History Main / Jazz

A special subdivision of Latin American bandleaders who mixed jazz with influences from salsa, mambo, cha-cha-cha, son and other genres.
* Music/[[PerezPrado Pérez Prado]]

Some rock, pop and electronica musicians have created recordings that fuse this music together with jazz influences. The jazz fusion genre became popular in the early '70s, meshing bebop, cool, modal and free jazz with psychedelic rock. Miles Davis was a major pioneer in the style on his albums ''In a Silent Way'', ''Bitches Brew'', and ''A Tribute to Jack Johnson'', and many of the musicians who played on those records formed influential bands of their own. American jazz fusion bands were popular album and touring bands in the '70s, and acted as a sort of TransatlanticEquivalent of the mostly British ProgressiveRock movement of the same decade. (Of course, several bands qualified as both, particularly Canterbury Scene bands.) Jazz fusion continued to be popular in jazz circles after its mainstream heyday, and other jazz subgenres emerged in the 1980s (and since), such as smooth jazz, jazz-rap (an offshoot of AlternativeHipHop), jam bands (rock groups influenced by the Music/GratefulDead that emphasize jazz-style improvisation in concert), acid jazz, nu jazz, and jazz metal.

* Music/TheAllmanBrothersBand: To a certain extent. While they're generally thought of as ''the'' SouthernRock band, improvisation was a major element of their sound, and lead guitarist Duane Allman listed John Coltrane and Miles Davis as two of his biggest influences. Drummer Jai Johanny Johanson also had a background in jazz (in fact, he was the one who introduced Duane to Coltrane and Davis).
* Music/AnimalsAsLeaders: While they are generally considered djent, they have extremely prominent jazz fusion elements, especially in their later material, while all three current members have played jazz on the side (Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes with TRAM, Matt Garstka as a session musician), and Matt Garstka is also a major name in gospel sheds (which are also not jazz, but are typically jazz-adjacent).
* Music/DavidAxelrod. Not to be confused with the speechwriter for UsefulNotes/BarackObama. The term "jazz fusion" was actually coined in a review of his 1968 album ''Songs of Innocence'', which featured interpretations of Creator/WilliamBlake's poetry, and which Miles Davis acknowledged as an influence on ''Music/BitchesBrew''. It has also been {{sampl|ing}}ed heavily in HipHop and ElectronicMusic since the 1990s.
* Music/RoyAyers. A vibraphonist and composer known for being a pioneer in jazz-funk and a precursor to acid jazz.
* Music/BohrenUndDerClubOfGore: German jazz band who mixes ambient with metal.
* The Brand New Heavies: British group who pioneered a freewheeling genre called acid jazz, which mixed together jazz, R&B, soul, funk, electronic and psychedelic rock influences.
* Music/BrandX: A jazz fusion group whose best known member was Music/PhilCollins, although his participation dropped off once he became the lead singer of Music/{{Genesis}}. The core members were also [[ProgressiveRock progressive rock]] veterans, John Goodsall (Atomic Rooster) and Percy Jones (Soft Machine), while the current lineup includes Kenny Grohowski of Imperial Triumphant, who are mentioned below.
* Music/{{Caravan}}, one of the central bands of the Canterbury scene, who often featured a heavy jazz influence on their brand of progressive rock. Their most jazz-influenced album is probably 1972's ''Waterloo Lily'.

* Music/{{Casiopea}}: the godfathers of UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}'s bustling jazz fusion scene, they have released over 40 albums since their formation in 1976. They also have a case of RevolvingDoorBand - guitarist and lead songwriter Issei Noro is the sole founding member left.
* Music/TheCatEmpire: jazz/latin/ska/funk/soul/indie fusion band from UsefulNotes/{{Melbourne}} UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} with emphasis on the ''fusion'' aspect. They also throw in rock, reggae and hip-hop elements when it suits them.

* Music/{{Chicago}}: Started out as examples of this and ProgressiveRock; moved more towards pop later on.
* Music/ChickCorea: A pianist who got his start in the late '60s as part of Miles Davis' band and gained fame in the '70s as the leader of the jazz fusion band Return to Forever. The group's mix of fusion, Latin jazz and prog rock made them popular with rock audiences, and they are regularly cited as an influence by later jazz rock bands. After Return to Forever split in 1977, Corea embarked on a solo career that has netted him over 20 Grammys.

