On Tue, 6 May 2008 13:19:27 -0700 (PDT), RS
gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, 2 May 2008 13:14:07 -0700 (PDT), zepflo...@
yahoo.com wrote:
>>>> On Thu, 1 May 2008 20:08:56 -0700 (PDT), Raja
gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:>>
>>>>>lyrics? Since when was prog rock about lyrics?
>>
>>>> You MUST be deranged. Prog rock without lyrics is then jazz / fusion.
>>
>>>Prog rock and Jazz fusion are in fact quite opposite. Prog rock is
>>>composition oriented, Jazz Fusion is improvisation oriented. The only
>>>thing they have in common is they have a hard rock element in them.
>>
>> Then you have not listened to '70s King Crimson, Univers Zero, Art
>> Zoyd, Weather Report, Brand X or countless other bands / musicians
>> that make those boundaries go poof in the final analysis.
>>
>> Prog rock "generally" has some sort of lyrics - overall - but not
>> necessarily so. Jazz / fusion has been cubbyholed by great
>> musicianship without lyrical representation. Plenty of jazz musicians
>> have played in prog bands and vice versa.
>>
>> There's more in common than meets the eye - or is that ear?
>
>I doubt that very much...the two areas cover different harmonic
>areas as well as Jazz areas. Jazz Fusion more often has a blues scale
>leaning whereas prog rock tries to cover a larger spectrum closer
>to classical music. I'm not saying Fusion is bad but once you study
>music theory, you can see that prog as we can know it (Yes, Magma,
>Univers Zero, Gong) tend to go off in other modes. The rhythmic areas
>are also different. Fusion has more of a World Music feel to it,
>whereas Prog Rock has more of a rock influence.
Yes, and prog has the Mellotron while fusion employs the Rhodes piano.
--- :^) hehehehe
If we get into music theory, you have me hands down as a non-music
major student. Computers & business, well that's a bit different.
(Bad pun)
But, having listened to plenty of both, I can see some overlap in some
areas. McLaughlin played in different scales and it often appeared as
world music. Holdsworth can hold his own in both prog and fusion,
such as Bruford's solo works and with J.L. Ponty. Some of which could
be considered prog, if the stigma were reduced.
I do agree about the classical connection and that may be out of "prog
formula" or truly original. Gentle Giant's work is like that to me -
original, with few if any predecessors. Others like Yes use the
classical suite motif frequently. ELP can also be considered
borderline fusion / jazz and of course, King Crimson's various
versions show us that improv isn't the only domain of the jazz
aficionado.
I also agree that some fusion artists tend to shape themselves around
their heritage - like Al Dimeola - but some of "Casino" is pretty
rocking as well as his work with Jan Hammer. Hammer is a great
example of cross-over work, especially with Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu or
his duet with Jerry Goodman.
Some of Miles' early '70s works could almost be rock-like, but still
retain that jazz feel.
>Regarding Emerson -- I'm a lifelong fan. He has scored several films
>recently. I was just listening to his "Emerson Plays Emerson" piano
>CD (2002) several
>times in the last week. There are some great recent pieces on there.
>Also, check out his performance on the recent Moogfest DVD. He
>did that about a year ago and it was impressive, and a lot of new
>twists. The constant raves about ELP in YouTube videos attest
>to his enduring appreciation.
No argument there. He was a talented keyboardist - I don't know about
his present state of playing, so I cannot comment on it. Some have
considered him the "Hendrix" of keyboards. His varied playing styles
may also attest to that, because, like Hendrix, he always seemed to
want to expand the horizons.
Good discussion...
