Currents of jazz. The history of jazz

Jazz is a movement in music that was founded in the USA in the state of New Orleans, then gradually spread throughout the world. This music enjoyed the greatest popularity in the 30s; it was during this time that the heyday of this genre, which combined European and African culture, fell. Now you can hear many subgenres of jazz, such as bebop, avant-garde jazz, soul jazz, cool, swing, free jazz, classical jazz and many others.

Jazz combined several musical cultures and, of course, came to us from African lands, this can be understood by the complex rhythm and style of performance, but this style was more reminiscent of ragtime, eventually combining ragtime and blues, the musicians received a new sound, which they called jazz. Thanks to the fusion of African rhythm and European melody, we can now enjoy jazz, and virtuoso performance and improvisation make this style unique and immortal, as new rhythmic models are constantly introduced and invented. new style execution.

Jazz has always been popular among all segments of the population, nationalities, and it is still of interest to musicians and listeners all over the world. But the pioneer in the fusion of blues and African rhythm was the Chicago Art Ensemble; it was these guys who added jazz forms to African motifs, which aroused extraordinary success and interest among listeners.

In the USSR, the Jazz tour began to emerge in the 20s (as in the USA) and the first creator of the jazz orchestra in Moscow was the poet and theatrical figure Valentin Parnakh, the concert of this group took place on October 1, 1922, which is considered to be the Birthday of jazz in the USSR. Of course, the attitude of the Soviet authorities towards jazz was two-sided, on the one hand, they did not prohibit this genre of music, but on the other hand, jazz was subjected to harsh criticism, after all, we adopted this style from the West, and everything is new and alien at all times was severely criticized by the authorities. Today, jazz music festivals are held annually in Moscow, there are club venues where world-famous jazz bands, blues performers, and soul singers are invited, that is, for fans of this type of music there is always time and place to enjoy the lively and unique sound jazz

Of course modern world changes, so does music, tastes, styles and performance techniques change. However, we can say with confidence that jazz is a classic of the genre, yes, the influence of modern sounds has not bypassed jazz, but nevertheless you will never confuse these notes with any others, because this is jazz, a rhythm that has no analogues, rhythm that has its own traditions and has become World Music.

Jazz was born in New Orleans. Most histories of jazz begin with a similar phrase, usually with the obligatory clarification that similar music developed in many cities of the American South - Memphis, St. Louis, Dallas, Kansas City.

The musical origins of jazz, both African-American and European, are numerous and too long to list, but one cannot fail to mention its two main African-American predecessors.

You can listen to jazz songs

Ragtime and blues

For about two decades turn of XIX-XX centuries - a short heyday of ragtime, which was the first type of popular music. Ragtime was performed primarily on the piano. The word itself translates as “ragged rhythm,” and this genre received its name because of the syncopated rhythm. The author of the most popular plays was Scott Joplin, who received the nickname “King of Ragtime.”

Example: Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag

Another equally important predecessor of jazz was the blues. If ragtime gave jazz its energetic, syncopated rhythm, blues gave it a voice. And in the literal sense, since blues is a vocal genre, but primarily in a figurative sense, since blues is characterized by the use of blurred notes that are absent in the European sound system (both major and minor) - blues notes, as well as a colloquially shouted and rhythmically free manner execution.

Example: Blind Lemon Jefferson – Black Snake Moan

The birth of jazz

Subsequently, African-American jazz musicians transferred this style to instrumental music, and wind instruments began to imitate the human voice, its intonations and even articulations. So-called “dirty” sounds appeared in jazz. Every sound should have a peppery quality. A jazz musician creates music not only with the help of different notes, i.e. sounds of different heights, but also with the help of different timbres and even noises.

Jelly Roll Morton - Sidewalk Blues

Scott Joplin lived in Missouri and the first known published blues was called the "Dallas Blues." However, the first jazz style was called "New Orleans Jazz".

Cornetist Charles "Buddy" Bolden combined ragtime and blues, playing by ear and improvising, and his innovation influenced many of the more famous New Orleans musicians who later took the new music across the country, most notably in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles: Joe "King" Oliver, Bunk Johnson, Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory and, of course, the King of Jazz, Louis Armstrong. This is how jazz took over America.

However, this music did not immediately receive its historical name. At first it was called simply hot music (hot), then the word jass appeared and only then jazz. The first jazz record was recorded by a quintet of white performers, the Original Dixieland Jass Band, in 1917.

Example: Original Dixieland Jass Band - Livery Stable Blues

The Swing Era - Dance Fever

Jazz emerged and spread as dance music. Gradually, dance fever spread throughout America. Dance halls and orchestras multiplied. The era of big bands, or swing, began, lasting about a decade and a half from the mid-20s to the end of the 30s. Never before or since has jazz been so popular.
A special role in the creation of swing belongs to two musicians - Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong. Armstrong influenced a huge number of musicians, teaching them rhythmic freedom and variety. Henderson created the format of a jazz orchestra with its later division into a saxophone section and a wind section with a roll call between them.

Fletcher Henderson - Down South Camp Meeting

The new composition has become widespread. There were about 300 big bands in the country. The leaders of the most popular of them were Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Chick Webb, Jimmy Lunsford, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman. The repertoire of orchestras includes popular melodies that are called jazz standards, or sometimes called jazz classics. The most popular standard in the history of jazz, Body and Soul, was first recorded by Louis Armstrong.

From bebop to post-bop

In the 40s The era of large orchestras ended quite abruptly, primarily for commercial reasons. Musicians began to experiment with small compositions, thanks to which a new jazz style was born - bebop, or simply bop, which meant a whole revolution in jazz. This was music intended not for dancing, but for listening, not for a wide audience, but for a narrower circle of jazz lovers. In a word, jazz ceased to be music for the entertainment of the public, but became a form of self-expression for musicians.

The pioneers of the new style were pianist Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Charlie Parker, pianist Bud Powell, trumpeter Miles Davis and others.

Groovin High - Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie

Bop laid the foundations for modern jazz, which is still predominantly the music of small bands. Finally, bop sharpened jazz's constant desire to search for something new. An outstanding musician aimed at constant innovation was Miles Davis and many of his partners and the talents he discovered, who later became famous jazz performers and jazz stars: John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Wynton Marsalis.

Jazz of the 50s and 60s continues to evolve, on the one hand, remaining true to its roots, but rethinking the principles of improvisation. This is how hard bop, cool...

Miles Davis - So What

...modal jazz, free jazz, post-bop.

Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island

On the other hand, jazz begins to absorb other types of music, for example, Afro-Cuban and Latin. This is how Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian jazz (bossanova) appeared.

Manteca - Dizzy Gillespie

Jazz and rock = fusion

The most powerful impetus for the development of jazz was the appeal of jazz musicians to rock music, the use of its rhythms and electric instruments (electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers). The pioneer here was again Miles Davis, whose initiative was picked up by Joe Zawinul (Weather Report), John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Herbie Hancock (The Headhunters), Chick Corea (Return to Forever). This is how jazz-rock or fusion arose...

Mahavishnu Orchestra — Meeting Of The Spirits

and psychedelic jazz.

Milky Way - Weather Report

History of jazz and jazz standards

The history of jazz is not only styles, directions and famous performers jazz, it is also a set of beautiful melodies that live in many versions. They are easily recognized, even if they don’t remember or don’t know the names. Jazz owes its popularity and attractiveness to such wonderful composers as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Hoggy Carmichael, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kernb and others. Although they wrote music primarily for musicals and shows, their themes, taken up by representatives of jazz, became the best jazz compositions of the twentieth century, which were called jazz standards.

Summertime, Stardust, What Is This Thing Called Love, My Funny Valentine, All the Things You Are - these and many other themes are known to every jazz musician, as well as compositions created by the jazzmen themselves: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond and many others (Caravan, Night in Tunisia, 'Round Midnight, Take Five). This is a jazz classic and a language that unites both the performers themselves and the jazz audience.

Modern jazz

Modern jazz is a pluralism of styles and genres and a constant search for new combinations at the intersections of directions and styles. And modern jazz performers often play in a variety of styles. Jazz is susceptible to influences from many types of music, from avant-garde and folk music to hip-hop and pop. It turned out to be the most flexible type of music.

The recognition of the worldwide role of jazz was the proclamation of UNESCO in 2011 International Day jazz, which is celebrated annually on April 30.

A small river, the source of which was in New Orleans, in just over 100 years turned into an ocean that washes the whole world. American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald in his time called the 20s. the age of jazz. Now these words can be applied to the twentieth century as a whole, since jazz is the music of the twentieth century. The history of the emergence and development of jazz almost fits into the chronological framework of the last century. But, of course, it doesn't end there.

