Kozmigroov is a a funky jazz-fusion subgenre that's spaced out, grooves on vamps and riffs, and often employs analog electronics like the ARP synthesizer or Fender Rhodes piano.
The seeds were there when Miles Davis cooked up Bitches Brew, but it took off there.
BTW, BB is my least favorite album of the late 60's/early 70's Miles era, so you can get a clearer picture of what's coming.
I'm disappointed when I see fusion lists on here because a lot of popular fusion is either a frankenstein experimental mashup that takes the wrong elements from each genre or panders to the lowest common denominator( as some of the artists herein did later on).
So I decided to make my own sharethread in the hopes that someone here might like it. I've got over 30 artists and even more records so buckle up cuz I'll be here for a while. Feel free to share other stuff you think would fit.
I learned about most of this stuff from
http://www.freeform.org/music/kozmigroov.html
Here's his blog site with streaming playlists:
http://www.freeform.org/music/kozmigroov.html
Before I get started, a few disclaimers:
My stuff isn't a comprehensive representation of the genre. I tend to prefer sounds closer to pure rare groove funk, a lot of laid back grooves, and electronic keyboards. For the most part, I tend to shy away from vocalists, "spiritual" or music that sounds like an invocation ritual, and more improvisational stuff.
Sorry I didn't provide any download links. That's too much work and I don't know which blog sites have shitty rips, wrong rips, paywalls or viruses. I'm definitely too lazy to upload all these records. But I will do a few if they're hard to find or something. Just let me know.
Word to the wise: kozmigroov was one huge fad. Almost EVERYONE in jazz went in for an album or two and the vast majority abandoned the sound after a while. So if you're looking for other stuff by the same artists you have to be careful. The vast majority of the stuff I'm sharing is from the early 70's.
>>61145692
Bumping because I'm interested.
IMO this fits perfectly. Funky, spacey jazz fusion with heavy use of electronic keyboards, can be considered a precursor to synth funk.
Miles Davis is the undisputed king of this sound.
I don't know much about music or music theory, but the intensity with which his bands build tension and the sheer density of the rythmic interplay are like nothing I've ever heard before. I'm recommending getting the complete sessions of these because often Teo cuts up takes to make collages for the album tracks (brilliantly), but many takes are better on their own. Also some awesome tracks hit the cutting room floor.
Big Fun (Complete Sessions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkaoWRQgfzQ
Jack Johnson (Complete Sessions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ezdWdP2Das
BTW I think the On the Corner sessions have a better collection of songs, but Jack Johnson is a better place to start. Big Fun is just fire all the way through.
>>61146039
I'm going to share some Herbie later (the Mwandishi albums), but it's a little too late in the decade for my tastes.
Dig what you dig, though. Thnks for the bump.
The Best of Black Jazz Records
Compilation of an indie label in the early 70's.
The Awakening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlIggVUyLL8
Roland Haynes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2jsTmr22qs
George Duke - The Inner Source
Electric keyboardist. This dude got pretty cheesy later on, but his talent is undeniable
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrX7nYcoZJI
Cortex - Troupeau Bleu
French lady vocalist riding over goofy progressions. Sounds like weird but it really works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZQJSa2M2a4
Donald Byrd
Just deep, nasty electric shit
from Electric Byrd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhiYaTLP8xM
from Ethiopian Knights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RISUwB6jo2I
Eddie Henderson - Realization
Trumpeter for Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi era band. He later took a break from jazz to practice medicine. Uh, yeah.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZpI6aa5pAg
Embryo - Rocksession
This is a Swedish prog band that got Billie Holiday's piano player (Mal Waldron) to record with them for a session. Simmering and intense just like all good kozmigroov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP7KMaSKwgk
Et Cetera - Knirsh
German prog jazz. Alot of what Wolfgang Dauner does is pretty out there and experimental, but these songs set a deep and spacious atmosphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXTLzidstvw
Hal Galper - Wild Bird
Rumor has it after this record this guy took his electric keyboard to a bridge and threw it in the East River. Back to "real jazz" I guess.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-PXYCjPGbo
Hampton Hawes - Universe
Great Keyboardist. Died a few years later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJC2ercYKe0
Herbie Hancock
Pianist started out working with Miles and eventually crossed over and had mainstream popularity. At this point, he was going through a spiritual awakening and asked everyone to call him Mwandishi instead of Herbie. He and Chick Corea have always had this ability to fit bizarre melodic notes into a progression to create an alien, almost unnerving atmosphere to the music.
