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Greatest Fusion Musicians

Definition: In the late 1960s, jazz musicians began mixing the forms and improvisational techniques of jazz with the electric instruments of rock and the rhythms of soul and rhythm and blues. At the same time, some rock artists began adding jazz elements to their music. Fusion has gone on to often include world music and other elements. At its best, fusion music is often considered to be one of the most inventive, original and virtuosic musical genres.

Criteria: These Fusion Musicians were chosen for their musical vision through originality, influence, instrumental skill and creative inspiration.

Last Updated: 2007-08-29
Greatest Fusion Musicians
Fusion Guitarists
  1. Allan Holdsworth
  2. John McLaughlin
  3. Scott Henderson
  4. Mike Stern
  5. John Scofield
  6. Frank Zappa
  7. Larry Coryell
  8. Pat Metheny
  9. Al Di Meola
10. Carlos Santana
11. Jeff Beck
12. Andy Summers
13. Tony MacAlpine
14. Robben Ford
15. Shawn Lane
16. Frank Gambale
17. Leni Stern
18. Bill Frisell
19. Wayne Krantz
20. Kazumi Watanabe
21. Brett Garsed
22. Wayne Johnson
23. Vernon Reid
24. John Abercrombie
25. Michael Landau
26. Bill Connors
27. Jeff Richman
28. Larry Carlton
29. David Torn
30. John Etheridge
31. Scott Jones
32. Alex Machacek
33. T.J. Helmerich
34. John Goodsall
35. Steve Khan
36. Steve Lukather
37. Greg Howe
38. Steve Morse
39. Jimi Tunnell
40. Nguyen Le
41. Joni Mitchell
42. Joe Beck
43. Hiram Bullock
44. Toshi Yanagi
45. Chuck Loeb
46. Jon Herington
47. Dave Fiuczynski
48. Adrian Belew
49. Mike Keneally
50. Dean Brown
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth


John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin
Fusion Bassists
  1. Jaco Pastorius
  2. Stanley Clarke
  3. Dave Holland
  4. Hugh Hopper
  5. Jimmy Johnson
  6. Victor Wooten
  7. Gary Willis
  8. Marcus Miller
  9. Miroslav Vitous
10. Bunny Brunel
11. Jeff Berlin
12. Jamaalden Tacuma
13. Richard Bona
14. Matt Garrison
15. Alain Caron
16. Jimmy Haslip
17. Marc Egan
18. Brian Bromberg
19. John Patitucci
20. Daryl Jones
21. Marc Johnson
22. Jimmy Earl
23. Jonas Hellborg
24. Ric Fierabracci
25. Alphonso Johnson
26. Christian McBride
27. Abraham Laboriel, Sr.
28. Rufus Philpot
29. Stuart Hamm
30. Billy Sheehan
31. Anthony Jackson
32. Roy Babbington
33. Dave Carpenter
34. Will Lee
35. Victor Bailey
36. Lincoln Goines
37. Tony Levin
38. Jack Bruce
39. Foley
40. Steve Bailey
41. Percy Jones
42. Kai Eckhardt
43. Tetsuo Sakurai
44. Gary Grainger
45. Michael Manring
46. Mick Karn
47. Dieter Ilg
48. Tal Wilkenfeld
49. Jeff Nitti
50. Hadrien Feraud
Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius


Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke
Fusion Keyboardists
  1. Joe Zawinul
  2. Herbie Hancock
  3. Chick Corea
  4. Mike Ratledge
  5. Mitchel Forman
  6. Derek Sherinian
  7. Scott Kinsey
  8. Dave Stewart
  9. Jan Hammer
10. Tom Coster
11. Adam Holzman
12. Larry Young
13. Jim Beard
14. Lyle Mays
15. Keith Jarrett
16. George Duke
17. Alan Pasqua
18. Tommy Mars
19. Warren Bernhardt
20. Eliane Elias
21. Allan Zavod
22. Don Grolnick
23. T Lavitz
24. Greg Mathieson
25. David Garfield
26. Russell Ferrante
27. Jens Johannson
28. Richard Tee
29. Tony Hymas
30. David Sancious
31. Gil Goldstein
32. Jeff Babko
33. Bob James
34. Kenny Kirkland
35. Billy Childs
36. Jeff Lorber
37. Jordan Rudess
38. Aydin Esen
39. Steve Hunt
40. Richard Halligan
41. Steve Winwood
42. Bobby Martin
43. Kei Akagi
44. Neil Larsen
45. Larry Willis
46. Robert Lamm
47. Rob Whitlock
48. Steve Weingart
49. Ryu Okomoto
50. Stomu Yamashta
Joe Zawinul
Joe Zawinul




Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Fusion Horns
  1. Miles Davis
  2. Wayne Shorter
  3. Don Ellis
  4. Bob Berg
  5. Michael Brecker
  6. Elton Dean
  7. Bill Evans
  8. Ian Carr
  9. Kenny Garrett
10. Randy Brecker
11. Klaus Doldinger
12. Eddie Henderson
13. Brandon Fields
14. Dave Liebman
15. Stan Getz
16. Harold Vick
17. Walt Fowler
18. Mark Isham
19. Bill Chase
20. James Pankow
21. Dick Heckstall-Smith
22. Jeff Coffin
23. Joe Farrell
24. Steve Tavaglione
25. Walter Parazader
26. Lew Soloff
27. Bob Mintzer
28. Chris Wood
29. Steve Marcus
30. Fred Lipsius
31. Lee Loughnane
32. Fred Selden
33. Tom Scott
34. Donald Byrd
35. Katisse Buckingham
36. Bruce Fowler
37. Dick Morrissey
38. Eric Marienthal
39. Greg Osby
40. Johnny Almond
41. Grover Washington, Jr.
42. Sadao Watanabe
43. Lyne Dobson
44. Bob Sheppard
45. Dave Quincy
46. Gary Meek
47. Charlie Mariano
48. Bob Franceschini
49. Ronnie Cuber
50. Larry Klimas
Miles Davis
Miles Davis




Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Fusion Drummers
  1. Billy Cobham
  2. Dennis Chambers
  3. Tony Williams
  4. Jack DeJohnette
  5. Vinnie Colaiuta
  6. Chad Wackerman
  7. Virgil Donati
  8. Gary Novak
  9. Danny Gottlieb
10. Robert Wyatt
11. Dave Weckl
12. Peter Erskine
13. Steve Smith
14. Terry Bozzio
15. Gary Husband
16. Simon Phillips
17. Bill Bruford
18. Alphonse Mouzon
19. Kirk Covington
20. Chester Thompson
21. Lenny White
22. Ralph Humphrey
23. Omar Hakim
24. Bill Berg
25. Joel Taylor
26. Terri Lyne Carrington
27. Jon Hiseman
28. Pip Pyle
29. Ginger Baker
30. John Marshall
31. Zach Danzinger
32. Steve Gadd
33. Abraham Laboriel, Jr.
34. Tom Brechtlein
35. Will Calhoun
36. Cindy Blackman
37. Bobby Colomby
38. Peter Criss
39. Al Foster
40. Gregg Bissonette
41. Wolfgang Haffner
42. Narada Michael Walden
43. Toss Panos
44. Danny Seraphine
45. Pierre Moerlen
46. Joey Heredia
47. Michael Shrieve
48. Eric Gravatt
49. Jeff Sipe
50. Phil Collins
Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham




Tony Williams
Tony Williams
Fusion (Other Instruments)
  1. Jean-Luc Ponty - Violin
  2. Mike Mainieri - Vibes
  3. Jerry Goodman - Violin
  4. Airto Moreira - Percussion
  5. Flora Purim - Voice
  6. Trilok Gurtu - Percussion
  7. Allan Holdsworth - Synthaxe
  8. Karl Jenkins - Oboe
  9. Bela Fleck - Banjo
10. Steve Tavaglione - EWI
11. Roy Wooten - Drumitar
12. Ruth Underwood - Vibes, Perc.
13. Don Alias - Percussion
14. Alex Acuna - Percussion
15. Michael Urbaniak - Violin
16. Mino Cinelu - Percussion
17. Don Um Romao - Percussion
18. Gary Burton - Vibes
19. Marilyn Mazur - Percussion
20. Ursula Dudziak - Voice
21. Ed Mann - Vibes, Percussion
22. Manolo Badrena - Percussion
23. L Shankar - Violin
24. Didier Lockwood - Violin
25. Sheila E. - Percussion
26. Barbara Gaskin - Voice
27. Coke Escovdeo - Percussion
28. Paulinho Da Costa - Percussion
29. Wendy Haas - Voice
30. Jeremy Steig - Flute
31. Munyungo Jackson - Percussion
32. Pete Escovedo - Percussion
33. Paul McCandless - Oboe
34. Joe Farrell - Flute
35. Howard Levy - Harmonica
36. Johnny Almond - Flutes
37. Steve Kindler - Violin
38. Benoit Moerlen - Vibes, Marimba
39. Mark Feldman - Violin
40. Daryl Way - Violin
41. Zakir Hussain - Tabla
42. Dave Bargeron - Tuba
43. Luis Conte - Percussion
44. Jimmy Hastings - Flute
45. Arto Tuncboyacian - Percussion
46. Myka Miller - Oboe, E. Horn, Flute
47. Robert Thomas - Percussion
48. Allen Sloan - Violin
49. Sammy Figueroa - Percussion
50. Karen Briggs - Violin
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jean-Luc Ponty