1. Louis Armstrong

2. Duke Ellington

3. Benny Goodman

4. Count Basie

5. Billie Holiday

6. Ella Fitzgerald

7. Art Tatum

8. Dizzy Gillespie

9. Charlie Parker

10. Thelonious Monk

11. Art Blakey

12. Bud Powell

14. John Coltrane

15. Bill Evans

16. Charlie Mingus

17. Ornette Coleman

18. Herbie Hancock

19. Keith Jarrett

20. Joe Zawinul

Text: Alexander Yudin

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 the music performed at various historical periods by representatives of the New Orleans revival, who sought to perform jazz in the same style as the musicians of the New Orleans school.

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 his widespread, of course, the closure of one entertainment district alone could not contribute. Along with New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Memphis were important in the development of jazz from the very beginning. 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 at one time, Freddie Keppard's artists already in 1914 successfully performed in the very the best theater 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. Steamships 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, where, 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. Besides everything else, distinctive feature all bebopers had a shocking manner of 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 the use of expressive means, but together However, he discovered a number of opposing trends.

Unlike swing, which is mostly the music of large commercial dance orchestras, bebop is an experimental creative movement 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 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 Bands of the Swing Era” was published in Russian, which is essentially an almost complete encyclopedia of all 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. 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 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 1980s when trumpeter Louis Armstrong left New Orleans to create revolutionary new music in Chicago. The migration of New Orleans jazz masters to New York, which began shortly thereafter, marked a trend of constant movement of jazz musicians from the South to the North. Chicago took the music of New Orleans and made it hot, raising its intensity not only with the efforts of Armstrong's famous Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, but also others, including such masters as Eddie Condon and Jimmy McPartland, whose crew at Austin High School helped revive the New Orleans schools. Other notable Chicagoans who pushed the boundaries of the classic New Orleans jazz style 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 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 soulful, blues-tinged pieces performed by both big bands and small swing ensembles that demonstrated highly energetic solos, performed for patrons of speakeasies selling illegal alcohol. 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 top 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, jazz is developing new genre- 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, jazz elements no longer played the role of creating color, but were already organically woven into the musical material. Along with Kenton, the credit for this also belonged to his best arranger, Pete Rugolo, a student of Darius Milhaud. Modern (for those years) symphonic sound, a specific staccato technique in the playing of saxophones, bold harmonies, frequent seconds and blocks, along with polytonality and jazz rhythmic pulsation - these are the distinctive features of this music, with which Stan Kenton entered the history of jazz for many years, as one of its innovators who found a common platform for European symphonic culture and elements of bebop, especially noticeable in pieces where solo instrumentalists seemed to oppose the sounds of the rest of the orchestra. It is also worth noting the great attention that Kenton paid in his compositions to the 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 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 arose in the 50s. XX century from bop. It is distinguished by expressive, brutal rhythms, based on blues. Refers to the styles of modern jazz. Around the same time that cool jazz was taking root on the West Coast, jazz musicians from Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York began developing harder, heavier variations of the old bebop formula, called Hard Bop or Hard Bebop. Closely resembling traditional bebop in its aggressiveness and technical demands, hard bop of the 1950s and 1960s relied less on standard song forms and began to place more emphasis on blues elements and rhythmic drive. Incendiary soloing or mastery of improvisation along with a strong sense of harmony were qualities of paramount importance for wind players, drums and piano became more prominent in the rhythm section, and the bass took on a more fluid, funky feel. (taken from the source " Musical literature» Kolomiets Maria)

Modal jazz

Soul jazz

Groove

An offshoot of soul jazz, the groove style features bluesy melodies and 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. The compositional elements merged so much with improvisation that it was already difficult to determine where the first ended and the second began. In fact, the musical structure of the works was designed so that the solo was a product of the arrangement, logically leading musical process to what would normally be seen as a form of abstraction or even chaos. Swing rhythms and even melodies could be included in 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 with 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 listening to these early experiments today, they hardly seem commercial, inviting 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 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 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

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 various artists began to try working with musical elements from 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, for example, in the work of 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. Popular comedy film with his participation “Jolly Guys” (1934, original title"Jazz Comedy") was dedicated to the history of a jazz musician and had an appropriate 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. Having started his career in Germany, Poland and other 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 Western culture generally . 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 a history professor 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 modern music» .
The 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 acoustic guitar rhythms punctuate the 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 bands 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

Jazz is, first of all, improvisation, life, words, evolution. Real jazz lives on the Mississippi, whether it comes from the hands of a pianist in a Storyville bar, or from a group of musicians playing in a quiet place on the outskirts of Chicago.

Current place of birth

The history of jazz is one of the most original stories in music. His characters and styles, his strong personalities, are extremely attractive, although some trends require increased alertness on the part of listeners. As the head of the US orchestra John Philip Sousa once said, jazz should be listened to with your feet, not with your head. But this was during the 30s, with jazz bands from New Orleans - Buddy Bolden - or the men from Austin High in illegal bars in Chicago. They played music for dancing.

However, starting in the 40s, the public began to listen to jazz with their heads instead of their feet. New forms of sound appear - trying to attract the listener with intellect, cool, free - remain a little on the sidelines. Despite the bad statements and attacks on the part of Souza, the public perceives jazz with even greater enthusiasm. What is the secret of its great vitality?

To talk about jazz as if we were talking about African-American music is not to say much.
This is one of the forms of individual spontaneous expression that is created at the moment. These are improvisation, freedom, songs of protest and marginalization. The roots of jazz should be considered black slavery in the countries of the South, North America - when working on cotton plantations. It was here that the first seeds and shoots sprouted ,here were laid the first tunes and melodies of the last popular genre in the history of Western music. A type of urban expression that began to revive in black cafes in New Orleans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

According to statistics, the market for African slaves was approximately 15 million. men, women and children sold in different parts peace. Most of these people came to America. Cotton plantations and tobacco fields required a lot of labor. The black African was strong and worked for little wages, food and shelter. Apart from this, they had nothing but the memory of the unforgettable songs and dances of their native Africa. Thus, music occupies a central place in the life of a slave, helping to overcome all the hardships and suffering of slavery. This is the main baggage of a slave - rhythm and melody.

Black Africans, who are highly religious, accepted Christianity easily. But, being accustomed to begin their religious ceremonies with song and dance, they soon began to introduce clapping and rhythmic movements into their meetings and ceremonies in the camps of the South. The voices of the dark-skinned people had a very unique timbre; singing melodies really made you move. Black Protestant religious communities created their own hymns calling for disobedience.

Songs about work were added to these themes, prayers and entreaties. Why? Yes, because the slave realized that it was much easier for him to work by singing.
The simplicity of these phrases was probably due to their poor knowledge of the language of the colonists and was developed in energetic poetry and tenderness. According to Jean Cocteau, blues poetry is the last appearance of automatically popular poetry. And blues as a genre is usually jazz.

United States, in search of culture.

Jazz for the USA is one of its best business cards, and all music historians agree that they made the most significant contribution to world culture.

This process of cultural identity is relatively short. The next stage began: the independence of the colonies. But... what did they have to create them? cultural heritage? On the one hand, the European heritage of the indigenous peoples: descendants of the old settlers, recent immigrants, on the other hand, the black American citizen, after such a long time of slavery. And where there is a slave, there is music. Hence the conclusion is drawn that black music was to some extent more popular, at least in the South.

Official protection and recognition.

The rulers realized that this was a new musical phenomenon. Meanwhile, the State Department took control and even organized international tours of American jazz musicians. Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellingtong, Dizzy Gillespie, Jack Teagarden, Stanz Getz, Keith Jarrots and others have demonstrated the style all over the world. They performed for kings and queens, Louis Armstrong was received by the Pope at the Vatican, and Benny Goodman and his orchestra toured Russia during the summer of 1962. The ovation was deafening, even Nikita Khrushchev gave a standing ovation.
Naturally, the blues evolved, thus creating its own language: Jazz. What kind of language is this? The use of rhythmic insistence, unusual instrumental timbres, complex solos - improvisations that are difficult to find in other types of music, this is the language of jazz, its soul. Everything is permeated with the magic word: swing. As Duke Ellingtong said - “Swing is something that goes beyond its own interpretation, it does not exist in the musical text, it manifests itself only in constant performance.
In fact, jazz was and is one of the most common ways of understanding black American music. Music that expresses love and sadness, describes the life of the heroes, the bitterness and disappointment of every day. Early jazz was a kind of emotional valve of frustration, a black man in a white man's world.

The Joy of Living New Orleans

The name - New Orleans - is a magical key that helps us find, recognize and love jazz. This city, built and inhabited mainly by French and Spanish immigrants, had an atmosphere different from other states. The cultural level was higher - many of its inhabitants were aristocrats, more bourgeois from the old continent - higher earnings and of course, good restaurants and beautiful houses. Everything that was brought from old Europe - delicate furniture, crystal, silver, books, sheet music and various instruments to brighten the warm spring evenings, keyboards, violins, flutes, etc. all this went primarily to New Orleans. The city was surrounded by high walls to repel attacks by Indians; the city was defended by a garrison of French soldiers, who, of course, had their own orchestra to perform military marches. Thanks to these coincidences, New Orleans became more cheerful and confident.
It was considered a tolerant city in all aspects, including its relations with blacks.
Civil war brought great changes to the country. Slavery was abolished for blacks, they began to move to cities to work, and with them music.

