Musical rhythms of America jazz. Jazz. history of jazz. jazz is African music. main features of jazz. Interesting and Fascinating Facts about Jazz

Jazz is a form of musical art that arose at the beginning of the 20th century in the USA as a result of the synthesis of African and European cultures and subsequently became widespread.

Jazz is amazing music, alive, constantly evolving, incorporating the rhythmic genius of Africa, the treasures of the thousand-year-old art of drumming, ritual and ceremonial chants. Add Baptist choral and solo singing, Protestant churches- opposite things merged together, giving the world amazing art! The history of jazz is unusual, dynamic, filled with amazing events that influenced the world musical process.

What is jazz?

Characteristics:

• polyrhythm based on syncopated rhythms,
• bit - regular pulsation,
• swing - deviation from the beat, a set of techniques for performing rhythmic texture,
• improvisation,
• colorful harmonic and timbre range.

This type of music emerged in the early twentieth century as a result of the synthesis of African and European cultures as an art based on improvisation combined with a preconceived, but not necessarily written, form of composition. Several performers can improvise at the same time, even if a solo voice is clearly heard in the ensemble. Finished artistic image the work depends on the interaction of the ensemble members with each other and with the audience.

Further development of the new musical direction occurred due to the mastery of new rhythmic and harmonic models by composers.

In addition to the special expressive role of rhythm, other features of African music were inherited - the interpretation of all instruments as percussion, rhythmic; predominance of conversational intonations in singing, imitation colloquial speech when playing guitar, piano, percussion instruments.

The history of jazz

The origins of jazz lie in the traditions of African music. The peoples of the African continent can be considered its founders. The slaves brought to the New World from Africa did not come from the same family and often did not understand each other. The need for interaction and communication led to unification and the creation of a single culture, including music. It is characterized by complex rhythms, dances with stamping and clapping. Together with blues motifs, they gave a new musical direction.

The processes of mixing African musical culture and European, which has undergone major changes, have occurred since the eighteenth century, and in the nineteenth led to the emergence of a new musical direction. Therefore, the world history of jazz is inseparable from the history of American jazz.

History of jazz development

The history of the birth of jazz originates in New Orleans, in the American South. This stage is characterized by collective improvisation of several versions of the same melody by a trumpeter (main voice), clarinetist and trombonist against the backdrop of marching accompaniment of brass bass and drums. A significant day - February 26, 1917 - then in the New York studio of the Victor company, five white musicians from New Orleans recorded the first gramophone record. Before the release of this record, jazz remained a marginal phenomenon, musical folklore, and after that, in a few weeks it stunned and shocked all of America. The recording belonged to the legendary "Original Dixieland Jazz Band". This is how American jazz began its proud march around the world.

In the 20s, the main features of future styles were found: a uniform pulsation of the double bass and drums, which contributed to swing, virtuoso soloing, a manner of vocal improvisation without words using individual syllables ("scat"). Blues took a significant place. Later, both stages - New Orleans, Chicago - are united by the term "Dixieland".

In American jazz of the 20s, a harmonious system emerged, called “swing”. Swing is characterized by the emergence of a new type of orchestra - the big band. With the increase in the orchestra, we had to abandon collective improvisation and move on to performing arrangements recorded on sheet music. The arrangement became one of the first manifestations of the composer's beginnings.

A big band consists of three groups of instruments - sections, each of which can sound like one polyphonic instrument: a saxophone section (later with clarinets), a "brass" section (trumpets and trombones), a rhythmic section (piano, guitar, double bass, drums).

Solo improvisation based on the “square” (“chorus”) appeared. “Square” is one variation, equal in duration (number of bars) to the theme, performed against the background of the same chord accompaniment as the main theme, to which the improviser adjusts new melodic turns.

In the 1930s, American blues became popular and the 32-bar song form became widespread. In swing, the “riff”—a two- to four-bar rhythmically flexible cue—began to be widely used. It is performed by the orchestra while the soloist improvises.

Among the first big bands were orchestras led by famous jazz musicians - Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Duke Ellington. The latter already in the 40s turned to large cyclic forms, based on black, Latin American folklore.

American jazz in the 1930s became commercialized. Therefore, among lovers and connoisseurs of the history of the origin of jazz, a movement arose for the revival of earlier, authentic styles. The decisive role was played by small black ensembles of the 40s, which discarded everything designed for external effect: variety, dancing, singing. The theme was played in unison and almost never sounded in its original form; the accompaniment no longer required dance regularity.

This style, which ushered in the modern era, was called "bop" or "bebop". The experiments of talented American musicians and jazz performers - Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and others - actually laid the foundation for the development of an independent art form, only externally related to the pop-dance genre.

From the late 40s to the mid-60s, development took place in two directions. The first included the styles "cool" - "cool", and "west coast" - "west coast". They are characterized by a wide use of the experience of classical and modern serious music - developed concert forms, polyphony. The second direction included the styles of “hardbop” - “hot”, “energetic” and close to it “soul-jazz” (translated from English “soul” - “soul”), combining the principles of old bebop with the traditions of black folklore, temperamental rhythms and intonations spirituals.

Both of these directions have much in common in the desire to free themselves from the division of improvisation into separate squares, as well as to swing waltz and more complex meters.

Attempts were made to create works of large form - symphonic jazz. For example, “Rhapsody in Blue” by J. Gershwin, a number of works by I.F. Stravinsky. Since the mid-50s. experiments to combine the principles of jazz and modern music have again become widespread, already under the name “third movement”, also among Russian performers (“Concerto for orchestra” by A.Ya. Eshpai, works by M.M. Kazhlaev, 2nd concert for piano with the orchestra of R.K. Shchedrin, 1st symphony by A.G. In general, the history of the emergence of jazz is rich in experiments and is closely intertwined with the development of classical music and its innovative directions.

