Exactly what is fusion jazz? I pose that question to myself whenever it’s time to glance back at the year just ended and consider what are that year’s best releases from that idiom. It’s not nearly as monolithic of a music form as one might think, and the sheer diversity presented in the list below makes that abundantly clear.
What I end up pigeonholing as fusion is jazz-ish music that really doesn’t fit in the ‘modern and mainstream’ or ‘avant-garde/experimental’ categories. That’s why this is the last of my four-part retrospective: it’s a catch-all for all the great music in the broader jazz realm that’s left over when those other sub-genres have been considered. Given the relative length of this list, it looks like there were plenty of records that I reviewed that got tossed into this ‘uncategorizable’ bin. There’s a record for every corner of fusion, from minimalism, to funk-jazz to jam band.
Click through the album titles to read the full reviews.
BEST OF 2018 ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin – Awase: The first time I heard this record, I wasn’t even considering putting this on any list. By the third listen, I knew I found my Album of the Year and the year wasn’t even half over at the time.
Presenting a somewhat revamped Ronin, Awase introduces a new bassist (Thomy Jordi) and for the first time does without a percussionist. At first blush, stripping down the rhythmic tools seems a bad strategy for the progenitors of ritual groove music, but the suddenly quartet adjusts beautifully, resorting to subtle ingenuity to give their music a firm push down the evolutionary path. There are the exhilarating buildups and releases that they’re always known for (“Modul 36”) alongside pieces that suggest a revitalizing way forward (“Modul 59”).
Losing yourself in these performances is how you figure out just how Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin is disruptive to the understood ways contemporary music is made. Sometimes, improving ritual groove music involves altering the ritual a bit.
BEST OF 2018: THE BEST OF THE REST
The Chick Corea + Steve Gadd Band – Chinese Butterfly: Corea and Gadd break no new ground but in this case, that can be completely forgiven. They cover old ground with such vigor, inspiration and mastery that makes this album just as essential in 2018 as it would have been in 1978.
Claudio Scolari, Daniele Cavalca, Simone Scolari – Natural Impulse: Like Claudio Scolari and Daniele Cavalca’s prior projects, you could call ‘Natural Impulse’ “jazz” for a number of reasons but in the end it just sounds like two (sometimes three) guys following their instincts to make music that’s both unpredictable and inviting. And they have only gotten better at doing that.
The Necks – Body: Sounding very much like themselves while incrementally reinventing themselves, The Necks’ constant tweaking of their formula keeps the music fresh and full of fascination. ‘Body’ nudges the band forward on their long, highly rewarding journey.
Rob Dixon Trio, with Charlie Hunter and Mike Clark – Coast To Crossroads: Here is funk-jazz that’s the best because it comes from the best.
Circles Around the Sun – Let It Wander: Is it jazz-rock fusion or just instrumental jam-rock? Such descriptions are superfluous when the music connects as Let It Wander does.
Sonar with David Torn – Vortex: No adjustment was necessary for this new collaboration, because Sonar or David Torn complement each other uncommonly well on Vortex.
Rogério Boccato Quarteto – No Old Rain: Calling this band “Rogério Boccato Quarteto” instead of the “Rogério Boccato Quartet” serves notice that this is Brazilian jazz music and No Old Rain is a very good celebration of that music.
Kait Dunton – trioKAIT 2: Dunton goes electric with this album and she quickly figures how to use those plugged-in keyboards along with her tight rhythm unit to evoke the golden era of adventurous fusion.
Anders Aarum – Shakin’ Our Souls: Pulling together world rhythms, textural shapes and free range playing against the backdrop of modern jazz, Aarum has found a unique voice that’s as attractive as it is distinctive.
Aaron Parks – Little Big: Aaron Parks’ progressively minded Little Big might not be the direction jazz is currently headed, but it should be.
Harriet Tubman – The Terror End of Beauty: Harriet Tubman continues with the lofty ideas found on 2017’s Araminta, and one ups it with deeper experimentations into rhythms.
Makaya McCraven – Universal Beings: Like his breakthrough album In The Moment, Universal Beings is a handmade mishmash of sounds that isn’t alien, but is never completely familiar, either.
Dave Douglas – UPLIFT, Twelve Pieces For Positive Action: Every Dave Douglas endeavor has an ample amount of ambition behind it, but with an A+ roster of musicians and bound by a clear sense of purpose, few of his records have more driving it than this one.
Adam Hopkins – Crickets: Adam Hopkins is one of the few talents with the vision to make jazz directed at the current and future generations, not the past ones.
< S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2018 (Avant-Garde & Experimental)
- Nick Millevoi – ‘Moon Pulses’ (2024) - April 23, 2024
- Cannonball Adderley – ‘Poppin’ in Paris: Live at L’Olympia 1972′ (2024) - April 20, 2024
- Christian Marien Quartett – ‘How Long Is Now’ (2024) - April 18, 2024
