Re: Fusion

Andrew Everard Stapleton ( andrews@magna.com.au )
Fri, 7 Feb 1997 03:21:02 +1100 (EST)

Seeing the subject of fusion came up I have a question or two that people
could talk to. (Actualy peoples defenition of fusion confuses me a little
too. I can see how some thing like John McLaughlin and Thrilok Gurtu on
Tablar is fusion but a reviewer described John Scofiled, who played here in
Sydney last week, as fusion. Dunno what he is fused with. Sorry, a compleat
digresion)

My question relates to the music on albums like Agharta and Pangaea by Miles
Davis in 75. Some Weather Report to. This is where a number of the musicians
are playing in different times, one in 4/4, one in 6/8 another in 7/4 and
changing as they move through the piece. I can follow what is happening,
count out the guitar or drums etc, but i can't see the method behind it. Are
there some standard rules that they are working by or did the composer put
the patterns together when he wrote it? Or for that matter is each musician
working of his own bat?

What about different methods of mixing them? Say drums in 4/4 and base in
5/4 and both at the same beats per min. so that at every 5 bars you match
your first beat. Or at different speeds so that the bars are of equal duration.

If anyone has some insight or can recomend some reading it would be good.

Thanks, Andrew.


Data is not information,
Information is not knowlegde,
Knowledge is not wisdom. Anon.