Since the beginning of the 60s. active experiments begin with spontaneous improvisation, not limited even to a specific musical theme - Freejazz. However higher value receives a modal principle: each time a series of sounds is selected anew - a mode, and not clearly distinguishable squares. In search of such modes, musicians turn to the cultures of Asia, Africa, Europe, etc. In the 70s. come electric instruments and the rhythms of youth rock music, based on smaller beats than before. This style is first called "fusion", i.e. "alloy".

In short, the history of jazz is a story about search, unity, bold experiments, and ardent love for music.

Russian musicians and music lovers are certainly curious about the history of the emergence of jazz in the Soviet Union.

In the pre-war period, jazz in our country developed within pop orchestras. In 1929, Leonid Utesov organized a pop orchestra and called his group “Tea-jazz”. The “Dixieland” and “swing” styles were practiced in the orchestras of A.V. Varlamova, N.G. Minha, A.N. Tsfasman and others. Since the mid-50s. Small amateur groups begin to develop ("Eight TsDRI", "Leningrad Dixieland"). Many prominent performers received a start in life there.

In the 70s, training began in the pop departments of music schools, publishing teaching aids, sheet music, records.

Since 1973, pianist L.A. Chizhik began performing at “jazz improvisation evenings.” Ensembles under the direction of I. Bril, “Arsenal”, “Allegro”, “Kadans” (Moscow), quintet D.S. perform regularly. Goloshchekin (Leningrad), groups of V. Ganelin and V. Chekasin (Vilnius), R. Raubishko (Riga), L. Vintskevich (Kursk), L. Saarsalu (Tallinn), A. Lyubchenko (Dnepropetrovsk), M. Yuldybaeva (Ufa ), orchestra O.L. Lundstrem, teams of K.A. Orbelyan, A.A. Kroll ("Contemporary").

Jazz in the modern world

Today's world of music is diverse, dynamically developing, and new styles are emerging. In order to freely navigate it and understand the processes taking place, you need to know at least a brief history of jazz! Today we are witnessing the mixing of an increasing number of world cultures, constantly bringing us closer to what, in essence, is already becoming “world music” (world music). Today's jazz incorporates sounds and traditions from almost every corner of the globe. African culture, with which it all began, is also being rethought. European experimentalism with classical overtones continues to influence the music of young pioneers such as Ken Vandermark, an avant-garde saxophonist known for his work with famous contemporaries, as saxophonists Mats Gustafsson, Evan Parker and Peter Brotzmann. Other young musicians of a more traditional orientation who continue to search for their own identity include pianists Jackie Terrasson, Benny Green and Braid Meldoa, saxophonists Joshua Redman and David Sanchez and drummers Jeff Watts and Billy Stewart. The old tradition of sound continues and is actively maintained by artists such as trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who works with a team of assistants, plays in his own small groups and leads the Lincoln Center Orchestra. Under his patronage they grew up in great masters pianists Marcus Roberts and Eric Reid, saxophonist Wes "Warmdaddy" Anderson, trumpeter Marcus Printup and vibraphonist Stefan Harris.

Bassist Dave Holland is also a great discoverer of young talent. His many discoveries include saxophonists Steve Coleman, Steve Wilson, vibraphonist Steve Nelson and drummer Billy Kilson.

Other great mentors to young talent include legendary pianist Chick Corea and the late drummer Elvin Jones and singer Betty Carter. The potential for further development of this music is currently large and varied. For example, saxophonist Chris Potter releases a mainstream release under his own name and at the same time participates in recordings with another great avant-garde drummer Paul Motian.

We still have to enjoy hundreds of wonderful concerts and bold experiments, witness the emergence of new directions and styles - this story has not yet been written to the end!

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Blues

(melancholy, sadness) – originally – solo lyrical song American blacks, subsequently - a direction in music.

In the 20s of the twentieth century, classic blues was formed, which was based on a 12-bar period corresponding to a 3-line poetic form. Blues was originally music performed by blacks for blacks. After the emergence of blues in the southern United States, it began to spread throughout the country.

Blues melody is characterized by a question-and-answer structure and the use of the blues scale.

The blues had a huge influence on the formation of jazz and pop music. Elements of the blues were used by composers of the 20th century.

Archaic Jazz

Archaic (early) jazz– Designation of the oldest, traditional types of jazz that have existed since the middle of the last century in a number of southern states of the USA.

Archaic jazz was represented, in particular, by the music of black and Creole marching bands of the 19th century.

The period of archaic jazz preceded the emergence of the New Orleans (classical) style.

New Orleans

The American homeland, where jazz itself arose, is considered the city of songs and music - New Orleans.
Although there is debate that jazz arose throughout America, and not just in this city, it was here that it developed most powerfully. In addition, all the old jazz musicians pointed to the center, which they considered New Orleans. New Orleans provided the most favorable environment for the development of this musical trend: there was a large black community and a large percentage of the population were Creoles; Many musical trends and genres actively developed here, elements of which were later included in the works of famous jazzmen. Various groups developed their own musical styles, and African-Americans created a new art that has no analogues from a combination of blues melodies, ragtime and their own traditions. The first jazz recordings confirm the prerogative of New Orleans in the birth and development of the art of jazz.

Dixieland

(Dixie Country) is a colloquial term for the southern states of the United States, one of the varieties of traditional jazz.

Most of the blues singers, boogie-woogie pianists, raigtime performers and jazz bands came from the South to Chicago, bringing with them the music that was soon nicknamed Dixieland.

Dixieland- the broadest designation for the musical style of the earliest New Orleans and Chicago jazz musicians who recorded records from 1917 to 1923.

Some historians attribute Dixieland only to the music of white bands playing in the New Orleans style.

Dixieland musicians were looking for a revival of classic New Orleans jazz.

These attempts were successful.

Boogie Woogie

Piano blues style, one of the earliest varieties of black instrumental music.

A style that turned out to be very accessible to a wide listening audience.

Full-voiced boogie-woogie style appeared due to the need that arose at the beginning of the twentieth century to hire pianists to replace orchestras in inexpensive honky-tonk cafes. To replace an entire orchestra, pianists invented different ways of playing rhythmically.

