Glad you finally landed Buzz Jake; looking forward to part 2 – so much more to talk about. I’m assuming you’ve been trying for my friend & hometown hero Neil L. as well (let me know if I can help w/that) – both of them have such a fascinating shared & individual story for you to shake out of them. One music critic (Leonard Feather? I don’t recall) upon the release of the first Full Moon recording, called it (arguably) the first true “Fusion” record. Ask Buzzy (&/or Neil) about Viet Nam; about LiPuma being such a champion of theirs; about being 1st call “hired guns” in the studio & touring w/big “Pop” stars in the 80s – man, there’s so much more & you don’t need my advice. One more thing though: Jeff Beck is also on Music from Free Creek – under a pseudonym I don’t remember – on one spectacular jam. Keep it up young man; you’re doing a great service. I recommend your interviews as education to all young people I’m mentoring – when I can get through to them, that is (sigh).
I always thought Full Moon was the first fusion record because it fused so many idioms together. “Malibu” is the ultimate cut for me because it presents relatively tricky chord changes yet Buzz’s solo is beautifully melodic and his blues background is there in his tone and phrasing. It’s nothing like the verbose fusion guitar playing that came to define the genre. He is to fusion what Lester Young was to jazz. As heard in this interview, he comes from the blues and rock & roll but he improvised better than most jazz players.
Glad you finally landed Buzz Jake; looking forward to part 2 – so much more to talk about. I’m assuming you’ve been trying for my friend & hometown hero Neil L. as well (let me know if I can help w/that) – both of them have such a fascinating shared & individual story for you to shake out of them. One music critic (Leonard Feather? I don’t recall) upon the release of the first Full Moon recording, called it (arguably) the first true “Fusion” record. Ask Buzzy (&/or Neil) about Viet Nam; about LiPuma being such a champion of theirs; about being 1st call “hired guns” in the studio & touring w/big “Pop” stars in the 80s – man, there’s so much more & you don’t need my advice. One more thing though: Jeff Beck is also on Music from Free Creek – under a pseudonym I don’t remember – on one spectacular jam. Keep it up young man; you’re doing a great service. I recommend your interviews as education to all young people I’m mentoring – when I can get through to them, that is (sigh).
I always thought Full Moon was the first fusion record because it fused so many idioms together. “Malibu” is the ultimate cut for me because it presents relatively tricky chord changes yet Buzz’s solo is beautifully melodic and his blues background is there in his tone and phrasing. It’s nothing like the verbose fusion guitar playing that came to define the genre. He is to fusion what Lester Young was to jazz. As heard in this interview, he comes from the blues and rock & roll but he improvised better than most jazz players.