Posted in: Jazz by DDiddy on May 4th, 2008 | 0 Comments
People hear the catchy sound at a nightclub in the back of alleyways. They also hear it at concert halls. Compared, they sound different. However, they are both the same. It’s called Jazz. Jazz is a certain type of music which has its own way of being played, such as swing, and its own history. Jazz has an awesome arrangement of instruments, a cool history, and many fantastic forms.
Bebop was the next big development after big-band swing. Bebop was associated with small groups, not big bands. The usual ensemble was a trumpet, piano, bass, one or two saxophones, and drums. Young’s band had Basie on piano and it featured a rhythm section that accompanied soloists and it also had a flowing feeling that was all new to jazz. When musicians improvised, they used more of the underlying chords. Charlie Parker improvised with a logic and quickness that surprised both the audience and even his band! Some famous people that were involved with bebop are trumpeter John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie, trombonist J.J. Johnson, pianist Earl “Bud” Powell, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Ray Brown, and drummers Kenny Clarke and Max Roach (Davis 61-63).
Bebop eventually formed into two different things that have come to be known as cool and hard bop (Davis 61-63). Cool jazz has been identified with lighter, vibrato-free lines. Cool jazz tended to use flute, French horn, tuba, and other instruments that were definitely uncommon in earlier jazz styles (Blumenthal 104-108). Miles Davis led one of the most influential bands. Davis then had a band in 1960, and this time, Davis’ band included the tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter and pianist Herbie Hancock, who both had a great impact in jazz in the succeeding decades (Davis 61-63). A person named Jim Guiffre explored compact and folkish themes in a band called the Guiffre 3. The guitarist was named Jim Hall and was in the quintet of former Mulligan drummer Chico Hamilton. The Hamilton Quintet contained two LA natives, Hamilton and woodwind player Buddy Collette, both of whom were leading figures in the style of cool jazz (Blumenthal 104-108).
Hard bop was the other style from bebop (pk). Hard bop was associated with the east coast. The difference between hard bop and bebop was that hard bop mixed in some gospels and blues, both in harmony and rhythm. Compositions that were of hard bop were based upon original chord changes rather than blues progressions and pop songs. Hard bop was often fast, and this added excitement (Sabatella 1-2). Another type of jazz developed right around the civil rights movement. This type of jazz was called free jazz. Free jazz was able to extend contemporary jazz, so it was helpful for the extension of jazz (Fordham 42-43).
The deep history, varied and interesting forms, and the cool instruments of jazz really show what an awesome thing it is. It has influenced a lot of music, including some of the rock many people listen to today. Jazz has been around longer than a lot of music except for classical, which shows it can survive for decades and still retain its effects on the people who listen to it. Its birth from different cultures, and being able to branch out into the various jazz forms, show how it is an amazingly unique subject.
