Types of jazz styles. Styles and directions of modern jazz. Hard Bop. Performed by The Jazz Messengers Orchestra

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JAZZ(English jazz), a generic concept that defines several types of musical art that differ from each other in style, artistic goals, and role in public life. The term jazz (originally jass) did not appear until the turn of the 19th–20th centuries; it can come from the French jaser (with the meaning of “to chat”, which is preserved in American slang: jazz - “lies”, “nonsense”), and from which - a word in one of the African languages ​​that had a certain erotic meaning, especially since in the natural phrase jazz dance (“jazz dance”) the same meaning has been carried by the word dance since Shakespearean times. In the highest circles of the New and Old Worlds, the word, which later became a purely musical term, was associated with something noisy, rude, and dirty. English writer Richard Aldington in the preface to the novel Death of a Hero, which describes the “truth of the trenches” and the moral loss of personality after the First World War, calls his novel “jazz.”

Origins.

Jazz emerged as a result of a long interaction between various layers of musical culture throughout North America, wherever black slaves from Africa (mainly Western) had to master the culture of their white masters. These include religious hymns - spirituals, and the most common form of everyday music (brass band), and rural folklore (among blacks - skiffle), and most importantly - salon piano music ragtime - ragtime (literally “ragged rhythm”).

Minstrel show.

This music was spread by traveling “minstrel theaters” (not to be confused with the medieval European term) - minstrel shows, colorfully described by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the musical by Jerome Kern Showboat. The minstrel show troupes, which caricatured the life of Negroes, consisted of both whites (the first sound film also belongs to this genre Jazz singer, in which the role of a black man was played by the Lithuanian Jew Al Jolson, and the film itself had nothing to do with jazz as an art), and from black musicians, in this case forced to parody themselves.

Ragtime.

Thanks to the minstrel show, the public of European origin learned about what would later become jazz, and they accepted piano ragtime as their own art. It is no coincidence that the writer E. Doctorow and film director M. Forman turned the actual musical concept of “ragged rhythm” into “torn time” - a symbol of those changes that in the Old World were designated as “the end of the century.” By the way, the drum-like character of ragtime (coming from typical European late-romantic pianism) is greatly exaggerated due to the fact that the main means of its distribution was the mechanical piano, which did not convey the subtleties of piano technique. Among the black ragtime singer-songwriters there were also serious composers, such as Scott Joplin. But they became interested only seventy years later, after the success of the action movie Sting(1973), the soundtrack of which was based on the compositions of Joplin.

Blues.

Finally, there would be no jazz without the blues (blues is originally a collective plural, denoting a state of sadness, melancholy, despondency; the concept of “suffering” acquires the same double meaning in our country, although it denotes a completely different musical genre in nature). Blues is a solo (rarely a duet) song, the peculiarity of which is not only in its specific musical form, but also in its vocal and instrumental character. The formative principle inherited from Africa - a short question from the soloist and the same short answer from the choir (call & response, in choral form it appears in spiritual hymns: the “question” of the preacher - the “answer” of the parishioners) - in the blues turned into a vocal-instrumental principle: the author - the performer asks a question (and repeats it in the second line) and answers himself, most often on the guitar (less often on the banjo or piano). The blues is the cornerstone of modern pop music, from black rhythm and blues to rock music.

Archaic jazz.

In jazz, its origins merged into a single channel, which happened in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Often, separate streams were arbitrarily connected with each other: for example, according to one of the African traditions, brass bands played funeral marches on the way to the cemetery, and cheerful dances on the way back. In small pubs, wandering blues singer-songwriters sang to the accompaniment of a piano (the manner of performing blues on the piano in the late 1920s would turn into an independent musical genre, boogie-woogie), typical European salon orchestras included songs and dances from their minstrel shows in their repertoire, cakewalk (or cakewalk, cake-walk - dance to ragtime music). Europe learned ragtime precisely as an accompaniment to the latter (the famous Puppet cakewalk Claude Debussy). And characteristically African-American plastic arts were produced at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. no less, if not more, impressive than syncopated salon music). By the way, records of a brass band of one of the Russian imperial regiments with a cakewalk have been preserved Negro's Dream. All these combinations are conventionally called archaic jazz.

If necessary, ragtime pianists, together with brass bands, accompanied blues singers and vocalists, and they, in turn, included entertainment and salon repertoire in their programs. Such music can already be considered jazz, even if the first bands called themselves, as in the famous song and then the film musical by Irving Berlin, “ragtime orchestras.”

New Orleans.

It is believed that the most favorable circumstances accompanied the formation of jazz in the port city of New Orleans. But we must keep in mind that jazz was born wherever there was an interpenetration of African-American and European cultures.

In New Orleans, two African-American cultures coexisted side by side: the Creoles (French-speaking blacks, usually Catholics) who enjoyed relative freedom and the Anglo-Saxon Protestant slaves freed after the American Civil War. Although the civil liberties of French-speaking Creoles were also relative, they still had access to classical culture of European origin, which, say, in Puritan New England even immigrants from Europe were deprived of. The opera house, for example, opened in New Orleans much earlier than in the Puritan cities of the Northern United States. In New Orleans, public entertainment was allowed on holidays - dancing, carnivals. Not the least important role was played by the presence in New Orleans of the “red lights” district, Storyville, which is obligatory for a port city.

Brass bands in New Orleans, as in Europe, formed an integral part of city life. But in the African-American community, the brass band has undergone a radical transformation. From a rhythmic point of view, their music was as primitive as European dances and marches, and had nothing in common with future jazz. The main melodic material was rationally and compactly distributed between three instruments: all three played the same theme - the cornet (trumpet) carried it more or less close to the original, the mobile clarinet seemed to meander around the main melodic line, and the trombone interjected from time to time rare but compelling remarks. The leaders of the most famous ensembles not only in New Orleans, but throughout the state of Louisiana were Bunk Johnson, Freddie Keppard and Charles "Buddy" Bolden. However, the original records of that time have not survived, and it is no longer possible to verify the authenticity of the nostalgic memories of New Orleans veterans (including Louis Armstrong).

Even before the outbreak of the First World War, ensembles of “white” musicians appeared who called their music “jass” (“ss” was soon replaced by “zz”, since the word “jass” easily turned into not very decent, it was enough to erase the first letter "j"). The fact that New Orleans enjoyed fame as a center of “resort” entertainment is proven by the fact that the New Orleans Rhythm Kings ensemble with the popular pianist-composer Elmer Shebel was popular in Chicago, but there was not a single New Orleanian in it. Over time, the “white orchestras” began to call themselves - in contrast to the black ones - Dixieland, i.e. simply "southern". One such ensemble, the Original Dixieland Jass Band, found itself in New York at the beginning of 1917 and made the first recordings of what could definitely be considered jazz not only in name. A record was released with two things: Livery Stable Blues And Dixieland Jass Band One-Step.

Chicago.

At the same time, a jazz environment was forming in Chicago, where many New Orleanians settled after the United States entered World War I in 1917 and martial law was introduced in New Orleans. Trumpeter Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band was especially famous (although there was only one real Creole among its members). The Creole Jazz Band became famous due to the coordinated performance of two cornets at once - Oliver himself and his young student Louis Armstrong. Oliver-Armstrong's first records, recorded in 1923 with the famous “breaks” of two cornets, became jazz classics.

"The Age of Jazz".

In the 1920s, the “Jazz Age” began. Louis Armstrong asserts the priority of the improvising soloist with his ensembles “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven”; pianist-composer Jelly Roll Morton gains fame in New Orleans; Another New Orleanian, Creole clarinetist-saxophonist Sidney Bechet, spread the fame of jazz in the Old World (he toured, including Soviet Russia, in 1926). The famous Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet was impressed by Bechet with precisely that characteristically “French” vibration that the whole world would later recognize in the voice of Edith Piaf. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the first jazzman from the Old World to influence Americans was the Belgian gypsy Django Reinhardt, a guitarist who lived in France.

New York is beginning to be proud of its own jazz forces - the Harlem orchestras of Fletcher Henderson, Louis Russell (Armstrong himself worked with both of them) and Duke Ellington, who moved here in 1926 from Washington and quickly gained a leading position in the famous Cotton Club.

Improvisation.

It was in the 1920s that the main principle of jazz was gradually formed - not dogma, not form, but improvisation. In New Orleans jazz/Dixieland it is believed to be collective in nature, although this is not entirely accurate, since in fact the source material (the theme) is not yet separated from its development. In essence, New Orleans musicians were repeating by ear the simplest forms of European songs, dances and black blues.

In Armstrong's ensembles, with the participation, first of all, of the outstanding pianist Earl Hines, the formation of the jazz form of the theme with variations began (theme - solo improvisations - theme), where the “unit of improvisation” is the chorus (in Russian terminology “square”), as if a variant of the original themes of exactly the same (or in the future – related) harmonic construction. Entire schools of black and white musicians took advantage of Armstrong's discoveries during the Chicago period; white Bix Beiderbeck composed compositions in the spirit of Armstrong, but they turned out to be surprisingly close to musical impressionism (and had characteristic names like In A Mist – In a foggy haze). Virtuoso pianist Art Tatum relied more on the harmonic scheme of the square than on the melody of the original theme. Saxophonists Columen Hawkins, Lester Young, Benny Carter transferred their achievements to single-voice wind instruments.

Fletcher Henderson's orchestra was the first to develop a system of “support” for a solo improviser: the orchestra was divided into three sections - rhythmic (piano, guitar, double bass and drums), saxophone and brass (trumpets, trombones). Against the background of the constant pulsation of the rhythm section, saxophones and trumpets with trombones exchanged short, repeating “formulas” - riffs developed in the practice of folk blues. The riff was both harmonic and rhythmic in nature.

1930s.

This formula was adopted by virtually all large groups that formed already in the 1930s, after the economic crisis of 1929. Actually, the career of the “king of swing” - Benny Goodman - began with several arrangements by Fletcher Henderson. But even black jazz historians admit that Goodman's orchestra, originally composed of white musicians, played better than Henderson's own orchestra. One way or another, the interaction between the black swing orchestras of Andy Kirk, Jimmy Lunsford, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and white orchestras was improving: Goodman played Count Basie’s repertoire, Charlie Barnett copied Ellington, and the band of clarinetist Woody Herman was even called “an orchestra playing the blues.” . There were also very popular orchestras of the Dorsey brothers (black Cy Oliver worked there as an arranger), Artie Shaw (he first introduced a fourth group - strings), Glenn Miller (with the famous “crystal chord” - crystal chorus, when a clarinet plays along with saxophones; for example, in the famous Lunar Serenade- the leitmotif of the second film with Miller, Orchestra members' wives). First film - Sun Valley Serenade- was filmed before the United States entered World War II and was among the war trophies obtained by the Red Army in Germany. Therefore, it was this musical comedy that was destined to personify almost the entire art of jazz for two or three generations of post-war Soviet youth. The fact that the completely natural combination of clarinets and saxophones sounded revolutionary shows how standardized the products of the arrangers of the swing era were. It is no coincidence that by the end of the pre-war decade, even the “King of Swing” Goodman himself became clear that creativity in large orchestras - big bands - was giving way to a standardized routine. Goodman reduced the number of his musicians to six and began regularly inviting black musicians into his sextet - trumpeter Cootie Williams from Ellington's orchestra and young electric guitarist Charlie Criscian, which was a very bold step at that time. Suffice it to say that Goodman’s colleague, pianist and composer Raymond Scott, even composed a piece called When Kuti left Duke.

