Jazz doesn't have to be fast - but it's fun when it is

A friend of mine once told me somewhat dismissively that I liked all that fusiony guitar stuff. Well, yeah. Guilty. Return to Forever, Brand X, more recently the Rippingtons or Steve Smith's Vital Information. No, you can't dance to it, but you can't to Yes either, and how long has that band been No. 1 on my list? So discovering Casiopea was a treat. They live somewhere between RTF and the Ripps, with a side helping of Allan Holdsworth and Craig Chaquico.

If you're not familiar with those artists, well, shame on you, but you're forgiven, as long as you check them out. All brilliant. And Chaquico and Russ Freeman of the Rippingtons are as nice as they are talented. But that's for another time.

If you prefer your jazz less fusion guitary and more acoustic singingy, here's the place to go. The Tierney Sutton Band is performing at the City Opera House in Traverse City Sept. 30. You should love it. Not sure if I will be able to attend, as we return from another visit to my wife's oncologist at UM the night before, and then Friday I'm at Eastwood then off to MSU for the second Circus Circus reunion at the Wisconsin game (and not doubt other locales Friday night). Last year was a blast, seeing guys I hadn't seen in 30 years. Amazing how much older most of them looked.

Anyway, hope you forgive or better yet enjoy all the links. Of all the fusion groups - Mahavishnu, RTF, Weather Report, Lifetime - the best was Brand X. RIP Morris Pert.