Kevin Eubanks regards fusion as a force field // Guitarist takes pride in label

Most musicians who play electric jazz dislike the term "fusion"as a description of their sound. Guitarist Kevin Eubanks is verycomfortable with the word.

"That's the first music I was seriously into when I beganplaying guitar," said Eubanks, who will perform with his quartetThursday through Saturday at the Jazz Bulls, 1916 N. Lincoln ParkWest. "I grew up playing funk and fusion."

As the 1980s end with electric jazz (including fusion, new ageand world music) high on sales charts and a mainstay on adultalternative radio throughout the country, Eubanks finds himself amajor player in a growing field. His seventh album, "The Searcher,"is gaining momentum and soon could equal the success of his previousalbum, "Shadow Prophets," which was the No. 1 contemporary jazz albumof 1988 on the Radio & Records airplay charts.

"When the radio stations started changing formats, a lot of thestations used my records to help show people what their new formatwas going to be," he said. "There wasn't any kind of marketing planinvolved in that. It just happened that was the kind of music Iwanted to play at the time."

While fusion is now flourishing, acoustic jazz (be-bop,mainstream, post-bop) was attracting attention a decade ago, with aburst of new musicians playing classic jazz. The movement wasdubbed "neo-classicism"; the players were called the Young Lions.Among those neophytes with promising futures were two sets ofbrothers, Wynton and Branford Marsalis and Kevin and Robin Eubanks.

All four of those musicians were doing their master studies injazz with Art Blakey's traveling university of jazz musicians knownas the Jazz Messengers. "Most of the people I've played with had beenreal schools of jazz," said Kevin Eubanks, 31, one of the fewguitarists ever to play in Blakey's legendary band.

Eubanks was a child of fusion music. His mother, Dr. VeraBryant-Eubanks, is a classically trained gospel pianist who is veryrespected in music education. Her brothers, pianist Ray Bryant andthe late bassist Tommy Bryant, had successful jazz careers,particularly Ray Bryant, who still is recording today.

"We've been around music all our lives, growing up with a pianoin the house with Uncle Ray and my mother playing," Eubanks said. "Weheard it every day."

By their early teenage years, the brothers had played in anumber of bands in the fertile funk music scene of Philadelphia.Kevin's conversion to jazz began when Robin, a trombonist, waspreparing for college. Kevin, the guitarist, heard the music of JohnMcLaughlin and one of Ray Bryant's contemporaries, Wes Montgomery.

Kevin chose Berklee College of Music in Boston for studies inharmony and composition. But his real jazz education started when heand Robin moved to New York City. Kevin's technique, rhythmic senseand over-all musicianship were tested in the bands of two powerfuldrummers, Blakey and Roy Haynes. "I was ready to start playing thedrums after listening to those guys play," he said with a laugh.

Advanced studies in harmony came from master arranger-trombonistSlide Hampton and his big band, World of Trombones. Robin also wasin that group, along with eight other trombonists. "It felt good todo that," Kevin said. "I felt a kind of affinity for the trombonebecause I had grown up hearing my older brother play."

Kevin Eubanks' apprenticeship with Hampton ended suddenly in1983, when Bruce Lundvall, who was then president of Elektra/Musician Records, happened to hear World of Trombones at a club. Thenext day, he called and offered Eubanks a one-album deal. The recordwas titled "Guitarist."

"I wasn't even looking to do a deal," Eubanks said. "I didn'tthink I was ready. I was content just learning from Slide. If Ihadn't been playing that day, Bruce may not have heard me."

His second album, "Sundance," happened much the same way, withbetter results. Chris Hinze, the Dutch flute player and owner ofHolland's Keytone Records, asked Eubanks if he wanted to make arecord.

About the same time, musician Dave Grusin and his marketing teamat GRP Records were sensing the growth of electric jazz. To bolsterits roster, GRP began to handle the American distribution for Hinze'slabel. GRP then offered contracts to Keytone artists, thusinheriting the group Special EFX and Kevin Eubanks.

Five albums later, Eubanks is a mainstay at GRP Records and apopular success. Criticism of his mixture of jazz and other musicalforms exasperates the guitarist. He expresses pride in his records,describing them as "delicate but forceful, at the same timegrooving." He has little patience with the idea that he should havestuck to the classic jazz he played during the Young Lions period.

"There was a change in a lot of different kinds of music at thetime when the Young Lions thing was happening," he said. "Pop musicwas changing somewhat and rap music was having a real strong effecton things, too. Because I learned some more harmony in jazz, whyshould it be difficult for me to play funk and fusion?"

Eubanks' appearance in Chicago will mark a homecoming for hisbassist, Kenny Davis. Drummer Gene Jackson and keyboardist Ed Simonround out the guitarist quartet.