Formally, even Duke Ellington agreed with the generally accepted division of the orchestra into three groups, but in his instrumentation he was based not so much on the scheme as on the capabilities of the musicians themselves (they said about him: in a jazz score, instead of the names of instruments, there are names of musicians; even his three-minute virtuoso pieces Ellington called Concerto for Cootie, mentioned by Cootie Williams). It was in Ellington's work that it became clear that improvisation is an artistic principle.

The 1930s were also the heyday of the Broadway musical, which supplied jazz with the so-called. evergreens (literally “evergreen”) - individual numbers that turned into standard jazz repertoire. By the way, the concept of “standard” in jazz does not contain anything reprehensible; it is the name of either a popular melody or a specially written theme for improvisation. The standard is, so to speak, an analogue of the philharmonic concept of “repertoire classics”.

In addition, the 1930s is the only period when most of all popular music, if not jazz (or swing, as they said then), was at least created under its influence.

Naturally, the creative potential formed within swing orchestras of improvising musicians, by definition, could not be realized in entertaining swing orchestras, such as Cab Calloway’s orchestra. It is no coincidence that jam sessions play such a large role in jazz—meetings of musicians in a narrow circle, usually late at night, after work, especially on the occasion of tours of colleagues from other places.

Bebop - bop.

At such meetings, young soloists from various groups - including Charlie Christian, guitarist from Benny Goodman's sextet, drummer Kenny Clark, pianist Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie - gathered in one Harlem club back in the early 1940s. By the end of World War II, it became clear that a new style of jazz had been born. From a purely musical point of view, it was no different from what was played in the swing big bands. The external form was completely new - it was “music for musicians”; there were no “instructions” to the dancers in the form of a clear rhythm, loud chords at the beginning and end, or simple and recognizable melodies in the new music. The musicians played popular Broadway songs and blues, but instead of the familiar melodies of these songs they deliberately used improvisations. It is believed that trumpeter Gillespie was the first to call what he and his colleagues were doing "reebop" or "bebop", or "bop" for short. At the same time, the jazzman began to transform from an entertaining musician into a figure of social significance, which coincided with the birth of the beatnik movement. Gillespie brought into fashion glasses with massive frames (at first even with glasses without diopters), berets instead of hats, special jargon, in particular the still fashionable word cool instead of hot. But the young New Yorkers received their main impetus when alto saxophonist Charlie Parker from Kansas City (played in Jay McShann's big band) joined the company of boppers. Brilliantly gifted, Parker went much further than his colleagues and contemporaries. By the end of the 1950s, even such innovators as Monk and Gillespie returned to their roots - to black music, while the discoveries of Parker and some of his associates (drummer Max Roach, pianist Bud Powell, trumpeter Fats Navarro) still attract the attention of musicians.

Cool.

In the 1940s in the United States, due to copyright disputes, the musicians' union prohibited instrumentalists from recording records; In reality, only recordings of vocalists accompanied by one piano or a vocal ensemble were released. When the ban was lifted (1944), it became clear that the "microphone" singer (for example, Frank Sinatra) was becoming the central figure of pop music. Bebop attracted attention as a "club" music, but soon lost its audience. But in a softened form and already under the name “cool”, the new music took root in elite clubs. Yesterday's boppers, for example the young black trumpeter Miles Davis, were helped by respectable musicians, in particular Gil Evans, pianist and arranger of Claude Thornhill's swing orchestra. In Miles Davis's Capitol-Nonet (named after the Capitol company that recorded the nonet, later reissued under the title Birth of the Cool) both white and black musicians “practised” together - saxophonists Lee Konitz and Gerry Mulligan, as well as the black pianist and composer John Lewis, who played with Charlie Parker and later founded the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Another pianist whose name is associated with the cool, the blind Lenny Tristano was the first to use the capabilities of the recording studio (speeding up film, overdubbing one recording onto another). Tristano was the first to record his spontaneous improvisations, not bound by the square shape. Concert works for big bands (various in style - from neoclassicism to serialism) under the general name "progressive" could not prolong the agony of swing and did not have a public resonance (although among the authors were young American composers Milton Babbitt, Pete Rugolo, Bob Graettinger). At least one of the "progressive" orchestras - led by pianist Stan Kenton - certainly outlived its time and enjoyed some popularity.

West Coast.

Many of Kenton's orchestra members served Hollywood, so the more Europeanized direction of the "cool" style (with academic instruments - horn, oboe, bassoon and the corresponding manner of sound production, and to a certain extent the use of polyphonic imitative forms) was called "West coast" (West coast). ). The Shorty Rogers Octet (of which Igor Stravinsky spoke highly), the ensembles of Shelley Mann and Bud Shank, the quartets of Dave Brubeck (with saxophonist Paul Desmond) and Gerry Mulligan (with white trumpeter Chet Baker and black trumpeter Art Farmer).

Back in the 1920s, the historical ties of the African-American population of the United States with the black population of Latin America had an impact, but only after World War II did jazzmen (primarily Dizzy Gillespie) begin to consciously use Latin American rhythms, and even talked about an independent direction - Afro-Cuban jazz.

In the late 1930s, an attempt was made to restore old New Orleans jazz under the names New Orleans Renaissance and Dixieland Revival. Traditional jazz, as all varieties of New Orleans style and Dixieland (and even swing) later became known, became widespread in Europe and almost merged with the urban everyday music of the Old World - the famous three “B” in Great Britain - Acker Bilk, Chris Barber and Kenny Ball (the latter became famous for the Dixieland version Moscow evenings at the very beginning of the 1960s). In the wake of the Dixieland revival in Great Britain, a fashion arose for archaic ensembles of homemade instruments - skiffles, with which the members of the Beatles quartet began their careers.

In the USA, entrepreneurs George Wayne (organizer of the famous jazz festival of the 1950s in Newport, Rhode Island) and Norman Grantz supported (and actually formed) the idea of ​​the mainstream - classical jazz, built according to a proven scheme (collectively played theme - solo improvisation - reprise of the theme) and based on the expressive means of the 1930s with individual, carefully selected techniques of later styles. In this sense, the mainstream includes, for example, the musicians of Granz’s enterprise “Jazz at the Philharmonic”. In a broader sense, mainstream is essentially all jazz before the early 1960s, including bebop and its later varieties.

Late 1950 – early 1960s

– one of the most fruitful periods in the history of jazz. With the advent of rock and roll, instrumental improvisation was finally pushed to the margins of pop music, and jazz as a whole began to realize its place in culture: clubs appeared in which it was customary to listen more than to dance (one of them was even called “Birdland” , nicknamed Charlie Parker), festivals (often outdoors), record companies created special departments for jazz - “labels”, and an independent recording industry arose (for example, the Riverside company, which began with a brilliantly compiled anthology on the history of jazz). Even earlier, in the 1930s, specialized magazines began to emerge (“Down Beat” in the USA, various illustrated monthlies in Sweden, France, and in the 1950s in Poland). Jazz seems to bifurcate into light, club music, and serious, concert music. A continuation of the “progressive” movement was the “third movement,” an attempt to combine jazz improvisation with the forms and performing resources of symphonic and chamber music. All trends converged on the “Modern Jazz Quartet,” the main experimental laboratory for the synthesis of jazz and “classics.” However, enthusiasts of the “third movement” were in a hurry; they were wishful thinking, believing that a generation of symphony orchestra players had already appeared who were sufficiently familiar with jazz practice. The “third movement,” like any other movement in jazz, still has its adherents, and in some music schools in the USA and Europe performing groups are created from time to time (“Orchestra USA”, “American Philharmonic” "Jack Elliott) and even teach relevant courses (in particular, by pianist Ran Blake). The “third movement” found apologists in Europe, especially after the performance of the “Modern Jazz Quartet” in the center of the world musical avant-garde in Donaueschingen (Germany) in 1954.

On the other hand, the best swing big bands competed with pop music in the field of dance music. New directions in light jazz music also appeared. Thus, the Brazilian guitarist Lorindo Almeida, who moved to the United States in the early 1950s, tried to convince his colleagues that it was possible to improvise based on the rhythm of Brazilian samba. However, it was only after the tour of the Stan Getz Quartet in Brazil that “jazz samba” appeared, which in Brazil was given the name “bossa nova”. Bossa Nova actually became the first sign of the future New World music.

Bebop remained the mainstream in jazz of the 1950s and 1960s - already under the name hard bop (heavy, energetic bop; at one time they tried to introduce the concept of “neo-bop”), updated by the improvisational and composing discoveries of the cool. During the same period, an event occurred that had very serious aesthetic consequences, including for jazz. Singer-organist-saxophonist Ray Charles is the first to connect the incompatible - the structures (in vocal music also of lyrical content) of the blues and the question-and-answer microstructure associated only with the pathos of spiritual chants. This direction receives the name “soul” in black culture (a concept that in the radical 1960s became synonymous with the words “negro”, “black”, “African-American”, etc.); the concentrated content of all African-American traits in jazz and black pop music was called “funky.”

At that time, hard bop and jazz soul were opposed to each other (sometimes even within the same group, for example, the Adderley brothers; one, saxophonist Julian “Cannonball,” considered himself a follower of hard bop, the other, cornetist Nat, a follower of soul jazz). The central group of hard bop, this academy of the modern mainstream, was (until the death of its leader, drummer Art Blakey, in 1990) the Jazz Messengers quintet.

The Gil Evans Orchestra's series of records, a kind of Miles Davis trumpet concerto with orchestra, which came out in the late 1950s and early 1960s, fully corresponded to the cool aesthetics of the 1940s, and Miles Davis's recordings of the mid-1960s (in particular, the album Miles Smiles), i.e. the apotheosis of the updated bebop - hard bop, appeared when the jazz avant-garde - the so-called - was already in fashion. free jazz.

Free jazz.

Already in work on one of the orchestral albums of trumpeter Davis ( Porgy & Bess, 1960) arranger Evans suggested that the trumpeter improvise based not on a harmonic sequence of a certain duration - a square, but on a certain scale - a mode, also not random, but extracted from the same theme, but not the chord accompaniment, but rather the melody itself. The principle of modality, lost by European music back in the Renaissance, but still underlying all professional music in Asia (mugam, raga, dastan, etc.), opened up truly limitless opportunities for enriching jazz with the experience of world musical culture. And Davis and Evans did not fail to use it, and on the Spanish (that is, essentially Euro-Asian) flamenco material that was ideally suited for this purpose.

Davis's colleague, saxophonist John Coltrane, turned to India; Coltrane's colleague, the late and brilliantly gifted saxophonist and flautist Eric Dolphy, turned to the European musical avant-garde (the title of his play is noteworthy Gazzeloni- in honor of the Italian flutist, performer of music Luigi Nono and Pierre Boulez).

At the same time, in the same 1960, two quartets - Eric Dolphy and alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman (with trumpeters Don Cherry and Freddie Hubbard, double bassists Charlie Haden and Scott La Faro) - recorded an album Free jazz (Free Jazz), ostentatiously decorated with a reproduction of a painting White light famous abstract artist Jackson Pollock. The approximately 40-minute stream of collective consciousness was a spontaneous, demonstratively unrehearsed (although two versions were recorded) improvisation by eight musicians, and only in the middle did everyone briefly converge in Coleman's pre-written unison. After "summing up" modal soul jazz and hard bop in an album that was very successful in all respects A Love Supreme(including commercially - 250 thousand records were sold), John Coltrane, however, followed in Coleman’s footsteps by recording the program Ascension (Ascension) with a team of black avant-garde (including, by the way, the black saxophonist from Copenhagen John Chikai). In the UK, the black West Indian alto saxophonist Joe Herriot also became a promoter of free jazz. In addition to Great Britain, an independent school of free jazz has developed in the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. In other countries, spontaneous collective improvisation turned out to be a temporary hobby, a fashion for the avant-garde (1960s - the last period of experimental avant-garde in academic music); At the same time, there was a transition from the aesthetics of innovation at any cost to a postmodern dialogue with the past. We can say that free jazz (together with other movements of the jazz avant-garde) is the first phenomenon in world jazz in which the Old World was in no way inferior to the New. It is no coincidence that many American avant-garde artists, in particular Sun Ra and his big band, “hidden” in Europe for a long time (almost until the end of the 1960s). In 1968, a team of European avant-garde artists recorded a project that was far ahead of its time. Machine Gun, the “Spontaneous Music Ensemble” arose in the UK and for the first time the principles of spontaneous improvisation were theoretically formulated (by the guitarist and leader of the ongoing project Company Derek Bailey). The Instant Composers Pool association operated in the Netherlands, the Alexander von Schlippenbach Globe Unity Orchestra operated in Germany, and the first jazz opera was recorded through international efforts. Escalator Over the Hill Carla Bley.

But only a few - among them pianist Cecil Taylor, saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton - remained true to the principles of "sturm und drang" at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s.

At the same time, black avant-garde artists - political radicals and followers of John Coltrane (in fact, Coltrane himself, who died in 1967) - Archie Shepp, the Ayler brothers, Pharoah Sanders - returned to moderate modal forms of improvisation, often of oriental origin (for example, Joseph Latif , Don Cherry). They were followed by yesterday's radicals like Carla Bley, Don Ellis, Chick Corea, who easily switched to electrified jazz-rock.

Jazz rock.

The symbiosis of the “cousins” of jazz and rock music had to wait a long time. The first attempts at rapprochement were made not even by jazzmen, but by rockers - musicians of the so-called. brass rock - American groups "Chicago", British bluesmen led by guitarist John McLaughlin. They independently approached jazz rock outside English-speaking countries, for example Zbigniew Namyslowsky in Poland.

All eyes were on trumpeter Miles Davis, who once again took jazz down a risky path. During the second half of the 1960s, Davis gradually moved towards electric guitar, keyboard synthesizers and rock rhythms. In 1970 he released the album Bitches Brew with several keyboard players and McLaughlin on electric guitar. Throughout the 1970s, the development of jazz-rock (aka fusion) was determined by the musicians who took part in the recording of this album - keyboardist Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter created the group “Weather Report”, John McLaughlin - the quintet “Mahavishnu Orchestra”, pianist Chick Corea - the Return to Forever ensemble, drummer Tony Williams and organist Larry Young - the Lifetime quartet, pianist and keyboardist Herbie Hancock participated in several projects. Jazz again, but at a new level, is moving closer to soul and funky (Hancock and Corea, for example, participate in the recordings of singer Stevie Wonder). Even the great pioneering tenor saxophonist of the 1950s, Sonny Rollins, switches to funky pop music for a time.

However, by the end of the 1970s, there was also a “counter” movement towards the restoration of “acoustic” jazz - both avant-garde (Sam Rivers’ famous “attic” festival in 1977) and hard bop - in the same year, musicians of the Miles Davis ensemble The 1960s are reassembled, but without Davis himself, replaced by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.

With the emergence of such an influential figure as Wynton Marsalis in the early 1980s, neo-mainstream, or, as it is also called, neo-classicism, actually occupied a dominant position in jazz.

This doesn't mean everything is going back to the first half of the 1960s. On the contrary, by the mid-1980s, attempts to synthesize seemingly mutually exclusive movements were becoming more and more noticeable - for example, hard bop and electric funky in the New York association "M-base", which included singer Cassandra Wilson, saxophonist Steve Coleman, pianist Jeri Ellen, or the light electric fusion of guitarist Pat Metheny, who collaborates with both Ornette Coleman and his British colleague Derek Bailey. Coleman himself unexpectedly assembles an “electric” ensemble with two guitarists (including prominent funk musicians - guitarist Vernon Reid and bass guitarist Jamaladin Takuma). However, at the same time, he does not abandon his principle of collective improvisation according to the “harmonody” method he formulated.

The principle of polystylistics underlies the New York Downtown school, led by saxophonist John Zorn.

Late 20th century

American-centrism is giving way to a new information space, conditioned, among other things, by new means of mass communication (including the Internet). In jazz, as in new pop music, knowledge of the musical languages ​​of the “third world” and the search for a “common denominator” become mandatory. This is Indo-European folklore in Ned Rothenberg’s Sync quartet or a Russian-Carpathian mixture in the Moscow Art Trio.

Interest in traditional musical cultures leads to the fact that New York avant-garde artists begin to master the everyday music of the Jewish diaspora, and the French saxophonist Louis Sclavis begins to master Bulgarian folk music.

If previously it was possible to become famous in jazz only “through America” (as, for example, the Austrian Joe Zawinul, the Czechs Miroslav Vitous and Jan Hammer, the Pole Michal Urbaniak, the Swede Sven Asmussen, the Dane Niels Hennig Ørsted-Pedersen, who emigrated from the USSR to 1973 Valery Ponomarev), now leading trends in jazz are taking shape in the Old World and even subjugate the leaders of American jazz - such as, for example, the artistic principles of the ESM company (folklore, composerly polished and typically European in “sound” stream of consciousness), formulated by the German producer Manfred Eicher using the example of the music of the Norwegian Jan Garbarek, are now professed by Chick Corea, pianist Keith Jarrett, and saxophonist Charles Lloyd, even without being associated with this company by exclusive contracts. Independent schools of folk jazz (world jazz) and jazz avant-garde are also emerging in the USSR (the famous Vilnius school, among the founders of which, however, there was not a single Lithuanian: Vyacheslav Ganelin - from the Moscow region, Vladimir Chekasin - from Sverdlovsk, Vladimir Tarasov - from Arkhangelsk, but among their students was, in particular, Petras Vishniauskas). The international character of mainstream and free jazz, the openness of the civilized world lead to the emergence of, for example, the influential Polish-Finnish group of Tomasz Stańko - Edward Vesal or the strong Estonian-Russian duet Lembit Saarsalu - Leonid Vinckevich "above the barriers" of statehood and nationality. The boundaries of jazz are expanding even further with the involvement of everyday music of different nations - from country to chanson in the so-called. jam-bands.

Literature:

Sargent W. Jazz. M., 1987
Soviet jazz. M., 1987
« Listen to what I tell you» . Jazzmen about the history of jazz. M., 2000

The term "jazz" was first used in the mid-1910s. At that time, this word was used to designate small orchestras and the music they performed.

The main features of jazz are unconventional methods of sound production and intonation, the improvisational nature of conveying the melody, as well as its development, constant rhythmic pulsation, intense emotionality.

Jazz has several styles, the first of which was formed between 1900 and 1920. This style, called New Orleans, is characterized by collective improvisation of the melodic group of the orchestra (cornet, clarinet, trombone) against the background of a four-beat accompaniment of the rhythm group (drums, winds or strings, bass, banjo, and in some cases piano).

New Orleans style is called classic or traditional. This is also Dixieland - a style variety that arose on the basis of imitation of black New Orleans music, which was hotter and more energetic. Gradually, this difference between Dixieland and New Orleans style was practically lost.

The New Orleans style is characterized by collective improvisation with a clear emphasis on the leading voice. For improvisational choruses, a melodic-harmonic blues structure was used.

Among the many orchestras that have turned to this style, one can highlight J. King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. In addition to Oliver (cornetist), it included the talented clarinetist Johnny Dodds and the incomparable Louis Armstrong, who later became the founder of his own orchestras - “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven”, where instead of the clarinet he took the trumpet.

The New Orleans style brought to the world a number of real stars who had a great influence on musicians of subsequent generations. Mention should be made of pianist J. Roll Morton and clarinetist Jimmy Noone. But jazz went beyond the borders of New Orleans mainly thanks to Louis Armstrong and clarinetist Sidney Bechet. They were the ones who were able to prove to the world that jazz is primarily the art of soloists.

Louis Armstrong Orchestra

In the 1920s, the Chicago style emerged with its characteristic features of performing dance pieces. The main thing here was solo improvisation, following the collective presentation of the main theme. White musicians, many of whom had professional musical education, made a significant contribution to the development of this style. Thanks to them, jazz music was enriched with elements of European harmony and performing technique. In contrast to the hot New Orleans style that developed in the American South, the more northern Chicago style became much cooler.

Among the outstanding white performers, it is necessary to note the musicians who, in the late 1920s, were not inferior in skill to their black colleagues. These are clarinettists Pee Wee Russell, Frank Teschemacher and Benny Goodman, trombonist Jack Teagarden and, of course, the brightest star of American jazz - cornetist Bix Beiderbeck.

Jazz is a special type of music that combines American music of previous centuries, African rhythms, secular, work and ritual songs. Fans of this kind of music can download their favorite tunes using the website http://vkdj.org/.

Features of Jazz

Jazz has certain features:

• rhythm;
• improvisation;
• polyrhythm.

It received its harmony as a result of European influence. Jazz is based on a special rhythm of African origin. This style covers instrumental and vocal styles. Jazz exists through the use of musical instruments that are of secondary importance in conventional music. Jazz musicians must have the ability to improvise in solo and orchestral settings.

Characteristics of jazz music

The main feature of jazz is freedom of rhythm, which awakens in performers a feeling of lightness, relaxation, freedom and continuous movement forward. Both classical works and this kind of music have their own meter and rhythm, which is called swing. For this direction, constant pulsation is very important.

Jazz has its own characteristic repertoire and unusual forms. The main ones include blues and ballads, which serve as a kind of basis for all kinds of musical versions.

This type of music is the creativity of those who perform it. It is the specificity and originality of the musician that forms its basis. It is not possible to learn it from notes alone. This genre entirely depends on the creativity and inspiration of the performer at the moment of playing, who puts his emotions and soul into the work.

The main characteristic features of this music include:

• harmony;
• melody;
• rhythm.

Thanks to improvisation, a new piece is created every time. Never in life will two works performed by different musicians sound the same. Otherwise orchestras will try to copy each other.

This modern style has many features of African music. One of them is that each instrument can act as a percussion instrument. When performing jazz compositions, well-known conversational tones are used. Another borrowed feature is that playing instruments mimics conversation. This type of professional musical art, which changes greatly over time, has no strict boundaries. He is completely open to the influence of performers.

Ibrasheva Alina and Gazgireeva Malika

presentation on the topic "Jazz", which talks about the origin of the innovation of jazz and its varieties

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Main movements Varieties of jazz Compiled by: Alina Ibrasheva and Malika Gazgireeva, 7th grade, school No. 28. Teacher: Kolotova Tamara Gennadievna

Jazz is a form of musical art that arose in the late 19th - early 20th centuries in the USA as a result of the synthesis of African and European cultures and subsequently became widespread. The characteristic features of the musical language of jazz initially were improvisation, polyrhythm based on syncopated rhythms, and a unique set of techniques for performing rhythmic texture - swing. What is Jazz?

The origins of jazz are connected with the blues. It arose at the end of the 19th century as a fusion of African rhythms and European harmony, but its origins should be sought from the moment of the importation of slaves from Africa to the territory of the New World. Any African music is characterized by a very complex rhythm; the music is always accompanied by dancing, which consists of rapid stamping and clapping. The need for consolidation led to the unification of many cultures - to the creation of a single culture of African Americans. The processes of mixing African and European culture occurred starting from the 18th century, and in the 19th century led to the emergence of “proto-jazz”, and then jazz. Origins

The term New Orleans, or traditional, jazz usually refers to the style of musicians who performed jazz in New Orleans between 1900 and 1917, as well as New Orleans musicians who played and recorded in Chicago from about 1917 through the 1920s. . This period of jazz history is also known as the Jazz Age. And this concept is also used to describe the music performed at various historical periods by representatives of the New Orleans revival, who sought to perform jazz in the same style as the musicians of the New Orleans school. New Orleans jazz or traditional jazz

The term has two meanings. Firstly, it is an expressive means in jazz. A characteristic type of pulsation based on constant deviations of the rhythm from the supporting beats. Thanks to this, the impression of great internal energy is created, which is in a state of unstable equilibrium. Secondly, the style of orchestral jazz, which developed at the turn of the 1920s and 30s as a result of the synthesis of Negro and European stylistic forms of jazz music. Performers: Joe Pass, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Norah Jones, Michel Legrand, Oscar Peterson, Ike Quebec, Paulinho Da Costa, Wynton Marsalis Septet, Mills Brothers, Stephane Grappelli. Swing

Jazz style, an experimental creative direction in jazz, associated mainly with the practice of small ensembles (combos), which developed in the early to mid-40s of the 20th century and ushered in the era of modern jazz. Characterized by fast tempo and complex improvisations. The bebop phase marked a significant shift in the emphasis of jazz from popular dance music to more highly artistic ones. Main musicians: saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, drummer Max Roach. Bop

The classic, established form of big bands has been known in jazz since the early 1920s. This form remained relevant until the late 1940s. The musicians who joined most big bands played very specific parts, either memorized at rehearsals or from notes. Careful orchestrations coupled with large brass and woodwind sections brought out rich jazz harmonies and created a sensationally loud sound that became known as “the big band sound.” The most famous: Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Chick Webb, Glen Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Lunsford. Big bands

After the end of the prevailing fashion of large orchestras in the era of big bands, when the music of large orchestras on the stage began to be crowded out by small jazz ensembles, swing music continued to be heard. Many famous swing soloists, after concert performances in ball rooms, liked to play for fun at spontaneous jams in small clubs on 52nd Street in New York. Moreover, these were not only those who worked as “sidemen” in large orchestras, such as Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, being initially soloists, and not just conductors, were also looking for opportunities to play separately from their large ensemble, in a small composition. Mainstream

Although the history of jazz began in New Orleans with the advent of the 20th century, the music really took off in the early 1920s when trumpeter Louis Armstrong left New Orleans to create revolutionary new music in Chicago. The migration of New Orleans jazz masters to New York, which began shortly thereafter, marked a trend of constant movement of jazz musicians from the South to the North. Chicago took the music of New Orleans and made it hot, raising its intensity not only with the efforts of Armstrong's famous Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, but also with others. Northeastern jazz. Stride

The high intensity and pressure of bebop began to weaken with the development of cool jazz. Beginning in the late 1940s and early 1950s, musicians began to develop a less violent, smoother approach to improvisation, modeled after the light, dry playing of tenor saxophonist Lester Young during his swing days. The result was a detached and uniformly flat sound, based on emotional “coolness”. Trumpeter Miles Davis, one of the pioneers of bebop who cooled it down, became the genre's greatest innovator. His nonet, who recorded the album “The Birth of a Cool” in 1949-1950, was the embodiment of the lyricism and restraint of cool jazz. Cool (cool jazz)

In parallel with the emergence of bebop, a new genre was developing among jazz - progressive jazz, or simply progressive. The main difference of this genre is the desire to move away from the frozen cliché of big bands and outdated, worn-out techniques of the so-called. symphonic jazz, introduced in the 1920s by Paul Whiteman. Unlike boppers, progressive creators did not strive for a radical rejection of the jazz traditions that had developed at that time. The greatest contribution to the development of the concept of “progressive” was made by pianist and conductor Stan Kenton. Progressive jazz of the early 1940s actually began with his first works. The sound of the music performed by his first orchestra was close to Rachmaninoff, and the compositions bore the features of late romanticism. Progressive jazz

Hard bop (English - hard, hard bop) is a type of jazz that emerged in the 50s. XX century from bop. It is distinguished by expressive, brutal rhythms, based on blues. Refers to the styles of modern jazz. Around the same time that cool jazz was taking root on the West Coast, jazz musicians from Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York began developing harder, heavier variations of the old bebop formula, called Hard Bop or Hard Bebop. Closely resembling traditional bebop in its aggressiveness and technical demands, hard bop of the 1950s and 1960s relied less on standard song forms and began to place more emphasis on blues elements and rhythmic drive. Hard bop

Soul jazz (English soul - soul) - soul music in the broad sense is sometimes called all black music associated with the blues tradition. It is characterized by its reliance on the traditions of blues and African-American folklore. A close relative of hard bop, soul jazz is represented by small, organ-based mini-formats that emerged in the mid-1950s and continued to perform into the 1970s. Based on blues and gospel, soul-jazz music pulses with African-American spirituality. Soul jazz

Perhaps the most controversial movement in jazz history arose with the advent of free jazz, or "New Thing" as it was later called. Although elements of free jazz existed within the musical structure of jazz long before the term itself was coined, it was most original in the "experiments" of such innovators as Coleman Hawkins, Pee Wee Russell and Lenny Tristano, but not until the late 1950s through the efforts of such pioneers as saxophonist Ornette Coleman. and pianist Cecil Taylor, this direction took shape as an independent style. Free jazz

The post-bop period encompasses music performed by jazz musicians who continued to create in the field of bebop, shying away from the free jazz experiments that developed during the same period in the 1960s. Just like the aforementioned hard bop, this form was based on the rhythms, ensemble structure and energy of bebop, the same horn combinations and the same musical repertoire, including the use of Latin elements. What distinguished post-bop music was the use of elements of funk, groove or soul, reshaped in the spirit of the new era marked by the dominance of pop music. Best known as: saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Horace Silver, drummer Art Blakey and trumpeter Lee Morgan. Postbop

The term acid jazz or acid jazz is used loosely to refer to a very wide range of music. Although acid jazz is not entirely legitimately classified as jazz styles that developed from the general tree of jazz traditions, it cannot be completely ignored when analyzing the genre diversity of jazz music. Emerging in 1987 on the British dance scene, acid jazz as a musical, predominantly instrumental style was formed on the basis of funk, with the addition of selected classic jazz tracks, hip-hop, soul and Latin groove. Actually, this style is one of the varieties of jazz revival, inspired in this case not so much by the performances of living veterans, but by old recordings of jazz from the late 1960s and early jazz funk from the early 1970s. Acid jazz

Evolving from the fusion style, smooth jazz abandoned the energetic solos and dynamic crescendos of previous styles. Smooth jazz is distinguished primarily by a deliberately emphasized polished sound. Improvisation is also largely excluded from the genre's musical arsenal. Enriched with the sounds of a variety of synths combined with rhythmic samples, the glossy sound creates a sleek and highly polished packaging of a musical product in which the ensemble harmony matters more than its component parts. The most famous: Michael Franks, Chris Botti, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Larry Carlton, Stanley Clarke, Bob James, Al Jarreau, Diana Krall, Bradley Lighton, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Jeff Lorber, Chuck Loeb. Smooth jazz

Jazz has always aroused interest among musicians and listeners around the world, regardless of their nationality. It is enough to trace the early work of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and his synthesis of jazz traditions with the music of black Cubans in the 1940s or the later combination of jazz with Japanese, Eurasian and Middle Eastern music, famous in the work of pianist Dave Brubeck. Jazz has constantly absorbed and not only Western musical traditions Since globalization world continues, jazz continues to be influenced by other musical traditions, providing ripe fodder for future research and demonstrating that jazz is truly a world music. Spread of jazz

Thank you for your attention

Jazz– a unique phenomenon in world musical culture. This multifaceted art form originated at the turn of the century (XIX and XX) in the USA. Jazz music has become the brainchild of the cultures of Europe and Africa, a unique fusion of trends and forms from two regions of the world. Subsequently, jazz spread beyond the United States and became popular almost everywhere. This music takes its basis in African folk songs, rhythms and styles. In the history of the development of this direction of jazz, many forms and types are known that appeared as new models of rhythms and harmonics were mastered.

Characteristics of Jazz

The synthesis of two musical cultures made jazz a radically new phenomenon in world art. The specific features of this new music were:

• Syncopated rhythms giving rise to polyrhythms.
• The rhythmic pulsation of music is the beat.
• Complex deviation from the beat - swing.
• Constant improvisation in compositions.
• A wealth of harmonics, rhythms and timbres.

The basis of jazz, especially in the first stages of development, was improvisation combined with a thoughtful form (at the same time, the form of the composition was not necessarily fixed somewhere). And from African music this new style took the following characteristic features:

• Understanding each instrument as a percussion instrument.
• Popular conversational intonations when performing compositions.
• Similar imitation of conversation when playing instruments.

In general, all directions of jazz are distinguished by their own local characteristics, and therefore it is logical to consider them in the context of historical development.

The emergence of jazz, ragtime (1880-1910s)

It is believed that jazz originated among black slaves brought from Africa to the United States of America in the 18th century. Since the captive Africans were not represented by a single tribe, they had to seek a common language with their relatives in the New World. Such consolidation led to the emergence of a unified African culture in America, which included musical culture. It was not until the 1880s and 1890s that the first jazz music emerged as a result. This style was driven by global demand for popular dance music. Since African musical art abounded in such rhythmic dances, it was on its basis that a new direction was born. Thousands of middle-class Americans, unable to learn the aristocratic classical dances, began dancing to ragtime pianos. Ragtime introduced several future bases of jazz into music. Thus, the main representative of this style, Scott Joplin, is the author of the “3 versus 4” element (cross-sounding rhythmic patterns with 3 and 4 units, respectively).

New Orleans (1910-1920s)

Classic jazz appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century in the southern states of America, and specifically in New Orleans (which is logical, because it was in the south that the slave trade was widespread).

African and Creole orchestras played here, creating their music under the influence of ragtime, blues and songs of black workers. After the appearance in the city of many musical instruments from military bands, amateur groups began to appear. The legendary New Orleans musician, creator of his own orchestra, King Oliver, was also self-taught. An important date in the history of jazz was February 26, 1917, when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band released its first gramophone record. The main features of the style were laid down in New Orleans: the beat of percussion instruments, masterful solos, vocal improvisation with syllables - scat.

Chicago (1910-1920s)

In the 1920s, called the “Roaring Twenties” by classicists, jazz music gradually entered mass culture, losing the titles “shameful” and “indecent.” Orchestras begin to perform in restaurants and move from the southern states to other parts of the United States. Chicago becomes the center of jazz in the north of the country, where free nightly performances by musicians become popular (during such shows there were frequent improvisations and outside soloists). More complex arrangements appear in the style of music. The jazz icon of this time was Louis Armstrong, who moved to Chicago from New Orleans. Subsequently, the styles of the two cities began to be combined into one genre of jazz music - Dixieland. The main feature of this style was collective mass improvisation, which elevated the main idea of ​​jazz to the absolute.

Swing and big bands (1930-1940s)

The continued rise in popularity of jazz created a demand for large orchestras to play dance tunes. This is how swing appeared, representing characteristic deviations in both directions from the rhythm. Swing became the main style direction of that time, manifesting itself in the work of orchestras. The performance of harmonious dance compositions required a more coordinated playing of the orchestra. Jazz musicians were expected to participate evenly, without much improvisation (except for the soloist), so the collective improvisation of Dixieland became a thing of the past. In the 1930s, similar groups flourished, which were called big bands. A characteristic feature of orchestras of that time was competition between groups of instruments and sections. Traditionally, there were three of them: saxophones, trumpets, drums. The most famous jazz musicians and their orchestras are: Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington. The last musician is famous for his commitment to black folklore.

Bebop (1940s)

Swing's departure from the traditions of early jazz and, in particular, classical African melodies and styles, caused discontent among history experts. Big bands and swing performers, who increasingly worked for the public, began to be opposed by the jazz music of small ensembles of black musicians. Experimenters introduced super-fast melodies, brought back long improvisation, complex rhythms, and virtuoso control of the solo instrument. The new style, which positioned itself as exclusive, began to be called bebop. The icons of this period were outrageous jazz musicians: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The revolt of black Americans against the commercialization of jazz, the desire to return intimacy and uniqueness to this music became a key point. From this moment and from this style, the history of modern jazz begins. At the same time, big band leaders also come to small orchestras, wanting to take a break from the big halls. In ensembles called combos, such musicians adhered to a swing style, but were given freedom to improvise.

Cool jazz, hard bop, soul jazz and jazz-funk (1940s-1960s)

In the 1950s, the genre of music such as jazz began to develop in two opposite directions. Supporters of classical music “cooled down” bebop, bringing academic music, polyphony, and arrangement back into fashion. Cool jazz became known for its restraint, dryness and melancholy. The main representatives of this direction of jazz were: Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck. But the second direction, on the contrary, began to develop the ideas of bebop. The hard bop style preached the idea of ​​returning to the roots of black music. Traditional folk melodies, bright and aggressive rhythms, explosive soloing and improvisation have returned to fashion. Known in the hard bop style are: Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane. This style developed organically along with soul jazz and jazz-funk. These styles moved closer to the blues, making rhythm a key aspect of performance. Jazz-funk in particular was introduced by Richard Holmes and Shirley Scott.

Free music (1960s–present)

After the “jazz Renaissance” in the mid-1950s, when this style became equal to other styles of music, a kind of liberation of jazz occurred. Experiments were carried out to find new improvisations, new genres appeared (fusion - combination with rock music - jazz-rock and pop music - jazz-pop, free jazz - refusal to regulate tone and rhythm). The creators of new music were Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Lee Wrightnaur. Jazz developed in the USSR, and then in the CIS, where the main representatives were Valentin Parnakh (creator of the first orchestra in the country), Alexander Varlamov, Oleg Lundstrem, Konstantin Orbelyan. In the modern world, similar experiments in jazz music continue, a completely new style is created by interspersing new cultures and mixing with other styles. Currently developing talents such as Mats Gustafson, Evan Parker, Benny Greene, Chick Corea, Elvin Jones.

Jazz is a musical movement that originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. Its emergence is the result of the interweaving of two cultures: African and European. This movement will combine spirituals (church chants) of American blacks, African folk rhythms and European harmonious melody. Its characteristic features are: flexible rhythm, which is based on the principle of syncopation, the use of percussion instruments, improvisation, and an expressive manner of performance, characterized by sound and dynamic tension, sometimes reaching the point of ecstasy. Jazz was originally a combination of ragtime and blues elements. In fact, it grew out of these two directions. The peculiarity of the jazz style is, first of all, the individual and unique play of the jazz virtuoso, and improvisation gives this movement constant relevance.

After jazz itself was formed, a continuous process of its development and modification began, which led to the emergence of various directions. Currently there are about thirty of them.

New Orleans (traditional) jazz.

This style usually means exactly the jazz that was performed between 1900 and 1917. It can be said that its emergence coincided with the opening of Storyville (New Orleans' red light district), which gained its popularity due to bars and similar establishments where musicians playing syncopated music could always find work. The previously widespread street orchestras began to be replaced by the so-called “Storyville ensembles,” whose playing was increasingly acquiring individuality compared to their predecessors. These ensembles later became the founders of classical New Orleans jazz. Vivid examples of performers of this style are: Jelly Roll Morton (“His Red Hot Peppers”), Buddy Bolden (“Funky Butt”), Kid Ory. It was they who carried out the transition of African folk music into the first jazz forms.

Chicago Jazz.

In 1917, the next important stage in the development of jazz music began, marked by the appearance of immigrants from New Orleans in Chicago. New jazz orchestras are being formed, the playing of which introduces new elements into early traditional jazz. This is how an independent style of the Chicago school of performance appears, which is divided into two directions: hot jazz of black musicians and Dixieland of whites. The main features of this style: individual solo parts, changes in hot inspiration (the original free ecstatic performance became more nervous, full of tension), synthetics (the music included not only traditional elements, but also ragtime, as well as famous American hits) and changes in instrumental playing (the role of instruments and performing techniques has changed). Fundamental figures of this movement (“What Wonderful World”, “Moon Rivers”) and (“Someday Sweetheart”, “Ded Man Blues”).

Swing is an orchestral style of jazz of the 1920s and 30s that grew directly from the Chicago school and was performed by big bands (The Original Dixieland Jazz Band). It is characterized by the predominance of Western music. Separate sections of saxophones, trumpets and trombones appeared in the orchestras; The banjo is replaced by a guitar, tuba and sassophone - double bass. The music moves away from collective improvisation; the musicians play strictly adhering to pre-written scores. A characteristic technique was the interaction of the rhythm section with melodic instruments. Representatives of this direction: , (“Creole Love Call”, “The Mooche”), Fletcher Henderson (“When Buddha Smiles”), Benny Goodman And His Orchestra, .

Bebop is a modern jazz movement that began in the 40s and was an experimental, anti-commercial movement. Unlike swing, it is a more intellectual style that places a lot of emphasis on complex improvisation and places more emphasis on harmony than melody. Music of this style is also characterized by a very fast tempo. The brightest representatives are: Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Charlie Parker (“Night In Tunisia”, “Manteca”) and Bud Powell.

Mainstream. Includes three movements: Stride (northeastern jazz), Kansas City style and West Coast jazz. Hot stride reigned supreme in Chicago, led by such masters as Louis Armstrong, Andy Condon, and Jimmy Mac Partland. Kansas City is characterized by lyrical plays in the blues style. West Coast jazz developed in Los Angeles under his leadership and eventually evolved into cool jazz.

Cool jazz (cool jazz) emerged in Los Angeles in the 50s as a counterpoint to the dynamic and impulsive swing and bebop. Lester Young is considered to be the founder of this style. It was he who introduced a style of sound production unusual for jazz. This style is characterized by the use of symphonic instruments and emotional restraint. Such masters as Miles Davis (“Blue In Green”), Gerry Mulligan (“Walking Shoes”), Dave Brubeck (“Pick Up Sticks”), Paul Desmond left their mark in this vein.

Avante-Garde began to develop in the 60s. This avant-garde style is based on a break from the original traditional elements and is characterized by the use of new techniques and means of expression. For the musicians of this movement, self-expression, which they carried out through music, came first. Performers of this movement include: Sun Ra (“Kosmos in Blue”, “Moon Dance”), Alice Coltrane (“Ptah The El Daoud”), Archie Shepp.

Progressive jazz arose in parallel with bebop in the 40s, but it was distinguished by its staccato saxophone technique, a complex interweaving of polytonality with rhythmic pulsation and elements of symphonic jazz. The founder of this trend can be called Stan Kenton. Prominent representatives: Gil Evans and Boyd Rayburn.

Hard bop is a type of jazz that has its roots in bebop. Detroit, New York, Philadelphia - this style was born in these cities. In its aggressiveness, it is very reminiscent of bebop, but blues elements still predominate in it. Featured performers include Zachary Breaux (“Uptown Groove”), Art Blakey and The Jass Messengers.

Soul jazz. This term is commonly used to describe all black music. It draws on traditional blues and African-American folklore. This music is characterized by ostinato bass figures and rhythmically repeating samples, due to which it has gained wide popularity among various masses of the population. Hits in this direction include the compositions of Ramsey Lewis “The In Crowd” and Harris-McCain “Compared To What”.

Groove (aka funk) is an offshoot of soul, but is distinguished by its rhythmic focus. Basically, the music of this direction has a major coloration, and in structure it consists of clearly defined parts for each instrument. Solo performances fit harmoniously into the overall sound and are not too individualized. Performers of this style are Shirley Scott, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Gene Emmons, Leo Wright.

Free jazz got its start in the late 50s thanks to the efforts of such innovative masters as Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. Its characteristic features are atonality and a violation of the chord sequence. This style is often called “free jazz”, and its derivatives include loft jazz, modern creative and free funk. Musicians of this style include: Joe Harriott, Bongwater, Henri Texier (“Varech”), AMM (“Sedimantari”).

Creative appeared due to the widespread avant-garde and experimentalism of jazz forms. Such music is difficult to characterize in certain terms, since it is too multifaceted and combines many elements of previous movements. The first followers of this style include Lenny Tristano (“Line Up”), Gunter Schuller, Anthony Braxton, Andrew Cirilla (“The Big Time Stuff”).

Fusion combined elements of almost all musical movements existing at that time. Its most active development began in the 70s. Fusion is a systematic instrumental style characterized by complex time signatures, rhythm, elongated compositions and the absence of vocals. This style is designed for a less broad masses than soul and is its complete opposite. At the head of this trend are Larry Corall and the band Eleventh, Tony Williams and Lifetime (“Bobby Truck Tricks”).

Acid jazz (groove jazz" or "club jazz") arose in Great Britain in the late 80s (heyday 1990 - 1995) and combined funk of the 70s, hip-hop and dance music of the 90s. The emergence of this style was dictated by the widespread use of jazz-funk samples. The founder is considered to be DJ Giles Peterson. Performers in this direction include Melvin Sparks (“Dig Dis”), RAD, Smoke City (“Flying Away”), Incognito and Brand New Heavies.

Post-bop began to develop in the 50s and 60s and is similar in structure to hard bop. It is distinguished by the presence of elements of soul, funk and groove. Often, when characterizing this direction, they draw a parallel with blues rock. Hank Moblin, Horace Silver, Art Blakey (“Like Someone In Love”) and Lee Morgan (“Yesterday”), Wayne Shorter worked in this style.

Smooth jazz is a modern jazz style that arose from the fusion movement, but differs from it in the intentional polishing of its sound. A special feature of this area is the widespread use of power tools. Famous performers: Michael Franks, Chris Botti, Dee Dee Bridgewater (“All Of Me”, “God Bless The Child”), Larry Carlton (“Dont Give It Up”).

Jazz-manush (gypsy jazz) is a jazz movement specializing in guitar performance. Combines the guitar technique of the gypsy tribes of the Manush group and swing. The founders of this trend are the Ferre brothers and... The most famous performers: Andreas Oberg, Barthalo, Angelo Debarre, Bireli Largen (“Stella By Starlight”, “Fiso Place”, “Autumn Leaves”).

There is still debate about where jazz music was first performed. Some historians believe that this musical movement originated in the northern United States, where Protestant missionaries converted blacks to the Christian faith, and they, in turn, created a special type of spiritual chants, “spirituals,” which were characterized by emotion and improvisation. Others believe that jazz originated in the southern United States, where African-American folk music managed to maintain its originality, only because the Catholic views of the Europeans who inhabited this part of the continent did not allow them to contribute to a foreign culture, which they treated with contempt.

Despite the differences in the views of historians, there is no doubt that jazz originated in the United States, and the center of jazz music was New Orleans, which was inhabited by free-thinking adventurers. On February 26, 1917, it was here in the Victor studio that the first gramophone record of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band with jazz music was recorded.

After jazz became firmly entrenched in people's minds, its various directions began to emerge. Today there are more than 30 of them.
Some of them:

Spirituals

Blues

One of the most widespread is the blues, which is a descendant of the secular music-making of American blacks. The word “blue”, in addition to the well-known meaning of “blue”, has many translation options that fully characterize the features of the musical style: “sad”, “melancholic”. "Blues" is related to the English expression "blue devils", meaning "when cats scratch at the soul." Blues music is unhurried and unhurried, and the lyrics always carry some understatement and ambiguity. Today, blues is most often used exclusively in instrumental form, as jazz improvisations. It was the blues that became the basis for many outstanding performances by Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Ragtime

Ragtime is another specific direction of jazz music that appeared at the end of the 19th century. The name of the style itself translates as “torn time,” and the term “rag” refers to the sounds that appear between the beats of a measure. Ragtime, like all jazz, is another European musical hobby that was taken by African-Americans and performed in their own way. We are talking about the romantic piano school that was fashionable in Europe at that time, whose repertoire included Schubert, Chopin, and Liszt. This repertoire was heard in the USA, but in the interpretation of African-American blacks, it acquired a more complex rhythm, dynamism and intensity. Later, improvisational ragtime began to be turned into sheet music, and its popularity was increased by the fact that every self-respecting family had to have a piano, including a mechanical one, which is very convenient for playing the complex ragtime melody. The cities in which ragtime was the most popular musical destination were St. Louis and Kansas City and the town of Sedalia (Missouri), in Texas. It was in this state that the most famous performer and composer of the ragtime genre, Scott Joplin, was born. He often performed at the Maple Leaf Club, from which the famous ragtime song "Maple Leaf Rag", written in 1897, takes its name. Other famous ragtime authors and performers were James Scott and Joseph Lamb.

Swing

In the early 30s, the economic crisis in the United States led to the collapse of a large number of jazz ensembles, leaving mainly orchestras playing pseudo-jazz commercial dance music. An important step in stylistic development was the evolution of jazz into a new, cleaned and smoothed direction called swing (from the English “swing” - “swing”). Thus, an attempt was made to get rid of the slang word “jazz” at that time, replacing it with the new “swing”. The main feature of swing was the bright improvisation of the soloist against the backdrop of complex accompaniment.

Great Jazzmen on Swing:

“Swing is what, in my understanding, real rhythm is.” Louis Armstrong.
“Swing is the feeling of speeding up the tempo even though you are still playing at the same tempo.” Benny Goodman.
“An orchestra swings if its collective interpretation is rhythmically integrated.” John Hammond.
“Swing needs to be felt, it is a feeling that can be passed on to others.” Glenn Miller.

Swing required musicians to have good technique, knowledge of harmony and the principles of musical organization. The main form of such music-making is large orchestras or big bands, which gained incredible popularity among the general public in the second half of the 30s. The composition of the orchestra gradually acquired a standard form and included from 10 to 20 people.

Boogie Woogie

During the swing era, a specific form of blues performance on piano, called “boogie-woogie,” gained particular popularity and development. This style originated in Kansas City and St. Louis, then spread to Chicago. Boogie-woogie was adopted by Southern pianists from banjo and guitar players. Boogie-woogie pianists typically combine a walking bass with the left hand and blues harmony improvisation with the right hand. The style appeared in the second decade of this century, when it was played by pianist Jimmy Yancey. But it gained real popularity with the appearance of three virtuosos “Mid Lax” Lewis, Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons, who turned boogie-woogie from dance music into concert music. Further use of boogie-woogie occurred in the genre of swing and then rhythm and blues bands and significantly influenced the emergence of rock and roll.

Bop

In the early 40s, many creative musicians began to acutely feel the stagnation in the development of jazz, which arose due to the emergence of a huge number of fashionable dance and jazz orchestras. They did not strive to express the true spirit of jazz, but used replicated preparations and techniques of the best groups. An attempt to break out of the deadlock was made by young, primarily New York musicians, including alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, drummer Kenny Clarke, pianist Thelonious Monk. Gradually, in their experiments, a new style began to emerge, which, with Gillespie’s light hand, received the name “bebop” or simply “bop”. According to his legend, this name was formed as a combination of syllables with which he sang a musical interval characteristic of bop - the blues fifth, which appeared in bop in addition to the blues third and seventh. The main difference of the new style was a more complicated harmony built on different principles. The ultra-fast tempo of performance was introduced by Parker and Gillespie in order to keep non-professionals away from their new improvisations. The difficulty of constructing phrases compared to swing lies primarily in the initial beat. An improvisational phrase in bebop may begin on a syncopated beat, perhaps on a second beat; often the phrase played on an already known theme or harmonic grid (Anthropology). Among other things, a distinctive feature of all bebopists was their shocking behavior. The curved trumpet of “Dizzy” Gillespie, the behavior of Parker and Gillespie, Monk’s ridiculous hats, etc. The revolution that bebop produced turned out to be rich in consequences. At the early stage of their creativity, the following were considered boppers: Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, George Shearing and many others. Of the founders of bebop, only Dizzy Gillespie's fate turned out well. He continued his experiments, founded the Cubano style, popularized Latin jazz, and discovered the stars of Latin American jazz to the world - Arturo Sandoval, Paquito DeRivero, Chucho Valdez and many others.

Recognizing bebop as a music that required instrumental virtuosity and knowledge of complex harmonies, jazz instrumentalists quickly gained popularity. They composed melodies that zig-zagged and rotated in response to chord changes of increased complexity. The soloists in their improvisations used notes that were dissonant in tonality, creating music that was more exotic and had a sharper sound. The appeal of syncopation has led to unprecedented accents. Bebop was best suited to playing in a small group format such as the quartet and quintet, which proved ideal for both economic and artistic reasons. The music flourished in the city's jazz clubs, where audiences came to listen to inventive soloists rather than dance to their favorite hits. In short, bebop musicians were transforming jazz into an art form that appealed perhaps a little more to the intellect than to the senses.

With the bebop era came new jazz stars, including trumpeters Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis, saxophonists Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Johnny Griffin, Pepper Adams, Sonny Stitt and John Coltrane, and trombonist JJ Johnson.

Bebop went through several mutations in the 1950s and 1960s, including hard bop, cool jazz, and soul jazz. The format of a small musical group (combo), usually consisting of one or more (usually no more than three) wind instruments, piano, double bass and drums, remains a standard jazz composition today.

Progressive jazz

The greatest contribution to the development of the concept of “progressive” was made by pianist and conductor Stan Kenton. Progressive jazz of the early 1940s actually began with his first works. The sound of the music performed by his first orchestra was close to Rachmaninoff, and the compositions bore the features of late romanticism. However, in terms of genre it was closest to symphonic jazz. Later, during the years of creating the famous series of his “Artistry” albums, elements of jazz ceased to play the role of creating color, but were already organically woven into the musical material. Along with Kenton, the credit for this also belonged to his best arranger, Pete Rugolo, a student of Darius Milhaud. Modern (for those years) symphonic sound, a specific staccato technique in the playing of saxophones, bold harmonies, frequent seconds and blocks, along with polytonality and jazz rhythmic pulsation - these are the distinctive features of this music, with which Stan Kenton entered the history of jazz for many years, as one of its innovators who found a common platform for European symphonic culture and elements of bebop, especially noticeable in pieces where solo instrumentalists seemed to oppose the sounds of the rest of the orchestra. It should also be noted that Kenton paid great attention to the improvisational parts of soloists in his compositions, including the world famous drummer Shelley Maine, double bassist Ed Safransky, trombonist Kay Winding, June Christie, one of the best jazz vocalists of those years. Stan Kenton remained faithful to his chosen genre throughout his career.

In addition to Stan Kenton, interesting arrangers and instrumentalists Boyd Rayburn and Bill Evans also contributed to the development of the genre. A kind of apotheosis of the development of progressive, along with the already mentioned “Artistry” series, can also be considered a series of albums recorded by the Bill Evans big band together with the Miles Davis ensemble in the 1950-1960s, for example, “Miles Ahead”, “Porgy and Bess” and "Spanish drawings". Shortly before his death, Miles Davis again turned to this genre, recording old Bill Evans arrangements with the Quincy Jones Big Band.

Hard bop

Around the same time that cool jazz was taking root on the West Coast, jazz musicians from Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York began developing harder, heavier variations of the old bebop formula, called Hard Bop or Hard Bebop. Closely resembling traditional bebop in its aggressiveness and technical demands, hardbop of the 1950s and 1960s relied less on standard song forms and began to place more emphasis on blues elements and rhythmic drive. Fiery soloing or improvisational skill along with a strong sense of harmony were of paramount importance for wind players, drums and piano became more prominent in the rhythm section, and the bass took on a more fluid, funky feel.

In 1955, drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver formed The Jazz Messengers, the most influential hardbop group. This constantly improving and developing septet, which successfully worked until the 1980s, brought up many of the genre's main performers for jazz, such as saxophonists Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter, Johnny Griffin and Branford Marsalis, as well as trumpeters Donald Byrd, Woody Shaw, Wynton Marsalis and Lee Morgan. One of the biggest jazz hits of all time, Lee Morgan's 1963 tune "The Sidewinder" was performed, although somewhat simplistic, in a decidedly hard-hitting bebop dance style.

Soul jazz

A close relative of hardbop, soul jazz is represented by small, organ-based mini-formats that emerged in the mid-1950s and continued to perform into the 1970s. Based on blues and gospel, soul-jazz music pulses with African-American spirituality. Most of the great jazz organists came on the scene during the soul jazz era: Jimmy McGriff, Charles Erland, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Les McCain, Donald Patterson, Jack McDuff and Jimmy "Hammond" Smith. They all led their own bands in the 1960s, often playing in small venues as trios. The tenorsaxophone was also a prominent figure in these ensembles, adding its voice to the mix, much like the voice of a preacher in gospel music. Such luminaries as Gene Emmons, Eddie Harris, Stanley Turrentine, Eddie "Tetanus" Davis, Houston Person, Hank Crawford and David "Nump" Newman, as well as members of the Ray Charles ensembles of the late 1950s and 1960s, are often regarded as representatives soul jazz style. The same applies to Charles Mingus. Like hardbop, soul jazz differed from West Coast jazz: The music evoked passion and a strong sense of togetherness rather than the loneliness and emotional coolness associated with West Coast jazz. The fast-paced melodies of soul jazz, thanks to the frequent use of ostinato bass figures and repeated rhythmic samples, made this music very accessible to the general public. Hits born of soul jazz include, for example, the compositions of pianist Ramsey Lewis (“The In Crowd” - 1965) and Harris-McCain “Compared To What” - 1969. Soul jazz should not be confused with what is now known as "soul music." Although partially influenced by gospel, soul jazz grew out of bebop, and the roots of soul music go back directly to rhythm and blues, which was popular in the early 1960s.

Cool Jazz

The term cool itself appeared after the release of the album “Birth of the Cool” (recorded in 1949 - 50) by the famous jazz musician Miles Davis.
In terms of sound production methods and harmonies, cool jazz has much in common with modal jazz. It is characterized by emotional restraint, a tendency towards rapprochement with composer's music (strengthening the role of composition, form and harmony, polyphonization of texture), and the introduction of symphony orchestra instruments.
Outstanding representatives of cool jazz are trumpeters Miles Davis and Chet Baker, saxophonists Paul Desmond, Jerry Mulligan and Stan Getz, pianists Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck.
Masterpieces of cool jazz include such compositions as “Take Five” by Paul Desmond, “My Funny Valentine” performed by Gerry Mulligen, “`Round Midnight” by Thelonious Monk performed by Miles Davis.

Modal jazz

Modal jazz, a movement that emerged in the 1960s. It is based on the modal principle of organizing music. Unlike traditional jazz, in modal jazz the harmonic basis is replaced by modes - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, pentatonic and other scales of both European and non-European origin. In accordance with this, a special type of improvisation has developed in modal jazz: musicians seek development incentives not in changing chords, but in emphasizing the features of the mode, in multimodal overlays, etc. This direction is represented by such outstanding musicians as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, George Russell, Don Cherry.

Free jazz

Perhaps the most controversial movement in jazz history arose with the advent of free jazz, or "New Thing" as it was later called. Although elements of free jazz existed within the musical structure of jazz long before the term itself was coined, it was most original in the "experiments" of such innovators as Coleman Hawkins, Pee Wee Russell and Lenny Tristano, but not until the late 1950s through the efforts of such pioneers as saxophonist Ornette Coleman. and pianist Cecil Taylor, this direction took shape as an independent style.

What these two musicians, along with others including John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and groups like the Sun Ra Arkestra and a group called The Revolutionary Ensemble, accomplished was a variety of changes in structure. and the feeling of music. Among the innovations that were introduced with imagination and great musicality was the abandonment of the chord progression, which allowed the music to move in any direction. Another fundamental change was found in the area of ​​rhythm, where "swing" was either revised or ignored altogether. In other words, pulse, meter and groove were no longer essential elements in this reading of jazz. Another key component was related to atonality. Now musical expression was no longer based on the usual tonal system. Piercing, barking, convulsive notes completely filled this new sound world. Free jazz continues to exist today as a viable form of expression, and is in fact no longer as controversial a style as it was in its early days.

Funk

Funk was another popular genre of jazz in the 70s and 80s. The founders of the style are James Brown and George Clinton. In funk, a diverse set of jazz idioms is replaced by simple musical phrases consisting of blues screams and moans taken from the saxophone solos of such artists as King Curtis, Junior Walker, David Sanborn, Paul Butterfield. The word funk was considered slang; it meant dancing in such a way as to get very wet. Jazz musicians often used it, asking the audience to dance and move actively to the accompaniment of their music. Thus, the word “funk” became attached to the style of music. The dance orientation of funk determines its musical features, such as a broken rhythm and pronounced vocals.

The formation of the genre occurred in the mid-80s and is associated with the fashion for using samples from 70s jazz-funk among DJs playing in UK nightclubs. One of the trendsetters of the genre is considered to be DJ Gills Peterson, who is often credited with being the author of the name “acid jazz.” In the USA, the term “acid jazz” is almost never used; the terms “groove jazz” and “club jazz” are more common.

Acid jazz (acid jazz)

The peak of acid jazz popularity occurred in the first half of the 90s. At that time, in addition to the synthesis of dance music and jazz, this direction included jazz-funk of the 90s (Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, James Taylor Quartet, Solsonics), hip-hop with jazz elements (recorded with live musicians or jazz samples) ( US3, Guru, Digable Planets), experiments of jazz musicians with hip-hop music (Doo Bop by Miles Davis, Rock It by Herbie Hancock), etc. After the 1990s, the popularity of acid jazz waned, and the traditions of the genre were later continued in new jazz.

Its direct ancestor in terms of psychedelicity is Acid Rock.

The term “acid jazz” is believed to have been coined by Gilles Petterson, a London-based DJ and founder of the record label of the same name. In the late 80s, the term was popular among British DJs who played similar music and used it as a joke, implying that their music was an alternative to the then popular acid house. Thus, the term has no direct relation to “acid” (that is, LSD). According to another version, the author of the term “acid jazz” is the Englishman Chris Bangs, known as one of the members of the duo “Soundscape UK”.

Jazz is a style of improvisation. The most important type of improvisational music is folklore, but unlike jazz, it is closed and aimed at preserving traditions. Jazz is dominated by creativity, which, combined with improvisation, has given rise to many styles and trends. This is how the songs of dark-skinned African-American slaves came to Europe and turned into complex orchestral works in the style of blues, ragtime, boogie-woogie, etc. Jazz became a source of ideas and methods that actively influence almost all other types of music, from popular and commercial to academic music of our century.

The article includes an excerpt from the article “About Jazz” - Club “Union of Composers” and extracts from Wikipedia.

Mainstream – leading, the main jazz style that appeared in the 30s of the 20th century among the leaders of jazz groups, most of which were big bands. Leading jazz musicians held jams in various clubs just to play jazz. This club jazz, performed by small groups of leading jazzmen and recorded in studios, became known as the mainstream. This is traditional jazz, without any innovation. After the advent of avant-garde jazz, the mainstream was revived in a new quality only in the 70-80s of the 20th century. Currently, modern mainstream refers to any modern jazz music that is far from traditional jazz.

Kansas City Jazz Music took shape in the 20s - 30s of the last century. It was the time of the economic crisis in the United States, or the so-called Great Depression. This is a jazz style with a pronounced blues flavor, the so-called “urban blues”. The brightest representatives of this style were Count Basie, who began his career as a jazz musician in the orchestras of Walter Page and Benny Mouthen, vocalist Jimmy Rushing, and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker.

Cool jazz (cool jazz) took shape in the 40-50s of the 20th century. This is a soft, lyrical style of jazz music, with more subtle improvisation, without the pressure and some aggressiveness that characterized early jazz. Representatives of cool jazz were saxophonist Lester Young, trumpeter Miles Davis, trumpeter Chit Baker, jazz pianists George Shearing, Dave Brubeck, Leni Tristano. The masters of the cool-jazz style were the amazing vibraphonist Milt Jackson, saxophone masters Stan Getz, Paul Desmond. Melodists and arrangers Ted Dameron, Claude Thornhill, and Gil Evans played a significant role in the formation of the style.

West Coast Jazz appeared in the 50s of the 20th century in Los Angeles. Its founders are considered to be the musicians of the famous jazz nonet Miles Davis. This style is even softer than cool jazz. Not at all aggressive, calm, melodic music, in which, however, there is huge space for improvisation. Outstanding West Coast jazz performers included Shorty Rogers (trumpet), Art Pepper, Bud Schenk (saxophone), Shelley Main (drums), Jimmy Joffrey (clarinet).

Progressive Jazz developed approximately in the late 40s of the 20th century. This is largely experimental jazz, music focused on the symphonic achievements of European composers, on experimentation in the field of tonality and harmony. Followers of this style of jazz music strive to move away from the templates and hackneyed techniques of traditional jazz. They focus on the search and application of new forms of swing in jazz: specific techniques for performing music on various instruments, polytonality, and rhythm changes. The development of this style is associated with the name of pianist Stan Kenton and his orchestra, who recorded a whole series of “Artistry” albums. Arrangers Pete Rugolo, Boyd Rayburn and Gil Evans, drummer Shelley Maine, contabassist Ed Safransky, trombonist Kay Winding, and singer June Christie made a huge contribution to progressive jazz. The Gil Evans Big Band and musicians led by Miles Davis recorded a whole series of albums of music in this style: “Miles Ahead,” “Porgy and Bess,” “Spanish Drawings.”

Modal jazz appeared in the 1950s. Its appearance is associated with the names of experimental musicians: trumpeter Miles Davis and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane. These musicians borrowed certain modes from classical music, which became the basis for constructing a jazz melody and replaced chords. This jazz style is characterized by deviations from tonality, which gives the music a special tension, the use of national African, Indian, Arabic and other scales, regularity, and inconsistent tempo. Music began to be built exclusively on melody, which was based on the use of frets.

Soul jazz appeared in the 50s of the last century. Soul jazz chose the organ as its central instrument. Soul jazz is based on blues and gospel. This style of jazz is distinguished by its particular emotionality, passion, use of rapid rhythms and exciting musical transitions and bass figures. The public listening to this music certainly experienced a special feeling of unity. This style was the complete opposite of the hazy, lyrical cool jazz with a bluesy sad base. Organ stars of this style included Jimmy McGriff, Charles Earland, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Les McCain, Donald Patterson, Jack McDuff and Jimmy "Hammond" Smith. Musicians who performed soul-jazz music formed trios or quartets, but nothing more. The tenor saxophone played an equally important role in soul jazz. Prominent saxophonists included Gene Emmons, Eddie Harris, Stanley Turrentine, Eddie "Tetanus" Davis, Houston Person, Hank Crawford, and David "Dumb" Newman. Soul jazz is not the same as soul music. These are musical styles that originate in different musical directions: soul jazz - in gospel and bebop, and soul music - in rhythm and blues, which reached its peak only in the 1960s.

Groove became a type of soul jazz. This jazz style is often referred to as funk. This style is distinguished by bright dance rhythms (slow or fast), lyricism, positive melody, which contains blues shades. This is positive music that creates a good mood and encourages the audience not to stand still and start moving to its exciting rhythms. The style is not alien to improvisation, which, however, does not stray from the collective sound. Prominent musicians of this style were organ masters Richard “Groove” Holmes and Shirley Scott, Gene Emmons (tenor saxophone) and Leo Wright (flute, alto saxophone).

Free Jazz ("New Thing") appeared in the late 50s of the 20th century as a result of experiments that made it possible to find a very flexible musical form, completely free from chord progressions. In addition, the musicians ignored swing. The real revolution in rhythm was the inattention to pulsation, meter and groove, which had previously been the basis of jazz rhythms. In this style they have become secondary. Free jazz abandoned the usual tonal system; music in this style is atonal. The founders of free jazz are saxophonist Ornette Coleman and pianist Cecil Taylor, and later the Sun Ra Arkestra and The Revolutionary Ensemble.

Creative jazz is one of the varieties of avant-garde jazz. This style was born, like many others, as a result of the experimental activities of musicians in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century. It's not much different from free jazz. In this music it was impossible to distinguish between theme and improvisation. Improvisational elements merged with the arrangements, flowing smoothly from them. It was impossible to understand where the beginning and where the end of the soloist’s improvisation was. The founders of creative jazz were pianist Leni Tristano, saxophonist Jimmy Joffrey, and melodist Gunther Schuler. This style is played by pianists Paul Bley, Andrew Hill, saxophone masters Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers, as well as musicians from the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Fusion (alloy) is a jazz style that dates back to the 1960s, when jazz began to merge with popular music and rock, and was also influenced by soul, funk, and rhythm and blues. At the beginning, the name fusion was applied to jazz-rock, the prominent representatives of which were the groups “Eleventh House” and “Lifetime”. The appearance of fusion is also associated with the “Mahavishnu Orchestra” and “Weather Report” orchestras. Fusion is a fusion of jazz, swing, blues, rock, pop music, rhythm and blues. Fusion is entertainment, it is a fireworks display of various styles. This is bright, varied, light, interesting music. Fusion is in many ways an experiment and, I must say, a successful one. Prominent musicians of this jazz style were drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, guitarists Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John Abercrombie and James "Blood" Ulmer. , saxophonist and trumpeter Ornette Coleman.

Post-bebop is a jazz style that emerged in the 1960s with the rise of popular music. Post-bop was formed on the basis of funk (groove, soul) using individual elements of Latin music. Representatives of post-bebop were saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist McCoy Tyner, Dizzy Gillespie, and saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Acid jazz– this not quite jazz style appeared in 1987. It is based on funk, which is intertwined with elements of bebop, hip-hop, soul and Latin. This is British dance music, which has rhythms, but absolutely no improvisation. This is why many people do not include acid jazz in the list of jazz styles. Prominent representatives of acid jazz were “Groove Collective”, “Guru”, James Taylor, as well as the trio “Medeski, Martin & Wood” in the initial period of creativity.

Smooth jazz– this relative of jazz arose on the basis of the fusion style. Smooth jazz is characterized by the absence of solo parts and improvisation. The sound of the whole band is more important than the sound of its individual representatives. Smooth jazz is performed on synthesizer, viola, saprano saxophone, guitar, bass guitar and drums. Representatives of this style are Chris Botti, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Larry Carlton, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola, Bob James, Al Jarreau, Diana Krall, Bradley Lighton, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin.

Understanding who is who in jazz is not so easy. The direction is commercially successful, and therefore they often shout about “the only concert of the legendary Vasya Pupkin” from all the cracks, and the really important figures go into the shadows. Under the pressure of Grammy winners and advertising from Jazz radio, it’s easy to lose your bearings and remain indifferent to style. If you want to learn to understand this kind of music, and maybe even love it, learn the most important rule: don’t trust anyone.

One must make judgments about new phenomena with caution, or like Hugues Panasier, the famous musicologist who drew a line and branded all jazz after the 50s, calling it “unreal.” Ultimately, he was proven wrong, but this did not affect the popularity of his book, The History of Authentic Jazz.

It is better to treat a new phenomenon with silent suspicion, so you will definitely pass as one of our own: snobbery and adherence to the old are one of the most striking characteristics of the subculture.

When talking about jazz, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald are often remembered - it would seem that you can’t go wrong here. But such remarks reveal a neophyte. These are emblematic figures, and if Fitzgerald can still be talked about in a suitable context, then Armstrong is the Charlie Chaplin of jazz. You're not going to talk to an arthouse movie buff about Charlie Chaplin, are you? And if you do, then at least not in the first place. Mentioning both illustrious names is possible in certain cases, but if you have nothing in your pocket other than these two aces, hold on to them and wait for the right situation.

In many directions there are phenomena that are fashionable and not very fashionable, but to the greatest extent this is characteristic of jazz. A mature hipster, accustomed to looking for rare and strange things, will not understand why Czech jazz of the 40s is not interesting. You won’t be able to find something conventionally “unusual” and show off your “deep erudition” here. To imagine the style in general terms, one should list its main directions starting from the end of the 19th century.

Ragtime and blues are sometimes called proto-jazz, and if the former, being not a completely complete form from a modern point of view, is interesting simply as a fact of the history of music, then the blues is still relevant.

Ragtimes by Scott Joplin

And although researchers cite the psychological state of Russians and a total feeling of hopelessness as the reason for such a surge in love for the blues in the 90s, in reality everything can be much simpler.

A selection of 100 popular blues songs

Classic boogie-woogie

As in European culture, African Americans divided music into secular and spiritual, and if blues belonged to the first group, then spirituals and gospel belonged to the second.

Spirituals are more austere than gospel songs and are sung by a choir of believers, often with accompaniment in the form of clapping on even beats - an important feature of all styles of jazz and a problem for many European listeners who clap out of place. Old World music most often makes us nod to odd beats. In jazz it's the other way around. Therefore, if you are not sure that you feel these unusual second and fourth beats for a European, it is better to refrain from clapping. Or watch how the performers themselves do it, and then try to repeat it.

Scene from the film "12 Years a Slave" with the performance of a classic spiritual

Contemporary spiritual performed by Take 6

Gospel songs were often performed by a single singer and had more freedom than spirituals, so they became popular as a concert genre.

Classic gospel performed by Mahalia Jackson

Contemporary gospel from the film "Joyful Noise"

In the 1910s, traditional, or New Orleans, jazz was formed. The music from which it arose was performed by street orchestras, which were very popular at that time. The importance of instruments is growing sharply; an important event of the era is the emergence of jazz bands, small orchestras of 9–15 people. The success of black groups motivated white Americans who created the so-called Dixielands.

Traditional jazz is associated with films about American gangsters. This is due to the fact that its heyday occurred during Prohibition and the Great Depression. One of the prominent representatives of the style is the already mentioned Louis Armstrong.

The distinctive features of a traditional jazz band are the stable position of the banjo, the leading position of the trumpet and the full participation of the clarinet. The last two instruments will over time be replaced by the saxophone, which will become the permanent leader of such an orchestra. By the nature of the music, traditional jazz is more static.

Jelly Roll Morton Jazz Band

Modern Dixieland Marshall's Dixieland Jazz Band

What's wrong with jazz and why is it common to say that no one knows how to play this music?

It's all about her African origin. Despite the fact that by the middle of the 20th century whites defended their right to this style, it is still widely believed that African Americans have a special sense of rhythm that allows them to create a feeling of swinging, which is called “swing” (from English. to swing - “to swing”) "). Arguing with this is risky: most of the great white pianists from the 1950s to the present day became famous for their style or intellectual improvisations that betray deep musical erudition.

Therefore, if in a conversation you mention a white jazz player, you should not say something like “how great he swings” - after all, he swings either normally or not at all, such is reverse racism.

And the word “swing” itself is too worn out; it is better to pronounce it at the very last moment, when it is most likely appropriate.

Every jazz player must be able to perform “jazz standards” (main melodies, or, otherwise, evergreen), which, however, are divided into orchestral and ensemble. For example, In the Mood is more likely to be one of the first.

In the Mood. Performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra

At the same time, the famous works of George Gershwin appeared, which are considered both jazz and academic at the same time. These are Rhapsody in Blue (or Rhapsody in Blue), written in 1924, and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), famous for its aria Summertime. Before Gershwin, jazz harmonies were used by composers such as Charles Ives and Antonin Dvorak (symphony “From the New World”).

George Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Aria Summertime. Academically performed by Maria Callas

George Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Aria Summertime. Jazz performance by Frank Sinatra

George Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Aria Summertime. Rock version. Performed by Janis Joplin

George Gershwin. Rhapsody in blues style. Performed by Leonard Bernstein and his orchestra

One of the most famous Russian composers, like Gershwin, writing in the jazz style is Nikolai Kapustin .

Both camps look askance at such experiments: jazzists are convinced that a written piece without improvisation is no longer jazz “by definition,” and academic composers consider jazz means of expression too trivial to work with them seriously.

However, classical performers play Kapustin with pleasure and even try to improvise, while their “counterparts” act wiser and do not encroach on someone else’s territory. Academic pianists who put their improvisations on display have long become a meme in jazz circles.

Since the 20s, the number of cult and iconic figures in the history of the movement has been growing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to put these numerous names in one’s head. However, some can be recognized by their characteristic timbre or manner of performance. One of these memorable singers was Billie Holiday.

All of Me. Performed by Billie Holiday

In the 50s, a new era called “modern jazz” began. It was this that the above-mentioned musicologist Hugues Panassier disowned. This direction opens with the bebop style: its characteristic feature is high speed and frequent changes of harmony, and therefore it requires exceptional performing skills, which were possessed by such outstanding personalities as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane.

Bebop was created as an elitist genre. Any musician from the street could always come to a jam session - an evening of improvisation - so the pioneers of bebop introduced fast tempos to get rid of amateurs and weak professionals. This snobbery is partly inherent in fans of this music, who consider their favorite direction to be the pinnacle of jazz development. It's common to treat bebop with respect, even if you don't know anything about it.

Giant Steps. Performed by John Coltrane

It’s especially chic to admire the shocking, deliberately rude manner of performance of Thelonious Monk, who, according to gossip, played complex academic works superbly, but carefully hid it.

Round Midnight. Performed by Thelonious Monk

By the way, discussing gossip about jazz performers is not considered shameful - rather, on the contrary, it indicates deep involvement and hints at a long listening experience. Therefore, you should know that Miles Davis's drug addiction affected his stage behavior, Frank Sinatra had connections with the mafia, and there is a church named after John Coltrane in San Francisco.

Mural "Dancing Saints" from a church in San Francisco.

Along with bebop, another style arose within the same direction - cool jazz(cool jazz), which is distinguished by a “cold” sound, moderate character and leisurely tempo. One of its founders was Lester Young, but there are also many white musicians in this niche: Dave Brubeck , Bill Evans(not to be confused with Gil Evans), Stan Getz and etc.

Take Five. Performed by the Dave Brubeck Ensemble

If the 50s, despite the reproaches of conservatives, opened the way to experiments, then in the 60s they became the norm. At this time, Bill Evans recorded two albums of arrangements of classical works with a symphony orchestra, Stan Kenton, representative progressive jazz, creates rich orchestrations, the harmony of which is compared to Rachmaninov’s, and in Brazil there emerges its own version of jazz, completely different from other styles - bossa nova .

Granados. Jazz arrangement of the work “Mach and the Nightingale” by the Spanish composer Granados. Performed by Bill Evans accompanied by a symphony orchestra

Malaguena. Performed by the Stan Kenton Orchestra

Girl from Ipanema. Performed by Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz

Loving bossa nova is as easy as loving minimalism in modern academic music.

Thanks to its unobtrusive and “neutral” sound, Brazilian jazz found its way into elevators and hotel lobbies as background music, although this does not detract from the importance of the style as such. It’s worth saying that you love bossa nova only if you really know its representatives well.

An important turn was taking place in the popular orchestral style - symphonic jazz. In the 40s, jazz powdered with an academic symphonic sound became a fashionable phenomenon and the standard of the golden mean between two styles with completely different backgrounds.

Luck Be a Lady. Performed by Frank Sinatra with a symphonic jazz orchestra

In the 60s, the sound of the symphonic jazz orchestra lost its novelty, which led to experiments with harmony by Stan Kenton, arrangements by Bill Evans and thematic albums by Gil Evans, such as Sketches of Spain and Miles Ahead.

Sketches of Spain. Performed by Miles Davis with Gil Evans Orchestra

Experiments in the symphonic jazz field are still relevant; the most interesting projects in recent years in this niche have been the Metropole Orkest, The Cinematic Orchestra and Snarky Puppy.

Breathe. Performed by The Cinematic Orchestra

Gretel. Performed by Snarky Puppy and Metropole Orkest (Grammy Award, 2014)

The traditions of bebop and cool jazz merged into a direction called hard bop, an improved version of bebop, although it is quite difficult to distinguish one from the other by ear. The Jazz Messengers, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and some other musicians who originally played bebop are considered outstanding performers in this style.

Hard Bop. Performed by The Jazz Messengers Orchestra

Moanin'. Performed by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers

Intense improvisations at fast tempos required ingenuity, which led to searches in the field fret. Thus was born modal jazz. It is often isolated as an independent style, although similar improvisations are also found in other genres. The most popular modal piece was the composition “So What?” Miles Davis.

So what? Performed by Miles Davis

While great jazz players were figuring out how to further complicate already complex music, blind authors and performers Ray Charles and walked the path of the heart, combining jazz, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in their work.

Fingertips. Performed by Stevie Wonder

What'd I Say. Performed by Ray Charles

At the same time, jazz organists loudly made themselves known, playing music on a Hammond electric organ.

Jimmy Smith

In the mid-60s, soul jazz appeared, which combined the democracy of soul with the intellectualism of bebop, but historically it is usually associated with the latter, keeping silent about the significance of the former. The most popular figure in soul jazz was Ramsey Lewis.

The 'In' Crowd. Performed by the Ramsey Lewis Trio

If from the beginning of the 50s the division of jazz into two branches was only felt, then in the 70s this could already be spoken of as an irrefutable fact. The pinnacle of the elite trend was