[heffergm]

I'm looking to pick up some fusion, but need to start out slower than guys like DiMeola and Gambale, unless of course they've done some tunes that you can think of that don't have insane fast runs in them... my picking speed blows to say the least.

Any suggestions?

[Apophis]

Welcome To The Official Derryl Gabel Website

[kmanick]

Pick up some Greg Howe
"Introspection" "Parallax" and "Uncertain Terms" are the 3 most approachable
Cd's he has, he's gotten "jazzier" with his more recent releases.
And prepare to be humbled


Seriously these 3 CD's completely changed my approach to playing lead
and improvising. They opened my eys to a bunch of shapes and phrases
I never would've thought of using on my own.

[Maniacal]

Zone by Allan Holdsworth.

[distressed_romeo]

'Home' and 'Tokyo Dream' are two other great Holdsworth ones to learn. Also, try 'Little Shoes' or 'Goodbye Again' by Mike Stern.

[Seedawakener]

I'd suggest "Chicken" for a first song. its probably hte most standard fusion song, and really fun to improvise over!

[distressed_romeo]

'Protocol' by John Scofield is another good choice. The head's a bit of a finger-twister, but the whole thing's based on a one-chord vamp, so it's a fun one to improvise over.

[scott from _actual time_]

Originally Posted by heffergm

I'm looking to pick up some fusion, but need to start out slower than guys like DiMeola and Gambale....

there are lots of different styles of playing and music that are all called "fusion," so i'd suggest you listen to soundclips as much as you can to figure out what you like.

there's lots of great instrumental jazz-influenced electric stuff like Holdsworth. there's lots of grooving electric stuff like Tribal Tech and John McLaughlin's 90s band The Heart of Things. there are many 80s shredders now playing instrumental rock that some people consider fusion, like Greg Howe and Tony MacAlpine. there are also some great jazz-influenced jam bands like Hellborg/Lane/Sipe. and there's still fusion in the jazz+rock style that originally spawned the term in the late 60s/early 70s--jazz played on electric instruments, like Miles Davis and his band did it on In A Silent Way and Bitches' Brew. and it's all called fusion, so listening to some of the different types will help you figure out what kind of stuff you like.

[Uber Mega]

Learn a few licks from Guthrie Govan and Dave Martone, really helped me when I was first getting into learning fusion.

[jacksonplayer]

Most fusion guitarists play some pretty fast chops-oriented stuff, so there aren't too many choices out there without that.

One guy to look into would be Larry Carlton. He might just be the best 'melodic' fusion player ever and doesn't go apeshit with the fast picking or weirdo scales etc. Anyone could learn a lot from studying his approach to phrasing and subtlety. My favorite album of his is his late '80s album "Last Nite", which features a small jazz combo doing some cool funky/jazzy stuff that isn't as "Muzak" as some of his more recent outings. Also, he recorded a scorching live album with Steve Lukather a couple of years ago that features excellent--and approachable--soloing from both guys.

Another "non-chops" fusion album to check out is Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow." Learn the amazing phrasing and nuances of those leads, and you will be very well set, indeed. Probably better equipped to play with other jazz musicians than you would be if you strictly learned to play crazy shit like Shawn Lane etc.

Somebody mentioned Scofield, and that's probably a good choice too. He's got chops, but he doesn't get into shredder territory.

Now that I've become a fusion player myself over the last couple of years and gotten away from metal, I find myself mostly listening to horn players for inspiration. That's where most of the 1st generation great fusion guitarists got it from, and you can get endless years of inspiration just by listening to John Coltrane and Miles Davis do their thing.