Fusion & Jazz Rock

1 of 3 Pages     Next ›

Of all the guitar players of the last 40 years, none produce music as confounding yet beautiful as Allan Holdsworth (b. 1946). His blinding speed, fluid legato, impossible intervallic leaps, perplexing chord voicings and unpredictable melodies have made his style one of the most mystifying to guitarists everywhere. Allan Holdsworth was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. His father was a pianist, and thus taught young Allan, who picked up the ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
373 Words Read More

‘Resurrection Shuffle’, 1971 Keyboardist/vocalist Tony Ashton and drummer Roy Dyke were seasoned 1960s beat group musicians who had played behind George Harrison on his Wonderwall Music LP. In 1969, they met bassist Kim Gardner to form AG&D, and had a No. 3 hit with ‘Resurrection Shuffle’. Having recorded three LPs by 1972, nothing else matched ‘Shuffle’’s hit appeal, and the trio – augmented by guitarist Mick Liber – finally split that ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
81 Words Read More

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–present) They were the most famous rock equivalent of a ‘brass band’ – founder member Al Kooper’s own description. With a sensational horn section always high in the mix, 1968’s Child Is Father To The Man established them a musicianly act that was to serve as role model for Colosseum and The Average White Band and the more sophisticated US jazz rock of Weather Report and Return To Forever. ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
192 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, b. 1944) The smooth, sophisticated pop of the enormously successful 1976 album Silk Degrees remains William ‘Boz’ Scaggs’ best-known work. Previously a member of The Steve Miller Band, Scaggs first recorded solo in 1965, but it was his seventh album which brought him widespread acclaim and spawned three hit singles, plus a cover of ‘We’re All Alone’ by Rita Coolidge. His increasingly sporadic output since Silk Degrees has failed ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
91 Words Read More

Multitalented guitarist Carlos Santana was born the son of a mariachi musician in the Mexican town of Autlan de Navarro in 1947. The family moved to Tijuana when he was nine, and Carlos, who first played violin before changing to guitar, became interested in rock’n’roll and blues. At 13, he was earning money playing in cantinas and strip joints. When his family emigrated to San Francisco, he stayed behind to ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
744 Words Read More

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–present) Starting life as politically savvy jazz-rockers Chicago Transit Authority, the horn-backed septet fronted by bassist-vocalist Peter Cetera and keyboardist-vocalist Robert Lamm morphed into soft-rock balladeers in the mid-1970s, thanks to the transatlantic chart-topping ‘If You Leave Me Now’ (1976). Many buyers would not have connected them with brash, brassy early hits like ‘25 Or 6 To 4’ (1970), but change of musical direction ensured the band played on ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
95 Words Read More

(Vocals, b. 1940) Real name John Deighton, Farlowe’s strangled gasps and anguished roars were X-factors of 1966’s ‘Out Of Time’, produced and co-written by Mick Jagger. Its rise to the top in Britain demonstrated that all this north Londoner needed was the right song. Yet even material as sturdy as 1967’s ‘Handbags And Gladrags’ – a hit decades later for Stereophonics – and stints with Atomic Rooster and Colosseum somehow could ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
104 Words Read More

In the early 1980s, as the new wave of British heavy metal was taking the US by storm, an American music revolution called ‘thrash metal’ was brewing, combining the heavy sounds of metal with the unabashed aggression and speed of punk. At the centre of this sonic storm was a young quartet called Megadeth, which featured the lightning-fast yet fluid lead licks of guitarist Chris Poland (b. 1957). Though best known ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
387 Words Read More

Southern blues-rock guitarist Dickey Betts was born in West Palm Beach, Florida in 1943. Betts was leading a group called The Second Coming when he met and jammed with the other members of what soon became The Allman Brothers Band. His role as second lead guitarist and his partnership with Duane Allman gave the band their trademark dual-lead sound, which was captured at its most potent on The Allmans’ seminal double ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
404 Words Read More

(Vocal/instrumental group, 1966–73) In 1967, Family became popular on London’s ‘underground’ circuit. Not the least of their distinctions was singer Roger Chapman’s nanny-goat vibrato (which you either liked or you did not) other stalwarts were Charlie Whitney (guitar) and Rob Townsend (drums). UK Top 30 singles ‘No Mule’s Fool’, ‘Strange Band’, ‘In My Own Time’ and ‘Burlesque’ were but a surface manifestation of Family’s entries into the album lists, of which ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
95 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, 1940–93) In 1964, Zappa formed The Mothers Of Invention, whose albums resembled pop-Dada aural junk-sculptures made from an eclectic heap that, laced with outright craziness, included 1950s pop, jazz, schmaltz and the pioneering tonalities of Stravinsky, Varèse and Webern. However, Zappa’s intense concern over social issues was never so stifled by burlesque that it could not be taken seriously. 1968’s We’re Only In It For The Money was a ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
182 Words Read More

Blues and hard-rock guitarist Gary Moore was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1952. He began playing the acoustic guitar at the age of eight, acquiring his first electric model at 14. Moore learned to play right-handed, despite being naturally left-handed. In 1969, he joined Skid Row, an Irish blues-rock group that featured Phil Lynott on vocals. When the latter was sacked, Moore took over as singer of the slimmed-down power ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
419 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, b. 1944) Regarded as one of Britain’s finest rock guitarists, Beck left The Yardbirds in 1968 to form The Jeff Beck Group, initially featuring Rod Stewart on vocals. The band’s second incarnation made two ground-breaking albums that mixed rock and pop with jazz and R&B. In 1972, the guitarist became part of the short-lived power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice before making an all-instrumental jazz-fusion album Blow By Blow ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
162 Words Read More

Considered one of modern jazz guitar’s ‘big three’ guitarists – along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell – John Scofield (b. 1951) is also one of the most versatile players of his generation. Conversant in fusion and hard bop as well as in the heady grooves of the jam-band scene, his stew of blues and jazz mixed with post-bop and funk-edged jazz and delivered in angular yet fluid phrases is one ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
412 Words Read More

With his work as a studio player and as a prolific solo and guest artist, Larry Carlton (b. 1948) has long been known as a guitarist’s guitarist. Carlton has won three Grammys for his performances and compositions. Carlton started learning to play guitar when he was six years old. He warmed to jazz in high school and was influenced by Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel and B.B. King. Saxophonist John ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
375 Words Read More
1 of 3 Pages     Next ›

AUTHORITATIVE

An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...

CURATED

Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.

Rock, A Life Story

Rock, A Life Story

The ultimate story of a life of rock music, from the 1950s to the present day.

David Bowie

David Bowie

Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers his life, music, art and movies, with a sweep of incredible photographs.