# Where to start for Jazz Fusion?



## musicaldeath (Mar 22, 2014)

I have always wanted to delve into Jazz and Fusion. I have no real jazz background, the furthest I have ever gotten was lesson 8 or so on Alex Skolnicks dvd. I am just wondering, where do I start? Lets treat this as I have zero jazz background.


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## ElRay (Mar 22, 2014)

Subscribed. Looking to do the same.

Ray


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## ghostred7 (Mar 22, 2014)

When I started playing, there were 2 artists that captivated me: Malmsteen, DiMeola.

Al DiMeola introduced me to all things fusion. What developed it for me was just jamming to Al DiMeola, Return to Forever, Frank Gambale, etc as well (and don't laugh) as doing improv solos over the jazzy local weather music on The Weather Channel (they've opted for poppy crap now).

Learn stranger chords, find ones that transition well, record those, improv leads over those, keep distortion off (or use acoustic).

I don't think there's really a textbook answer, but this is what worked for me.


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## musicaldeath (Mar 22, 2014)

That's pretty much where I am at right now. Listening to a lot of Di Meola right now (especially with that new Beatles cd he did).


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## Mr. Big Noodles (Mar 22, 2014)

Are you looking for guitar music to play, or general fusion to listen to? Allan Holdsworth and Pat Metheny are a good place to start. If you don't know John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, then know them.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire


I posted a link to a bunch of Mahavishnu sheet music a while back: http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/ja...style/200145-mahavishnu-orchestra-scores.html

John McLaughlin also has a bunch of educational stuff out.



I like oldschool fuzak. Not always the most guitar-centric stuff, but you shouldn't limit yourself to just guitar music.

Bubu - El cortejo de un día amarillo


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## source field (Mar 30, 2014)

Jazz to listen to:









Or pretty much any standards

For fusion:


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## HexaneLake (Apr 6, 2014)

Alan Holdsworth fa sho. You'd probably like T.R.A.M. they're kinda fusiony. I've been getting into Al Di Meola lately.


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## cip 123 (Apr 6, 2014)

This is one of my personal favourites, Bill Connors - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvFSvf3cbC0&feature=kp


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## HoneyNut (Apr 16, 2014)

Similar to the thread OP, I'm coming from mostly a rock background (I've been listening to jazz for the same amount of time though) If I stretch and call Guthrie Govan's style fusion, my question is, how does he get those runs to sound 'angular'?

I saw some videos of Tom Quayle on Youtube, and I find his style has this 'angular' sound to his improvisations. 




The run at 0.27 is 'one' example of what I am referring to. Guthrie Govan (Ritchie Kotzen as well) does this alot. 

Can any of you guys tell me how jazz players as such get that sound? Is it simply playing complex chord-tones, the choice of scale, perhaps a mix of both, or is it something specific?

I'd like to know your thoughts on it.


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## Indigenous (Apr 16, 2014)

If you want that sound, transcribe that solo or that lick. I gave it a quick listen and it sounds like he's staying right within the scale tones, aside from a few blue notes. What makes the line interesting is the angular jumps and intervals, so try practicing lines that incorporate that.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 16, 2014)

I tried it. The dorian maj 6th stands out to my ears, obviously. Perhaps I should practice scale sequences in intervals in dorian mode to get that sound...you may correct me.


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## Splinterhead (Apr 21, 2014)

I started out as mainly a rock guy and got interested in the jazz/fusion thing a while ago. As a player you probably would want to start to familiarize yourself with jazz harmony. Lots of great stuff on the net for this. Check out some traditional jazz and also check out some of the modal jazz as well. I also enjoy listening to guitar-less jazz music as it can trigger some cool ideas from other instruments to correlate with the guitar. Since fusion is kind of a mix of many different styles (rock, jazz, funk, metal etc) having an idea of each individual genre has helped me out and given me perspective on all the cool different types of fusion I'm into. (Planet X, Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield, Brett Garsed, Hiromi, Herbie Hancock, Tribal Tech etc)


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## HoneyNut (Apr 21, 2014)

I found this backing track which has some fast chord changes. I've been trying to play the right chord-tones with this exercise track and is quite a fun challenge.

You guys should check this out...cause it's a nice track...and it's been a good beginners' workout for me. How would you jazz players rate this as a workout?


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## metalmonster (May 4, 2014)

Get comfy : 

Greg Howe
Frank Gambale
Allan Holdsworth
John Scofield
Pat Metheny
Frank Zappa
Guthrie Govan
Joe Pass
Wes Montgomery
Steve Lukather
Jonas Hellborg (especially with our friend Mattias, on Art metal) 
Shawn Lane

er... 

that's all i can think of right now.


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## metalmonster (May 4, 2014)

And yeah fusion jam tracks is a pretty good workout.


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## daedae (May 6, 2014)

Tribal Tech and Vital Tech Tones... I think this was the song that really grabbed me and got me interested in fusion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xG8hO7OXZI


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## MeriTone Music (May 16, 2014)

musicaldeath said:


> I have always wanted to delve into Jazz and Fusion. I have no real jazz background, the furthest I have ever gotten was lesson 8 or so on Alex Skolnicks dvd. I am just wondering, where do I start? Lets treat this as I have zero jazz background.



in addition to learning some of those awesome listen refs mentioned already... 

For jazz - learn how to play (and improvise on) a 2-5-1 sequence... and a jazz blues progression as well..(which contains 2-5-1s anyway...) 

Here are some jam tracks for that purpose:

Medium Swing Jazz Practice Backing Track 

Jazz Blues Backing Track (G) 

And a 2-5-1 lick to get you started: 

2-5-1 Jazz Guitar Lick in C Major 



Or try some simple modal tunes like Impressions or So What and just play around with Dorian Mode and chromatic playing... 

So What Groove Backing Track 

And to get more fusion about it... 

Learn some cool scales like the symmetric diminished and play around with them over a beat.... then add the extra dimiension of odd time signatures.. 

Like this one... 

7/4 Fusion Groove Backing Track on E7#9

Have fun


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## musicaldeath (May 17, 2014)

Thanks for all the replies. I have listened to a lot of those guys. My favorites are sax players I think. Trying to transcribe some of that to guitar is fun, and a pain in the ass. But well worth it.


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## Der JD (Jun 3, 2014)

Most of the fusion artists I listen to are already mentioned. Good suggestions. 

I also like Ohm and Ohmphrey (Chis Poland- guitar) and CAB (Tony MacAlpine-guitar, Bunny Brunel-bass). These artists maybe lean a little more on the rock side of things rather than straight-up jazz but undoubtedly fit in the "fusion" category. Monster musicians.


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