* Music/{{Cynic}}: Progressive metal/fusion act that started out as technical thrash before taking a softer, more adventurous turn that went on to heavily influence a wide variety of acts and later went in a more rock-oriented direction.
* Music/DaveMatthewsBand: Their page on This Very Wiki calls them a "rock/jazz/folk/pop/jam band"—appropriately so, as the lineup that made them famous consisted of one jazz fan (Matthews), three jazz musicians, and one classically trained violinist.

* Music/DigablePlanets: A Brooklyn trio who were one of the leading groups of the jazz-rap genre that gained prominence in the 1990s. Scored a major crossover hit in 1993 with "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)", which prominently used a Jazz Messengers sample. Broke up shortly after the release of their critically acclaimed but poor selling 1994 album ''Blowout Comb'', which is now considered to be one of the most significant jazz-rap albums.
* Music/TheElectricBananaBand
* Music/EphelDuath: Something of a mixture of BlackMetal and jazz, with AvantGardeMusic and Main/ProgressiveRock elements sometimes thrown into the blender as well.
* Music/{{Exivious}}: Dutch instrumental progressive metal/jazz fusion act that leans more towards the fusion side of the equation but still has a subtle metallic undercurrent.

* Music/{{Gong}}: Prog rock band that frequently incorporated elements of {{space rock}} into its sound. Daevid Allen's incarnation hewed closer to the Canterbury scene sound (even though they themselves formed in Paris); the Pierre Moerlen incarnation was a full-fledged jazz rock band. Gong's discography can be confusing to piece together because there were often multiple incarnations of the band at once.
* Music/GordianKnot: An instrumental jazz fusion band formed by Music/{{Cynic}} bassist Sean Malone, whose music mixed elements of jazz, prog, and metal. Malone's tragic death in 2020 resulted in its breakup.
* Music/GratefulDead: Jazz was one of the many genres that influenced them, and as with the Allman Brothers above, improvisation was an essential (arguably ''the'' essential) part of the sound. The jazz influence is most conspicuous during the years with Keith Godchaux on keyboards (October 19, 1971 through February 17, 1979), as he had a background in Dixieland and cocktail jazz; in the studio, the best exemplars of this are probably ''Wake of the Flood'', ''From the Mars Hotel'', ''Blues for Allah'', and ''Terrapin Station''; some of the most acclaimed live albums from his tenure are ''Europe '72'' and ''Get Shown the Light'' (which includes the famous Cornell show from May 8, 1977), though, since the Dead were practitioners of extreme GenreRoulette (particularly during this period), some songs have more conspicuous jazz influence than others. Another noteworthy jazz fusion album in the Dead's catalogue is ''Wake Up to Find Out'' (March 29, 1990), which features Branford Marsalis on saxophone for "Bird Song" and then the entire second set (including a revival of one of the Dead's {{Signature Song}}s, "Dark Star").
* Music/HatfieldAndTheNorth: Canterbury scene "supergroup" featuring former members of groups such as Music/{{Caravan}} and Music/{{Gong}}. Featured complex, often lengthy, heavily jazz-influenced compositions, most linked in a way that made it difficult to tell where one piece ended and the next began. Their music was largely instrumental, but some songs had vocals. They didn't stay together too long, although several members reappeared in National Health.
* Music/JimiHendrix: Hendrix is usually counted among blues-rock guitarists, but he was heavily influenced by John Coltrane and was extremely influential in the evolution of jazz guitar. Was planning a project with Music/MilesDavis and Gil Evans at the time of his death.
* Music/AllanHoldsworth
* Music/GregHowe
* Imperial Triumphant: Avant-garde black metal act with extremely prominent jazz and modernist classical influences and musicians who are all schooled in jazz and still play it on the side. Current drummer Kenny Grohowski also plays in the current lineup of Brand X and is a regular [[Music/MrBungle Trey Spruance]] collaborator, primarily with Secret Chiefs 3 (who are not a jazz act, but take influence from it and have numerous jazz-related tracks).

