Jazz fusion and jazz-funk brought electric instruments, rock volume and funk rhythm into jazz while preserving improvisation and harmonic complexity.
Miles Davis and the electric turn
Bitches Brew became a major turning point, influencing musicians who later formed or joined groups such as Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever.
Jazz-funk groove
Electric piano, synthesizers, bass and stronger backbeats brought jazz closer to funk and R&B, creating a parallel tradition that would later feed hip-hop sampling and smooth jazz.
Why it matters
Fusion helped erase rigid boundaries between jazz and popular music and expanded the role of electric technology inside improvisational music.