Editing Jeff Beck (section)

=== Going solo: 1974 to 1980 ===
In October the same year, Beck began to record instrumental sessions at [[AIR Oxford Circus|AIR Studios]] with [[Max Middleton]] who was also associated with Hummingbird,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bernard-pretty-purdie-mn0000047401/credits |title=Bernard Purdue |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=25 February 2023 |archive-date=15 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240615111337/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bernard-pretty-purdie-mn0000047401/creditsAjax#credits |url-status=live }}</ref> bassist [[Phil Chen]] and drummer Richard Bailey using [[George Martin]] as producer and arranger. These formed the basis for Beck's solo album  ''[[Blow by Blow]]'' (March 1975)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blow-by-blow-mw0000619122 |title=Jeff Beck Blow by Blow |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=25 February 2023 |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520120825/https://www.allmusic.com/album/blow-by-blow-mw0000619122 |url-status=live }}</ref> and showcased Beck's technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album reached number four in the charts and is Beck's most commercially successful release. Beck, fastidious about [[Overdubbing|overdubs]] and often dissatisfied with his solos, often returned to AIR Studios until he was satisfied. A couple of months after the sessions had finished, producer George Martin received a telephone call from Beck, who wanted to record a solo section again. Bemused, Martin replied: "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the shops!"{{sfn|Foster|Cunningham|2000|pp=13, 119, 120, 315}}

Beck put together a live band for a US tour, which was preceded by a small and unannounced gig at The Newlands Tavern in [[Peckham]], London. He toured through April and May 1975, mostly supporting the [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]], retaining Max Middleton on keyboards but with a new [[rhythm section]] of bassist [[Wilbur Bascomb]] and noted session drummer [[Bernard Purdie|Bernard "Pretty" Purdie]], who was also associated with Hummingbird.

In a May 1975 show in [[Cleveland]] at the Music Hall, he became frustrated with an early version of a [[talk box]] he used on his arrangement of the Beatles' "[[She's a Woman]]", and after breaking a string, tossed his legendary Yardbirds-era [[Fender Stratocaster]] guitar off the stage. He did the same with the talk box and finished the show playing a Les Paul guitar without the box. During this tour he performed at [[Yuya Uchida (singer)|Yuya Uchida]]'s "World Rock Festival", playing eight songs with Purdie. In addition, he performed a guitar and drum instrumental with Johnny Yoshinaga and, at the end of the festival, joined in a live jam with bassist [[Felix Pappalardi]] of [[Mountain (band)|Mountain]] and vocalist [[Joe Yamanaka|Akira "Joe" Yamanaka]] from the [[Flower Travellin' Band]]. Only his set with Purdie was recorded and released.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

Beck returned to the studio and recorded ''[[Wired (Jeff Beck album)|Wired]]'' (1976), which paired ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer and composer [[Narada Michael Walden]] and keyboardist [[Jan Hammer]]. The album used a jazz-rock fusion style, which sounded similar to the work of his two collaborators. To promote the album, Beck joined forces with the Jan Hammer Group, playing a show supporting [[Alvin Lee]] at [[The Roundhouse]] in May 1976, before embarking on a seven-month-long world tour. This resulted in the live album ''[[Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live]]'' (1977).

At this point, Beck was a [[tax exile]] and took up residency in the US, remaining there until his return to the UK in the autumn of 1977. In the spring of 1978, he began rehearsing with ex-[[Return to Forever]] bassist [[Stanley Clarke]] and drummer [[Gerry Brown (drummer)|Gerry Brown]] towards a projected appearance at the Knebworth Festival, but this was cancelled after Brown dropped out. Beck toured Japan for three weeks in November 1978 with an ad hoc group consisting of Clarke and newcomers [[Tony Hymas]] (keyboards) and [[Simon Phillips (drummer)|Simon Phillips]] (drums).{{sfn|Carson|2001|p=191f}}

Work then began on a new studio album at [[the Who]]'s [[Ramport Studios]] in London and continued sporadically throughout 1979, resulting in ''[[There & Back (Jeff Beck album)|There & Back]]'' in June 1980. It featured three tracks composed and recorded with Jan Hammer, while five were written with Hymas. Stanley Clarke was replaced by [[Mo Foster]] on bass, both on the album and the subsequent tours. Its release was followed by extensive touring in the US, Japan, and the UK.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}