* Music/NorahJones: Best known for her debut album ''Come Away With Me'', which sold ten million copies and earned her Album of the Year and Best New Artist awards at the 2003 Grammys. Although strictly a jazz singer and pianist on that album, her later records have seen her incorporate indie rock and blues influences into her sound.
* Music/KendrickLamar: ''Music/ToPimpAButterfly'' was a high-profile and notoriously dense and complex jazz-rap release and one of the most deliberately challenging releases to ever be delivered by a major recording artist.
* Music/ShawnLane: Guitar genius whose style is difficult to pinpoint, but he's often classified as Jazz fusion.
** Jonas Hellborg: Swedish bassist who originally became famous for his partnerships with Lane and later introduced the former to Indian percussionist V. Selvaganesh, which kickstarted Lane's own infusion of Indian classical into his playing; after Lane's death, Hellborg went on to continue exploring Eastern and Western musical pairings and infusions.
* Music/{{Magma}}: Strange French band who are {{Trope Maker}}s and {{Trope Namer}}s of a ProgressiveRock subgenre called Zeuhl that draws a lot of influence from jazz, if obliquely; they have repeatedly cited Music/JohnColtrane as their biggest influence, if that's indication. The jazz influence is most obvious on the first two albums; it's a bit more oblique on the band's later music, but still there if you know what to listen for.
* Music/TheMarsVolta: While they are a notoriously eclectic act with a wide span of genres, they have extremely prominent jazz elements, particularly free jazz, jazz fusion, and Latin jazz, and are generally accepted as jazz-related.
* [[Music/MedeskiMartinAndWood Medeski Martin & Wood]]: A power trio (Medeski is a keyboardist, Martin is a drummer, Wood is a bassist) that helped bring fusion into the 21st century with a mix of funk, hip-hop and jam-band sensibilities. Owing to those jam band elements, MMW were one of the most popular jazz festival bands of the 1990s and early 2000s. They were occasionally joined in concert and on record by jazz guitarist John Scofield.
* Music/JohnMcLaughlin: English guitarist, studied jazz and flamenco in his teens, started out playing 60s R&B and rock with the Graham Bond Organisation, soon moved into avant-garde circles in Britain, then went to America and played with Miles Davis before launching a solo career which involved him getting seriously into Indian spirituality and co-founding the highly successful jazz-rock band Mahavishnu Orchestra. Branched into a fusion of jazz and Indian classical music with Shakti; since the 80s, has mostly returned to electrified jazz. Famous for having short hair in the early 70s "because it is my guru's will", but also for his blistering speed and accuracy (Music/FrankZappa likened him to a "machine gun"), and his restless musical imagination. Not, repeat, ''[[NamesTheSame not]]'', host of political yak show ''Series/TheMcLaughlinGroup''.
** 2014 - ''Music/TheBostonRecord''
* Music/{{Morphine}}: A '90s alternative band that played "low rock", a style completely unique to them that blended rock, blues and jazz together with singer Mark Sandman's deep, crooning bass-baritone voice on top. The trio stood out for completely eschewing the guitar, the instrument that most other rock groups are built around, and instead having a bassist-drummer-saxophonist lineup that is typically only otherwise seen in jazz.

* Music/NationalHealth: Another Canterbury scene supergroup, which pretty much picked up where Hatfield and the North left off; once again, expect lengthy, mostly instrumental prog rock compositions with significant jazz influence. They also only stayed together a few years.

* Music/{{Panzerballett}}: German jazz fusion quintet with very prominent metal influences and GenreRoulette tendencies. Their drummer, Sebastian Lanser, is also known for his role in Music/{{Obscura}}.
* Music/PlanetX: Instrumental jazz fusion/progressive metal supergroup helmed by Derek Sherinian and Virgil Donati. Known for having featured some ''serious'' big names as session musicians (Tony [=MacAlpine=], Music/AllanHoldsworth, Billy Sheehan, and Dave [=LaRue=] are but a few of the people who have contributed to it).
* Music/{{Phish}}: A jam band similar to the Grateful Dead, Phish were strongly influenced by 1970s jazz-fusion groups, with the style being as influential to their sound as earlier jam bands, ProgressiveRock and bluegrass were. Fusion was especially prominent in their sound in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and can be heard on concert recordings from that era, as well as studio albums like 1989's ''Junta'' and 1993's ''Rift''.
* Music/PinkMartini
* Music/{{Pomplamoose}}
* Music/{{Puya}}: A Puerto Rican Jazz Fusion/Progressive metal band noted for drawing heavily from Latin jazz and salsa.
* Music/TheRoots: Legendary jazz-rap act known for performing with a massive live ensemble, while drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson is also a prominent producer, session musician, and bandleader.
* Music/{{Santana}}
** 1970 - ''Music/{{Abraxas}}''
** 2002 - ''Music/{{Shaman}}''
** Music/CarlosSantana
* Music/TheSeatbelts: Known for producing the jazz-rock soundtrack to ''Anime/CowboyBebop''.
* Music/BrianSetzer: A bit of an oddball entry, he's done a lot to revive interest in big-band swing, including creating arrangements that add parts for lead electric guitar alongside the brass section, and making arrangements of classical compositions redone in a big-band swing style with electric guitar leading. The resulting arrangement ''works'' and works ''well''.
* Music/ShiinaRingo: A [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly particularly eclectic example]] who started to gain acclaim in the late '90s for her Japanese rock/pop sound, and began to drift more towards jazz (and to garner more critical acclaim) in the mid-'00s. Her album ''Heisei Fūzoku'' (or ''Heisei Customs'', 2007), a soundtrack for the film ''Manga/{{Sakuran}}'', can be categorised as orchestral jazz pop. Its successor, ''Sanmon Gossip'' (''The Threepenny Gossip'', 2009), is a major example of GenreRoulette, but most of it qualifies as jazz of some sort or other; Wikipedia categorises it as "[[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs acid jazz]]". Her most acclaimed album, ''Music/KarukiZamenKuriNoHana'' (''Chlorinated Lime, Semen, Chestnut Flower'', 2003), isn't as heavily oriented towards jazz, but still incorporates it at times. Her work is often particularly influenced by Latin American jazz; she has also covered several jazz standards, titled one of her songs in tribute to Music/JohnColtrane, and recorded several collaborations with Japanese jazz/rock band Soil & "Pimp" Sessions.
* [[Music/ShiningNorway Shining (Norway)]]: Started out as an acoustic jazz band (and [[StartMyOwn spinoff]] of Music/JagaJazzist) for their first two albums (''Where the Ragged People Go'', 2001, and ''Sweet Shanghai Devil'', 2003, the second of which was significantly more avant-garde) before moving into jazz fusion/progressive rock for their next two (''In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster'', 2005, and ''Grindstone'', 2007). Starting with ''Blackjazz'' (2010), they incorporated {{black metal}} and {{industrial}} influence without eschewing the jazz elements[[note]]evidently inspired by a collaboration with compatriots Music/{{Enslaved}} and leader/saxophonist/vocalist/guitarist/etc. Jørgen Munkeby's work with In Lingua Mortua[[/note]], though evidently they'd been performing live in this style for quite some time already (somewhat out of necessity, since the earlier songs' arrangements were impractical to reproduce). Not to be confused with the [[Music/{{Shining}} Swedish band]] of [[NamesTheSame the same name]]; while the two acts started out playing wildly disparate genres of music, both of them now incorporate elements of black metal and progressive metal into their sound, so this happens frequently.

* Music/EsperanzaSpalding: A fusion bassist and singer who is probably best remembered outside of the jazz world for winning the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2011, which made her the first jazz instrumentalist to win the award, beating out Music/JustinBieber, Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine, Music/{{Drake}} and Music/MumfordAndSons in the process. Inside the jazz world, Spalding is one of the top contemporary fusion artists, known for incorporating indie rock, art rock, funk and R&B influences into her music.
* Music/SteelyDan: Led by the songwriting duo Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, they were one of best known and most acclaimed jazz-rock bands of the '70s. Famous for being perfectionists in the studio, Fagen and Becker's sardonic lyrics, and their use of top-notch session musicians to create their signature sound.