Characteristic features: improvisation, technical virtuosity, a specific type of accompaniment - motor ostinato figuration in the left hand part, a gap (up to 2-3 octaves) between the bass and the melody, continuity of rhythmic movement, refusal to use a pedal.

Representatives of classic boogie-woogie: Romeo Nelson, Arthur Montana Taylor, Charles Avery, Mead Lux ​​Lewis, Jimmy Yankee.

Folk Blues

Archaic acoustic blues, based on the rural folklore of the black population of the United States, in contrast to the classic blues, which had a predominantly urban existence.

Folk blues- This is a type of blues performed, as a rule, not on electric musical instruments. It covers a wide range of playing and musical styles, and can include unpretentious, simple music played on the mandolin, banjo, harmonica and other non-electric instruments designed like jug bands. Folk blues creates an impression crude, somewhat informal music. In a word, this is real folk music, played by the people and for the people.

Within folk blues there were more influential singers than Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Alger Alexander.

Soul

(literally – soul); the most popular style of music in the 60s of the twentieth century, which developed from the cult music of American blacks and borrowed many elements of rhythm and blues.

In soul music, there are several directions, the most important of which are the so-called “Memphis” and “Detroit” soul, as well as “white” soul, characteristic mainly of musicians from Europe.

Funk

The term was born in jazz of the 50s of the twentieth century. The “funk” style is a direct continuation of “soul” music. One of the forms of rhythm and blues.

The first performers of what would later be classified as “funk” music were jazzmen who played a more energetic, specific type of jazz back in the late 50s and early 60s.

Funk, first of all, is dance music, which determines its musical characteristics: the extreme syncopation of the parts of all instruments.

Funk is characterized by a prominent rhythm section, a sharply syncopated bass guitar line, ostinato riffs as the melodic-thematic basis of the composition, an electronic sound, upbeat vocals, and a fast tempo of music.

James Brown and George Clinton created an experimental funk school with the groups PARLAMENT/FUNKDEIC.

Classic funk records date back to the turn of the 1960s and 1970s.

free funk

Free funk– a mixture of avant-garde jazz with funk rhythms.

When Ornette Coleman formed Prime Time, it became a "double quartet" (consisting of two guitarists, two bassists and two drummers, plus his alto), playing music in free keys but with eccentric funk rhythms. Three members of Coleman's band (guitarist James Blood Ulmer, bassist Jamaaladin Takuma, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson) later formed their own free-funk projects, and free-funk was a major influence of m-bass artists, including violists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby.
Swing

Bop- a jazz style that developed in the mid-40s of the twentieth century and is characterized by fast tempo and complex improvisations based on playing harmony rather than melody. Bebop revolutionized jazz; boppers created new ideas about what music was.

The bebop phase marked a significant shift in the emphasis of jazz from melody-based dance music to the less popular, more rhythm-based "music for musicians." Bop musicians preferred complex improvisations based on strumming chords instead of melodies.

Bebop was fast, harsh, and “cruel with the listener.”

Jazz Progressive

In parallel with the emergence of bebop, a new genre was developing among jazz - progressive jazz. The main difference of this genre is the desire to move away from the frozen cliché of big bands and outdated techniques of the so-called. symphonic jazz.

The musicians who performed progressive jazz 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 “progressive” was made by Stan Kenton. The sound of the music performed by his first orchestra was close to the style of Sergei Rachmaninov, and the compositions bore the features of romanticism.

The series of recorded albums “Artistry”, “Miles Ahead”, “Spanish Drawings” can be considered a kind of apotheosis of the development of progressive music.

(Cool Jazz), one of the styles of modern jazz, formed at the turn of the 40s and 50s of the twentieth century based on the development of the achievements of swing and bop.

Trumpeter Miles Davis, an early pioneer of bebop, became an innovator of the genre.

Cool jazz is characterized by such features as a light, “dry” sound color, slow motion, frozen harmony, which creates the illusion of space. Dissonance also played some role, but with a softened, subdued character.

Saxophonist Lester Young first introduced the term “cool” into use.

The most famous kula musicians are: Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, George Shearing, Milt Jackson, "Shorty" Rogers .
Mainstream

(literally - main current); a term in relation to a certain period of swing, in which performers managed to avoid the established cliches of this style and continued the traditions of black jazz, introducing elements of improvisation.

The mainstream is characterized by a simple but expressive melodic line, traditional harmony and a clear rhythm with a pronounced drive.

Leading performers: Ben Webster, Gene Krupa, Coleman Hawkins, and big band leaders Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.

(hard, hard bop), style of modern jazz.

It is a continuation of the traditions of classic rhythm and blues and bebop.

It arose in the 50s of the twentieth century as a reaction to the academicism and European orientation of cool and west coast jazz, which had reached its heyday by that time.

The characteristic features of early hard bop are the predominance of strictly accented rhythmic accompaniment, the strengthening of blues elements in intonation and harmony, the tendency to reveal the vocal principle in improvisation, and some simplification of the musical language.

The main representatives of hard bop are mostly black musicians.

The first of the ensembles of this style to record on records was Art Blakey's quintet JAZZ MESSENGERS (1954).

Other leading musicians: John Coltrane, Sony Rollins, Henk Mobley, Max Roach...

(literally – fusion, fusion), a modern style movement that arose on the basis of jazz rock, a synthesis of elements of European academic music and non-European folklore. Beginning not only from the fusion of jazz with pop music and rock, fusion as a musical genre appeared in the late 1960s under the name jazz-rock.

Larry Coryell, Tony Williams, and Miles Davis introduced elements such as electronics, rock rhythms, and extended tracks, eliminating much of what jazz was based on—the swing beat.

Another change was in the area of ​​rhythm, where swing was either revised or ignored altogether. Pulsation and meter were no longer an essential element in the interpretation of jazz.

Free jazz continues to exist today as a viable form of expression, and is in fact no longer as controversial a style as it was perceived to be in its early days.

