2026 Fusion / Jazz Journal Vol. 1

Matrix - Tale of the Whale. 1979 Warner Bros. (LP). Last year I wrote about Harvest, their late era big band jazz rock 1981 album. On Tale of the Whale the Wisconsin based band were still, remarkably it would seem, on a major label. The music is a mix of jazz fusion, funk, and big band. Much more on the jazz side of the equation than Harvest. More soloing as well. No highlights to speak of, though as I listen through, it seems like ECM would have been a better fit for the album. Pleasant though non consequential. The last track has some killer bass work. (2/5)

Robin Crow - Electric Cinema. 1992 Rendezvous (CD). We were in the middle of nowhere Arkansas, and one of the thrift shops had a great deal: 10 CDs for $1. 10 cents a piece for those that struggle at math. I found a few goodies right away, but then I needed to fill in the rest. Then I saw Robin Crow. No idea who he is, but he's featured on the front cover with a double neck guitar. I looked him up and it said he performed CCM - Contemporary Christian Music. Hmmm. After finding nothing else, I reluctantly tossed this on the stack. Much like David Diggs that I featured last year, Crow may be a mover and shaker in the CCM world, but this is no CCM album. It's instrumental jazz fusion all the way. With a progressive rock slant. And none other than fellow Christian music traveler, Kerry Livgren, is one of the participants. One of the tracks is a cover suite - that encompasses Yes, U2, and Pink Floyd. A very well done fusion album. Had Crow brought just a bit more edge to the proceedings I would have kept this. But there's no more room for just very good fusion albums. I have too many as it is. Interesting to note that he thanks Compassion International as a cause he truly supports. Their headquarters is a stone's throw from Casa UMR, and the Mrs. and I run their well maintained dirt trails sometimes. (1/23)

Dixie Dregs - Free Fall. 1977 Capricorn (LP). Dixie Dregs, from Miami, are a band I've chosen not to write about in the past. Their albums come and go through Purple Peak Records, but I can never generate any enthusiasm surrounding them. I don't have a rating on their debut, so might as well at least get some notes down about it. I have an old friend that absolutely adores them, much of it going back to his own youth. Time and place, I talk about that often. I didn't have that history, so there's no nostalgic pull for me. Their albums are something like a jazz fusion hoedown. The musicianship is at a very high level, though I'm not a big Southern rock or Country guy, so the melodic quotient score goes down. That's personal taste versus an issue with the band's approach or performance. I definitely understand why they are popular. I found the second side more preferable. (1/22)

*Horacee Arnold - Tales of the Exonerated Flea. 2011 Wounded Bird (CD) (1974). One of the more heralded of the early 70s heavy fusion albums, drummer Arnold's second and last solo album gathers up some marquee names and let's loose a fiery set of jazz rock tunes. Jan Hammer, John Abercrombie, Rick Laird, Sonny Fortune, Art Webb, Ralph Towner, and many others contribute. The compositions are on the high energy side, which I consider a plus. Track 2 is a banger. I'd heard this album back in the day, but it struck me as rather ordinary fusion. Which it may be, but in the context that was 1974, that's still a high compliment. Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report fans would me amiss not to check it out. CD adds one very good undocumented bonus track, which is more jazz oriented than the fusion based album. (1/5)

The following are jazz albums that I've been finding around town for $1 or less. Not necessarily in my interest wheelhouse, but they make for fine late evening listens. I'm not rating or reviewing these anywhere, since it doesn't seem the right thing to do. I'm keeping some of these for now, though probably not permanent. Any titles that capture my imagination will be rated and elevated to the primary collection. This is an ongoing project.

*Sonny Clark - Leapin' and Lopin'. Blue Note (CD) (1962)

John Coltrane - Stardust. 1997 OJC / Prestige (CD) (1957)

*Miles Davis - Round About Midnight. 2001 Columbia Legacy (CD) (1957)

*Cal Tjader - La Onda Va Bien. 2003 Concord (SACD) (1980) This one I rated. Excellent.

Jack McDuff / Joey DeFrancesco - It's About Time. 2003 Concord (SACD) (1996)

* - Keeping for the collection

2025 Fusion / Jazz Journal Vol. 2

*Frank Zappa - Waka / Jawaka. 1995 Rykodisc (CD) (1972). I've debated putting up a page for Frank Zappa, but I don't think I can do the guy any justice. Everything I have to say about him, I've already documented in another journal entry for the Grand Wazoo album. As his albums roll in here, I think I'll just put them in the journals. Maybe if I compile enough of them, and have something unique to offer, I'll consolidate. In any case, Waka / Jawaka represents one of my favorite albums from Zappa. His first truly jazz rock album, 'Big Swifty' starts the opus off with a bang and never lets up. Though Zappa always had the chops of a jazz player, it's here that the music reflects this the most. It plays more like a Miles Davis album from the same era. My pick is the title track, as Zappa also had a knack for writing wonderful melodies. Of course, this being Zappa, he had to throw in a couple of goofball tracks to prove (endlessly it appears) that he was not a serious fellow all the time. Yea, we got that Frank. Would have been nice for him to show up like a professional jazz rock musician for 40 minutes just once. Oh well. I'll take the 29 and toss the 7. Strangely I have yet to find this on vinyl. When I do, I'll swap out this rather mundane CD reissue that I've owned for many years. (10/20)

