Jazz Fusion: A Primer
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009My current music obsession is jazz fusion. This genre got its start in the late 1960′s; many cite Miles Davis’ “In a Silent Way” as the first “fusion” album. So, what is it? In short, jazz mixed with a little rock and a little funk. Of course, there are variations. Some say fusion is “electric” [...]
Artist Profile: Herbie Hancock
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008One of my favorite musical artists of all time is the jazz legend, Herbie Hancock. Herbie began his music career in the early 1960′s when Miles Davis was putting together his “Second great quintet”. Prior to working with Miles Davis, Herbie was a piano prodigy with a good amount of playing and performance experience under [...]
Alan’s Essential Jazz Recordings Part 1
Friday, July 18th, 2008Jazz is one of those topics that people are either completely ambivalent about, or completely passionate about. Even if you’re one of those ambivalent types towards jazz, there are so many great recordings out there. These are recordings that have inspired newer music from genres as varied as hip hip to rock music. In fact, [...]