The fusion of Latin rhythmic elements was present almost from the beginning in the melting pot of cultures that originated in New Orleans. Latin musical influence spread in jazz not only to orchestras and bands with top-notch Latino improvisers, but also to a combination of local and Latin performers, creating some of the most exciting stage music.

And yet, today we are witnessing the mixing of an increasing number of world cultures, constantly bringing us closer to what, in essence, is already becoming “world music” (world music).

Today's jazz can no longer help but be influenced by sounds penetrating into it from almost every corner of the globe.

The potential opportunities for the further development of jazz are currently quite large, since the ways of developing talent and the means of its expression are unpredictable, multiplying by the combined efforts of various jazz genres encouraged today.

Jazz- a type of musical art that appeared in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a result of the mixing of the African musical culture of black slaves and the European one. From the first culture, this type 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, such as ritual dances, work and church songs, and blues, were also reflected in jazz melodies.

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

In the first decade of the 20th century, musical ensembles that performed original improvisations on the themes of blues, ragtime, and European songs became especially popular in the southern states of the United States. They were called “jazz-band”, which is where the word “jazz” came from. These groups included musicians playing a variety of instruments, including: trumpet, clarinet, trombone, banjo, tuba, double bass, drums 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 instruments;
• specific vocals, intonation reminiscent of a conversation.

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

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

As one of the most revered musical art forms in America, jazz laid the foundation for an entire industry, introducing the world to numerous brilliant composers, instrumentalists and vocalists and spawning a wide range of genres. 15 of the Most Influential Jazz Musicians Are Responsible for a Global Phenomenon That Happened in... last century in the history of the genre.

Jazz developed in later years XIX century and at the beginning of the XX as a direction that combines classical European and American sounds with African folk motifs. The songs were performed with a syncopated rhythm, giving impetus to the development, and subsequently the formation of large orchestras to perform it. Music has made great strides from the days of ragtime to modern jazz.

The influence of West African musical culture is obvious in the kind of music that 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 ideas 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 was a jazz pianist and 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. His attitude towards jazz music radically changed the meaning of the piano in jazz as a musical instrument compared to its previous characteristics.

Tatum experimented with the harmonies of the melody, influencing the chord structure and expanding it. All this characterized the bebop style, which, as we know, would become popular ten years later, when the first recordings 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 the emergence of bebop and its subsequent development. His very personality as an eccentric musician helped popularize jazz. Monk, always dressed in a suit, hat and sunglasses, openly expressed his free-spirited approach to improvised music. He did not accept strict rules and formed his own approach to creating essays. Some of his most brilliant and famous works were 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 shock passages and sharp pauses. Quite often, during his performances, he would jump up from behind the piano and dance while the other band members continued to play the melody. Thelonious Monk remains one of the most influential jazz musicians in the history of the genre.

13 Charles Mingus

The recognized double bass virtuoso, composer and band leader 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 to Duke Ellington" for his fantastic ability to write works for small jazz ensembles. His compositions demonstrated the skill of playing by all members of the group, each of whom was also not just talented, but was characterized by a unique playing style.

Mingus carefully selected the musicians who made up his band. The legendary double bassist had a short temper, and once even hit trombonist Jimmy Knepper in the face, knocking out his tooth. Mingus suffered from a depressive disorder, but was not ready to allow it to somehow affect his creative activity. Despite this disability, 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 waves in his drumming style and technique. He combined swing, blues, funk and hard bop - a style that is heard today in every modern jazz composition. Along with Max Roach and Kenny Clarke, he invented new way playing bebop on drums. For more than 30 years, his band The Jazz Messengers gave a start to big jazz to many jazz artists: Benny Golson, Wayne Shorter, Clifford Brown, Curtis Fuller, Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, etc.

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

11 Dizzy Gillespie

The jazz trumpeter, singer, composer and bandleader became a prominent figure in the times of bebop and modern jazz. His trumpet playing influenced the styles of Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro. After his time in Cuba, upon his return to the United States, Gillespie was one of those musicians who actively promoted Afro-Cuban jazz. In addition to his inimitable performance on the characteristically curved trumpet, Gillespie could be identified by his horn-rimmed glasses and incredibly large cheeks while playing.

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

10 Max Roach

The top ten of the 15 most influential jazz musicians in the history of the genre includes Max Roach, a drummer known as one of the pioneers of bebop. He, like few others, influenced modern drumming. Roach was a civil rights activist and even recorded the album We Insist! with Oscar Brown Jr. and Coleman Hawkins. – Freedom Now (“We insist! – Freedom now”), dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Max Roach has an impeccable playing style, capable of performing extended solos throughout the entire 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 captivated her voice from the first notes. Her performance is deep, personal and even intimate. Her style and intonation are inspired by the sound musical instruments that she had 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 their singing.

The famous Strange Fruit is the best not only in Billie Holiday’s career, but in the entire history of jazz due to the singer’s soulful performance. 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 exploring new facets of the genre. On the threshold of the origins of hard bop, the saxophonist achieved enormous success and became one of the most influential musicians in the history of the genre. Coltrane's music had an edgy sound, and he played with great intensity and dedication. He was capable of both playing alone and improvising in an ensemble, creating solo parts of incredible length. Playing tenor and soprano saxophone, Coltrane was also able to create melodic compositions in the smooth jazz style.

John Coltrane is credited with rebooting bebop by incorporating modal harmonies. While remaining a major figure in the avant-garde, he was a very prolific composer and continued to release discs, recording about 50 albums as a band leader throughout his career.

7 Count Basie

A revolutionary pianist, organist, composer and bandleader, Count Basie led one of the most successful groups in the history of jazz. For 50 years, 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 sought-after big bands. Winner of nine Grammy awards, Count Basie instilled a love of orchestral sound in more than one generation of listeners.

Basie wrote many compositions that became jazz standards, such as April in Paris and One O'Clock Jump. Colleagues described him as tactful, modest and full of enthusiasm. Without Count Basie's orchestra in the history of jazz, the big band era would have sounded different and probably would not have been as influential as it became with this outstanding band leader.

