Of all the jazz sub-genres it’s easy to figure that fusion not only gets maligned the most frequently, but it also deserves it. Verbose musicians indulging themselves for twenty minutes at a time and endlessly meandering through self fulfilling solos won’t always be able to sustain an audience - and it shouldn’t.

Listed below are a few things expected on a compendium of this nature, but also a few that warrant a bit more attention. It would of course be impossible to compose a piece on fusion without mentioning these folks, but some of the most lauded works in the genre really do need to be rethought.

Gabor Szabo – The Sorcerer (1967)
Oddly ignored, Szabo, a Hungarian ex-pat arrived on the west coast of the States searching for something the he perceived to be there as a result of the changing times of the ‘60s. He certainly didn’t find it – nor did he find the fame that should have welcomed him. But over his career, working with Charles Lloyd and a few other notable folks, this guitarist was able to incorporate some zesty fervor into jazz with his addition of rock tropes to the whole deal. Recorded live at the Jazz Workshop, there enough surprising guitar noises wrenched from Szabo’s instrument to ward off any of the more problematic trappings the genre.

Miles Davis – Big Fun (1969)
Yea, Miles has to be on here. There’s absolutely no way in which to discuss fusion – or jazz – without him at this point. But where most would tend to include Bitches Brew in lieu of his other efforts here, Big Fun, which is actually a compilation that was culled from sessions around the time of his opus, comes off a bit better. Neither this, nor Bitches Brew sound too focused, but the band here is arguably more funky. Tossing this disc on really seems like more of a pleasurable deal at this point, if for nothing else other than the fact of giving that other, better known effort a rest for a while.

Larry Coryell - Spaces (1969)
Still recording and touring today, Coryell never attained the same stature as some of his contemporaries – he also sang a bit here and there, which is pretty unforgivable. But on this date, accompanied by John McLaughlin, Spaces never reaches a point where it sounds dated or bloated – a rare achievement amongst fusion efforts. At points Spaces might just sound like late ‘60s RnR, but that was kinda the point.

Mahavishnu Orchestra – The Inner Mounting Flame (1971)
John McLaughlin came to prominence in the UK prior to working out on Davis’ more popular electric efforts of the ‘60s. And after gaining an international fan base, struck out on his own with this group. Out of Mahavishnu’s earlier catalog there are moments of transcendental speed and accuracy not met with again in the genre. Of course, that doesn’t mean that this wasn’t all self congratulatory wankery. But when you can play the guitar like McLaughlin, spouting off every once in a while is warranted.