1970s–1980s jazz | Electric sounds and wider horizons

Recordings to explore this era

1. 1970

   Bitches Brew

   Miles Davis

   An experimental swirl of layered rhythms and electric instruments, bringing jazz and rock together in a revolutionary recording that helped open the fusion era.

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2. 1973

   Head Hunters

   Herbie Hancock

   Hancock’s landmark fusion of funk grooves and electric jazz built a bridge between jazz and Black popular music.

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3. 1975

   Native Dancer

   Wayne Shorter / Milton Nascimento

   A meeting of jazz and Brazilian music with Wayne Shorter, influential in the development of American jazz fusion.

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4. 1987

   Passarim

   Antônio Carlos Jobim

   A late-career album made with family and friends in a relatively simple ensemble setting. Its intimacy brings the listener close to Jobim’s own singing and piano playing.

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5. 1977

   Slaves Mass

   Hermeto Pascoal

   An international release on Warner Bros. with Flora Purim, Airto Moreira and others. Pascoal’s musical imagination extends even to the sounds of pigs.

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6. 1974

   Libertango

   Astor Piazzolla

   The title track of Piazzolla’s Italian recording became an emblem of nuevo tango’s departure from tradition and inspired hundreds of cover versions.

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7. 1986

   Tango: Zero Hour

   Astor Piazzolla

   Piazzolla called this recording by his New Tango Quintet the best of his life. Its meeting of classical and jazz languages represents a high point of nuevo tango.

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8. 1974

   Mannenberg (Is Where It's Happening)

   Abdullah Ibrahim

   Recorded by Abdullah Ibrahim in South Africa, Mannenberg became a widely loved anthem of resistance under apartheid.

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9. 1985

   Water from an Ancient Well

   Abdullah Ibrahim

   A mature recording by Abdullah Ibrahim’s septet, bringing South African melodies into dialogue with jazz.

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Years follow the Atlas catalogue. Recording dates, original release dates and digital reissue dates may differ.