6 Coleman Hawkins

The tenor saxophone is a symbol of bebop and all jazz music in general. And for that we can thank Coleman Hawkins. The innovations that Hawkins brought were vital to the development of bebop in the mid-forties. His contributions to the instrument's popularity may have shaped the future careers of John Coltrane and Dexter Gordon.

The composition Body and Soul (1939) became the standard for tenor saxophone playing 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 upon 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 1938 Carnegie Hall concert 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 large swing orchestra, he also participated in the development of bebop. His orchestra was one of the first to combine musicians of different races. Goodman was an outspoken opponent of the Jim Crow Law. He even canceled 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 oversaw their development. He is credited with innovating the genres of bebop, hard bop, cool jazz, free jazz, fusion, funk and techno music. Constantly searching for a new musical style, 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 pioneer of jazz alto saxophone, bebop musician and composer. His fast playing, clear sound and talent as an improviser had a significant influence on the musicians of that time and our contemporaries. As a composer, he changed the standards of jazz music writing. Charlie Parker became the musician who cultivated the idea that jazzmen were artists and intellectuals, and not just showmen. Many artists tried to copy Parker's style. His famous playing techniques can also be traced in the manner of many current beginning musicians, who take as a basis the composition Bird, which is consonant with the nickname of the alt-saccosophist.

2 Duke Ellington

He was a great pianist, composer and one of the most outstanding orchestra leaders. Although he is known as a pioneer of jazz, he excelled in other genres including gospel, blues, classical and popular music. Ellington is credited with bringing jazz to the forefront. separate species art. With countless awards and honors to his name, the first great composer of jazz never stopped improving. He was an inspiration to subsequent generations of musicians, including Sonny Stitt, Oscar Peterson, Earl Hines, and Joe Pass. Duke Ellington remains a recognized genius of the jazz piano - instrumentalist and composer.

1 Louis Armstrong

Unquestionably the most influential jazz musician in the history of the genre, 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 elevate the trumpet into a solo jazz instrument. He is the first musician to sing in the scat style and popularize it. It was impossible not to recognize his low, “thundering” 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 also the entire musical culture, giving the world a new genre, a unique style of singing and style of playing the trumpet.

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 of the importation of slaves from Africa to the territory of the New World. The brought slaves did not come from the same family 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 musical) of African Americans. The processes of mixing African musical culture and European (which also underwent serious changes in the New World) occurred 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 usually refers to the style of musicians who performed jazz in New Orleans between 1900 and 1917, as well as New Orleans musicians who played and recorded in Chicago from about 1917 through the 1920s. . This period of jazz history is also known as the Jazz Age. And this concept is also used to describe music performed 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 USA in the first quarter of the 20th century

After Storyville closed, jazz from the regional folklore genre begins to develop into a nationwide musical trend, spreading to the northern and northeastern provinces of the United States. But its widespread spread, of course, could not have been facilitated only by the closure of one entertainment district. Along with New Orleans, in the development of jazz great value St. Louis, Kansas City and Memphis played from the start. Ragtime originated 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 shows, with their motley mosaic of all kinds of musical movements of African-American folklore from jigs to ragtime, quickly spread everywhere and prepared the way for the arrival of jazz. Many future jazz celebrities began their careers in minstrel shows. Long before Storyville closed, New Orleans musicians went on tour with so-called “vaudeville” troupes. Jelly Roll Morton toured regularly in Alabama, Florida, and Texas since 1904. Since 1914 he had a contract to perform in Chicago. In 1915, Thom Browne's white Dixieland orchestra also moved to Chicago. The famous “Creole Band,” led by New Orleans cornetist Freddie Keppard, also made major vaudeville tours in Chicago. Having separated from the Olympia Band, 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.

The area covered by the influence of jazz was significantly expanded by orchestras that played on pleasure steamers sailing up the Mississippi. Since the end of the 19th century, river trips from New Orleans to St. Paul have become popular, first for a weekend, and later for a whole week. Since 1900, New Orleans orchestras have been performing on these riverboats, and their music has become the most attractive entertainment for passengers during river tours. The future wife of Louis Armstrong, the first jazz pianist Lil Hardin, started in one of these “Suger Johnny” orchestras.

Many future New Orleans jazz stars performed in the riverboat orchestra of another pianist, Faiths Marable. Steamboats traveling along the river often stopped at passing stations, where orchestras staged concerts for the local public. It was these concerts that became the creative debuts for Bix Beiderbeck, Jess Stacy and many others. Another famous route ran through 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. By the beginning of the 2010s, the main center for the development of jazz music was Chicago, 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. Firstly, it is an expressive means in jazz. A characteristic type of pulsation based on constant deviations of the rhythm from the supporting beats. Thanks to this, the impression of great internal energy is created, which is in a state of unstable equilibrium. Secondly, the style of orchestral jazz, which emerged at the turn of the 1920s and 30s as a result of the synthesis of Negro and European stylistic forms of jazz music.

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

Bop

Jazz style that developed in the early to mid-40s of the 20th century and ushered in the era of modern jazz. Characterized by fast tempo and complex improvisations based on changes in harmony rather than melody. The super-fast tempo of performance was introduced by Parker and Gillespie in order to keep non-professionals away from their new improvisations. Among other things, a distinctive feature of all bebopers was their shocking behavior and appearance: the curved trumpet of “Dizzy” Gillespie, the behavior of Parker and Gillespie, Monk’s ridiculous hats, etc. Having emerged as a reaction to the widespread spread of swing, bebop continued to develop its principles in use of expressive means, but at the same time discovered a number of opposing trends.

Unlike swing, which is mostly the music of large commercial dance orchestras, bebop is experimental creative direction in jazz, associated mainly with the practice of small ensembles (combos) and anti-commercial in its orientation. The bebop phase marked a significant shift in the emphasis in jazz from popular dance music to a more highly artistic, intellectual, but less mass-produced “music for musicians.” Bop musicians preferred complex improvisations based on strumming chords 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 years. This form retained its relevance until the end of the 1920s. The musicians who joined most big bands, as a rule, almost in adolescence, played very specific parts, either memorized at rehearsals, or from notes. Careful orchestrations coupled with large brass and woodwind sections brought out rich jazz harmonies and created a sensationally loud sound that became known as “the big band sound.”

Big band became the popular music of its time, reaching its peak of fame in the mid-'s. This music became the source of the swing dancing 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 Barnett composed or arranged and recorded a veritable hit parade of tunes that were heard not only on the radio , but also everywhere in dance halls. Many big bands showcased their improvising soloists, who whipped audiences into a state of near hysteria during well-promoted “battles of the bands.”

Although the popularity of big bands declined significantly 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 gradually transformed under the influence of new trends. Groups such as ensembles led by Boyd Rayburn, Sun Ra, Oliver Nelson, Charles Mingus, Tad Jones-Mal Lewis explored new concepts in harmony, instrumentation and improvisational freedom. Today big bands are a 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 Era” 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 20th century.

Mainstream

Pianist Duke Ellington

After the end of the prevailing fashion of large orchestras in the era of big bands, when the music of large orchestras began to be crowded out on stage by small jazz ensembles, swing music continued to be heard. Many famous swing soloists, after concert performances in ball rooms, liked to play for fun at spontaneous jams in small clubs on 52nd Street in New York. And 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 group, in a small composition. Without 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 lineups, called “combos,” within which there was much more room for improvisation. With the beginning of the rise of bebop, the style of this direction of club jazz of the late 1920s received the name mainstream, or main movement. Some of the era's finest performers could be heard in fine form at the jams, when chord improvisation had already taken precedence over the melody-coloring method of the swing era. Re-emerging as a free style in the late 's and 's, the mainstream absorbed elements of cool jazz, bebop, and hard bop. The term "contemporary mainstream" or post-bebop is used today for almost any style that does not have a close connection to historical styles of jazz music.

Northeastern jazz. Stride

Louis Armstrong, trumpeter and singer

Although the history of jazz began in New Orleans with the advent of the 20th century, the music really took off in the early years when trumpeter Louis Armstrong left New Orleans to create new revolutionary music in Chicago. The migration of New Orleans jazz masters to New York, which began shortly thereafter, marked a trend of constant movement of jazz musicians from the South to the North. Chicago took the music of New Orleans and made it hot, raising its intensity not only with the efforts of Armstrong's famous Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, but also others, including such masters as Eddie Condon and Jimmy McPartland, whose crew at Austin High School helped revive the New Orleans schools. Among other famous Chicagoans who expanded the horizons of classical jazz style New Orleans, can be attributed to 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 a recording center in the first quarter of the 20th century, New York also became a major jazz venue, with such legendary clubs as the Minton Playhouse, the Cotton Club, the Savoy and the Village Vanguard, and also such arenas as Carnegie Hall.

Kansas City style

During the era of the Great Depression and Prohibition, the Kansas City jazz scene became a mecca for the newfangled sounds of the late 1900s and 1900s. The style that flourished in Kansas City was characterized by heartfelt, blues-tinged plays performed by both big bands and small swing ensembles that featured highly energetic solos performed for patrons of the speakeasy. It was in these zucchini that the style of the great Count Basie, who began in Kansas City in Walter Page's orchestra and subsequently with Benny Mouthen, crystallized. Both of these orchestras were typical representatives of the Kansas City style, the basis of which was a peculiar form of blues, called “urban blues” and formed in the playing of the above-mentioned orchestras. The Kansas City jazz scene was also distinguished by a whole galaxy of outstanding masters of vocal blues, the recognized “king” among whom was the long-time soloist of the Count Basie orchestra, the famous blues singer Jimmy Rushing. The famous alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, born in Kansas City, upon his arrival in New York, widely used the characteristic blues techniques that he had learned in the Kansas City orchestras and which later formed one of the starting points in the bopper experiments in 2010.

West Coast Jazz

Artists caught up in the cool jazz movement of the 1950s worked extensively in Los Angeles recording studios. Largely influenced by Miles Davis' nonet, 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 in Hermosa Beach and the Haig in Los Angeles often featured his masters, including trumpeter Shorty Rogers, saxophonists Art Pepper and Bud Schenk, drummer Shelley Mann and clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre. .

Cool (cool jazz)

The high intensity and pressure of bebop began to weaken with the development of cool jazz. Beginning in the late and early years, musicians began to develop a less violent, smoother approach to improvisation, modeled after the light, dry playing of tenor saxophonist Lester Young, which he had employed during the swing era. The result was a detached and uniformly flat sound, based on emotional “coolness”. Trumpeter Miles Davis, an early pioneer of bebop who cooled it down, became the genre's greatest innovator. His nonet, who recorded the album “The Birth of a Cool” in the 1950s, was the embodiment of the lyricism and restraint of cool jazz. Others famous musicians The cool-jazz school includes 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 Ted Dameron, Claude Thornhill, Bill Evans and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan. Their compositions focused on instrumental coloration and slow motion, on frozen harmonies that created the illusion of space. Dissonance also played some role in their music, but with a softened, subdued character. The cool jazz format left room for somewhat larger ensembles such as nonets and tentets, which became more common during this period than in 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 was developing among jazz - progressive jazz, or simply progressive. The main difference of this genre is the desire to move away from the frozen cliché of big bands and outdated, worn-out techniques of the so-called. symphojazz introduced in 2000 by Paul Whiteman. Unlike boppers, progressive creators did not strive for a radical rejection of the jazz traditions that had developed at that time. They rather 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 concept of “progressive” was made by pianist and conductor Stan Kenton. The progressive jazz of the early 1920s actually began with his first works. The sound of the music performed by his first orchestra was close to Rachmaninov, and the compositions bore the features of late romanticism. However, in terms of genre it was closest to symphonic jazz. Later, during the years of creating the famous series of his “Artistry” albums, elements of jazz ceased to play the role of creating color, but were already organically woven into musical material. Along with Kenton, the credit for this also belonged to his best arranger, Pete Rugolo, a student of Darius Milhaud. Modern (for those years) symphonic sound, a specific staccato technique in the playing of saxophones, bold harmonies, frequent seconds and blocks, along with polytonality and jazz rhythmic pulsation - these are the distinctive features of this music, with which Stan Kenton entered the history of jazz for many years, as one of its innovators who found a common platform for European symphonic culture and elements of bebop, especially noticeable in pieces where solo instrumentalists seemed to oppose the sounds of the rest of the orchestra. It should also be noted great attention, which Kenton devoted in his compositions to improvisational parts of soloists, including the world famous drummer Shelley Maine, double bassist Ed Safransky, trombonist Kay Winding, June Christie, one of the best jazz vocalists of those years. Stan Kenton remained faithful to his chosen genre throughout his career.

