Third current (progressive jazz).

Jazz is a musical direction that began in the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States. Its emergence is the result of the interweaving of two cultures: African and European. This trend will combine the spirituals (church chants) of American blacks, African folk rhythms and European harmonious melody. Its characteristic features are: flexible rhythm based on the principle of syncopation, use of percussion instruments, improvisation, expressive manner of performance, distinguished by sound and dynamic tension, sometimes reaching ecstatic. Initially, jazz was a combination of ragtime with elements of the blues. In fact, it resulted from these two directions. A feature of the jazz style is, first of all, the individual and unique play of the virtuoso jazzman, and improvisation endows this movement with constant relevance.

After jazz itself was formed, a continuous process of its development and modification began, which led to the emergence of various directions. There are currently 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 origin coincided with the opening of Storyville (New Orleans red light district), which gained its popularity through bars and similar establishments, where musicians playing syncopated music could always find work. The street bands that had been common earlier began to be supplanted by the so-called "storyville ensembles", whose playing became more and more individual in comparison with 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 made 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 begins, marked by the appearance in Chicago of immigrants from New Orleans. There is a formation of new jazz orchestras, the game 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 are: individualized solo parts, change in hot inspiration (the original free ecstatic performance became more nervous, full of tension), synth (music included not only traditional elements, but also ragtime, as well as famous American hits) and changes in instrumental game (the role of instruments and performing techniques has changed). The fundamental figures of this direction ("What Wonderful World", "Moon Rivers") and ("Someday Sweetheart", "Ded Man Blues").

Swing is an orchestral style of jazz in the 1920s and 30s that arose 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, a tuba and a sazophone - double bass. Music moves away from collective improvisation, the musicians play strictly adhering to pre-scheduled 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 that got its start in the 40s and was an experimental, anti-commercial direction. Unlike swing, it is a more intellectual style, with a heavy emphasis on complex improvisation and an emphasis on harmony rather than melody. The music of this style is also distinguished by a very fast pace. The brightest representatives are: Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Charlie Parker (“Night In Tunisia”, “Manteca”) and Bud Powell.

Mainstream. Includes three currents: Stride (Northeast Jazz), Kansas City Style and West Coast Jazz. Hot stride reigned in Chicago, led by such masters as Louis Armstrong, Andy Condon, Jimmy Mac Partland. Kansas City is characterized by lyrical pieces in a blues style. West Coast jazz developed in Los Angeles under the direction of, and subsequently resulted in cool jazz.

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

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 expressive means. For the musicians of this trend, self-expression, which they carried out through music, was in the first place. The performers of this trend 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 was distinguished by its staccato saxophone technique, the complex interweaving of polytonality with rhythmic pulsation and symphojazz elements. Stan Kenton can be called the founder of this trend. Outstanding representatives: Gil Evans and Boyd Ryburn.

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

Soul jazz. This term is used to refer to all Negro music. It is based on traditional blues and African American folklore. This music is characterized by ostinato bass figures and rhythmically repeated samples, due to which it has gained wide popularity among different masses of the population. Among the hits of this direction are the compositions of Ramsey Lewis “The In Crowd” and Harris-McCain “Compared To What”.

Groove (aka funk) is an offshoot of soul, only its rhythmic focus distinguishes it. Basically, the music of this direction has a major color, and in terms of structure it is clearly defined parts of each instrument. Solo performances harmoniously fit into the overall sound and are not too individualized. The 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, a violation of the sequence of chords. This style is often called "free jazz", and its derivatives are loft jazz, modern creative and free funk. Musicians of this style include: Joe Harriott, Bongwater, Henri Texier (“Varech”), AMM (“Sedimantari”).

Creativity appeared due to the widespread avant-garde and experimentalism of jazz forms. It is difficult to characterize such music in certain terms, since it is too multifaceted and combines many elements of previous movements. Early adopters of this style include Lenny Tristano (“Line Up”), Gunther Schuller, Anthony Braxton, Andrew Cyril (“The Big Time Stuff”).

Fusion combined elements of almost all existing musical movements at that time. Its most active development began in the 1970s. Fusion is a systematized instrumental style characterized by complex time signatures, rhythm, lengthened compositions, and lack of vocals. This style is designed for less broad masses than soul and is its complete opposite. Larry Corell and Eleventh, Tony Williams and Lifetime ("Bobby Truck Tricks") are at the head of this movement.