In New Orleans, former slaves were finally able to buy what they saw in music stores. Before that, they made their own tools from gourds, bones, graters, and metal bowls. Now, in addition to their banjos and harmonicas, they could purchase trombones, bugles, clarinets, and drums. The problem was that the former slaves did not have the slightest idea about scores, solfeggio, sheet music, or any musical technique. They simply felt the music and could improvise.

The problem of ignorance was solved with difficulty. But they understood that you need to play as well as sing, that musical instrument should be a continuation of the voice. And the training began.
If a military band passed through the streets, the blacks were always in the front row and listened attentively. In the church they did not miss a single stanza of sacred music. Gradually they mixed some clapping and adding a few bars of clapping (listening to the foot), they began to introduce their past (slavery) into the blues, thus a new music began to be revived, made from the heart and very poetic.

The use of this music was used by blacks at funerals, since being the lower class of society, charities or companies did not really support the economic peace of former slaves in public life, but when it came to death, they gave some sums of money. Thus, the relatives organized a magnificent funeral, which was accompanied by a group of musicians and plenty of support from family, friends and neighbors. Slow and sad music was played during the long procession to the cemetery. Upon return, the theme changed and fast music was played, or rather jazz improvisations. Because the general opinion was that the deceased was in heaven, and they should rejoice with Him. In addition, due to the lack of relaxation after long sighs and emotions, the environment always demanded from the musicians that the final part of the ceremonies should always be fun.
Experts therefore believe that jazz was first played at the funerals of blacks.

Jazz as a form of musical art appeared in the United States at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries, incorporating the musical traditions of European settlers and African folklore melodic patterns.

Characteristic improvisation, melodic polyrhythm and expressive performance became the hallmark of the first New Orleans jazz ensembles (jazz-bands) in the first decades of the last century.

Over time, jazz went through periods of development and formation, changing its rhythmic pattern and stylistic direction: from the improvisational style of ragtime, to the danceable orchestral swing and leisurely soft blues.

The period from the early 1920s to the 1940s saw the rise of jazz orchestras (big bands), which consisted of several orchestral sections of saxophones, trombones, trumpets and a rhythm section. The peak of big band popularity occurred in the mid-1930s. Music performed by the jazz orchestras of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Benny Goodman was heard on dance floors and on the radio.

Rich orchestral sound, bright intonations and improvisation of great soloists Coleman Hawkins, Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter and others - created a recognizable and unique big band sound, which is a classic of jazz music.

In the 40-50s. of the last century, the time has come for modern jazz; such jazz styles, like furious bebop, lyrical cool jazz, soft west coast jazz, rhythmic hard bop, soulful soul jazz captured the hearts of jazz music lovers.

In the mid-1960s, a new jazz direction appeared - jazz-rock, a peculiar combination of the energy inherent in rock music and jazz improvisation. Founders jazz style- Miles Davis, Larry Coryell, Billy Cobham are considered rock. In the 70s, jazz-rock became extremely popular. The use of the rhythmic pattern and harmony of rock music, shades of traditional oriental melodic and blues harmony, the use of electric instruments and synthesizers - over time led to the emergence of the term jazz fusion, emphasizing by its name the combination of several musical traditions and influences.

In the 70-80s, jazz music, while maintaining an emphasis on melody and improvisation, acquired features of pop music, funk, rhythm and blues (R&B) and crossover jazz, significantly expanding the audience of listeners and becoming commercially successful.

Modern jazz music, emphasizing clarity, melody and beauty of sound, is usually characterized as smooth jazz or contemporary jazz. The rhythmic and melodic lines of guitar and bass guitar, saxophone and trumpet, keyboard instruments, in the sound frame of synthesizers and samplers create a luxurious, easily recognizable colorful smooth jazz sound.

Despite the fact that smooth jazz and contemporary jazz both have a similar musical style, they are still different jazz styles. As a rule, it is stated that smooth jazz is “background” music, while contemporary jazz is more individual jazz style and requires the listener's close attention. Further development smooth jazz led to the emergence of lyrical directions of modern jazz– adult contemporary and more rhythmic urban jazz with shades of R&B, funk, hip-hop.

In addition, the emerging trend towards combining smooth jazz and electronic sound has led to the emergence of such popular trends modern music, like nu jazz, as well as lounge, chill and lo-fi.