Origins of acid jazz and fusion music

The early origins of the genre relate to a 1970s funk revival movement initiated in the discos of England in the mid 1980s. This revival movement was called Northern Soul. In this movement, DJs competed against each other to find the rarest grooves mainly from forgotten 70s soul and funk.

There are various legends running of how the name Acid Jazz was created. Gilles Peterson is normally credited for having invented the "acid jazz" name, when a fellow DJ showed Peterson a new Acid House record that had just been released. When he showed the record to Gilles Peterson, he replied, "if that is Acid House, then this is Acid Jazz".Listen to acid jazz and fusion music on youtube and remember you can also use some tools to save the songs to your Computer : search youtube music downloader with Google.

Acid jazz music in the international context

In the United States notable acid-jazz groups have included Groove Collective and Solsonics; although during the 1990s the major contributions from the US related to jazz dance were predominantly in jazz house (from labels such as 8 Ball Records) and jazz rap, particularly by artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, De la Soul, and the Jungle Brothers. From Japan, notable artists included United Future Organization who released 'I Love my Baby: My Baby Loves Jazz' as well as a cover of Grady Tate's 'Moondance'; another prominent artist from Japan was the female vocalist, Monday Michiru.I suggest you to watch youtube music videos about acid jazz because there are many great tracks to listen.

From the UK, Repercussions who had a top hit, Promise me nothing. Other more recent artists and groups who have produced music in this genre include Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Mother Earth, Mr. Scruff, Visit Venus, Praful, and Down to the Bone:

Jazz fusion

Jazz fusion (sometimes referred to simply as fusion) is a musical genre that loosely encompasses the merging of jazz with other styles, particularly rock, funk, R&B, electronic music and world music. It basically involved jazz musicians mixing the forms and techniques of jazz with the electric instruments of rock, and rhythmic structure from African-American popular music, both "soul" and "rhythm and blues". The 1970s were the most important decade for fusion, but the style has been well represented also during later decades. Fusion albums — often even those that are made by the same artist — include a variety of musical styles. It can be argued that rather than being a coherent musical style, fusion is a musical tradition and approach.  

Contemporary jazz fusion

Although the meaning of "fusion" has often been confused with the advent of "smooth jazz", a number of groups helped to revive the jazz fusion genre beginning in the mid-to-late 1980's. Many of the most well-known fusion artists of late were members of earlier jazz fusion groups. Many prominent fusion musicians are recognized as having a high level of virtuosity, allowing for compositions and musical improvisation in complex time signatures and metres rarely seen in other Western musical forms, perhaps best recognized in the work of jazz composers Dave Brubeck and Don Ellis. Fusion music generally receives almost no broadcast airplay in the U.S., owing perhaps to its often complexity, usual lack of vocals, and often extended track lengths.

Most notable of the more recent jazz fusion bands are Tribal Tech, led by Scott Henderson, a guitarist who did lengthy stints with the Chick Corea Elektric Band and The Zawinul Syndicate, and Allan Holdsworth, another guitarist who traces his fusion roots as far back as Soft Machine and the New Tony Williams Lifetime. Tribal Tech's most common lineup features the bassist Gary Willis, keyboardist Scott Kinsey, and drummer Kirk Covington - Willis and Kinsey have both recorded solo fusion projects. Henderson has also been featured on fusion recordings by drummer Steve Smith of Vital Information, which also include bassist Victor Wooten of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, under the banner Vital Tech Tones.

Allan Holdsworth's recordings of the late 1980's often featured the SynthAxe guitar synthesizer, and Holdsworth has continued to release well-regarded fusion recordings and tour on a regular basis, often with the drummers Chad Wackerman (of Frank Zappa fame), Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa/Sting) or Gary Husband, who have also released fusion records and/or toured under their own names. Another former Soft Machine guitarist, Andy Summers (of The Police), released several fusion albums in the 1990's.

The late saxophonist Bob Berg, who originally came to prominence as a member of Miles Davis' bands, recorded a number of fusion albums with Mike Stern, who was also a member of Miles' bands of the 1980's. The Berg/Stern collaborations are generally found as solo albums under Berg's or Stern's name, often featuring the drummer Dennis Chambers, who has also recorded his own fusion albums. Stern plays regularly in New York City and tours worldwide. Chambers has also been part of other fusion projects including CAB, led by bassist Bunny Brunel and featuring guitarist and keyboardist Tony MacAlpine. MacAlpine's guitar is part of the progressive fusion group Planet X, featuring the work of keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Virgil Donati.

Another former member of Miles Davis' bands of the 1980's that has released a number of fusion recordings is saxophonist Bill Evans, including 1992's Petite Blonde. Drummer Jack DeJohnette's "Parallel Realities" band featuring fellow Miles alumni Dave Holland and Herbie Hancock, along with Pat Metheny, recorded and toured in 1990, highlighted by a DVD of a live performance at the Mellon Jazz Festival in Philadelphia. Jazz bassist Christian McBride released two fusion recordings drawing from the jazz-funk idiom in "Sci-Fi" (2000) and "Vertical Vision" (2003). Another bassist, Jonas Hellborg, has released a number of fusion recordings over the past decade-plus, some featuring the late guitar virtuoso Shawn Lane.

In the United States fusion music can be most often heard live in Southern California, while the genre also maintains an even stronger following in Europe and Japan.