Eddie Fisher
In 1971, when I was 15 years old, I got the record "Eddie Fisher and the Next Hundred Years." I learned every note. This LP was groundbreaking as it was the baddest "fusion" record by a jazz guitarist that played with mostly a classic clean sound and no distortion until Pat Martino started playing fusion about 5 years later. The guitarist, Eddie Fisher, showcased impressive wah-wah pedal work, as pedal fusion players steered clear of.
"The Next Hundred Years" is considered one of the best psychedelic instrumental records ever made, standing out for its funk influences rather than a typical rock sound, which made Eddie different.
After this album, Eddie went on to have a career as a studio guitarist and an old-school jazz guy. He moved to New Jersey when he got a deal with ALL PLATINUM RECORDS, a company ran by Joe Robinson using his wife a singer Sylvia as a front, based in the old Isley Bros studio in Englewood Cliffs. Joe Robinson himself was a frontman for Morris Levy, who himself was a frontman for the Genovese family.
This studio became famous for being the launch of the first rap group The Sugarhill Gang. I did sessions there, so we ran into each other. Some of my licks were sampled and showed up in their release years later. I found out Eddie was Albert Kings bandleader. I told him I was at every soundcheck of any gig Albert did in North Jersey and Albert knew me by sight.
Eddie didn’t believe I learned all his licks off The Next Hundred Years until I showed
him. He laughed his butt off. Even without the "production" I would place it in the top
jazz fusion funk LP's of all time. There just weren’t many psychedelic instrumental
guitar records made by real players. He never did anything like it again. When I met him, I teased him by asking: "Are we going to have to wait 100 years before your next psychedelic funk rock LP"
He moved back to Illinois and became a great old school jazz player, never again to
wah-wah and fuzz.
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