Mike Mainieri
Mike Mainieri
Fusion Concert Videos
  1. In Concert (1990) - DeJohnette, Holland, Hancock & Metheny
  2. Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (1976) - Weather Report
  3. A Different Kind of Blue (1970) - Miles Davis
  4. Refuge Of The Roads (1983) - Joni Mitchell
  5. Time Warp (1995) - Chick Corea
  6. Live At The Quick (2002) - Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
  7. Shadows & Light (1979) - Joni Mitchell
  8. Music On The Edge (1991) - Chroma
  9. Weather Update (1986) - Joe Zawinul
10. Live From The Montreal Jazz Festival (1985) - Miles Davis
11. Live At Montreux (1988) - Carlos Santana & Wayne Shorter
12. The Paris Concert (2006) - Mike Stern
13. REH Instructional Video (1992) - Allan Holdsworth
14. Live At Montreux (2004) - Chick Corea Elektric Band
15. Future2Future Live (2002) - Herbie Hancock
16. We Live Here (1995) - Pat Metheny Group
17. Live In Tokyo (1986) - Steps Ahead
18. The Paris Concert (2006) - Soft Machine Legacy
19. Mike Mainieri (1982) - Mike Mainieri
20. Live And Outrageous (1982) - Jaco Pastorius
21. Painting With Words And Music (1999) - Joni Mitchell
22. Live At Yoshi's (2006) - Holdsworth, Pasqua, Haslip & Wackerman
23. Copenhagen Live (1983) - Steps Ahead
24. Live In Munich (1988) - Miles Davis
25. Live At The Queen Elizabeth Hall London (2004) - Gary Husband
26. Night School (2002) - Stanley Clarke
27. Rock Goes To College (1979) - Bill Bruford
28. Miles In Paris (1989) - Miles Davis
29. Live At The Baked Potato (2005) - CAB
30. Live From The Montreal Jazz Festival (1985) - Miles Davis
31. Baby Snakes (1977) - Frank Zappa
32. Glass Menagerie (1981) - Billy Cobham
33. The Spice Of Life In Concert (1987) - Kazumi Watanabe
34. Does Humor Belong in Music? (1984) - Frank Zappa
35. Out Trio (2002) - Bozzio, Machacek, O'Hearn
36. Live Cabaret De Montreal (2005) - Alain Caron
37. The Super Guitar Trio & Friends (1990) - Coryell, DiMeola, Lagrene
38. Gil Evans & His Orchestra (1983) - Gil Evans
39. The Paris Concert (2005) - Robben Ford
40. Live At The Montreal Jazz Festival (1988) - Al Di Meola Project
41. Live In Concert (2003) - Gongzilla
42. Concert With Class (2003) - Frank Gambale
43. Live (2003) - Matt Garrison
44. Speaking Of Now Live (2002) - Pat Metheny
45. A Tribute To The Music Of Frank Zappa (1994) - The Band From Utopia
46. Mo' Bop (2004) - Kazumi Watanabe
47. In Concert (1994) - Marcus Miller
48. Resolution (2006) - Vantage Point
49. Live In Stuttgart (1994) - Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous, Trilok Gurtu
50. Gentle Hearts Tour ('04) - Tetsuo Sakurai, Greg Howe, Dennis Chambers





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