Acid jazz (groove jazz or club jazz) originated in the UK in the late 80s (heyday 1990 - 1995) and combined the funk of the 70s, hip-hop and dance music of the 90s. The appearance of this style was dictated by the widespread use of jazz-funk samples. The founder is DJ Giles Peterson. Among the performers of this direction are 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, 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 originated from the fusion movement, but differs from it in its deliberately polished sound. A feature of this direction is the widespread use of power tools. Notable Artists: 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 direction specializing in guitar performance. It combines the guitar technique of the gypsy tribes of the manush group and swing. The founders of this direction are the brothers Ferre and. The most famous performers: Andreas Oberg, Barthalo, Angelo Debarre, Bireli Largen (“Stella By Starlight”, “Fiso Place”, “Autumn Leaves”).

How did the genre of music develop at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries? as a result of the synthesis of elements of two musical cultures - European and African. Of the African elements, one can note polyrhythm, repeated repetition of the main motive, vocal expressiveness, improvisation, which penetrated into jazz along with common forms of Negro musical folklore - ritual dances, work songs, spirituals and blues.

Word jazz, originally "jazz-band", began to be used in the middle of the 1st decade of the 20th century. in the southern states to refer to music created by small New Orleans ensembles (comprising trumpet, clarinet, trombone, banjo, tuba or double bass, percussion and piano) in the process of collective improvisation on the themes of blues, ragtime and popular European songs and dances.

To get acquainted, you can listen and Cesaria Evora, and, , and many others.

So what is Acid Jazz? This is a funky musical style with built-in elements of jazz, 70s funk, hip-hop, soul and other styles. It can be sampled, it can be "live", and it can be a mixture of the last two.

Mostly, Acid Jazz focuses on music rather than text/words. This is club music that aims to get you moving.

First single in style Acid Jazz was "Frederick Lies Still", author Galliano. It was a cover version Curtis Mayfield Freddie's Dead from the movie "Super Fly".

Great contribution to the promotion and support of style Acid Jazz introduced Gilles Peterson, who was a DJ on KISS FM. He was one of the first to establish Acid Jazz label. In the late 80's - early 90's there were many performers Acid Jazz, which were like "live" commands - , Galliano, Jamiroquai, Don Cherry, and studio projects - PALm Skin Productions, Mondo GroSSO, Outside, And United Future Organization.

Of course, this is not a style of jazz, but a type of jazz instrumental ensemble, but still it was included in the table, because any jazz performed by a "big band" stands out very much against the background of individual jazz performers and small groups.
The number of musicians in big bands usually ranges from ten to seventeen people.
Formed in the late 1920s, consists of three orchestral groups: saxophones - clarinets(Reels) brass instruments(Brass, further groups of pipes and trombones stood out), rhythm section(Rhythm section - piano, double bass, guitar, percussion instruments). The heyday of music big bands, which began in the United States in the 1930s, is associated with a period of mass enthusiasm for swing.

Later, up to the present time, big bands performed and perform music of various styles. However, in essence, the era of big bands begins much earlier and dates back to the days of American minstrel theaters of the second half of the 19th century, which often increased the performing staff to several hundred actors and musicians. Listen The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, And His Orchestra and you will appreciate all the charm of jazz performed by big bands.

Jazz style that developed in the early - mid-40s of the 20th century and opened the era of modern jazz. It is characterized by a fast tempo and complex improvisations based on changes in harmony rather than melody.
The super-fast pace of performance was introduced by Parker and Gillespie in order to keep out non-professionals from their new improvisations. Among other things, a shocking demeanor has become a hallmark of all bebopites. Dizzy Gillespie's curved trumpet, Parker and Gillespie's behavior, Monk's ridiculous hats, etc.
Having arisen as a reaction to the ubiquity of swing, bebop continued to develop its principles in the use of expressive means, but at the same time discovered a number of opposite tendencies.

Unlike swing, which is mostly the music of large commercial dance bands, bebop is an experimental creative direction in jazz, mainly associated with the practice of small ensembles (combos) and anti-commercial in its direction.
The bebop phase was a significant shift in focus in jazz from popular dance music to more highly artistic, intellectual, but less mainstream "music for musicians". Bop musicians preferred complex improvisations based on chord strumming instead of melodies.
The main initiators of the birth were: saxophonist, trumpeter, pianists Bud Powell And Thelonious Monk, drummer Max Roach. If you want Be bop, listen , Michel Legrand, Joshua Redman Elastic Band, Jan Garbarek, Modern Jazz Quartet.

One of the styles of modern jazz, formed at the turn of the 40s - 50s of the 20th century based on the development of the achievements of swing and bop. The origin of this style is primarily associated with the name of the negro swing saxophonist. L. Young, who developed the "cold" manner of sound extraction (the so-called Lester sound) opposite to the sound ideal of hot jazz; he also introduced the term "cool" for the first time. In addition, the prerequisites of cool jazz are found in the work of many bebop musicians, such as, for example, C. Parker, T. Monk, M. Davis, J. Lewis, M. Jackson and others.

However, cool jazz has significant differences from bop. This was manifested in the departure from those traditions of hot jazz that bop followed, in the rejection of excessive rhythmic expressiveness and intonational instability, from the deliberate emphasis on a specifically Negro color. Played in this style: , Stan Getz, Modern Jazz Quartet, Dave Brubeck, Zoot Sims, Paul Desmond.

With the gradual demise of rock music beginning in the early 70s, with the lessening of the flow of ideas from the world of rock, fusion music has become more straightforward. At the same time, many began to realize that electric jazz could become more commercial, producers and some musicians began to look for such combinations of styles in order to increase sales. They have really succeeded in creating a kind of jazz that is more accessible to the average listener. Many different combinations have emerged over the past two decades, for which promoters and publicists like to use the term "Modern Jazz" to describe the "fusions" of jazz with elements of pop, rhythm and blues, and "world music."

However, the word "crossover" more accurately refers to the essence of the matter. Crossover and fusion achieved their goal and increased the audience for jazz, especially thanks to those who were fed up with other styles. In some cases, this music deserves attention, although in general the jazz content in it is reduced to zero. Crossover style examples range from (Al Jarreau) and vocal recordings (George Benson) to (Kenny G), "Spyro Gyra" And " " . There is a jazz influence in all this, but, nevertheless, this music fits into the field of pop art, which is represented by Gerald Albright, George Duke, saxophonist Bill Evans, Dave Grusin,.

Dixieland- the broadest designation of the musical style of the earliest New Orleans and Chicago jazz musicians who recorded records from 1917 to 1923. This concept also extends to the period of the subsequent development and revival of New Orleans jazz - New Orleans Revival continued after the 1930s. Some historians attribute Dixieland only to the music of white bands playing in the New Orleans jazz style.

Unlike other forms of jazz, the musicians' repertoire of pieces Dixieland remained quite limited, offering endless variations of themes within the same tunes composed throughout the first decade of the 20th century, and included ragtime, blues, one-steps, two-steps, marches, and popular tunes. For performance style Dixieland characteristic was the complex interweaving of individual voices into the collective improvisation of the entire ensemble. The soloist who opened the solo and other soloists who continued to play, as it were, opposed the "riffing" of the rest of the brass, up to the final phrases, usually performed by the drums in the form of four-beat refrains, which in turn were answered by the entire ensemble.

The main representatives of this era were The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Joe King Oliver, and his Famous Orchestra, Sidney Bechet, Kid Ory, Johnny Dodds, Paul Mares, Nick LaRocca, Bix Beiderbecke and Jimmy McPartland. Dixieland musicians were essentially looking for a revival of the classic New Orleans jazz of yesteryear. These attempts were very successful and, thanks to subsequent generations, continue to this day. The first of the revivals of the Dixieland tradition took place in the 1940s.
Here are just some of the jazzmen who have played Dixieland: Kenny Ball, Lu Watters Yerna Buena Jazz Band, Turk Murphys Jazz Band.

A separate niche in the community of jazz styles from the beginning of the 70s was occupied by the German company ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music- Publishing House of Contemporary Music), which gradually became the center of an association of musicians who professed not so much an attachment to the African-American origin of jazz as the ability to solve a wide variety of artistic tasks, not limiting themselves to a certain style, but in line with the creative improvisational process.

Over time, however, a certain face of the company was developed, which led to the separation of the artists of this label into a large-scale and pronounced stylistic direction. The orientation of the founder of the label Manfred Eicher (Manfred Eicher) to combine various jazz idioms, world folklore and new academic music into a single impressionistic sound made it possible to claim depth and philosophical understanding of life values ​​using these means.

The Oslo-based main recording studio of the firm is obviously correlated with the leading role in the catalog of Scandinavian musicians. First of all, the Norwegians Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Nils Petter Molvaer, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen. However, the geography of ECM covers the entire world. Here are the Europeans Dave Holland, Tomasz Stanko, John Surman, Eberhard Weber, Rainer Bruninghaus, Mikhail Alperin and representatives of non-European cultures Egberto Gismonti, Flora Purim, Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurtu, Nana Vasconcelos, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Anouar Brahem and many others. No less representative is the American Legion - Jack DeJohnette, Charles Lloyd, Ralph Towner, Redman Dewey, Bill Frisell, John Abercrombie, Leo Smith. The initial revolutionary impulse of the company's publications turned over time into a meditatively detached sound of open forms with carefully polished sound layers.

Some mainstream adherents deny the path chosen by the musicians of this direction; however, jazz, as a world culture, develops in spite of these objections, and gives very impressive results.

In contrast to the refinement and coolness of the cool style, the rationality of the progressive on the East Coast of the United States, young musicians in the early 50s continued to develop the seemingly already exhausted bebop style. The growth of self-awareness of African Americans, characteristic of the 50s, played a significant role in this trend. Attention was again drawn to maintaining fidelity to African American improvisational traditions. At the same time, all the achievements of bebop were preserved, but many cool achievements were added to them both in the field of harmony and in the field of rhythmic structures. Musicians of the new generation, as a rule, had a good musical education. This current is called "hardbop" turned out to be quite numerous. The trumpeters joined in Miles Davis, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, pianists Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver, drummer Art Blake, saxophonists Sonny Rollins, Hank Mobley, Cannonball Adderley, double bassist Paul Chambers and many others.

For the development of a new style, another technical innovation was significant, which consisted in the appearance of long-playing records. Now you can record long solos. For musicians, this has become a temptation and a difficult test, since not everyone is able to fully and succinctly speak out for a long time. Trumpeters were the first to take advantage of these advantages, modifying Dizzy Gillespie's style to a more calm but deep playing. The most influential were Fats Navarro And Clifford Brown. These musicians focused not on virtuoso high-speed passages in the upper register, but on thoughtful and logical melodic lines.

Hot jazz is considered to be the music of the New Orleans pioneers of the second wave, whose highest creative activity coincided with the mass exodus of New Orleans jazz musicians to the North, mainly to Chicago. This process, which began shortly after the closure of Storyville due to the entry of the United States into the First World War and the declaration of New Orleans as a military port for this reason, marked the so-called Chicago era in the history of jazz. The main representative of this school was Louis Armstrong. While still performing in the King Oliver Ensemble, Armstrong made revolutionary changes to the concept of jazz improvisation, moving from traditional schemes of collective improvisation to the performance of individual solo parts.

The very name of this type of jazz is connected with the emotional intensity characteristic of the manner of performance of these solo parts. The term Hot was originally synonymous with jazz solo improvisation to highlight the differences in approach to soloing that occurred in the early 1920s. Later, with the disappearance of collective improvisation, this concept was associated with the way of performing jazz material, in particular with a special sound that determines the instrumental and vocal style of performance, the so-called hotting or hot intonation: a combination of special methods of rhythmization and specific intonation features.

Perhaps the most controversial movement in the history of jazz emerged with the advent of "free jazz". Although the elements Free Jazz existed long before the appearance of the term itself, in "experiments" Coleman Hawkins, Pee Wee Russell and Lenny Tristano, but only by the end of the 1950s through the efforts of such pioneers as a saxophonist and pianist Cecil Taylor, this direction took shape as an independent style.

What these two musicians have done with others, including John Coltrane, Albert Euler and communities like Sun Ra Orchestra and a group called The Revolutionary Ensemble consisted of various changes in the structure and feel of the music.
Among the innovations 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 redefined or ignored altogether. In other words, pulsation, meter and groove were no longer an essential element in this reading of jazz. Another key component was associated with atonality. Now the musical saying was no longer built on the usual tonal system.

Shrill, barking, convulsive notes completely filled this new sound world. Free jazz continues to exist today as a viable form of expression, and in fact is no longer as controversial a style as it was at the dawn of its inception.

Perhaps the most controversial movement in the history of jazz emerged with the advent of "free jazz".