*John Coltrane - A Love Supreme. 1996 Impulse (CD) (1965). About every ten years I pull this CD out of my collection for a revisit. I first picked it up at a used shop in Springfield, Illinois while there on business in early 2000. It was a transformational time for me from a career standpoint, and this album came at the perfect time in my life. From the opening notes you know it's a special album. The atmosphere is exhilarating. I'm not sure I'll be creating an artist page for Coltrane because I sense many of his works will be beyond my reach. And even this album goes beyond where I want to be, especially what would be side 2 on the LP. But A1 and A2 is just about perfect. Despite hours of digging, I have yet to luck out finding any Coltrane on LP beyond Ballads, which bizarrely I also found on reel to reel, and is the version I kept. Oh, and that collaboration with Don Cherry that I reported on a couple of years ago (and sold). If I do find A Love Supreme on vinyl, it will be my keeper forever copy, but this tri-fold digipak CD is lovely with a fine short history too. (10/6)

Lonnie Liston Smith - A Song for the Children. 1979 Columbia (LP). I know nothing about Lonnie Liston Smith's solo works, which appears to be my misfortune. Smith's background contains a brilliant resume of sitting in with many jazz A-listers throughout the 60s and early 70s before striking out on his own. And if RYM is accurate, this album seems to be the only one to avoid. Just my luck. But for 69 cents, I can't go wrong. After desecrating my stereo with TKO's Let It Roll, doesn't this sound sweet? I can guess why this album gets the cold shoulder. Disco. At least the first track (and last song as it turns out). Sounds fine to me. This is followed by a softer new age styled jazz. And then onto a jazz funk number. B3 features some beautiful electric guitar, almost Santana-ish. In reading about his more revered albums, A Song For the Children seems to be of a similar style throughout minus the opener and closer. Probably more ear friendly and less edgy. Great keys from Smith augmented by a fine cast. If this is his worst then I'm in for some good music going forward.) (9/4)

Mark Isham - Castalia. 1988 Virgin (LP). A former friend of mine was a huge fan of Mark Isham during this era, but I never derived much from his albums. Maybe now I'll have a different perspective. Nope. Isham exists in the slightly jazz, new age space. Very peaceful late night sounds, with Isham providing muted trumpet. The bass tones are warm and elongated, and the keyboards are plastic. David Torn is here on guitar but you would never know it. Fine album in the genre, but ultimately too sleepy for me. (6/20)

*Matrix - Harvest. 1981 Pablo (LP). As I stated on The 45 Revolution about their last recording from 1982, a very obscure SP: "From Appleton, Matrix had a relatively successful career, obtaining major label releases on both RCA and Warner Bros. I've heard a couple of them, but don't recall the contents and didn't keep either around." Harvest would prove to be their last LP, released under the radar on the jazz imprint Pablo. The music here is one that I've gravitated to of late, that of big band jazz rock. Similar to Buddy Rich and Maynard Ferguson. More towards the former as there aren't any one solo protagonist. The music displayed is complex yet easy on the ears. Anachronistic for 1981, though some of the tones were contemporary. Unique enough album to hold onto I think, and I'll put the 45 in there as well. (6/9)

Jan Garbarek Group - It's OK to Listen to the Gray Voice. 1985 ECM Germany (LP). A few seconds in and I instantly recognized the shimmering tones of David Torn's guitar. While that was a pleasant surprise the album remains in Music Noir mode for its entire length. More ECM Style Jazz targeted to the adults in the room. It's all well and good, but way too sleepy for me. I'd rather hear the legends from the 50s and 60s doing this kind of smoky jazz. (5/20)

Mark Colby - Serpentine Fire. 1978 Tappan Zee / Columbia (LP). Mark Colby's debut comes from a time when it seems every jazz musician, balding or not, got their 40 minutes of fame. This is the Bob James / Jay Chattaway show, bringing together all the same guys you'd here on a Maynard Ferguson album and many others. And the music is similar. To be clear, the music is very pleasant to the ear. In fact this troupe seems to be competing against the CTI guys for who can be the smoothest. Yet this isn't smooth jazz as we know the term via the Kenny G lens. With a name like Serpentine Fire, one might expect an intense fusion. But it's nothing of the sort. I think some more edge would have secured its place in the collection. (5/16)

*David Diggs - Elusion. 1978 Blue Jay (LP). Found this at a thrift shop recently and it looked intriguing. Once I saw it had value on Discogs, I added it to the stack. In hearing it for the first time, the appeal is immediate. Heavy instrumental jazz funk is the music with emphasis on biting electric guitar, electric piano, Moog synthesizer, and creative rhythms. Trumpet, sax, and flute round out the sound. Excellent production too. So who is this guy? He has a lot of solo albums and he's also part of a group called Good News. Contemporary Christian Music that would be. And some of his other works are described as Smooth Jazz. Christian Smooth Jazz is not a magnet for the buyer. But you would never know any of this after seeing and hearing Elusion. It's not message based, and the music is just as good as Donald Byrd in a similar phase. One to look for when you see a Heyseus Creesto drop at the thrift shop. (5/1)

Fuse One - Silk. 1981 CTI (LP). As soon as I saw this at a record store in their buck bin, I knew it was something I'm taking home to check out. It features an all-star cast of jazz fusion luminaries, and there are only four long tracks. Complete with an old fashioned bullet-proof gatefold cover, which had long gone the way of the dodo by 1981. The music didn't disappoint, that of a very smooth funky fusion. Silky as the title suggests. Like an updated mid 70s typical CTI release. Unfortunately it wasn't very distinctive either. This kind of music had been played out already, and this almost seems like a cash-in job for a bunch of jazzers needing some extra revenue. I admire the effort, but it's one too many for my collection at least. (4/21)

*-Keeping for the collection