FINAL Flashcards
Hard Bop Style
-Giant Steps (album) rooted in hard bop tenor saxophone; aggressive, full bodied.
Move into Modal Jazz
Began investigating modal concepts and Indian ragas (music built on improvising over drones or pedal points)
- This caused move to Soprano Saxophone (because of similar Indian shenhnai sound)
- My favorite things was an example of new sound
- Sheets of Sound, The Sweep, The Cry
Significance of John Coltrane Classic Quartet
- McCoy Tyner (pianist)
- Jimmy Garrison (bass lines based on drone and pedal points)
- Elvin Jones (interplay with Coltrane)
A Love Supreme
- Masterwork
- 4 parts (1. Acknowledgement 2. Resolution 3. Pursuance 4. Psalm)
- His gift to God
- Influenced musicians in both Rock and Jazz
Coltrane’s evolution from Modal to Free Jazz
- Interest in Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and Archie Shepp
- lost much of his audience
- back to collective improvisation
- Drummer Rashied Ali
- Influenced many rock bands
What is Free Jazz?
- called “the new thing” early on
- Lennie Tristano was a pioneer in forecasting free jazz movement
- music devoid of traditional melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic practices
- abstract sound, unusual technique, electric distortion
- reflection of the turbulent 1960 (Vietnam, Civil Rights, Woman’s Rights)
Charles Mingus
-Bassist
-Influenced by:
Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Classical Composers, Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Gospel
-Known for solo bass, jazz trio and string quartet, jazz trios and big band instrumentation
-Masterpiece: Pithecanthropus Erectus
(4 Piece Movement 1. Evolution 2 Superiority Complex 3. Decline 4. Destruction)
-Hora Decubitus (album) Riffs layered in form of a “round”
Ornette Coleman (Free Jazz)
- Leading figure in Free Jazz
- played alto sax, trumpet, violin, & composed
- explored concept of intonation (was criticized for it)
- Made first recordings with drummer Billy Higgins
- Quartet included (Don Cherry (cornet), Billy Higgins (drummer), and Charlie Haden (bassist)
- Lonely Woman (most important early composition)
- Free Jazz (landmark album)
- Harmolodics (theory of music composition where harmony, melody, rhythm, and pulse are equally important (best reflected in The Good Life)
- Joined Pat Metheny to make album Song X
- AABA form.
Albert Ayler
- Tenor Saxophonist
- Spiritual Unity (landmark album)
- raised the intensity of free jazz (influenced Coltrane to do the same)
-Cecil Taylor
- Pianist
- Music Characteristics included (textural, turbulent atonal improvisation)
- Enter Evening (song) can be considered a tone poem
- one of few pianist to play free jazz
- Jitney No. 2 (textural improvisation)
Dave Holland
Bassist
-folk-like melody suggests lyrical approach to free jazz
A.A.C.M. & Art Ensemble of Chicago
- Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians
- provided music training to inner city youth
- organized and promoted concerts by important free jazz artists
- Art Ensemble: free jazz improvisation performances,
Keith Jarrett (solo improvisation)
- Pianist
- influenced by hard bop, stride, gospel, folk, avant-garde
- known for improvised solo piano concerts
Merging of Jazz, Rock, and Funk
- both styles shared similar roots
- featured improvisation (jazz has more than rock though)
- conveyed sense of freedom
- Jazz Rock embraced rhythmic conception of rock drumming
- the new generation of musicians emerged in the 1960s who grew up with Rock
Early Examples of Jazz Rock
- Herbie Hancock (played hard bop > free jazz > funk and techno> pioneered rock and soul jazz)
- Miles Davis’s (E.S.P. album) (Eight One song)
- Gary Burton and Larry Coryell
- Blood Sweat and Tears (band) first widespread jazz rock (inspired by James Brown and Hard bop)
Miles Davis and Fusion
-Influenced by funk of Sly & The Family Stone, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix
-first jazz artist on Rolling Stone cover
-Bitches Brew (masterwork)
Term “FUSION” emerged as result of this album, had a double rhythm section (made totally in the studio)
-included modal and free form improvisation, electric textures, rock funk grooves, distorted sound
Fusion and Free Jazz
- Weather Report (band) Wayne Shorter (composer) and Joe Zawinul
- helped establish direction of fusion.
- prior to 1976 Free Jazz improvisations were common
- after 1975 they did not use textural improvisation
- continuously changed their music
- Mahavashnu Orchestra (band) formed by John McLaughlin
- drew inspiration from John Coltrane and Charlie Parker
- contrasted stylistically with Weather Report (more free form improvisation jams)
- Beatles (Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band) recorded entirely in studio with no performances
- Herbie Hancock album (Headhunters) was Rock Jazz Funk fusion, used synthesizers/technology, developed in the studio
Fusion as Popular Music
- Fusion evolved as the turbulent 60s faded and lead to Smooth Jazz by mid 70s.
- The shift from Fusion to smooth jazz, due to shift from liberalism to conservatism
Technology and Fusion
- Herbie Hancock was a pioneer in jazz keyboard synthesizer technology
- Jaco Pastorius joined Weather Report and introduced electric bass, ultra high harmonics, other electric devices to create textures
- Michael Brecker created band (Steps Ahead) and was influenced by Coltrane
- Michael Brecker and Mike Mainieri used free from improvisation in performances with Miles Davis.
- used MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) technology
Miles Davis and Hip Hop Jazz
- Doo Bop (last Album) had hip hop rhythms, digital samples, and rap vocals in the 90s
- In the 80s his focus was on electronic music laced with synthesizer technology
Wynton Marsalis & Post Modern Bop
- trumpet player
- hard bop/cool jazz era of the 50s and 60s became “center of gravity” in jazz again “young Lions”
- this was due to conservatism shift
- he declared jazz as America’s classical music & rejected styles that emerged after hard bop/cool jazz
- 80s and 90s reffered to as Post Modern Bop and Neoclassic Jazz
- recorded with Art Blakey and toured with Herbie Hancock
- won Grammy in Classical and Jazz categories
- Trumpet style is similar to Clifford Brown
- Improvisation style closer to Miles Davis
- founded the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (first significant repertory ensemble)
Repertory Jazz Movement
- recreating past masterpieces (Ellington, Basie, Henderson)
- Don Byron created Bug Music (album) to explore overlooked songs of the past
- he was a stride pianist capable of playing everything from Ellington and Coleman
Beyond Post Modern Bop (New Direction)
- reissuing old jazz albums
- selling box sets of artists entire career
- small independent labels were responsible for recording new styles
New Voices in Jazz after 1980
-Carla Bley: forecast independent record labels and cofounded Watt Records
-Walking Batteriewoman (song)
-Dave Douglas: trumpet player, formed “string group” (trumpet, violin, cello, bass, drums)
-Matt Darriau: clarinetist/saxophonist, specialized in Eastern European folk music/ avant-garde with his Paradox Trio (band)
-Andrea Parking: amplified accordion and piano using laptop, early example of Nu Jazz
John Zorn: avant-garde composer/saxophonist Jewish music, Naked City (band)
Cuong Vu: avant-garde scene, improvisation combined rock, electronica, ambient music
Joshua Redman: was open minded about fusion and free jazz
Mike Mainieri: American Diaries (album) explored free jazz interpretations. Influenced by Jimi Hendrix and John Scofield
Regina Carter: violin,
Knitting Factory: independent record company/new York club
Twelve Tone: melodies were built on rows, using all twelve tones of the western chromatic scale, all twelve tones have equal value
