The Shark introduces artists whose prolificness, talent, creativity, and trajectory stand out among the rest, reason why he call them "Gods in Music."

With Understanding Comes Appreciation To put it simple for those who are not familiar with the musician and his music, Miles Davis is a...

The Shark ranks the tip of the iceberg of his colossal library (100,00+ songs) while unveiling top-notch and under-the-radar recommendations.

With Understanding Comes Appreciation If you don't have this album/CD, get it. It could change your life. It is one of the best Jazz-Rock Fusion albums ever produced. You may have to give it time before you can hear all the nuances and understand the genius of this perfect music. I strongly suggest listening with headphones or in a quiet room. Jean-Luc Ponty is at his lyrical best as is Alan Holdsworth. The entire band manages to produce music that is incredibly high energy y

With Understanding Comes Appreciation In many ways I equate Herbie Hancock with the legendary Bob Dylan as far as being an enormous influence on the evolution of modern music. Dylan courageously followed his personal muse wherever she led without question or resistance, oftentimes to the consternation of his legion of followers and, in the process, forced what seemed to be conflicting genres to not only cohabitate but to compliment each other. In the early 70s Herbie realized

With Understanding Comes Appreciation In one million years from now, it would not surprise me in the slightest if Allan Holdsworth were regarded as the single best guitar player to ever walk the earth. The legendary jazz/fusion axe-slinger seamlessly avoided mainstream recognition for the entirety of his career, which spanned for over 40 years, thirteen studio and three live albums. Despite his underwhelming popularity among the masses, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Modern Jazz-Rock/Fusion is the true progressive music movement of our time. It makes no compromises, leaves no stone unturned, and never panders to its audience. You're either in or you're out. As of this review's writing, that trend is showing no sign of letting up. If you want a good example of what real Prog is these days, pick up a Fusion record like this one. You'll laugh hysterically at how so many Dream Theater and Yes sound-alike

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Lots of jazz guitarists have veered into the world of rock and roll on occasion, but the number of "raised on the blues" rockers who have had the boulders to step into the high-falutin' domain of jazz-rock fusion can be counted on one hand. Most of us weren't sure it could be done at all until Tommy Bolin spun everyone's head around with his phenomenal work on Billy Cobham's "Spectrum" in 1973. I have no idea if that had anything to do w

With Understanding Comes Appreciation The thing I love about the work of Miles Davis' fusion alumni (his alumni in general, really, but this is especially true of the fusion period) is that while every prominent musician who emerged from the band used Miles' ideas as a springboard, none of them mindlessly copied his innovations. For instance, Herbie Hancock was into funk, and so when he split off, he decided to pursue the genre much more doggedly than Miles ever did, but also

With Understanding Comes Appreciation The infamous comet-of-the-20th-century named Kohoutek that zipped by our planet in '73 and conceitedly ignored us was one of the most phenomenal flops in the history of astronomy. Conversely, the album that it inspired, Weather Report's Mysterious Traveller , is anything but. While that innocuous chunk of orphaned space ice failed to inaugurate the end-of-the-civilized-world events predicted by every pseudo-psychic and sideline soothsayer

With Understanding Comes Appreciation This is one of the easiest reviews I will ever write. Do you want virtuosic playing? Do you want music that sounds "cool"? Do you want music that will challenge you, yet still not make you feel like nerd with non-jazz friends? Do you want a variety of instrumentation, styles and tempos on an album? If your answer to any of these is yes, then you simply need this album. When I first played it I can assure you that I was no less than astoni

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Although latecomers, who boarded the Fusion train when it was already on cruise mode and some of its wagons already showed signs of fatal erosion, Brand X were more than a foot note on the genre’s history namely because of their illustrious member Phil Collins —who was probably and lucidly starting to question himself about the purpose of keeping his main band rolling (a mental soundness that wouldn’t last long as we all know…); I also be

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Take 5 jazz maestros from 5 different countries. Lock them in a studio together, crank them up to 11 & have them play as fast as they can and you get Mahavishnu Orchestra's " The Inner Mounting Flame ." Easily one of the most explosive albums of all time. Billy Cobham's drumming on this album is absolutely breathtaking. This masterpiece sits in my all time essential albums. It just doesn't get any better. When Jimi Hendrix died suddenly

With Understanding Comes Appreciation First off, look at this ridiculous unit: -John McLaughlin / electric guitar (One of fusion's most virtuosic guitar soloists. He placed his blazing speed in the service of a searching spiritual passion that has kept his music evolving and open to new influences) -Herbie Hancock / electric piano (He will always be one of the most revered and controversial figures in jazz, just as his employer/mentor Miles Davis was when he was alive) -Chick

With Understanding Comes Appreciation Tony Williams' Emergency is flavored with post-bop and jazz-instrument elements, which pushed into new territory, creating dense, adventurous and unpredictable soundscapes; Miles Davis’ Silent Way is the signature of his electric era; nuanced with trumpet jazz and avant-garde, dig deep into the heart of the ethereal groove —dark, smoky, and ashen; while Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats is the album which fully fuses compositional sophistication of