Jazz styles are musical examples. Jazz: what is it, what directions, who performs

As one of the most revered musical art forms in America, jazz laid the foundation for an entire industry, introducing numerous names of brilliant composers, instrumentalists and vocalists to the world and spawning a wide range of genres. The 15 most influential jazz musicians are responsible for a global phenomenon that has occurred over the last century in the history of the genre.

Jazz developed in the later years of the 19th century and early 20th century as a combination of classical European and American sounds with African folk motives. The songs were performed with a syncopated rhythm, giving impetus to the development, and later the formation of large orchestras to perform it. Music has taken a big step forward from the days of ragtime to contemporary jazz.

The influence of the West African musical culture in what music is written and how it is performed. Polyrhythm, improvisation and syncopation are what characterize jazz. Over the past century, this style has changed under the influence of contemporaries of the genre, who brought their own idea to the essence of improvisation. New directions began to appear - bebop, fusion, Latin American jazz, free jazz, funk, acid jazz, hard bop, smooth jazz, and so on.

15 Art Tatum

Art Tatum - jazz pianist and a virtuoso who was practically blind. He is known as one of the greatest pianists of all time who changed the role of the piano in the jazz ensemble. Tatum turned to the stride style to create his own unique style of playing, adding swing rhythms and fantastic improvisations to the rhythm. His attitude to jazz music fundamentally changed the importance of the piano in jazz as a musical instrument from its previous characteristics.

Tatum experimented with the harmonies of the melody, influencing the structure of the chord and expanding it. All this characterized the style of bebop, which, as you know, would become popular ten years later, when the first records in this genre appeared. Critics also noted his impeccable playing technique - Art Tatum was able to play the most difficult passages with such ease and speed that it seemed that his fingers barely touched the black and white keys.

14 Thelonious Monk

Some of the most complex and varied sounds can be found in the repertoire of the pianist and composer, one of the most important representatives of the era of bebop and its subsequent development. His very personality as an eccentric musician contributed to the popularization of jazz. Monk, always dressed in a suit, hat and sunglasses, openly expressed his free attitude to improvisational music. He did not accept strict rules and formed his own approach to creating compositions. Some of his most brilliant and famous works are Epistrophy, Blue Monk, Straight, No Chaser, I Mean You and Well, You Needn't.

Monk's playing style was based on an innovative approach to improvisation. His works are distinguished by percussive passages and sharp pauses. Quite often, right during his performances, he jumped up from the piano and danced while the other members of the band continued to play the melody. Thelonious Monk remains one of the most influential jazz musicians in the history of the genre.

13 Charles Mingus

A recognized double bass virtuoso, composer and band leader, he was one of the most extraordinary musicians on the jazz scene. He developed a new musical style, combining gospel, hard bop, free jazz and classical music. Contemporaries called Mingus "the heir of Duke Ellington" for his fantastic ability to write works for small jazz ensembles. In his compositions, all the members of the band demonstrated their playing skills, each of which was also not only talented, but was characterized by a unique playing style.

Mingus carefully selected the musicians who made up his band. The legendary double bass player was known for his temper, and once he even punched trombonist Jimmy Knepper in the face, knocking out his tooth. Mingus suffered from a depressive disorder, but was not ready to put up with the fact that this somehow affected his creative activity. Despite this affliction, Charles Mingus is one of the most influential figures in jazz history.

12 Art Blakey

Art Blakey was a famous American drummer and bandleader who made a splash in the style and technique of playing the drum kit. He combined swing, blues, funk and hard bop - a style that is heard today in every modern jazz composition. Together with Max Roach and Kenny Clarke, he invented a new way to play bebop on drums. For over 30 years, his band, The Jazz Messengers, has given jazz to many jazz artists: Benny Golson, Wayne Shorter, Clifford Brown, Curtis Fuller, Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, and more.

The Jazz Messengers didn't just create phenomenal music - they were a kind of "musical testing ground" for young talented musicians, like the Miles Davis band. Art Blakey's style changed the very sound of jazz, becoming a new musical milestone.

11 Dizzy Gillespie (Dizzy Gillespie)

Jazz trumpeter, singer, songwriter and bandleader became a prominent figure in the days of bebop and modern jazz. His trumpet style influenced Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro. After his time in Cuba, upon his return to the US, Gillespie was one of those musicians who actively promoted Afro-Cuban jazz. In addition to his inimitable performance on the characteristically curved trumpet, Gillespie was recognizable by his horn-rimmed glasses and impossibly large cheeks as he played.

The great jazz improviser Dizzy Gillespie, as well as Art Tatum, innovated in harmony. The compositions of Salt Peanuts and Goovin' High were rhythmically completely different from previous works. Faithful to bebop throughout his career, Gillespie is remembered as one of the most influential jazz trumpeters.

10 Max Roach

The top 15 most influential jazz musicians in the history of the genre include Max Roach, a drummer known as one of the pioneers of bebop. He, like few others, has influenced the modern style of playing the drum set. Roach was a fighter for civil rights and together with Oscar Brown Jr. and Coleman Hawkins even recorded the album We Insist! - Freedom Now ("We insist! - Freedom now"), dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Max Roach is a representative of an impeccable playing style, able to perform a long solo throughout the concert. Absolutely any audience was delighted with his unsurpassed skill.

9 Billie Holiday

Lady Day is the favorite of millions. Billie Holiday wrote only a few songs, but when she sang, she turned her voice from the first notes. Her performance is deep, personal and even intimate. Her style and intonation are inspired by the sound of musical instruments she has heard. Like almost all the musicians described above, she became the creator of a new, but already vocal style, based on long musical phrases and the tempo of singing them.

The famous Strange Fruit is the best not only in the career of Billie Holiday, but in the entire history of jazz because of the soulful performance of the singer. She was posthumously awarded prestigious awards and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

8 John Coltrane

The name of John Coltrane is associated with virtuoso playing technique, excellent talent for composing music and a passion for learning new facets of the genre. On the threshold of the origins of hard bop, the saxophonist achieved tremendous success and became one of the most influential musicians in the history of the genre. Coltrane's music had a sharp sound, and he played with high intensity and dedication. He was able to both play alone and improvise in an ensemble, creating solo parts of unthinkable duration. Playing the tenor and soprano saxophone, Coltrane was also able to create melodic smooth jazz compositions.

John Coltrane is the author of a kind of "bebop reboot", incorporating modal harmonies into it. Remaining the main active figure in the avant-garde, he was a very prolific composer and did not stop releasing discs, recording about 50 albums as a band leader throughout his career.

7 Count Basie

The revolutionary pianist, organist, composer and bandleader Count Basie led one of the most successful groups in the history of jazz. Over the course of 50 years, the Count Basie Orchestra, including incredibly popular musicians such as Sweets Edison, Buck Clayton and Joe Williams, has earned a reputation as one of America's most in-demand big bands. Nine-time Grammy Award winner Count Basie has instilled a love of orchestral sound into generations of listeners.

Basie wrote many songs that have become jazz standards, such as April in Paris and One O'Clock Jump. Colleagues spoke of him as a tactful, modest and enthusiastic person. Had it not been for the Count Basie Orchestra in jazz history, the big band era would have sounded different and certainly not as influential as it became with this outstanding bandleader.

6 Coleman Hawkins

The tenor saxophone is the symbol of bebop and all jazz music in general. And for that we can be grateful to be Coleman Hawkins. The innovations that Hawkins brought were vital to the development of bebop in the mid-forties. His contribution to the popularity of this instrument may have determined the future careers of John Coltrane, and Dexter Gordon.

The composition Body and Soul (1939) became the benchmark for playing the tenor saxophone for many saxophonists. Other instrumentalists were also influenced by Hawkins - pianist Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Miles Davis, drummer Max Roach. His ability for extraordinary improvisations led to the discovery of new jazz sides of the genre that were not touched by his contemporaries. This partly explains why the tenor saxophone has become an integral part of the modern jazz ensemble.

5 Benny Goodman

The top five 15 most influential jazz musicians in the history of the genre opens. The famous King of Swing led almost the most popular orchestra of the early 20th century. His concert at Carnegie Hall in 1938 is recognized as one of the most important live concerts in the history of American music. This show demonstrates the advent of the jazz era, the recognition of this genre as an independent art form.

Despite the fact that Benny Goodman was the lead singer of a major swing orchestra, he also participated in the development of bebop. His orchestra became one of the first, which united musicians of different races in its composition. Goodman was a vocal opponent of the Jim Crow Act. He even turned down a tour of the southern states in support of racial equality. Benny Goodman was an active figure and reformer not only in jazz, but also in popular music.

4 Miles Davis

One of the central jazz figures of the 20th century, Miles Davis, stood at the origins of many musical events and watched them develop. He is credited with pioneering the genres of bebop, hard bop, cool jazz, free jazz, fusion, funk and techno music. IN constant search new style of music he always achieved success and was surrounded by brilliant musicians including John Coltrane, Cannoball Adderley, Keith Jarrett, JJ Johnson, Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea. During his lifetime, Davis was awarded 8 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Miles Davis was one of the most active and influential jazz musicians of the last century.

3 Charlie Parker

When you think about jazz, you remember the name. Also known as Bird Parker, he was a jazz alto saxophone pioneer, bebop musician and composer. His fast playing, clear sound and talent as an improviser had a significant impact on the musicians of that time and our contemporaries. As a composer, he changed the standards of jazz music writing. Charlie Parker was the musician who cultivated the idea that jazzmen are artists and intellectuals, not just showmen. Many artists have tried to copy Parker's style. His famous playing techniques can also be traced in the manner of many current novice musicians, who take as a basis the composition Bird, consonant with the nickname of the alto-sakosophist.

2 Duke Ellington

He was a grandiose pianist, composer and one of the most outstanding orchestra leaders. Although he is known as a jazz pioneer, he excelled in other genres as well, including gospel, blues, classical and popular music. It is Ellington who is credited with bringing jazz to separate view art. With countless awards and prizes, the first great jazz composer never stopped improving. He was the inspiration for the next generation of musicians including Sonny Stitt, Oscar Peterson, Earl Hines, Joe Pass. Duke Ellington remains a recognized jazz piano genius - instrumentalist and composer.

1 Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong

Arguably the most influential jazz musician in the history of the genre, aka Satchmo is a trumpeter and singer from New Orleans. He is known as the creator of jazz, who played a key role in its development. The amazing abilities of this performer made it possible to build a trumpet into a solo jazz instrument. He is the first musician to sing and popularize the scat style. It was impossible not to recognize his low "thundering" timbre of voice.

Armstrong's commitment to his own ideals influenced the work of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. Louis Armstrong influenced not only jazz, but the entire musical culture, giving the world a new genre, a unique manner of singing and playing the trumpet.

Jazz- a type of musical art that appeared in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a result of a mixture of African musical culture of black slaves and European. From the first culture, this kind of music borrowed improvisation, rhythm, repeated repetition of the main motive, and from the second - harmony, sounds in minor and major. It is worth noting that such elements of the folklore of African slaves brought to America as ritual dances, work and church songs, blues are also reflected in jazz melodies.

Disputes about the origin of jazz are still ongoing. It is known for certain that it spread all over the world from the USA, and its classical direction originated in New Orleans, where on February 26, 1917, the first jazz record was recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band.

In the first decade of the 20th century, in the southern states of the United States, musical ensembles that performed original improvisations on the themes of blues, ragtime, and European songs became especially popular. They were called the "jazz band", which is where the word "jazz" came from. The composition of these groups included musicians playing the various tools including: trumpet, clarinet, trombone, banjo, tuba, double bass, percussion and piano.

Jazz has several characteristic features that distinguish it from other musical genres:

  • rhythm;
  • swing;
  • instruments that imitate human speech;
  • a kind of "dialogue" between the instruments;
  • specific vocal, intonationally reminiscent of a conversation.

Jazz has become an integral part of the music industry, spreading across the globe. The popularity of jazz melodies has led to the creation of a huge number of ensembles performing them, as well as to the emergence of new directions in this genre of music. To date, more than 30 such styles are known, among which the most popular are blues, soul, ragtime, swing, jazz-rock, symphonic-jazz.

For those who want to learn the basics of this type of musical art, the decision to buy a clarinet, trumpet, banjo, trombone or any other jazz instrument will be a great start on the path to mastering this genre. Later, the saxophone was included in the composition of jazz orchestras and ensembles, which today can be bought even in the online store. In addition to those listed above, a jazz group may also include ethnic musical instruments.

Jazz is special variety music, which has become especially popular in the United States. Initially, jazz was the music of black citizens of the United States, but later this direction absorbed completely different musical styles that developed in many countries. We will talk about this development.

The most important feature of jazz, both originally and now, is rhythm. Jazz melodies combine elements of African and European music. But jazz acquired its harmony thanks to European influence. The second fundamental element of jazz to this day is improvisation. Jazz was often played without a pre-prepared melody: only during the game did the musician choose one direction or another, succumbing to his inspiration. So, right before the eyes of the listeners, during the play of the musician, music was born.

Over the years, jazz has changed, but still managed to maintain its basic features. An invaluable contribution to this direction was made by the notorious "blues" - lingering melodies, which were also characteristic of blacks. At the moment, most blues melodies are an integral part of the jazz direction. In truth, the blues has had a special influence not only on jazz: rock and roll, country and western also use blues motifs.

Speaking of jazz, it is necessary to mention the American city of New Orleans. Dixieland, as New Orleans jazz was called, for the first time combined blues motifs, black church songs, and elements of European folk music.
Later, swing appeared (it is also called jazz in the style of "big band"), which also received wide development. In the 1940s and 1950s, "modern jazz" gained popularity, which was a more complex interplay of melodies and harmonies than early jazz. Appeared new approach to the rhythm. The musicians tried to invent new works using other rhythms, and therefore the drumming technique became more complicated.

The "new wave" of jazz swept the world in the 60s: it is considered the jazz of those same improvisations mentioned above. Going out to perform, the orchestra could not guess in what direction and in what rhythm their performance would be, none of the jazz players knew in advance when the tempo and speed of performance would change. And it is also necessary to say that such behavior of the musicians does not mean that the music was unbearable: on the contrary, a new approach to the performance of already existing melodies appeared. Following the development of jazz, we can see that it is a constantly changing music, but which has not lost its foundation over the years.

Let's summarize:

  • At first, jazz was black music;
  • Two postulates of all jazz melodies: rhythm and improvisation;
  • Blues - made a huge contribution to the development of jazz;
  • New Orleans jazz (Dixieland) combined blues, church songs and European folk music;
  • Swing - the direction of jazz;
  • With the development of jazz, rhythms became more complicated, and in the 60s jazz orchestras again indulged in improvisations at performances.

Throughout the history of jazz, this musical direction has had to undergo a significant number of changes, sometimes pleasant, sometimes difficult and unexpected. But, nevertheless, there are a number of legendary musicians, both in Russia and abroad, who have made an invaluable contribution to the positive course of the history of this music. It was they who created the truly great jazz orchestras.

In 1932, the famous Russian musician and conductor Alexander Tsfasman collected Music band"Moscow Guys", which later became "Alexander Tsfasman's Jazz Orchestra". The musicians appeared in the popular and prestigious at that time restaurant "Savoy", went on tour around the country, 4 years after the creation they participated in the capital's "Jazz Evenings".

In addition to working as the leader of a successful orchestra, Alexander Tsfasman gave solo concerts, and as you know, he was a brilliant pianist.

Such famous musicians as Ivan Kozlovsky, Igor Gladkov, Mikhail Frumkin, Sergei Lemeshev, Valentin Berlinsky, Emil Geigner, Pavel and Mikhail Mikhailov, Vladimir Bunchikov, Claudia Shulzhenko, Nadezhda Kazantseva, Alexander Rivchun, Mark Bernes performed with the orchestra on the same stage.

During the war period, the ensemble, supporting Soviet troops, gave concerts on many fronts. In historical musically Tsfasman was one of the first to bring swing to the USSR.

In the winter of 1956, a gala concert was held in the Column Hall of the House of the Unions in honor of Tsfasman's 50th anniversary, at which the orchestra performed its best hits. famous musician died in February 1971 in Moscow. The conductor left a noticeable mark in the history of the Soviet jazz orchestra.


In 1934, the legendary jazz orchestra appeared. The musicians, who were then in Shanghai, began touring the country and a few years later the maestro was dubbed the "Jazz King of the Far East."

In 1937, the orchestra already included 11 musicians, and the ensemble's repertoire expanded thanks to the performance of Russian songs in jazz arrangements.

Difficulties in Chinese political life at the time prompted the orchestra to move to the Soviet Union in 1947. The post-war period brought great success to the musicians. In 1955, Oleg Lundstrem and his orchestra recorded records, performed on the radio, and became more and more famous. During its long career, the orchestra has performed over 10,000 concerts in the USSR and in today's Russia. In 1989, Lundstrem invited Alexander Bryksin as director of the orchestra.

In 2005, the great conductor Lundstrem passed away. Since 2007, a new artistic director has appeared in the orchestra - Boris Mikhailovich Frumkin, concert programs have been updated. Now the orchestra is still successfully performing in the capital and touring the cities of Russia.


In 1971, the famous musician Anatoly Kroll assembled a big band, which became one of the most successful in the USSR. The orchestra toured Europe, worked with Yuri Antonov, Larisa Dolina, Evgeny Martynov, Leonid Serebrennikov. Anatoly Kroll disbanded the ensemble in 1991 and moved to the theater of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation.

Kroll also began working as a composer with the ISS Big Band (named after the International Commerce Union). The team has earned numerous praises from critics and great love from Russian listeners. The musicians traveled a lot with concerts abroad, for example, in France, Switzerland.

To this day, the great conductor Anatoly Kroll remains the leader of the orchestra.


One of the greatest jazz orchestras of the legendary trumpeter appeared in 1937. Initially, the big band was formed in 1935-1936, the musicians signed a contract with a recording studio Brunswick Records, but the financial situation of the team was still difficult. In 1938 was formed a new composition of the orchestra, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra began to rapidly develop and gain popularity. Thanks to Miller's increased demands for professionalism and hard work, he created his own style, different from others.

On April 4, 1939, Miller and his orchestra recorded Moonlight Serenade. And the composition Tuxedo Junction, recorded on February 5, 1940, sold 115,000 copies in its first week, and put the orchestra at number 7 on the national hit parade in the same year.

In October 1942, due to the political situation, Glenn Miller left for the army. The appointment to the post of captain inspired him to convince the army authorities to modernize the military band and ultimately improve the morale of the employees. Miller's goal was achieved - the orchestra was a success! At the end of 1943 the musicians went on tour to England.

In the autumn of 1944 the orchestra was to go on a tour of Europe. Miller decided to arrive in Paris earlier in order to better prepare for the performance, but an accident occurred - Glenn Miller boarded a transport plane to Paris and died in a crash. Nevertheless, the orchestra of the great instrumentalist still continues to exist and successfully tour around the world.


The Ellington Orchestra was assembled by its leader in 1923. After 4 years, the musicians were already standing on the stage of the famous club in Harlem.

Due to frequent radio broadcasts of concerts from this club, Ellington and his musicians became popular. In 1931 the Duke Ellington Orchestra embarked on their first tour. The jazz standard Mood Indigo, which has been performed for decades, has become extremely successful.

Shortly before the beginning of the era of swing music, he seemed to have predicted his appearance. Compositions of 1933 Sophisticated Lady and Stormy Weather have become the "calling cards" of the orchestra.

Frequent tours of Europe and America brought great and well-deserved success to the musicians. basis performed music are Ellington's compositions. In 1971, the legendary orchestra visited the USSR, achieving a triumph there as well. The instrumentalists, led by their permanent leader, continued to prepare new concert programs and record popular hits, act in films, record soundtracks for films, and receive music awards. Until the last days of his life, Duke led a concert activity. The music of the great composer has forever remained in the hearts of millions of fans around the world and inspired many subsequent jazzmen.


clarinetist with early childhood was selflessly devoted to jazz, and it is not surprising that the creation of a successful orchestra was one of his main aspirations. In the early summer of 1934, the first performance of his Goodman Big Band took place. A month later, his composition Moon Glow won first place in the American charts.

The orchestra was often invited to the radio, thanks to which it noticeably increased its popularity and took first place in the jazz charts of the country more than 10 times. The musicians were gaining great popularity and the record company RCA Victor, where it was made in 1917, offered them a lucrative contract. During the difficult period of the Great Depression in the USA, the orchestra did not stop touring, even taking into account the difficult financial situation of the artists.

The concert on August 21, 1935 at the Palomar institution became crucial for Goodman's work. After performing there, his orchestra and the musician himself became real stars of jazz and swing, in particular. In December 1949, Benny Goodman disbanded his legendary orchestra. The clarinetist's subsequent activities mainly consisted of putting together temporary ensembles for touring and recording. Most often, the clarinetist gathered groups of 4 or 6 musicians, but sometimes there were big bands. The music of Benny Goodman can be described as refined, with a unique taste, and of course, the special presentation of his instrumentalists.


One of the most significant figures in swing, Count Basie is also known as the leader of an outstanding big band, which deservedly complements the great jazz orchestras. The Count Basie Orchestra was assembled from musicians who left Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra in 1935. For 1 year, the ensemble of 9 people has grown to a large orchestra. Numerous radio stations began to invite them, and Basie himself acquired the nickname "Count" (Count).

The main difference between the Count Basie Orchestra and other big bands was that it was based on top-level soloists - this made it possible to perform unprecedented improvisations. The rhythm section of the Kant Basie Orchestra is recognized as the best in jazz. Joe Johnson was behind the drums, Buddy Rich played in the orchestra for some time, on the saxophone -. The first persons of jazz performed with the orchestra - and.

In the 1940s, the orchestra fell on hard times, like many other big bands. For 2 years, Basie dissolves the team and plays with a sextet. At the first opportunity, the orchestra reassembles and goes on a long tour, which secures the right for the team to be considered the No. 1 orchestra in swing.

After the death of Count Basie, the orchestra did not cease to exist. In Russia, the big band performed in 1985.


In 1935, jazz trombonist and trumpeter Tommy Dorsey created his own big band. The team performed the so-called "commercialized jazz", or pop jazz. The popularity of the band was brought by work with outstanding arrangers Poll Weston and Bill Feingan. The orchestra collaborated with Bunny Berigan, Dave Tuf,

The band was inferior to the team of Benny Goodman in terms of skill, but turned out to be more viable. The orchestra adequately survived the crisis of swing and big bands in the late 40s. The orchestra had a strong "chick": Tommy was accused of luring best musicians. The researchers argue that Dorsey was a perfectionist and a man of mood, and this explains the frequent changes in the composition of the team.

In 1940 Tommy Dorsey brought in an aspiring vocalist. For 2 years, the band and Sinatra recorded 80 songs, including the hits In The Blue of Evening and This Love of Mine.

Tommy Dorsey was one of the first to adapt boogie-woogie to the orchestra, making swing arrangements. He is also one of the first white jazz bandleaders to make solo improvisation mandatory. he encouraged vocalists to use scat and "nonsense songs" to entertain the audience. After Tommy's death in 1956, the band was led by his brother and then led by Lee Castle and Warren Covington.


The outstanding drummer Chick Webb assembled the first band in Harlem in 1926. It is known that in 1931 the band became a permanent resident of the famous Savoy club.

Lack of musical literacy, height 130 cm did not prevent Chik from becoming brilliant professional and leader of one of the finest orchestras in the world.

A significant event occurred in 1937 when Chick Webb's band competed with the orchestra. The audience almost unanimously gave the championship to the less famous Chick. According to Goodman's drummer Gene Krupa, Cheek charged the audience.

Of course, the orchestra owes its fame not only to the outstanding rhythm section. In 1935, the young woman became the soloist of the orchestra, who led the band after the imminent death of Chick.


Moscow Jazz Orchestra of Igor Butman

One of the most popular Russian orchestras of our time was created by a saxophonist. In 1999, he assembled a big band, which in 2012 received the right to be called the Moscow Jazz Orchestra.

In 2003, there was a high-profile event in the world of jazz and a landmark for Igor Butman's big band. The Moscow Jazz Orchestra gave a joint concert with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra conducted by the legendary.

In 2013, the American magazine Downbeat dubbed the orchestra a "constellation of virtuosos", and in a report from the Umbria Jazz Festival, the band was compared to the orchestra of Buddy Rich, Count Basie and the band.

In the same year, the album of the Moscow Jazz Orchestra Special Opinion was released. The recording featured saxophonist Bill Evans, drummer Dave Weckl, guitarists Mike Stern and Mitch Stein, trumpeter Randy Brekker and bassist Tom Kennedy.

In 2017, the Moscow Jazz Orchestra performed at the first jazz forum-fest in St. Petersburg, together with a vocalist.

Subsequently, ragtime rhythms combined with blues elements gave rise to a new musical direction - 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 slaves were brought from Africa to the territory of the New World. The brought slaves did not come from the same clan and usually did not even understand each other. The need for consolidation led to the unification of many cultures and, as a result, to the creation of a single culture (including music) of African Americans. The processes of mixing African musical culture and European (which also underwent serious changes in the New World) took place starting from the 18th century, and in the 19th century led to the emergence of "proto-jazz", and then jazz in the generally accepted sense.

new orleans jazz

The term New Orleans, or traditional, jazz is commonly used to refer to the style of musicians who played jazz in New Orleans between 1900 and 1917, as well as New Orleans musicians who played in Chicago and recorded records 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 music played in various historical periods representatives of the New Orleans revival, who sought to perform jazz in the same style as the musicians of the New Orleans school.

The development of jazz in the United States in the first quarter of the 20th century

After the closure of Storyville, jazz begins to turn from a regional folk genre into a nationwide one. Musical direction, extending to the northern and northeastern provinces of the United States. But its wide distribution, of course, could not be facilitated only by the closure of one entertainment quarter. Along with New Orleans, in the development of jazz great importance St. Louis, Kansas City, and Memphis played from the start. Ragtime was born in Memphis in the 19th century, from where it then spread throughout the North American continent in the period -1903. On the other hand, minstrel performances, with their colorful mosaic of African-American folklore of all kinds, from jig to ragtime, quickly spread everywhere and set the stage for the advent of jazz. Many future jazz celebrities began their journey in the minstrel show. Long before Storyville closed, New Orleans musicians were touring with so-called "vaudeville" troupes. Jelly Roll Morton regularly toured Alabama, Florida, Texas from 1904. From 1914 he had a contract to perform in Chicago. In 1915 he moved to Chicago and Tom Brown's White Dixieland Orchestra. Major vaudeville tours in Chicago were also made by the famous Creole Band, led by New Orleans cornet player Freddie Keppard. Having separated from the Olympia Band at one time, Freddie Keppard's artists already in 1914 successfully performed in the best theater in Chicago and received an offer to make a sound recording of their performances even before the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, which, however, Freddie Keppard short-sightedly rejected.

Significantly expanded the territory covered by the influence of jazz, orchestras playing on pleasure steamers that sailed up the Mississippi. Since the end of the 19th century, river trips from New Orleans to St. Paul have become popular, first for the weekend, and later for the whole week. Since 1900, New Orleans orchestras have been performing on these riverboats, the music of which has become the most attractive entertainment for passengers during river tours. In one of these orchestras, Suger Johnny, Louis Armstrong's future wife, the first jazz pianist Lil Hardin, began.

Many future New Orleans jazz stars performed in the riverboat orchestra of another pianist, Faiths Marable. Steamboats that traveled along the river often stopped at passing stations, where orchestras arranged concerts for the local public. It was these concerts that became creative debuts for Bix Beiderbeck, Jess Stacy and many others. Another famous route ran along the Missouri to Kansas City. In this city, where, thanks to the strong roots of African-American folklore, the blues developed and finally took shape, the virtuoso playing of New Orleans jazzmen found an exceptionally fertile environment. Chicago became the main center for the development of jazz music by the beginning of the 1990s, in which, through the efforts of many musicians gathered from different parts of the United States, a style was created that received the nickname Chicago jazz.

Swing

The term has two meanings. First, this means of expression 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.

Artists: Joe Pass, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Norah Jones, Michel Legrand, Oscar Peterson, Ike Quebec, Paulinho Da Costa, Wynton Marsalis Septet, Mills Brothers, Stephane Grappelli.

Bop

Jazz style that developed in the early - mid-40s of the XX 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 non-professionals out of their new improvisations. Among other things, the hallmark of all bebopers has become a shocking demeanor and appearance: the curved pipe "Dizzy" Gillespie, the behavior of Parker and Gillespie, the ridiculous hats of Monk, etc. Having arisen as a reaction to the ubiquity of swing, bebop continued to develop its principles in use of expressive means, but at the same time found 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 instigators of the birth were: saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, drummer Max Roach. Also listen to Chick Corea, Michel Legrand, Joshua Redman Elastic Band, Jan Garbarek, Charles Mingus, Modern Jazz Quartet.

Big bands

The classic, established form of big bands has been known in jazz since the early 1990s. This form retained its relevance until the end of the 1990s. The musicians who entered most big bands, as a rule, almost in their teens, played quite certain parts, either learned in rehearsals or from notes. Careful orchestrations, along with massive brass and woodwind sections, produced rich jazz harmonies and produced the sensationally loud sound that became known as "the big band sound".

The big band became the popular music of its time, reaching its height of fame in the mid-s. This music became the source of the swing dance craze. The leaders of the famous jazz orchestras Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Chick Webb, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Lunsford, Charlie Barnet composed or arranged and recorded on records a genuine hit parade of tunes that sounded not only on the radio but also everywhere in dance halls. Many big bands showed their solo improvisers, who brought the audience to a state close to hysteria during well-hyped "battles of the orchestras".

Although big bands declined in popularity after World War II, orchestras led by Basie, Ellington, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Harry James, and many others toured and recorded frequently over the next few decades. Their music was gradually transformed under the influence of new trends. Groups such as ensembles led by Boyd Ryburn, Sun Ra, Oliver Nelson, Charles Mingus, Thad Jones-Mal Lewis explored new concepts in harmony, instrumentation and improvisational freedom. Today, big bands are the standard in jazz education. Repertory orchestras such as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterpiece Orchestra, and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble regularly play original arrangements of big band compositions.

In 2008, George Simon's canonical book Big Orchestras of the Swing Age was published in Russian, which in its essence is almost complete encyclopedia all the big bands of the golden age from the early 20s to the 60s of the XX century.

Mainstream

Pianist Duke Ellington

After the end of the mainstream fashion of big bands in the big band era, when the music of big bands began to be crowded out on stage by small jazz ensembles, swing music continued to sound. Many famous swing soloists, after playing in the ballrooms, 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, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Hodges, Buck Clayton and others. The leaders of the big bands themselves - Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Harry James, Gene Krupa, being initially soloists, and not just conductors, also looked for opportunities to play separately from their large team, in a small composition. Not accepting the innovative techniques of the upcoming bebop, these musicians adhered to the traditional swing manner, while demonstrating inexhaustible imagination when performing improvisational parts. The main stars of swing constantly performed and recorded in small compositions, called "combos", within which there was much more room for improvisation. The style of this direction of club jazz of the late 1920s received the name mainstream, or the main current, with the beginning of the rise of bebop. Some of the finest performers of this era could be heard in fine form at jams, when chord improvisation was already taking precedence over the melodic coloring of the swing era. Re-emerging as a freestyle style in the late 's and 's, the mainstream absorbed elements of cool jazz, bebop, and hard bop. The term "contemporary mainstream" or post-bop is used today for almost any style that does not have a close connection to historical styles of jazz music.

Northeast Jazz. Stride

Louis Armstrong, trumpeter and singer

Although the history of jazz began in New Orleans with the advent of the 20th century, this music experienced a real take-off in the early 1990s, when trumpeter Louis Armstrong left New Orleans to create new revolutionary music in Chicago. The migration of New Orleans jazz masters to New York that began shortly thereafter marked a trend of continuous movement of jazz musicians from the South to the North. Chicago embraced New Orleans music and made it hot, raising its heat not only through the efforts of Armstrong's famed Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, but others as well, including the likes of Eddie Condon and Jimmy McPartland, whose Austin High School crew helped revitalize New Orleans School. Among other famous Chicagoans who pushed the horizons of the classical jazz style New Orleans, include pianist Art Hodes, drummer Barrett Deems, and clarinetist Benny Goodman. Armstrong and Goodman, who eventually moved to New York, created a kind of critical mass there that helped this city turn into a real jazz capital of the world. And while Chicago remained primarily the center of sound recording in the first quarter of the 20th century, New York also emerged as the premier jazz venue, hosting such legendary clubs as the Minton Playhouse, Cotton Club, Savoy and Village Vengeward, and as well as arenas such as Carnegie Hall.

Kansas City Style

During the era of the Great Depression and Prohibition, the Kansas City jazz scene became a kind of Mecca for the newfangled sounds of the late 's and 's. The style that flourished in Kansas City is characterized by soulful blues-tinged pieces, performed by both big bands and small swing ensembles, demonstrating very energetic solos, performed for patrons of taverns with illegally sold liquor. It was in these pubs that the style of the great Count Basie crystallized, starting in Kansas City with Walter Page's orchestra and later with Benny Moten. Both of these orchestras were typical representatives Kansas city style, which was based on a peculiar form of blues, called "urban blues" and formed in the play of the above orchestras. The jazz scene of Kansas City was also distinguished by a whole galaxy of outstanding masters of the vocal blues, recognized as the "king" among which was the long-term soloist of the Count Basie Orchestra, the famous blues singer Jimmy Rushing. The famous alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, who was born in Kansas City, upon his arrival in New York, widely used the characteristic blues techniques he had learned in the Kansas City orchestras and later formed one of the starting points in the experiments of boppers in -e.

West Coast Jazz

Artists captured by the cool jazz movement in the 50s worked extensively in the Los Angeles recording studios. Largely influenced by nonet Miles Davis, these Los Angeles-based performers developed what is now known as "West Coast Jazz", or west coast jazz. As recording studios, clubs such as The Lighthouse on Hermosa Beach and The Haig in Los Angeles often featured his top artists, including trumpeter Shorty Rogers, saxophonists Art Pepper and Bud Shenk, drummer Shelley Mann, and clarinetist Jimmy Giuffrey. .

Cool (cool jazz)

The high heat and pressure of bebop began to wane with the development of cool jazz. Beginning in the late 1900s and early 1900s, musicians began to develop a less violent, smoother approach to improvisation, modeled after tenor saxophonist Lester Young's light, dry playing back in his swing period. The result is a detached and uniformly flat sound based on emotional "coolness". Trumpeter Miles Davis, one of the first bebop players to cool it down, became the genre's biggest innovator. His nonet, which recorded the album "Birth of the Cool" in the -1950s, was the epitome of the lyricism and restraint of cool jazz. Other notable musicians of the cool jazz school are trumpeter Chet Baker, pianists George Shearing, John Lewis, Dave Brubeck and Lenny Tristano, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and saxophonists Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Zoot Sims and Paul Desmond. Arrangers also made significant contributions to the cool jazz movement, notably Thad Dameron, Claude Thornhill, Bill Evans, and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan. Their compositions focused on instrumental coloring and slowness of movement, on a frozen harmony that created the illusion of space. Dissonance also played a role in their music, but with a softer, muted character. The cool jazz format left room for somewhat larger ensembles such as nonets and tentets, which became more common during this period than during the early bebop period. Some arrangers experimented with modified instrumentation, including cone-shaped brass instruments such as horn and tuba.

progressive jazz

In parallel with the emergence of bebop, a new genre is developing in the jazz environment - progressive jazz, or simply progressive. The main difference of this genre is the desire to move away from the frozen cliche of big bands and outdated, worn out techniques of the so-called. symphojazz, introduced in -e by Paul Whiteman. Unlike the boppers, the creators of progressive did not seek to radically abandon the jazz traditions that had developed at that time. Rather, they sought to update and improve swing phrase-models, introducing into the practice of composition the latest achievements of European symphonism in the field of tonality and harmony.

The greatest contribution to the development of the concepts of "progressive" was made by the pianist and conductor Stan Kenton. Progressive jazz of the early 1990s actually originates from his first works. In terms of sound, 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 symphojazz. Later, during the years of the creation of the famous series of his albums "Artistry", elements of jazz no longer played the role of creating color, but were already organically woven into the musical material. Along with Kenton, credit for this went to his best arranger, Pete Rugolo, a student of Darius Milhaud. Modern (for those years) symphonic sound, specific staccato technique in playing saxophones, bold harmonies, frequent seconds and blocks, along with polytonality and jazzy rhythmic pulsation - that's distinctive features this music, with which Stan Kenton entered jazz history for many years, as one of its innovators, who found a common platform for European symphonic culture and bebop elements, 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 has maintained his fidelity to the chosen genre throughout his career.

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

hard bop

Hard bop (English - hard, hard bop) is a kind of jazz that arose in the 50s. 20th century from bop. Differs in expressive, cruel rhythmics, reliance on the 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 to develop harder, heavier variations on the old bebop formula, dubbed 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. Incendiary soloing or mastery of improvisation along with strong feeling harmonies were properties of paramount importance for brass players, in the rhythm section the participation of drums and piano became more noticeable, and the bass acquired a more fluid, funky feel. (taken from the source "Musical literature" Kolomiets Maria)

Modal (modal) jazz

soul jazz

Groove

An offshoot of soul jazz, the groove style draws melodies with bluesy notes and is distinguished by exceptional rhythmic focus. Sometimes also called "funk", the groove focuses on maintaining a continuous characteristic rhythmic pattern, flavoring it with light instrumental and sometimes lyrical embellishments.

The pieces performed in the groove style are full of joyful emotions, inviting the listeners to dance, both in a slow, bluesy version, and at a fast pace. Solo improvisations retain strict subordination to the beat and collective sound. The most famous exponents of this style are organists Richard "Groove" Holmes and Shirley Scott, tenorsaxophonist Jean Emmons, and flautist/altosaxophonist Leo Wright.

free jazz

Saxophonist Ornette Coleman

Perhaps the most controversial movement in the history of jazz emerged with the advent of free jazz, or the "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, most original in the "experiments" of such innovators as Coleman Hawkins, Pee Wee Russell and Lenny Tristano, but only towards the end of the 1990s 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 communities like the Sun Ra Arkestra and the group called The Revolutionary Ensemble, did was a variety of structural changes. and feel for the 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 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 has been 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.

creative

The appearance of the "Creative" direction was marked by the penetration of elements of experimentalism and avant-garde into jazz. The beginning of this process partially coincided with the rise of free jazz. The elements of avant-garde jazz, understood as changes and innovations introduced into music, have always been "experimental". So the new forms of experimentalism offered by jazz in the 50s, 60s and 70s were the most radical departure from tradition, introducing new elements of rhythm, tonality and structure into practice. In fact, avant-garde music became synonymous with open forms, which were harder to characterize than even free jazz. The pre-planned saying structure was mixed with freer solo phrases, partly reminiscent of free jazz. The compositional elements so merged with improvisation that it was already difficult to determine where the first ended and the second began. In fact, the musical structure of the pieces was designed so that the solo was the product of the arrangement, logically leading the musical process into what would normally be seen as a form of abstraction or even chaos. Swing rhythms and even melodies could be included in the theme music, but this was not at all necessary. Early pioneers of this movement include pianist Lenny Tristano, saxophonist Jimmy Joffrey and composer/arranger/conductor Günter Schuller. More recent masters include pianists Paul Blay and Andrew Hill, saxophonists Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers, drummers Sunny Murray and Andrew Cyrill, and members of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) community such as the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Fusion

Starting not only from the fusion of jazz with pop and rock music, but also with music stemming from areas such as soul, funk and rhythm and blues, fusion (or literally fusion), such as musical genre, appeared in the late 's, at first under the name jazz-rock. Individuals and bands such as guitarist Larry Coryell's Eleventh House, drummer Tony Williams' Lifetime, and Miles Davis have followed at the forefront of this trend, introducing elements such as electronica, rock rhythms and extended tracks, nullifying much of what jazz has stood for since its inception, namely the swing beat, and based primarily on blues music, the repertoire of which included both blues material and popular standards. The term fusion came into use shortly after various orchestras emerged, such as the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, and Chick Corea's Return To Forever Ensemble. Throughout the music of these ensembles there was a constant emphasis on improvisation and melody, which firmly linked their practice with the history of jazz, despite detractors who claimed that they "sold out" to music merchants. In fact, when one listens to these early experiments today, they hardly seem commercial, offering the listener to participate in what was music with a highly developed conversational nature. During the mid-s, fusion evolved into a variant of easy listening and/or rhythm and blues music. Compositionally or from the point of view of performance, he has lost a significant part of his sharpness, if not completely lost. In -e, jazz musicians turned the musical form of fusion into a truly expressive medium. Artists such as drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, guitarists Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John Abercrombie and James "Blood" Ulmer, also like veteran saxophonist/trumpeter Ornette Coleman creatively mastered this music in different dimensions.

Postbop

Drummer Art Blakey

The post-bop period encompasses music played by jazz musicians who continued to work in the bebop field, eschewing the free jazz experiments that developed during the same period of the 1960s. Also like the aforementioned hard bop, this form was based on the rhythms, ensemble structure and energy of bebop, on the same brass combinations and on 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 age, marked by the dominance of pop music. Often this subspecies experiments with blues rock. Masters such as saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Horace Silver, drummer Art Blakey, and trumpeter Lee Morgan actually started this music in the mid-1900s and presaged what has now become the predominant form of jazz. Along with simpler melodies and more heartfelt beats, the listener could also hear traces of gospel and rhythm and blues mixed together. This style, which met with some changes during the 's, was used to a certain extent to create new structures as a compositional element. Saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist McCoy Tyner, and even such a prominent bopper as Dizzy Gillespie, created music in this genre that was both human and harmonically interesting. One of the most significant composers to emerge during this period was the saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Shorter, having gone through school in the Art Blakey Ensemble, recorded a number of strong albums during his own name. Together with keyboardist Herbie Hancock, Shorter helped Miles Davis form a quintet (the most experimental and highly influential post-bop group was the Davis Quintet featuring John Coltrane) that became one of the most significant groups in jazz history.

acid jazz

Jazz manush

The Spread of Jazz

Jazz has always aroused interest among musicians and listeners around the world, regardless of their nationality. Enough to trace early work trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and his synthesis of jazz traditions with the music of black Cubans in -e or later combination of jazz with Japanese, Eurasian and Middle Eastern music, known in the work of pianist Dave Brubeck, as well as in the brilliant composer and leader of the jazz band Duke Ellington, combining the musical heritage of Africa, Latin America and the Far East. Jazz constantly absorbed and not only Western musical traditions. For example, when different artists began to try to work with the musical elements of India. An example of this effort can be heard in the recordings of flautist Paul Horn at the Taj Mahal, or in the stream of "world music" represented, for example, by the Oregon band or John McLaughlin's Shakti project. McLaughlin's music, formerly largely based on jazz, began to use new instruments of Indian origin, such as the khatam or tabla, during his work with Shakti, intricate rhythms sounded and the form of the Indian raga was widely used. The Art Ensemble of Chicago was an early pioneer in the fusion of African and jazz forms. The world later came to know saxophonist/composer John Zorn and his exploration of Jewish musical culture, both within and outside the Masada Orchestra. These works have inspired entire groups of other jazz musicians, such as keyboardist John Medeski, who has recorded with African musician Salif Keita, guitarist Marc Ribot and bassist Anthony Coleman. Trumpeter Dave Douglas brings inspiration from the Balkans to his music, while the Asian-American Jazz Orchestra has emerged as a leading proponent of the convergence of jazz and Asian musical forms. As the globalization of the world continues, jazz is constantly being influenced by other musical traditions, providing mature food for future research and proving that jazz is truly world music.

Jazz in the USSR and Russia

First in the RSFSR
eccentric orchestra
jazz band Valentina Parnakh

In the mass consciousness, jazz began to gain wide popularity in the 30s, largely due to the Leningrad ensemble led by actor and singer Leonid Utyosov and trumpeter Ya. B. Skomorovsky. The popular film comedy with his participation "Merry Fellows" (1934, originally titled "Jazz Comedy") was dedicated to the history of a jazz musician and had an appropriate soundtrack (written by Isaak Dunaevsky). Utyosov and Skomorovsky formed the original style of "tea-jazz" (theatrical jazz), based on a mixture of music with theater, operetta, vocal numbers and an element of performance played a large role in it.

A notable contribution to the development of Soviet jazz was made by Eddie Rosner, a composer, musician and leader of orchestras. Having started his career in Germany, Poland and other European countries, Rozner moved to the USSR and became one of the pioneers of swing in the USSR and the initiator of Belarusian jazz. An important role in the popularization and development of the swing style was also played by Moscow bands of the 30s and 40s, led by Alexander Tsfasman and Alexander Varlamov. The Jazz Orchestra of the All-Union Radio conducted by A. Varlamov took part in the first Soviet TV show. The only composition that has survived from that time turned out to be Oleg Lundstrem's orchestra. This now widely known big band belonged to the few and best jazz ensembles of the Russian diaspora, performing in 1935-1947. in China.

The attitude of the Soviet authorities to jazz was ambiguous: domestic jazz performers, as a rule, were not banned, but harsh criticism of jazz as such was widespread in the context of opposition to Western culture generally . In the late 1940s, during the struggle against cosmopolitanism, jazz in the USSR experienced a particularly difficult period, when groups performing "Western" music were persecuted. With the onset of the "thaw", the persecution of the musicians was stopped, but the criticism continued.

According to research by professor of history and American culture Penny Van Eschen, the US State Department tried to use jazz as an ideological weapon against the USSR and against the expansion of Soviet influence in the Third World.

The first book about jazz in the USSR was published by the Leningrad publishing house Academia in 1926. It was compiled by musicologist Semyon Ginzburg from translations of articles by Western composers and music critics, as well as his own materials, and was called " Jazz band and contemporary music» .
The next book about jazz was published in the USSR only in the early 1960s. It was written by Valery Mysovsky and Vladimir Feyertag, called " Jazz” and was essentially a compilation of information that could be obtained from various sources at that time. Since that time, work began on the first encyclopedia of jazz in Russian, which was published only in 2001 by the St. Petersburg publishing house "Skifia". Encyclopedia " Jazz. XX century. Encyclopedic reference” was prepared by one of the most authoritative jazz critics Vladimir Feiertag, numbered more than a thousand names of jazz personalities and was unanimously recognized as the main Russian-language book on jazz. In 2008, the second edition of the encyclopedia " Jazz. Encyclopedic reference”, where jazz history has been held until the 21st century, hundreds of the rarest photographs have been added, and the list of jazz names has been increased by almost a quarter.

Latin American Jazz

The combination of Latin rhythmic elements has been present in jazz almost from the beginning of the cultural fusion that originated in New Orleans. Jelly Roll Morton spoke of "Spanish undertones" in his recordings of the mid to late 1990s. Duke Ellington and other jazz bandleaders also used Latin forms. The main (albeit not widely recognized) progenitor of Latin jazz, trumpeter/arranger Mario Bausa brought a Cuban leaning from his native Havana to Chick Webb's orchestra in the 1990s, and a decade later he brought it into the sound of the Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway orchestras. Working with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in the Calloway Orchestra since the late 1900s, Bausa introduced a direction from which there was already a direct link to Gillespie's big bands of the mid-1900s. This "love affair" of Gillespie with Latin musical forms continued for the rest of his lengthy career. In Bausa, he continued his career, becoming music director Machito Afro-Cuban Orchestra, fronted by his brother-in-law, percussionist Frank Grillo, nicknamed Machito. The 1950s and 1960s were marked by a long flirtation of jazz with Latin rhythms, mainly in the bossa nova direction, enriching this synthesis with Brazilian elements of samba. Combining the style of cool jazz developed by West Coast musicians, European classical proportions and seductive Brazilian rhythms, bossa nova, or more correctly "Brazilian jazz", gained wide popularity in the United States around . Subtle but hypnotic acoustic guitar rhythms punctuated the simple melodies sung in both Portuguese and English language. Introduced by Brazilians Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobin, the style became a dance alternative to hard bop and free jazz in the 1950s, greatly expanding its popularity through recordings and performances by musicians from the west coast, in particular guitarist Charlie Byrd and saxophonist Stan Getz. The musical mixture of Latin influences spread in jazz and beyond, in the 's and 's, including not only orchestras and groups with first-class Latin American improvisers, but also combining local and Latin performers, creating examples of the most exciting stage music. This new Latin jazz renaissance was fueled by a constant influx of foreign performers from among the Cuban defectors, such as trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera, and others who fled the Fidel Castro regime in search of greater opportunities that they expected to find in New York. York and Florida. There is also an opinion that the more intense, more danceable qualities of the polyrhythmic music of Latin jazz greatly expanded the jazz audience. True, while retaining only a minimum of intuitiveness, for intellectual perception.

Jazz in the modern world


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