from Mwandishi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKTZ9p-s3DM
from Crossings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDV_5KabM90
From Sextant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spnjTzuVBO0
Hysear Don Walker - Complete Expressions Vol. 2
Another keyboardist. Nothing really fancy. But just a little sweet reverb and wah-wah on the Rhodes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEj3ImkB_4Y
Ian Carr (& Nucleus) - Belladonna
How much do you think this dude smokes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-YHynQsbNw
Isotope 217 - Utonian Automatic
This album came out in 2001. It's an offshoot of Tortoise--sharing 3 members. Seamless melding of jazz groove sensibilities with electronic touches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egdo-ozqFJM
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco
Bassist's very first album when he played dark angular songs with an ensemble instead of showing off trying to get a reputation as the greatest jazz bassist in the world. His glamorous lifestyle killed him. There is another album called "Jaco Pastorius" which came later and was not as good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DALsubuCcJ8
Jazz Satellites Vol. 1 - Electrification
In 1996, someone put out a compilation connecting the experimental jazz music of the 70's with some of the avant rock bands of the day. The rock acts aren't very good for the most part, but the jazz is a wild ride.
Tony Williams:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPj14mRN6B0
23 Skidoo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtAbgHLOBqQ
Miles Davis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WenK0gPEuzI
This Miles song sounded like a mess to me when I first heard it. The more I went back to it the more layers I could parse out. Just a monolithic density.
Jonathan Lomax/Nicholas Wrigley - Lord of an Unerring Bow
This is from 2000. pretty, light improvisation between electric piano and brushed drums.
I couldn't find any samples. :(
Various Artists - A Message from the Tribe
Compilation from a Detroit indie label in the mid 70's. Very soulful and political.
Phil Ranelin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijljaSojjn0
Doug Hammond:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1qySa7uaCA
Leroy Vinnegar - The Kid and Glass of Water
The Kid is probably my favorite non-Miles record from this style. Leroy's a nimble bassist who loves to boogie, but can also slow it down and get deep. Found out about this record when it was recommended by DJ Shadow in an interview.
Glass of Water is the same band, but earlier and isn't quite as good as The Kid.
from The Kid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sW9eU18lU4
from Glass of Water:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=270zMjFRM7I
Les McCann - Invitation to Openness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao_5qiLkPUY
Mal Waldron - The Call
Some of the same musicians from Embryo's Rocksession album. Similar feel, but with the electric piano front and center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArJEtfmp32k
Placebo - Ball of Eyes
Marc Moulin - Sam Suffy
Belgian keyboardist.
Placebo blended jazz and rock effortlessly, but often with the jazz serving the rock. Full horn section belting out some triumphant funk stabs. Placebo's 3 albums were all good but the first one had the most memorable songs to me.
Marc's solo work is freer and more experimental. Great grooves and matching rhythms with what sounds like a wildebeast in rut.
From Ball of Eyes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkukzqT6xAg
From Sam Suffy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHwvdVkh2lU
David Durrah - Angelic Streams
mid 70's record from Detroit keyboardist on Tribe Records.
https://soundcloud.com/dj-demonangel/david-durrah-angelic-ltreams-1975-instrumental-jazz
Smoke - Everything
These guys were out of San Francisco in the late 60's...yeah.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG-c8Usoa6s
Sun Ra - Lanquidity and Sleeping Beauty
Sun Ra came to this sound late, around 1978. As wild and inscrutable as some of his records could get, these were positively sedate, if a little murky and twisty in their melodies. Reverent, otherworldly and downright blissful.
from Lanquidity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf-OxkoTNp4
from Sleeping Beauty:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBNTfXfJhhs
Sunbirds - Sunbirds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qovmid9DsA
Terje Rypdal - What Comes After
Norwegian guitarist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdc7JHTBhEQ
Weather Report - Self-titled and Sweetnighter
Sprung from Miles's Bitches Brew band, they consistently changed members and took a contemporary sound and got popular later on. Their earlier albums were haunting intense electric jazz.
from Weather Report:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQSW4srnYM0
from Sweetnighter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiN-myhPEdI
Weldon Irvine - Spirit Man
This is some straight up funk dance grooves from 1976, but it was too good to pass up. Just super fun and the whole album is like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH4CC8nV58A
>>61145692
>Kozmigroov
What a white way of saying jazz funk/fusion.
>>61148680
I guess you're right? I didn't make it up.
I do think it's a little different from basic fusion, though. More spacey, not as much rock.
and that's all I got that's of high quality.
Any opinions? About something other than how a genre tag can identify your race?
Music?
