fusion and prog

[uzeb2]

Originally posted by Avian


Just to name one, Bill Bruford is a trained jazz drummer - his drumming on Yes and King Crimson albums is very jazzy. When he joined Yes (answered an ad) he thought he was indeed joining a jazz band! Burford's Earthworks, his long-running jazz ensemble, would seem to give your theory pause.

Avian

And one of the reasons he left Yes was because he was getting bored. This jazz trained drummer went on to the more challenging projects with Earthworks.

Don't get me wrong. The guys in Yes are great musicians and songwriters. But they cannot play jazz.

Jazz is a whole different world of scales and chords. Usually a person has to train for years before they can play it. Ask any guitar player and I'm sure almost all will agree that jazz guitar is the hardest to play.

This is why I made the statement that many rock musicians cannot play jazz, while all jazz musicians could play rock, no problem. The improvising in rock is elementary compared to jazz.

It is true that much of the progressive rock out there has jazz elements. This is either by rock guys who have picked up a few jazz licks here and there, or it's by jazz-trained musicians who have opted for a more rock sounding style (fusion).

And speaking of drummers, Neil Peart, probably the best rock drummer in the world, stated that his tribute to Buddy Rich project was the most challenging he ever had.