jazz fusion Archives - 97.3 wrir - Richmond Independent Radio

Today I’m lugging in some of my favorite jazz fusion records from my collection. I recently did a set including some of these tracks at Plan 9 Records, recorded onto my 404mkii. But today I’m pulling directly from the source! I haven’t DJed with vinyl since high school, so we’ll see how it goes.

Fusion (especially 70’s-era fusion) has been one of my favorite genres of music since I began collecting vinyl. I was hooked on the trifecta of The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever and Weather Report (along with having my parents’ Headhunters record on repeat). I spread out from that starting point and discovered a lot of great music. A lot of these records were either very cheap or straight out of the dollar bin, hence the title. In 2009 I made a similar set that you can listen to on my Mixcloud. I hope you enjoy this new crash course.

Tedikuma’s playlist:

EXT SRC 18 / The Dollar Bin / 06.26.24 »

Tedikuma Dream Girl Radio / EXT SRC June 26th, 2024

Posted In: Music, Music Shows

Tags: jazz, jazz fusion, jazz rock, Vinyl

Leave a Comment

Dream Girl Radio / EXT SRC presents:

My mom requested that I play Jeff Lorber for Mother’s Day, so I built a deep dive into my history with smooth jazz and jazz from the late 70’s to the late 90’s in general. As a teenager, developing my own taste in music, that era of jazz was a blind spot for me. I preferred the organic feel of jazz in the 60’s, or energy of fusion and free jazz in the 70’s. After that I wasn’t very interested in the incorporation of so many synths and electronic drums in the 80’s. Even Miles Davis lost me. But at some point I began digging through my parents record and CD collections and realized I had a nostalgia for this sound.

My dad was a jazz guitarist and my mom was a pianist, so this music was always around. George Benson and Earl Klugh are stuck in the depths of childhood memories, listening while riding through Mill Mountain in a Datsun 300ZX with the windows down, humming the melodies to myself. I also realized that the pipeline from fusion to smooth jazz was common. While I wouldn’t say they were smooth, 80’s offerings by some of my favorites like Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock reached a more radio-friendly state but still clicked with me. So while some smooth jazz is still a bit too clean for me, this set of tracks is me on a mission to find a middle ground between what I enjoy and what my mom enjoys. Maybe this will bring back memories for other people as well.

Tedikuma’s playlist: