FUSION CLIPS

      Here are some clips of fusion bands mostly. However I will also be including some progressive rock outfits and some straight-ahead jazz combos as well. Most artists and bands hate to have labels put on them, so I won't label them either. Suffice it to say that these musicians are among the best that are out there !!  Enjoy !  And as I have asked before, please don't copy and post them elsewhere like Youtube or Myspace ! Thanks ! ....the drumminfool

Selection 1 - a clip of Vulcan Worlds by Return to Forever with Chick Corea, Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White from 1974's show Soundstage.

Selection 2 - a piece entitled 777 by the Conrad Shrenk Extravaganza featuring Thomas Lang on drums.

Selection 3 - This is the band CAB whose line-up for this piece consisted of Bunny Brunel, Tony McAlpine, Virgil Donati, and Patrice Rushen from the Musicians Institute. Other members have included Dennis Chambers and Brian Auger. The song is the self-titled CAB.

Selection 4 - Here we have the Gentle Hearts tour from 2004 in Japan. The band features Tetsuo Sakurai on bass, Greg Howe on guitar, Dennis Chambers on drums and Akira Onozuka  on keys. The song is called Maximum.

Selection 5 - Next is a solo by the late great Jaco Pastorious on bass when he was playing with Weather Report on the German TV show Rockpalast in 1978. The tune is entitled Portrait of Tracy but Jaco incorporates bits of Them Changes, Stand, the Mary Tyler Moore theme, and Hendrix's Third Stone from the Sun into it.

Selection 6 - This clip is also from the same Rockpalast concert by Weather Report featuring Joe Zawinul, Jaco, Wayne Shorter, and Peter Erskine. the song is called River People.

Selection 7 - the great Dutch quartet Focus is featured here from 1973 on the Old Grey Whistle Test show. Thys Van Leer, Jan Akkerman, Pierre Van der Linden, and Bert Ruiter play the tune Anonymous.

Selection 8 - a personal favorite prog band, this is Gentle Giant from the BBC Sight and Sound concert from Jan. 1978. The band features brothers Derek and Ray Shulman, Kerry Minnear, John Weathers and Gary Green. Each band member played several instruments and would often switch during a song which I've never seen duplicated since. This song is called On Reflection.

Selection 9 - Montreal, Canada produced a famous fusion band called UZEB . Here they are from the 1990 Montreal Jazz Festival with members Alain Caron, Michel Cusson, Paul Brochu, and Michel Cyr. The show graphics call the tune Ubez, but I'm not sure if that's correct or not. Their discography lists no song title by that name, but there is one named Uzeb Club. I'm not familiar enough with their music to know which is correct so e-mail me if you know .

Selection 10 - Our next selection is from a band that has had many members pass thru its ranks during the past two decades or so. It's STEPS AHEAD , and this version features Steve Smith, Mike Mainieri, Rachel Z, Bendik, Jimi Tunell, and Eddie Gomez . This clip was recorded in 1990 and the song is entitled The Only World We Know.

Selection 11 - this clip comes to us from Tokyo, Japan in 1981. It stars the GREAT QUARTET featuring Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams with special guest Dizzy Gillespie. All you fellow drummers should check Tony out on this one ! The piece is Monk's Rhythm-A-Ning.

Selection 12 - Here we have the Stanley Clarke band performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977 . The band includes Gerry Brown on drums and Ray Gomez on guitar as they perform School Days.

Selection 13 - this performance features what is probably the premier fusion band from Japan, PRISM, in their reunion gig from Club Citta in 2004. The tune is entitled Beneath the Sea.

Selection 14 - this is a performance featuring my friend and drum teacher Kenwood "Woody" Dennard on drums along with Delmar Brown on keys when they were gigging under the name ONCOMING HORIZONS. This was recorded in 1978 at Brooklyn College, NY. I don't know the name of the piece.

Selection 15 - this is the Jeff Beck Band live from Ronnie Scott's In London 2007 . This opening tune is Eternity's Breath/Stratus which are tunes by the Mahavishnu Orchestra 2 and Billy Cobham. Tal Wilkenfeld is on bass, Vinny Coliauta is on drums and Jason Rebello is on keys.