pharoah Sanders
Tennessee 2004 - Praxis
Then! Live - Allan Holdsworth
There and Back - Jeff Beck
Third - Soft Machine
Thunder - Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Vic Wooten
Timeless - John Abercrombie with Jan Hammer, Jack DeJohnette
Tolonen - Jukka Tolonen
Total Eclipse - Billy Cobham
To the Bone - Bon
Touchstone - Chick Corea
Tour de Force Live - Al Di Meola
Toys of Men - Stanley Clarke
Trio of Doom, The - John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, Tony Williams
True Stories - David Sancious
Tutu - Miles Davis
Ultimate Adventure, The - Chick Corea
Uncle Meat - Frank Zappa
Unspeakable - Bill Frisell
Venusian Summer - Lenny White
Vertú - Lenny White
Vitalization - Steve Smith and Vital Information
Vital Tech Tones - Scott Henderson
Volume Two - Soft Machine
Waka/Jawaka - Frank Zappa
Wardenclyffe Tower - Allan Holdsworth
Warszawa - Praxis
Way Up, The - Pat Metheny
Weather Report - Weather Report
Yes - Morphine
Zawinul - Joe Zawinul
Zoot Allures - Frank Zappa
Zurich - Praxis

Continue Reading...

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.