A modern style direction that arose in the 1970s on the basis of jazz-rock, a synthesis of elements of European academic music and non-European folklore.
The most interesting compositions of jazz-rock are characterized by improvisation, combined with compositional solutions, the use of harmonic and rhythmic principles of rock music, the active embodiment of the melody and rhythm of the East, the introduction of electronic means of processing and synthesizing sound into music.

In this style, the range of application of modal principles has expanded, the set of various modes, including exotic ones, has expanded. In the 70s, jazz-rock became incredibly popular, the most active musical forces came into it. More developed in relation to the synthesis of various musical means, jazz-rock was called "fusion" (alloy, fusion). An additional impulse for "fusion" was another (not the first in the history of jazz) nod towards European academic music.

In many cases, fusion actually becomes a combination of jazz with regular pop and light rhythm and blues; crossover. Fusion music's ambitions of musical depth and empowerment remain unfulfilled, although the search continues on rare occasions, such as in bands like "Tribal Tech" and Chick Corea's ensembles. Listen: Weather Report, Brand X, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, Spyro Gyra, Tom Coster, Frank Zappa, Urban Knights, Bill Evans, from New Niacin, Tunnels, CAB.

Modern funk refers to the popular styles of jazz of the 70s and 80s, in which accompanists play in the style of black pop soul, while solo improvisations are more creative and jazzy in nature. Most saxophonists of this style use their own set of simple phrases, which consist of blues shouts and moans. They build on a tradition adopted from saxophone solos in rhythm and blues vocal recordings, like King Curtis on "Coasters" Junior Walker with the vocal groups of the Motown label, David Sanborn with "Blues Band" by Paul Butterfield. Prominent figure in this genre - who often played solo in the style Hank Crawford with funky accompaniment. Much of the music , and their students uses this approach. , also work in the style of "modern funk".

The term has two meanings. First, it is an expressive means in jazz. A characteristic type of pulsation based on constant deviations of the rhythm from the reference shares. This creates the impression of a large internal energy in a state of unstable equilibrium. Secondly, the style of orchestral jazz that took shape at the turn of the 1920s and 30s as a result of the synthesis of Negro and European stylistic forms of jazz music.

original definition "jazz rock" was the clearest: a combination of jazz improvisation with the energy and rhythms of rock music. Until 1967, the worlds of jazz and rock existed almost separately. But by this time, rock becomes more creative and more complex, psychedelic rock, soul music appears. At the same time, some jazz musicians became bored with pure hardbop, but they also did not want to play avant-garde music that was difficult to perceive. As a result, the two different idioms began to exchange ideas and join forces.

Since 1967, guitarist Larry Coryell, vibraphonist Gary Burton, in 1969 drummer Billy Cobham with the group "Dreams", in which the Brecker brothers played, they began to explore new expanses of style.
By the end of the 60s, Miles Davis had the potential to transition to jazz-rock. He was one of the creators of modal jazz, on the basis of which, using 8/8 rhythms and electronic instruments, he takes a new step by recording the albums "Bitches Brew", "In a Silent Way". Together with him at this time there is a brilliant galaxy of musicians, many of whom later become the fundamental figures of this direction - (John McLaughlin), Joe Zawinul(Joe Zawinul) Herbie Hancock. Asceticism, conciseness, and philosophical contemplation characteristic of Davis turned out to be most welcome in the new style.

By the early 1970s jazz rock had its own distinct identity as a creative jazz style, though derided by many jazz purists. The main groups of the new direction were "Return To Forever", "Weather Report", "The Mahavishnu Orchestra", various ensembles Miles Davis. They played high-quality jazz-rock, which combined a huge set of techniques from both jazz and rock. Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Ska - Jazz Foundation, John Scofield Uberjam, Gordian Knot, Miriodor, Trey Gunn, trio, Andy Summers, Erik Truffaz- you should definitely listen to understand how diverse progressive and jazz-rock music is.

Style jazz rap was an attempt to bring together the African-American music of past decades with a new dominant form of the present, which would allow to pay tribute and infuse new life into the first element of this - fusion - and also expand the horizons of the second. The rhythms of jazz-rap were completely borrowed from hip-hop, while the samples and sound textures mainly came from cool jazz, soul-jazz and hard bop.

This style was hip-hop's coolest and most famous, and many artists showed an Afro-centric political consciousness, adding historical authenticity to this style. Given the intellectual bent of this music, it's no surprise that jazz-rap never became a street party favorite; but then no one thought about it.

The representatives of jazz-rap themselves called themselves supporters of a more positive alternative to the hardcore / gangsta movement, which displaced rap from the leading positions in the early 90s. They sought to spread hip-hop to listeners who cannot accept or understand the growing aggression of urban music culture. Thus, jazz-rap found the bulk of its fans in student dormitories, and was also supported by a number of critics and white alternative rock fans.

Team Native Tongues (Afrika Bambaataa)- this New York collective of African-American rap groups - has become a powerful force representing the style jazz rap and includes such groups as A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and The Jungle Brothers. Started their work soon Digital Planets And gang starr also gained notoriety. In the mid-late 90s, alternative rap began to break into a large number of sub-styles, and jazz-rap became an element of the new sound infrequently.

Tired of the clichés of big bands and exclusively commercial projects with worn out techniques, in the early 40s of the last century, the direction of progressive jazz began to develop. Representatives of this trend constantly experimented with music in the field of tonality and harmony, relying on the achievements of European composers.

Performers

The hackneyed jazz techniques no longer satisfied the young performers who conquered the jazz Olympus in the early 40s of the last century. Using the experience of European musicians, they are trying to get away from the traditional performance in the style of big bands. Their searches lead to new forms of swing, broken rhythms, polytonality, shifting of established accents, introduction of unusual instruments.

The popularization of progressive jazz is closely associated with the name of Stan Kenton and his band, who recorded several albums under the name "Artistry". Have arrangers Gil Evans, Boyd Rybairn, Pete Rugolo, singer Christy June, Kay Winding (trombone), Ed Safransky (double bass), Shelley Maine (drums) experiment with this style? Miles Ahead, Porgy and Imp, Spanish Drawings are a series of progressive jazz albums recorded by the Miles Davis Orchestra featuring Gil Evans. Shortly before his death, Davis again turned to experimenting with a progressive direction and recorded Evans' old arrangements with the Quincy Jones band.

STYLE PROGRESSIVE (PROGRESSIVE JAZZ)

At the same time that the bebop jazz style was being established in the American East, in New York, an experimental style appeared in the Western United States, called progressive jazz (style progressive). Although it would seem: is progress possible in art? Such a concept is applicable, rather, to the field of technology or to the process of development of society. After all, we cannot say that Tchaikovsky was more progressive than Bach or Beethoven. Therefore, the progressive style could be called an expansion of the jazz framework. This style (unlike bebop) did not make a revolution in the field of melody, harmony, rhythm, sound, improvisation, although attempts were made to revive the fading swing style. Innovations concerned only the expansion of the orchestra itself, arrangements, forms. Progressive is orchestral music.

Progressive (English, progressive) is a stylistic direction in modern jazz that arose in the 1940s. and characterized by experiments in the field of synthesis of jazz and European compositional technique. This synthesis is reflected in the work of some white big bands. One of the main representatives of the progressive style - pianist and composer Stan Kenton(1912-1979).

Kenton grew up in Los Angeles, studied with private music teachers, and later played in regular dance bands. At the same time, he continued self-education: he took lessons in music theory, harmony, conducting and composition. In 1939, he assembled his first orchestra, which was distinguished by the performance of complexly arranged pieces. The following orchestras, created by Kenton after 1941, attracted the attention of listeners with "symphonized" jazz. Stan Kenton was infatuated Bartok, Hindemith, Stravinsky and especially Wagner.(The record "Kenton plays Wagner" was even recorded.) Kenton introduced into the orchestras instruments used in classical compositions - horns, oboes, tubas, bassoons, string instruments. (It should be noted that several decades later, some jazz musicians who played traditional classical instruments achieved outstanding success. For example, the Russian horn player and flugelhorn player Arkady Shilkloper(born 1956).)

With the expansion of the Kenton orchestras, there was also an expansion of the playing time of the pieces performed. The innovations of this style consisted in an attempt to combine jazz and classical, to create jazz concert forms. Assessing his contribution to art, Stan Kenton said: “Modern humanity is going through a musical stage that did not exist before, and could not exist. Modern music contains all types of spiritual disappointments and hopes that traditional music could not only satisfy, but even imagine. It contains the joy of creativity and gives you satisfaction, sometimes even compensating for internal dissatisfaction caused by external causes. That's why I consider jazz to be the new music that came to us just in time. Our music is progressive jazz."

