''Fusion'' (also released as ''Something Else'') is a double LP album by American jazz flautist
released on the
Groove Merchant
Groove Merchant was an American jazz and R&B record label during the 1970s. It was run by producer Sonny Lester and distributed by Pickwick Records. Notable artists included Chick Corea, O'Donel Levy, Buddy Rich, Jimmy McGriff, Lonnie Smith a ...
label which reissues tracks recorded in 1970 and originally issued on ''
Energy
Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...
'' along with an additional LP of unreleased tracks from the session.
[Jazzlists: Groove Merchant Records 2200 Series](_blank)
accessed April 17, 2018
, accessed April 20, 2018
Reception
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Jason Ankeny said: "Steig creates Technicolor grooves that float like butterflies and sting like bees. His music doesn't so much fuse jazz and rock as it approaches each side from the perspective of the other, exploring their respective concepts and executions to arrive at a sound all its own. If anything, the tonal restrictions of Steig's chosen instrument push him even farther into the unknown, employing a series of acoustic and electronic innovations to expand the flute's possibilities seemingly into the infinite. While some of the unissued content here is no less astounding, as a whole ''Fusion'' feels like too much of a good thing; one can't help but miss the focus and shape of ''Energy'' in its original incarnation".
Track listing
All compositions by Jan Hammer and Jeremy Steig except where noted
# "Home" − 4:39 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Cakes" − 4:52 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Swamp Carol" − 4:11 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Energy" (Hammer, Steig, Don Alias, Gene Perla) − 4:50 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Down Stretch" (Hammer) − 4:14 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Give Me Some" − 6:47 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Come with Me" − 8:02 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Dance of the Mind" (Alias, Steig) − 2:22 Originally released on ''Energy''
# "Up Tempo Thing" − 5:23 Previously unreleased
# "Elephant Hump" − 5:54 Previously unreleased
# "Rock #6" (Hammer) − 3:03 Previously unreleased
# "Slow Blues in G" − 6:33 Previously unreleased
# "Rock #9" (Hammer) − 5:50 Previously unreleased
# "Rock #10" (Hammer) − 4:14 Previously unreleased
# "Something Else" − 7:02 Previously unreleased
Personnel
* – flute
The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, alto flute
The alto flute is an instrument in the Western concert flute family, pitched below the standard C flute and the uncommon flûte d'amour. It is the third most common member of its family after the standard C flute and the piccolo. It is chara ...
, bass flute
The bass flute is a member of the flute family pitched one octave below the concert flute. The tubing length is twice as long at , which requires a J-shaped head joint to bring the embouchure hole within reach of the player. Despite its name ...
, piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
*Jan Hammer
Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He rose to prominence while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as with his film scores for television an ...
− electric piano
An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...
, Chinese gong
A gongFrom Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and are circular and fl ...
*Gene Perla
Gene Perla (born March 1, 1940) is an American jazz bassist.
Career
At the Berklee School of Music and the Boston Conservatory Perla concentrated on piano before moving to double bass. In 1969 he spent one year as a member of the Woody Herman Or ...
− electric bass
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale leng ...
, electric upright bass
The electric upright bass (EUB) is an instrument that can perform the musical function of a double bass.
It requires only a minimal or 'skeleton' body to produce sound because it uses a pickup and electronic amplifier and loudspeaker. Therefore, ...
*Don Alias
Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 – March 28, 2006) was an American jazz percussionist.
Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was also a capable drum kit performer. He played drums on the song "Miles Runs the V ...
– drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, congas
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...
, clap drums, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
*Eddie Gómez
Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977.
Biography
Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...
− electric upright bass (tracks 5 & 7)
References
{{Authority control
Groove Merchant albums
Jeremy Steig albums
1972 albums
Albums produced by Sonny Lester
Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios