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“‘Jazz Fusion,’ or Jazz-as-Fusion?” with Kwami Coleman
The term “jazz fusion” tells us a lot and very little at the same time. Within the context of jazz history, “fusion” always points to a particular era in American music – the late 1960s – where jazz and rock, funk, soul, and other “foreign” musical influences were alchemically combined in the spirit of artistic exploration and in defiance of entrenched genre boundaries. “Jazz fusion” also points to a radical shift in sound, from the almost exclusively acoustic to new, amplified and electric instruments and effects. Overall, “jazz fusion” tends to represent a departure from the established jazz tradition, viewed by some as a matter of progress and creative development and viewed by others as a gross aberration, marking a serious decline in the artistry and quality forged by jazz musicians up to that point. In this presentation, we will take a look at this controversial legacy by asking whether the term “jazz fusion” actually means anything in the first place.
Is there really such a thing as “jazz fusion” or might we instead consider the entirety of the jazz tradition as one of constant stylistic fusion? Why did the combination of jazz with popular music like rock, funk, and soul represent such a dramatic departure when most of the tunes now known as “jazz standards” originate largely from pre-1960s Broadway musicals, Hollywood movies, and the pop hit parade? What might thinking about jazz as a tradition of stylistic fusion tell us about our post-1960s American culture and the different ethnic, racial, class, and gender identities involved therein? Is jazz-as-fusion still happening today?
Kwami Coleman is a Ph.D. candidate in musicology at Stanford University. A Harlem native, Kwami attended the famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts in New York City, and completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies at the City University of New York while maintaining a career as a professional pianist in New York City. From 2002-2007, Kwami was employed by Jazz at Lincoln Center as both an artists’ liaison and a pianist for the early-childhood centered WeBop! music class series. Since moving to California, Kwami has worked as a music journalist in addition to his advanced studies, and is currently teaching jazz history at the Jazzschool in Berkeley.
Free with MoAD Admission