The popularity of the orchestra was promoted by the work of wonderful musicians and singers, original arrangements by two high-class professional masters: Pita Rugolo And Bob Grettinger. Several plays were written under the general name - artistry: "Artistry in percussion", "Artistry in boogie", "Artistry in tango", "Artistry in Harlem swing", "Artistry in bass". Progressive jazz was an ambitious concert style filled with imaginative content, but the pieces turned out to be cumbersome, heavy, and the orchestra itself was compared by some musicians to a "muscular weightlifter." The famous creator of the Jazz at the Philharmonic, Norman Grantz, spoke sharply about the Kenton Orchestra: “I have been following the Kenton Orchestra all these years, and the only things in its repertoire that I liked were Peanut Vendor, Lover, How High the Moon etc. It's a shame to put together such an orchestra, which could be a great swing band, and play God knows what! Stan must have read a lot of books or something. Because he had wonderful material and great young musicians, as far as I know. But Stan is too wordy - so is his orchestra. This band is a complete fraud, it uses all sorts of antics and advertising slogans. What does this "progressive" mean, tell me for God's sake? .. One year Stan put together a twenty-piece dance orchestra, and the next year he has a forty-piece concert orchestra. I won't be surprised if now he gathers eighty people, and in another year - all one hundred and sixty. If he had something to say, with such success he could do it with sixteen musicians. This is, of course, the subjective statement of an entrepreneur who was not a professional music critic. But more competent jazz researchers evaluated Kenton's music favorably, as certainly expanding the boundaries of this art.

There were some big band leaders who caustically said that music in such a pompous style should only be played for elephants, but not for jazz fans. At the same time, they paid tribute to Kenton, noting the correct sound of an incredibly huge orchestra, which consisted of excellent musicians. The Kenton Orchestra sounded “right” because the jazzmen believed in their leader, loved and respected him as a person. Such relations in the orchestra were mutual. Sometimes, after criticism, Kenton was visited by bleak thoughts about the inflexibility of his orchestra, poor musical taste, doubts about the correctness of the chosen style. Then the leader had the idea of ​​leaving music and becoming a psychiatrist. But the main business of his life was still music. IN at the end of the war, in 1944, the following came to the band: Anita O'Day(later a very famous singer), tenor saxophonists Stan Getz And Dave Matthews who made excellent arrangements for the orchestra. With the end of the war, many soloists returned to the orchestra, which during this period became the most swing of all the creations of Stan Kenton. The orchestra's repertoire now consisted of ballads and popular melodies. IN At the end of 1947, big bands began to gradually disappear from the scene. But Kenton did not give up. He collected new large and unusual compositions of musicians, gave concerts in theaters. The passionate and restless nature of the band leader moved him to new things. IN 1950 Kenton assembled an orchestra to play large-scale avant-garde works such as city ​​of glass Bob Grettinger. However, two years later, the band leader returned to swing music. IN this period the orchestra is widely recognized, soloists work in it - Lee Konitz, Zoot Sims, Frank Rosolino. IN late 1950s Stan Kenton begins teaching jazz at American universities. In essence, he pioneered jazz education in the States. So called Kenton clinics attracted a large number of students. Some jazz musicians argued that Kenton's musical and pedagogical activity was immeasurably more important for jazz than his musical achievements.

Style progressive did not have direct followers, although some of his techniques and methods were later used in symphonic jazz. IN 1940s Stan Kenton Orchestra won first place in magazine competitions Downbeat And metronome.IN 1960s the best recordings of the new orchestra, consisting of 27 musicians, were awarded Grammys.IN In this orchestra, Kenton pioneered the use of four mellophones, then created an orchestra playing "third current" music, sometimes called symphonic jazz. And in the 1970s. the musician performed at jazz festivals with a band, using elements of free jazz and rock music popular at that time in the arrangements. Jazz critics, forever electing the musician to the magazine's "Pantheon of Fame" downbeat, highly appreciated the work of Stan Kenton, striving for new ideals in his work.

  • Cit. by: Shapiro N. Listen to what I will tell you. The story of jazz as told by the people who made it. S. 316.
  • Cit. by: Shapiro N. Listen to what I will tell you. The story of jazz as told by the people who made it. pp. 316-317.

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