* Music/ATribeCalledQuest: ''The'' TropeCodifier of jazz-rap.
* Music/TromboneShorty: A New Orleans-born singer and horn player associated in recent years with a funk metal take on fusion, popularized in part by his appearances on the cable series ''Treme''.
** 2010 - Music/{{Backatown}}
* Music/TSquare: The other big hitter of Japanese jazz fusion, their style incorporates traditional jazz with ProgressiveRock and pop sensibilities. They are well known for having composed "Truth", the theme song for Fuji TV's UsefulNotes/FormulaOne broadcasts in Japan; former keyboardist Shiro Sagisu is also well-known for composing the soundtrack to ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', while founding guitarist Masahiro Andoh has lent his hand for videogames like ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad'' and ''VideoGame/GranTurismo''.
* Music/{{Us3}}: A British group who blended jazz and hip-hop together, and were somewhat associated with the jazz-rap subgenre that was popular in the mid-90s. The band were signed to the renowned jazz label Blue Note Records and were given permission to use whatever samples they wished from the label's vaunted catalog to create their debut album ''Hand on the Torch''. The record was, for a time[[note]]that is, until the release of Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''[[/note]], the best-selling release in Blue Note history - outselling classic albums by Eric Dolphy, Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey and John Coltrane - and netted the label its first Top 40 pop hit, "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)".
* Music/WeatherReport: A jazz fusion band formed by keyboardist Joe Zawinul and the aforementioned Wayne Shorter, both members of Miles Davis' jazz fusion-era quartet. Among the band's best known recordings is the Grammy nominated 1977 album ''Heavy Weather'', one of the best selling jazz fusion records of all time. During the late 70's and early 80's, the band's lineup famously included...
** Music/JacoPastorius: Hugely innovative bass player from Florida; also a good drummer. Started out playing R&B, played on Pat Metheny's early recordings and also with Music/JoniMitchell. Pioneered the fretless electric bass when he acquired a Fender Jazz Bass which had had the frets ripped out and filled in, thereby making him the first bass guitarist who could make the instrument sing.[[note]]The legend was that he'd taken the frets out himself, but Pastorius later said that it was like that when he got it.[[/note]] His first solo album contained an exhilarating and almost-unaccompanied rendition of the ferociously difficult Charlie Parker/Miles Davis bebop classic "Donna Lee", forever earning him jazz credibility. Volatile and erratic, but he was to the bass guitar in the 70s more or less what Charlie Christian was to the electric guitar in the 30s and Jimi Hendrix was to it in the 1960s. Suffered from bipolar disorder and had major substance abuse problems, and died tragically young in 1987 after being fatally beaten by a club bouncer in Florida. Still celebrated as a musician who had an incredible ability to communicate with audiences using, of all things, the bass guitar: he was a flamboyant showman as well as a superb musician, and audiences loved him.
* Music/FrankZappa: Musical iconoclast who mixed classical music, rock, jazz and doowop in unique contrasts and combinations. Some of his albums have a very distinctive jazzrock feeling to them.
** 1969 - ''Music/HotRats''
** 1972 - ''Music/WakaJawaka''
** 1972 - ''Music/TheGrandWazoo''
** 1991 - ''Music/TheBestBandYouNeverHeardInYourLife''
** 1991 - ''Music/MakeAJazzNoiseHere''

[[/index]]

* Music/TSquare: The other big hitter of Japanese jazz fusion, their style incorporates traditional jazz with ProgressiveRock and pop sensibilities. They are well known for having composed "Truth", the theme song for Fuji TV's UsefulNotes/FormulaOne broadcasts in Japan; former keyboardist Shiro Sagisu is also well-known for composing the soundtrack to ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', including "A Cruel Angel's Thesis".

* Music/TSquare: The other big hitter of Japanese jazz fusion, their style incorporates traditional jazz with ProgressiveRock and pop sensibilities. They are well known for having composed "Truth", the theme song for Fuji TV's UsefulNotes/FormulaOne broadcasts in Japan; former keyboardist Shiro Sagisu is also well-known for composing the soundtrack to ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.