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

Hard bop

Hard bop (English - hard, hard bop) is a type of jazz that emerged in the 50s. XX century from bop. It is distinguished by expressive, brutal rhythms, based on blues. Refers to the styles of modern jazz. Around the same time that cool jazz was taking root on the West Coast, jazz musicians from Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York began developing harder, heavier variations of the old bebop formula, called Hard Bop or Hard Bebop. Closely reminiscent of traditional bebop in its aggressiveness and technical requirements, 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, together with a strong sense of harmony, were properties of paramount importance for performers on wind instruments; in the rhythm section, the participation of drums and piano became more noticeable, and the bass acquired a more fluid, funky feeling. (taken from the source “Musical Literature” by Kolomiets Maria )

Modal jazz

Soul jazz

Groove

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

Works performed in the groove style are full of joyful emotions, inviting listeners to dance, both in a slow, bluesy version, and at a fast tempo. Solo improvisations remain strictly subordinate to the beat and collective sound. The most famous exponents of this style are organists Richard "Groove" Holmes and Shirley Scott, tenorsaxophonist Gene Emmons, and flautist/alto saxophonist Leo Wright.

Free jazz

Saxophonist Ornette Coleman

Perhaps the most controversial movement in jazz history arose with the advent of free jazz, or "New Thing" as it was later called. Although elements of free jazz existed within the musical structure of jazz long before the term itself was coined, it was most original in the "experiments" of such innovators as Coleman Hawkins, Pee Wee Russell and Lenny Tristano, but only towards the end by the efforts of such pioneers as saxophonist Ornette Coleman and pianist Cecil Taylor, this direction took shape as an independent style.

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

Free jazz continues to exist today as a viable form of expression, and is in fact no longer as controversial a style as it was in its early days.

Creative

The emergence 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 emergence of free jazz. Elements of the jazz avant-garde, 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 rhythms, tonality and structure. In fact, avant-garde music became synonymous with open forms, which were more difficult to characterize than even free jazz. The pre-planned structure of sayings was mixed with freer solo phrases, partly reminiscent of free jazz. Compositional elements merged so much with improvisation that it was already difficult to determine where the first ended and the second actually began. the structure of the works was designed so that the solo was a product of the arrangement, logically leading the musical process to what would normally be considered a form of abstraction or even chaos. Swing rhythms and even melodies could be incorporated into. musical theme, but this was not at all necessary. Early pioneers of this movement include pianist Lenny Tristano, saxophonist Jimmy Joffrey and composer/arranger/conductor Gunther Schuller. More recent masters include pianists Paul Bley and Andrew Hill, saxophonists Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers, drummers Sunny Murray and Andrew Cyrille, and members of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) community such as the Art Ensemble of Chicago.

Fusion

Beginning not only from the fusion of jazz with pop and rock, but also with music stemming from areas such as soul, funk and rhythm and blues, fusion (or literally fusion) as a musical genre emerged at the end - x, initially called jazz-rock. Individual musicians and groups such as guitarist Larry Coryell's Eleventh House, drummer Tony Williams' Lifetime, and Miles Davis led the way, introducing elements such as electronica, rock rhythms, and extended tracks, eliminating much of the what jazz “stood on” from its beginning, namely, 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 soon 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 remained a constant emphasis on improvisation and melodicity, which firmly linked their practice to the history of jazz, despite detractors who claimed that they had “sold out” to the music merchants. In fact, when heard today, these early experiments hardly seem commercial, inviting the listener to participate in what was music with a highly 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 lost a significant part of his sharpness, or even completely lost it. In this era, 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, as well as well as veteran saxophonist/trumpetist Ornette Coleman have creatively mastered this music in different dimensions.

Postbop

Drummer Art Blakey

The post-bop period encompasses music performed by jazz musicians who continued to create in the field of bebop, shying away from the free jazz experiments that developed during the same period in the 1960s. Also like the aforementioned hard bop, this form relied on the rhythms, ensemble structure and energy of bebop, the same horn combinations, and the same musical repertoire, including the use of Latin elements. What distinguished post-bop music was the use of elements of funk, groove or soul, reshaped in the spirit of the new time, marked by the dominance of pop music. Often this subtype experiments with blues rock. Masters such as saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Horace Silver, drummer Art Blakey, and trumpeter Lee Morgan actually began this music in the mid-'s and anticipated what has now become the dominant form of jazz. Along with simpler melodies and a more soulful beat, the listener could hear traces of gospel and rhythm and blues mixed together here. This style, which saw some changes during the 1970s, was used to a certain extent to create new structures as a compositional element. Saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist McCoy Tyner, and even a prominent bopper like Dizzy Gillespie created music in the genre that was both humane and harmonically interesting. One of the most significant composers to emerge during this period was saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Shorter, having gone through school in Art Blakey's ensemble, recorded a number of strong albums under his own name during the course of his career. Along with keyboardist Herbie Hancock, Shorter helped Miles Davis create the quintet (the most experimental and highly influential post-bop group in the 2000s was the Davis Quintet featuring John Coltrane) that became one of the most significant groups in jazz history.

Acid jazz

Jazz Manush

Spread of jazz

Jazz has always aroused interest among musicians and listeners around the world, regardless of their nationality. It is enough to trace the early work of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and his synthesis of jazz traditions with the music of black Cubans in the 1960s or the later combination of jazz with Japanese, Eurasian and Middle Eastern music, famous in the work of pianist Dave Brubeck, as well as that of the brilliant composer and leader of jazz. Duke Ellington Orchestra, which combined the musical heritage of Africa, Latin America and the Far East. Jazz constantly absorbed not only Western musical traditions. For example, when different artists began to try working with musical elements of India. An example of these efforts can be heard in the recordings of flautist Paul Horne at the Taj Mahal, or in the stream of "world music" represented by the Oregon group or John McLaughlin's Shakti project. McLaughlin's music, previously largely jazz-based, began to use new instruments of Indian origin, such as the khatam or tabla, while working with Shakti, introduced intricate rhythms, and made widespread use of the Indian raga form. 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 explorations of Jewish musical culture, both within and outside of the Masada Orchestra. These works inspired entire groups of other jazz musicians, such as keyboardist John Medeski, who recorded with African musician Salif Keita, guitarist Marc Ribot and bassist Anthony Coleman. Trumpeter Dave Douglas enthusiastically incorporates Balkan influences into 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 continues to be influenced by other musical traditions, providing ripe fodder for future research and proving that jazz is truly a world music.

Jazz in the USSR and Russia

First in the RSFSR
eccentric orchestra
jazz band of Valentin Parnakh

In the mass consciousness, jazz began to gain wide popularity in the 30s, largely thanks to the Leningrad ensemble led by actor and singer Leonid Utesov and trumpeter Ya. B. Skomorovsky. The popular film comedy with his participation “Jolly Fellows” (1934, original title “Jazz Comedy”) was dedicated to the history of a jazz musician and had a corresponding soundtrack (written by Isaac Dunaevsky). Utyosov and Skomorovsky formed the original style of “thea-jazz” (theater jazz), based on a mixture of music with theater, operetta, vocal numbers and the 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 orchestra leader. Starting his career in Germany, Poland and others European countries, Rosner moved to the USSR and became one of the pioneers of swing in the USSR and the founder of Belarusian jazz. Moscow groups of the 30s and 40s, led by Alexander Tsfasman and Alexander Varlamov, also played an important role in the popularization and development of the swing style. The All-Union Radio Jazz Orchestra conducted by A. Varlamov took part in the first Soviet television program. The only composition that has survived from that time was Oleg Lundstrem's orchestra. This now widely known big band was one of the few and best jazz ensembles of the Russian diaspora, performing in 1935-1947. in China.

The attitude of the Soviet authorities towards 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 in general. In the late 40s, during the fight against cosmopolitanism, jazz in the USSR was going through a particularly difficult period, when groups performing “Western” music were persecuted. With the beginning of the “thaw”, persecution of musicians stopped, but 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 expansion Soviet influence to third world countries.

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 modern music» .
Next book about jazz was published in the USSR only in the early 1960s. It was written by Valery Mysovsky and Vladimir Feiertag, called “ Jazz” and was essentially a compilation of information that could be obtained from various sources at that time. From that time on, 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 book"was prepared by one of the most authoritative jazz critics, Vladimir Feyertag, contained more than a thousand names of jazz personalities and was unanimously recognized as the main Russian-language book about jazz. In 2008, the second edition of the encyclopedia “ Jazz. Encyclopedic reference book", where jazz history has already been carried out until the 21st century, hundreds have been added rare photographs, and the list of jazz names has been increased by almost a quarter.

Latin American jazz

The fusion of Latin rhythmic elements has been present in jazz almost since the beginning of the cultural melting pot that began in New Orleans. Jelly Roll Morton spoke of "Spanish flavors" in his mid- to late-'s recordings. Duke Ellington and other jazz bandleaders also used Latin forms. A major (though not widely recognized) progenitor of Latin jazz, trumpeter/arranger Mario Bausa brought a Cuban orientation from his native Havana to Chick Webb's orchestra in the 's, and a decade later he carried it into the sound of the orchestras of Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, and Cab Calloway. Working with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in the Calloway Orchestra from the late 's, Bausa introduced a direction that already had a direct connection with Gillespie's big bands of the mid-'s. Gillespie's "love affair" with Latin musical forms continued for the rest of his long career. In 2010, Bausa continued his career by becoming the musical director of the Afro-Cuban Machito Orchestra, fronted by his brother-in-law, percussionist Frank “Machito” Grillo. The 1950s-1960s were marked by a long flirtation between jazz and Latin rhythms, mainly in the bossa nova direction, enriching this synthesis with Brazilian elements of samba. Combining the cool jazz style developed by West Coast musicians, European classical proportions and seductive Brazilian rhythms, bossa nova, or more correctly "Brazilian jazz", became widely known in the United States around 1995. Subtle but hypnotic rhythms acoustic guitar focused on simple melodies, sung in both Portuguese and English. Discovered by Brazilians João Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobin, the style became a dance alternative to hard bop and free jazz in the 1980s, greatly expanding its popularity through recordings and performances by West Coast musicians such as guitarist Charlie Byrd and saxophonist Stan Getz. The musical amalgamation of Latin influences spread through jazz and beyond into the 's and 's, including not only orchestras and groups with top-notch Latino improvisers, but also a combination of native and Latin performers, creating some of the most exciting stage music. This new Latin jazz renaissance was fueled by a constant influx of foreign performers from among Cuban defectors, such as trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera, and others who fled Fidel Castro's regime in search of greater opportunities, which they expected to find in New Zealand. York and Florida. It is also believed that the more intense, more danceable qualities of the polyrhythmic music of Latin jazz greatly expanded the jazz audience. True, while maintaining only a minimum of intuitiveness for intellectual perception.

Jazz in the modern world