Before the term “jazz-fusion” was even invented, pianist-composer-producer-author Barry  Miles, 77, born in Newark and raised in North Plainfield, used the word “syncretic” to describe how the various elements of his sound coalesced into a cohesive whole. Look up syncretic and it says, “to describe things influenced by two or more styles or traditions to create something different.” Basically, the man INVENTED jazz-rock fusion.