* Music/MiltonNascimento

* Music/LesterYoung (nicknamed "Pres"[[note]]Short for "President"[[/note]]): Tenor sax player from Mississippi who came to prominence in Count Basie's band. In many ways the {{Foil}} to Coleman Hawkins; his laid-back, intimate, waaaay-behind-the-beat style was the opposite of Hawkins's driving energy, and was so hugely influential that he is pretty much responsible for the trope of [[{{Sexophone}} romantic saxophone music]]. A close friend and frequent collaborator of Creator/BillieHoliday. Shy and introverted, he was jazz's great BunnyEarsLawyer, inventing his own version of hipster slang.[[note]]He famously called everyone "Lady", thereby giving Holiday her nickname "Lady Day". Other examples: "Does madam burn?"=Does your wife cook? "Have eyes"=want, i.e. "I had big eyes for a spot with Basie"=I really wanted to play with Basie. He's even said to have been the first person to use the word "cool" to mean something good or desirable.[[/note]] After a disastrous period of Army service during [=WW2=] he went from being a heavy drinker to a problem drinker, and he died of liver disease aged only 49. Famed for his rumpled sense of style and CoolHat, which gave its name to Charles Mingus's elegy for him, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat".

* Creator/ArtTatum: An almost completely blind jazz pianist, whose technique is something that, that, ... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Cs_zb4q14 Just see for yourself]]. No wonder too, as (so legend goes) he learned to play by repeating the movements on a autopiano... which played pieces for four hands! Playing his material is a truly monumental achievement even to this day.

* Music/BurlIves

Some rock, pop and electronica musicians have created recordings that fuse this music together with jazz influences. The jazz fusion genre became popular in the early '70s, meshing bebop, cool, modal and free jazz with psychedelic rock. Miles Davis was a major pioneer in the style on his albums ''In a Silent Way'', ''Bitches Brew'', and ''A Tribute to Jack Johnson'', and many of the musicians who played on those records formed influential bands of their own. American jazz fusion bands were popular album and touring bands in the '70s, and acted as a sort of TransatlanticEquivalent of the mostly British ProgressiveRock movement of the same decade. Jazz fusion continued to be popular in jazz circles after its mainstream heydey, and other jazz subgenres emerged in the 1980s such as smooth jazz, jazz-rap (an offshoot of AlternativeHipHop), jam bands (rock groups influenced by the Music/GratefulDead that emphasize jazz-style improvisation in concert), acid jazz, and nu jazz.

* Music/KennyG: He has to be mentioned to some extent. An American saxophonist, Kenny G is probably the most successful jazz musician worldwide in terms of record sales, but he's probably the most controversial musician on this list. He's the best known exponent of "smooth jazz", a sub-genre which has been criticized by jazz critics and fans for being barely one step above Easy Listening lounge music. He defines his own music as "instrumental pop" rather than jazz, but his critics (most memorably, Pat Metheny) have pointed out that since he is an improvising musician working within an instrumental framework, he deserves be treated as a jazz musician.[[note]]Virtually anyone who enjoys the music made by ANY of the musicians listed here would seriously dispute whether Kenny G can be called a jazz musician, but Metheny had a very good reason for calling him one. After Kenny G released a track which consisted of him overdubbing himself onto Louis Armstrong's recording of "What A Wonderful World", the normally mild-mannered and easygoing Metheny subjected him to a blistering TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, based on the argument that if a player of Kenny G's dubious level of competence thinks that he has earned the right to play on a recording by the undisputed godfather of jazz, even if it's not one of the all-time greatest Armstrong recordings ever, then he's demanding to be assessed according to the same criteria as any other jazz musician -- on which basis Mr G comes out very, very poorly indeed. It can be read in all its awesomeness [[http://www.jazzoasis.com/methenyonkennyg.htm here]].[[/note]]
* Music/GordianKnot: An instrumental Jazz fusion band formed by Music/{{Cynic}} bassist Sean Malone, whose music mixes elements of jazz, prog and metal.

