John Mayall – Jazz Blues Fusion

Once I started in on Mayall, just a few decades after first learning about him, I was all in. Shortly after picking up Moving On, I found this copy of Jazz Blues Fusion in the summer of 2022 at River Street Beat Shop in Troy. Not being a jazz fan, that appellation could easily put me off. It’s not that I don’t understand or appreciate the artistry of jazz, and particularly the extremely high level of musicianship it demands – I do. But on the whole, it’s a genre that doesn’t speak to me – I can listen for a few minutes and then I’m really looking to hear something else.

Of course, where the old blues songs are somewhere close to the old jazz songs – well, those lines are more than a bit blurry. But that wasn’t the case in 1972, when this album was made. Blues were blues and jazz was jazz. And blues rockers of the time, like Mayall, were unlikely to ever cross those lines. But Mayall was constantly exploring and inventing, and this live album is very different from his previous “The Turning Point.”

He returns to a full band format for this one, with drums and horns, and the songs have the feel of loose jams – which they are. Just more super enjoyable Mayall.