How much jazz was there in these classic rock artists?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Andrew J, Apr 30, 2021.

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  1. Andrew J

    Andrew J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South East England
    I've put in descending order, the amount of jazz influence I think there was in these artists. rearrange it as you see appropriate or create your own lists. I wish Hendrix had gotten more in a jazz direction, and out of the the pentatonic box, and kind of think he might have if he'd lived longer.


    Joni Mitchell
    Cream
    Doors
    Grateful Dead

    The Band
    Byrds

    Rolling Stones (Charlie)
    Fleetwood Mac
    Bob Dylan

    ZZ Top
    Genesis (Phil Collins only)
    Pink Floyd (Syd era only)

    Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones and some syncopation, so maybe)
    Neil Young
    Beatles (marginal)

    Who (very little)
    Deep Purple (zero)
    Metallica (zero)
    My Chemical Romance (-zero)
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2021
  2. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Apart from Joni Mitchell’s Mingus album, zero for all.
     
  3. classicrocker

    classicrocker Life is good!

    Location:
    Worcester, MA, USA
    The Allman Brothers incorporated jazz influences into their music IMHO
     
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  4. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    Huh? Have you ever listened to the Grateful Dead?

    I think most of these have a bit of a jazz influence, even if indirectly.
     
  5. Andrew J

    Andrew J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South East England
    That is what I was getting at - not straight ahead jazz, but influence. I've moved the Dead up higher, because even though they didn't play jazz, they were obviously influenced by it - the whole impro vibe.
     
  6. drad dog

    drad dog A Listener

    Location:
    USA
    Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Tom Waits, Joni, all have used jazz in their work. I agree about the Allmans too. There have been elements in the Doors, Mac, Dead, Byrds.
     
  7. astro70

    astro70 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern Illinois
    Not only that, but their later 70s playing just sounded very jazzy in general.
     
  8. rockclassics

    rockclassics Senior Member

    Location:
    Mainline Florida
    I would definitely add....

    Traffic....Low Spark album onward

    Santana ..... Caravanserai, Barboletta, Welcome

    Carlos Santana with John McLaughlin
     
  9. danasgoodstuff

    danasgoodstuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow & Wired & live with Jan Hammer obviously, but before and after that too.
     
  10. zen

    zen Senior Member

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. misteranderson

    misteranderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    englewood, nj
    Pete Townshend's dad, Cliff, was a jazz musician by trade. I guess it doesn't come out much in The Who's music, but Pete must have been affected by that in some way.
     
  12. drad dog

    drad dog A Listener

    Location:
    USA
    McCartney and McManus too.
     
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  13. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I suppose it depends how we are using the word Jazz really.

    Joni had some textures and chord changes over a few albums that leaned that way, and Mingus was the logical conclusion to that period of time.

    Cream.... they liked jamming, I guess that's somewhat jazz inspired, but I don't hear much reflecting jazz in them.

    The Doors have some influences that one could say are jazz-like I guess ... but I'm not sure I would say they have that much jazz influence...

    Phil leaned into some fusion with Brand X, so if that's what we're looking at, yea a little for Phil... Genesis... not to my mind at all really.

    Syd Floyd was straight up psychedelic, not sure where we would particularly draw jazz lines in... the jamming I guess, but other genres used jam styling...

    The others, .... well I'm sure some of them were influenced by jazz, but I don't really hear it in their music...

    Steely Dan probably have some fusion influence in their writing ...

    You see, I would say Zappa had some jazz influences in his music, but more, again, fusion... but if you talk to a jazz guy, they are generally going to say it was more classical and somewhat avant garde, than jazz....

    Jazz, like rock, has become very hard to define ....
     
  14. Tom Wabe

    Tom Wabe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Birmingham
    If you're not hearing any influence of Jazz in Ginger Baker or Ian Paice then I'm not sure what to tell you...
     
  15. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    And the Who covered Mose Allison.

    Also high on the list would be ELP (Jimmy Smith was Emerson's hero) and Van Morrison
     
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  16. rockclassics

    rockclassics Senior Member

    Location:
    Mainline Florida
    I definitely agree there were jazz elements and influence in Steely Dan’s music.
     
  17. Jon-A

    Jon-A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    Of those discussed already, mostly:

    Jack Bruce: "I thought of Cream as sort of a jazz band, only we never told Eric he was really Ornette Coleman. Kept quiet about that..." They definitely ventured off into Free Jazz territory (w rock dynamics) live.

    Hendrix was a fan of Miles Davis and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. A few of his tunes had overt Jazz style, and his improvs were informed by the freedom of Jazz: who was taking 15 minute solos before Coltrane?

    John Coltrane was an inspiration for lots of sixties experimentalists. Most overtly Butterfield/Bloomfield with East-West and The Byrds with 8 Miles High.

    Santana, esp Caravanserai onwards. One of that album's tunes is a straight lift from Pharoah Sanders.

    NRBQ & MC5 with Sun Ra.

    Steely Dan, obviously, and Zappa. And Joni Mitchell's albums like Hejira, Hissing Of Summer Lawns, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter - I think those records were more successful as Jazz hybrids than the album Mingus. And her touring band was largely Jazz fusion types.

    I think The Doors' Jazz influence is pretty obvious...
     
  18. Jamsterdammer

    Jamsterdammer The Great CD in the Sky

    Location:
    Málaga, Spain
    Not on the list, but early Yes and King Crimson had jazz influences. Sure, the purists will always say no.
     
  19. sekaer

    sekaer Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Van Morrison
    Television (Ornette Coleman in particular)
     
  20. Andrew J

    Andrew J Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South East England
    You are right, I forgot about Ian Paice!
     
  21. Fischman

    Fischman RockMonster, ClassicalMaster, and JazzMeister

    Location:
    New Mexico
    Among Southern Rock, more so Marshall Tucker Band than anyone.
     
  22. Fischman

    Fischman RockMonster, ClassicalMaster, and JazzMeister

    Location:
    New Mexico
    I sense a little crediting of blues influence as jazz. No way cream is that high, and ZZ top is also well above where I'd put them.

    Really, tho only group I'd consider putting in the top category with Joni is Steely Dan and Zappa. Doors may be close.
     
  23. danasgoodstuff

    danasgoodstuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    [​IMG]
    The starting point for this discussion should be an acknowledgement that ALL American vernacular music of the 20th Century was influenced by jazz, not just peripherally but to its core. And particularly by Louis Armstrong and the lived reality of swing, not as a genre but as a property that all music can and should have in some form or other.
     
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  24. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA

    Among non-fusion rock bands, the one I'd name that has ventured the furthest into jazz with the most musical success is....NRBQ.
     
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