Fusion!: From Alice Coltrane to Moor Mother

From music writer Alex Coles, Fusion! From Alice Coltrane to Moor Mother traces the origins and legacy of blended musical genres by focusing on twelve dynamic collaborations. From Alice Coltrane working with Carlos Santana in 1974 to Moor Mother sharing the mic with Wolf Weston in 2022, the collaborations-cum-chapters reveal how musicians pursue fusion as a process.

With sonic fusion always premised on cultural fusion, each of the collaborations find musicians using the mixing of genres to explore fusions of generations, eras, philosophies, sensibilities, idioms, histories, and even continents. When the musicians hail from contrasting musical genres their collaboration leads to a dynamic tension, typified by free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry recording with Lou Reed, Kendrick Lamar cutting tracks with saxophonist Kamasi Washington, Miles Davis playing with electric guitarist John McLaughlin and synth player Danalogue joining Shabaka Hutchings and Max Hallett to form the Comet is Coming.