The Supernova that Was Jazz-Rock Fusion

The effect that Tony Williams had on music cannot be underplayed. He came at his time at the drum kit as if he was in control--as if he was the one musician in the driver's seat, as if it was his job to establish not just the pace but the mood of the song; he played the drums as if he was the most important person in the room. It is my personal opinion that Tony Williams, more than any other musician in history, was the single most powerful driving force to the creation of those musical mediums that would become Post Bop Jazz, Jazz-Rock Fusion, Power Fusion, and Power Rock. Chicago-born and Boston-raised drumming legend Anthony Tillman "Tony" Williams III was recruited by Miles Davis when the young prodigy was only 17-years old. The power phenom was one of the first pieces Davis found to form his new "hard bop" band in the early 1960s--a band that, with the addition of bassist Ron Carter, keyboard phenom Herbie Hancock, and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, would becom...