jazz fusion
Plugged-in bebop hybrid
Jazz fusion blends jazz with rock, funk, and electronic music, typically featuring electric instruments, complex rhythms, and extended improvisation.
The style emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s with artists like Miles Davis and Weather Report.
Their sound was pure jazz fusion—heavy on synthesizers and odd time signatures.
- Weather ReportSeminal jazz fusion ensemble
- electric pianoAmplified keyboard instrument
Electronic sound-generating instrument
- electric bassAmplified low-pitched string instrument
- distortionTwisting from original state
- wah-wahOscillating tonal filter effect
- effects pedalsSound-altering devices for instruments
amplified · layered · textured · electronic · ambient · processed · overdriven · multitracked
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
- polyrhythmOverlapping musical beat patterns
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
- modalityParticular form or type
- chromaticismUse of non-scale tones
counterpoint · voicings · phrasing · harmonics · vamp · ostinato · reharmonization · through-composed
Thing of mixed parentage
- crossoverGenre-blending work or transition
- eclecticDeriving from varied sources
- synthesisCombining parts into whole
- amalgamMixture of disparate parts
integration · confluence · genre-bending · world music · African rhythms
Rhythmic and soulful
- rhythmicHaving regular tempo
- syncopatedRhythmically accent-shifted
- basslineLow-register musical foundation
- tightFirmly stretched or fitting
pocket · percussive · driving · lock-in · danceable · slap bass · drum machine · backbeat
Miles Davis
- Weather ReportSeminal jazz fusion ensemble
- electric pianoAmplified keyboard instrument
synthesizer
Electronic sound-generating instrument
- electric bassAmplified low-pitched string instrument
- distortionTwisting from original state
- wah-wahOscillating tonal filter effect
effects pedals · amplified · layered · textured · electronic · ambient · processed · overdriven · multitracked · production
improvisation
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
- polyrhythmOverlapping musical beat patterns
- syncopationStressed unexpected beats
- modalityParticular form or type
chromaticism · counterpoint · voicings · phrasing · harmonics · vamp · ostinato · reharmonization · through-composed · comping
hybrid
Thing of mixed parentage
- crossoverGenre-blending work or transition
- eclecticDeriving from varied sources
- synthesisCombining parts into whole
amalgam · integration · confluence · genre-bending · world music · African rhythms
funky
Rhythmic and soulful
- rhythmicHaving regular tempo
- syncopatedRhythmically accent-shifted
- basslineLow-register musical foundation
tight · pocket · percussive · driving · lock-in · danceable · slap bass · drum machine · backbeat · shuffle
- Jazz FusionWeather Report, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Brand X, Shakti
- music genresblues, pop, rock, classical, rock music
- Cultural Fusionsyncretism, hybridity, creole, mestizo, Tex-Mex
- Black Musicblues, gospel choir, hip hop, R&B, funk
- hybrid genresrock opera, blues rock, folk rock, country rock, pop rock
- fusion artblending, mixing, remixing, blend, hybridization
jazz fusiontraditional jazz
Early American improvised music
bebop · trad jazz · hard bop · New Orleans jazz · Dixieland
fuse, jazz, fusion, fused, jazzy, fusing, fusions, jazzier, jazziness