Start here first! Classic jazz-rock masterpieces. Recommended popular tracks.
“Jazz rock” is, literally, a crossover music genre that fuses jazz and rock, and abroad it’s also referred to as a subgenre of jazz fusion.
There are works by innovative musicians from the jazz side that take a rock-oriented approach, as well as sounds by rock and progressive bands and artists that incorporate jazzy elements, so it’s not a genre with strictly defined boundaries.
In this article, we’ve carefully selected and highlighted a number of classic tracks by renowned bands and artists associated with jazz rock.
Of course the songs themselves are fantastic, but be sure to remember the names of the musicians involved as well!
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Start Here! Classic Jazz-Rock Tracks: Recommended Popular Songs (11–20)
Cause We’ve Ended As LoversJeff Beck
Counted among the world’s three greatest guitarists and still going strong as a fully active performer in the 2020s, Jeff Beck has left behind countless legendary performances.
Over his long career, he moved from his early days as a young rock guitarist with the Yardbirds to leading his own groups and fearlessly exploring a wide range of genres—showcasing a flexible creative approach that spans jazz-fusion sounds to electronica and techno-rock.
This time, we’re focusing on one of his signature works from the 1975 album Blow by Blow: the classic “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers.” Also known in Japan by its title “Kanashimi no Koibitotachi,” this piece is the instrumental version of a song Stevie Wonder wrote for singer Syreeta Wright, and it’s renowned as one of Beck’s hallmark tracks, unfolding dramatically through a variety of techniques rooted in his unique interpretation.
Considering that George Martin—who also worked on Mahavishnu Orchestra’s album Apocalypse—produced the entire album, it’s fair to say this is an essential masterpiece for anyone seeking to understand jazz-rock.
John McLaughlinMiles Davis
Known as the “Prince of Modern Jazz,” Miles Davis continuously presented cutting-edge, challenging sounds—from electric jazz to hip-hop—remaining a towering figure in jazz while influencing countless artists in rock, prog, and beyond.
The sounds from his so-called Electric Period had a profound impact on the formation of genres like fusion and jazz-rock.
The double-album masterpiece Bitches Brew, released in 1970, is renowned as a groundbreaking work that astonished many listeners.
Its fusion of jazz, rock, and even funk elements still hasn’t lost its luster in the 2020s.
Bitches Brew features many legendary players whose names are etched in history; from the perspective of jazz-rock, take note that John McLaughlin—who would go on to form the Mahavishnu Orchestra—participates as the guitarist.
The track highlighted in this article, John McLaughlin, as its title suggests, is a cool slice of jazz-rock that puts McLaughlin’s guitar front and center.
At roughly four and a half minutes, it’s a compact gem compared to the album’s larger-scale pieces, and should be enjoyable even for rock fans who feel intimidated by jazz’s emphasis on improvisation.
IllusionIsotope
Despite an active period of only about five years and a discography of just three original albums, Isotope is a band well known among fans of jazz-rock and progressive rock.
With the exception of guitarist Gary Boyle—who later enjoyed a successful solo career—the lineup was fluid, and Isotope’s sound was in fact reappraised and celebrated decades after the band broke up.
Their crossover ensemble work, which could be called the epitome of 1970s British jazz-rock, is highly sophisticated, and you can’t go wrong with any of their albums.
This time, though, let’s spotlight the title track from their second album, Illusion (1974), featuring Hugh Hopper—famed as the bassist of Soft Machine.
Hopper made significant contributions on the compositional side as well, so if you’re interested in jazz-rock—or if you’re a fan of the Canterbury scene—this is a must-hear.
Led by Boyle’s fluid, rapid-fire guitar lines, the band’s thrilling ensemble playing radiates heat while maintaining an overall cool atmosphere—quintessentially British in character!
The InquisitionColosseum II
One characteristic that can make progressive rock tricky for beginners is that many bands and units branch off from a single group.
This group calling itself Colosseum II is one such example: it was formed in 1975 by drummer Jon Hiseman, a founding member of Colosseum, the band that made its mark on British progressive rock.
Since all the members apart from Hiseman are different, those unfamiliar with the scene might understandably get confused.
It’s true that most of the acclaim tends to focus on the original Colosseum, but the sound of Colosseum II—featuring the renowned Irish guitarist Gary Moore—certainly holds its own.
One of Colosseum II’s signature tracks is The Inquisition, included on their final 1977 album War Dance.
From the very start, you get searing, impassioned guitar from a young Moore, dynamic keyboards from Don Airey—who was in constant demand with countless bands—John Mole’s surging bass, and Hiseman’s drumming, which anchors it all while asserting its own voice.
Experience for yourself how the dynamism of hard rock, jazz elements, and progressive ensemble playing are fused to stunning effect in this remarkable piece!
L’elefante biancoArea
Italian progressive rock bands have a distinct appeal from their British counterparts, and they have a strong, enduring fan base here in Japan as well.
One of the flagship bands of Italian prog, Area, is known for its uniquely individual sound centered on the singular style of Demetrio Stratos—the band’s central figure, a brilliant vocalist and keyboardist who died young.
The four albums released during Stratos’s tenure are all highly acclaimed; their experimental sound, set apart from more commercial prog, may puzzle first-time listeners.
L’elefante bianco, which opens with powerful piano and vocals, is the first track on their third album Crac!, released in 1975.
Despite featuring complex, meticulously interwoven instrumental performances, storms of polyrhythms, and synthesizers spinning out folk-inspired phrases, it’s relatively accessible by their standards, and its passionate melody—said to be influenced by Bulgarian folk music—makes it a standout classic.