* Imperial Triumphant: Avant-garde black metal act with extremely prominent jazz and modernist classical influences and musicians who are all schooled in jazz and still play it on the side. Current drummer Kenny Grohowski also plays in the current lineup of Brand X and is a regular [[Music/MrBungle Trey Spruance]] collaborator, primarily with Secret Chiefs 3 (who are not a jazz act, but take influence from it and have numerous jazz-related tracks).

What is Jazz? Here are some (attributed) answers from a few of the best and most influential Jazz musicians of all time:\\\

Jazz started out in the United States in the beginning of the 20th century as 'black music' and is closely related to {{Blues}}, to the extent that many famous jazz compositions can be considered Blues pieces. Since then, there have been different forms of jazz, listed roughly in historical order: New Orleans, Swing/Big Band, Bebop, Cool, Modal, Free Jazz, Fusion, Nu Jazz... and this is a very incomplete list.

What is Jazz? Here are some (attributed) answers from the best and most influential Jazz musicians of all time:

--> --'''Music/BillEvans'''

-> ''I'll play it first and tell you what it is later.''

OK, OK, that probably didn't help much, but in our defense, defining jazz really is hard. (Just look at what Wiki/TheOtherWiki [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz#Definitions has to say about that!]]) So maybe we can just stick with the following: At its heart, jazz is about spontaneity. That usually means improvising, the art of playing (to a greater or lesser extent) without a script and being free to play whatever you like, sometimes without even confines of traditional music structure (which is what Free Jazz is all about).

** Music/JacoPastorius: Hugely innovative bass player from Florida; also a good drummer. Started out playing R&B, played on Pat Metheny's early recordings and also with Music/JoniMitchell. Pioneered the fretless electric bass when he acquired a Fender Jazz Bass which had had the frets ripped out and filled in, thereby making him the first bass guitarist who could make the instrument sing.[[note]]The legend was that he'd taken the frets out himself, but Pastorius later said that it was like that when he got it.[[/note]] His first solo album contained an exhilarating and almost-unaccompanied rendition of the ferociously difficult Charlie Parker/Miles Davis bebop classic "Donna Lee", forever earning him jazz credibility. Volatile and erratic, but he was to the bass guitar in the 70s more or less what Charlie Christian was to the electric guitar in the 30s. Suffered from bipolar disorder and had major substance abuse problems, and died tragically young in 1987 after being fatally beaten by a club bouncer in Florida.

* Music/JohnMcLaughlin: English guitarist, started out playing 60s R&B and rock with the Graham Bond Organisation, soon moved into avant-garde circles in Britain, then went to America and played with Miles Davis before launching a solo career which involved him getting seriously into Indian spirituality and co-founding the highly successful jazz-rock band Mahavishnu Orchestra. Branched into a fusion of jazz and Indian classical music with Shakti; since the 80s, has mostly returned to electrified jazz. Famous for having short hair in the early 70s "because it is my guru's will", but also for his formidable technique as a player and his restless musical imagination. Not, repeat, ''[[NamesTheSame not]]'', host of political yak show ''Series/TheMcLaughlinGroup''.

Some rock, pop and electronica musicians have created recordings that fuse this music together with jazz influences. The jazz fusion genre became popular in the early '70s, meshing bebop, cool, modal and free jazz with psychedelic rock. Miles Davis was a major pioneer in the style on his albums ''In a Silent Way'', ''Bitches Brew'', and ''A Tribute to Jack Johnson'', and many of the musicians who played on those records formed influential bands of their own. American jazz fusion bands were popular album and touring bands in the '70s, and acted as a sort of TransatlanticEquivalent of the mostly British ProgressiveRock movement of the same decade.

Some rock, pop and electronica musicians have created recordings that fuse this music together with jazz influences. The jazz fusion genre became popular in the early '70s, meshing bebop, cool, modal and free jazz with psychedelic rock. Miles Davis was a major pioneer in the style on his albums ''In a Silent Way'', ''Bitches Brew'', and ''A Tribute to Jack Johnson'', and many of the musicians who played on those records formed influential bands of their own. American jazz fusion bands were popular album in tour bands in the '70s, and acted as a sort of TransatlanticEquivalent of the mostly British ProgressiveRock movement of the same decade.