Chapter 23: Music in America: Jazz and Beyond

1. Chapter 23:Music in America: Jazz and Beyond Later Jazz

2. Bebop Jazz-rock Fusion Key Terms

3. Later Jazz • The popularity of big bands collapsed suddenly after World War II • They became too expensive to run • Entertainment styles changed – rhythm and blues & rock’n’roll were on the rise • Jazz styles changed as well • Revolutionary new jazz style appeared during the war – bebop

4. Bebop (1) • Early 1940s a discouraging time for young black jazz musicians • White players got most big band jobs • Little improv possible when they did get work • Commercial bands seemed to have sucked the life-blood out of jazz • These musicians gathered after-hours • Hammered out a new style in jam sessions at clubs in Harlem • This style would later be called bebop

5. Bebop (2) • Bebop emphasized solo improvisation • Small combos typical – more opportunities for improvisation • Often just a trumpet & saxophone with rhythm section – piano, bass, drums • Bebop demanded technical virtuosity • Everything was super-fast – tempo, rhythms, chord changes, sharp snap rhythms, etc. • Used complex harmonies in “far out” manner • Difficult, fantastical, wide-ranging melodies

6. Charlie Parker(1920-1955) • Bebop’s greatest genius • Alto saxophonist; nicknamed “Bird” • Bird & Dizzy Gillespie helped create bebop • He became a legend in his lifetime • But he could not overcome his demons • On drugs from the age of 15, suicide attempt, six months in a California mental institution, uncontrollable eating & drinking in later years • Died at the age of 34

7. Parker, Out of Nowhere (1) • A popular song in 32-bar A A’ form • Recorded live in a New York club in 1948 • Starts with “straight” version of tune

8. Parker, Out of Nowhere (2) • Solo choruses feature trumpet, sax, piano • Miles’ solo has typical bright bop sound, rapid passage work, & piercing high notes • Parker’s sax solo develops the tune’s opening motive with increasingly elaborate, irregular phrases & a bit of an Irish jig • Last chorus is like the first, with brief coda

9. Jazz after Bebop • With bebop, the avant-garde came to jazz • Emancipation of melody, harmony, tonality • Many new jazz styles followed • Cool jazz, free jazz, modal jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz, electric jazz, avant-garde jazz, etc. • The leaders were as diverse as the styles • Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman • They were the first to improvise freely – with no song, blues, or chord changes as a basis

10. Miles Davis(1926-1991) • One of the greatest jazz innovators • As improviser, composer, & bandleader • Started out playing bop with Charlie Parker • Pioneered cool jazz with Gil Evans – Birth of the Cool (1949-50) • Pioneered modal jazz with John Coltrane – Kind of Blue (1959) • Moved toward free jazz with Wayne Shorter & Herbie Hancock – Sorcerer, Nefertiti (1967) • Pioneered jazz-rock (fusion) with Joe Zawinul & John McLaughlin – Bitches Brew (1969)

11. Fusion • Jazz’s popularity faded in the 1960s • Rock’s popularity soared, especially with youth • Miles & others sought to bring rock’s energy & directness into jazz • Jazz-rock, or fusion, emerged • Combined elements of rock & jazz • Turned to rock instruments – electric guitar, electric bass, electric piano, synthesizer • Straight-ahead rock beat replaced swing feel

12. Davis, Bitches Brew • Miles’ most successful fusion album • Sold hundreds of thousands of copies to both rock & jazz listeners • Miles used a larger ensemble than usual • Trumpet, soprano sax, bass clarinet • Huge rhythm section – electric guitar, electric bass, acoustic bass, 2 auxiliary percussion, and up to 3 keyboards & 2 drummers • Used Echoplex to alter trumpet’s sound • Used rock rhythms & Motown bass licks

13. Bitches Brew (part) • 4 minute excerpt from 27 minute title track • Music ebbs & flows over rocklike electric bass ostinato & drum riffs • Builds from meditative, melancholy mood to wild, free climax & sinks back down • Extended solo for Miles • Uses ever more elaborate patterns, then snaps, a free high-register ostinato, & trumpet squeals • Supported by constantly changing figures from electric guitar, electric piano, & percussion • Polyrhythms similar to Yoruba drumming

14. Bebop Overview • c. 1944-50 – influenced many later styles • Favored small combos – trumpet, sax • Rhythm section – piano, bass, drums • Emphasized virtuoso solo improvisation • Complex melodies, chord, & rhythms , often played at breakneck speed • Afro-Cuban rhythms & instruments used • Humor – scatting, quotation, surprise accents • Based on popular songs (32-bar aaba) • Parker & Davis, Out of Nowhere

15. Cool Overview • c. 1949-55 – Bebop’s opposite • “Cool” – understated & thoughtful • Classical influence, especially impressionism • Pastel colors & light, straight (no vibrato) tone • Orchestral conception – added flute, oboe, French horn, oboe, vibraphone, etc. • Focus on arrangement, less improvisation • Sophisticated, flexible treatment of phrases & form – based on advanced harmonies • Bernstein, West Side Story, “Cool”

16. Jazz after Bebop Overview • Many new styles explored after 1950 • Hard bop, modal jazz, free jazz, fusion • New techniques for simultaneous improv • New structures (or none at all) substitute for pre-existing songs or chord changes • Electronic instruments added; expanded percussion & winds • Influence of popular styles, especially rock & funk • Miles Davis, Bitches Brew