History of Jazz: From New Orleans to the Present
Jazz is a musical universe that grew out of the African-American experience, European harmony and Caribbean rhythms. Ita history of improvisation, freedom and dialogue between cultures: from the street marches of New Orleans to the clubs of New York, from big swing bands to the bold experiments of free jazz and fusion.
Roots and birth of the genre (late 19th – 1910s)
Jazz was formed at the intersection of African-American work songs, spirituals, blues, and ragtime. In Louisiana, especially New Orleans , French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean traditions were mixed. The first jazz practice was street processions and Storyville dance halls, where ensembles with cornet, clarinet, and trombone improvised over marches and blues forms.
Key Features
- Syncopation and swing - shifting accents, "swinging";
- Blues scale - "blue notes", typical 12-bar forms;
- Improvisation - collective and solo, “question-answer”;
- Instruments : cornet/trumpet, clarinet, trombone, banjo/piano, tuba/double bass, drums.
Early figures
- Buddy Bolden was a legendary cornetist of early New Orleans;
- Jell Roll Morton - ragtime + jazz arrangement;
- The original 1917 recordings (Original Dixieland Jass Band) popularized the genre.
Chicago and New York: The Jazz Age (1920s)
After Storyville closed, musicians migrate to Chicago and New York. The Jazz Era becomes a symbol of the Roaring Twenties: dancing, speakeasies, radio and records. Growingthe role of soloist and star personality.
- Louis Armstrong - solo swing standards, virtuoso improvisation and scat.
- Duke Ellington - orchestral jazz, unique timbres and complex harmonies at the Cotton Club.
- Bix Beiderbecke - lyric cornet, Chicago school.
The Swing Era and Big Bands (1930s – early 1940s)
Swing is a popular dance musicUSA . Big band (4-5 saxophones, 3-4 trombones, 3-4 trumpets and rhythm section) relies on written arrangements with room for solos. Leading orchestras - commercial success and huge tours.
Leaders of the era
- Benny Goodman - "King of Swing, scene integration;
- Count Basie - "rippets", light swing and "comping";
- Glenn Miller - melody and memorable themes.
Vocals and standards
- Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday - the emergence of jazz vocals;
- Blues and Tin Pan Alley create the canon of "jazz standards."
The Bebop Revolution (mid-1940s)
Bebop takes jazz from the dance floor into clubs for close listening. Fast tempos, complex harmonies, extended chord changes, and bold saxophone and trumpet lines create a new language.
- Charlie Parker , Dizzy Gillespie - founders of the style;
- Thelonious Monk - angular rhythms, harmonic paradoxes;
- Rhythm section: walking bass, ride-cymbal pattern, hit-response interaction.
Offshoots: Cool jazz, hard bop, modal (1949–1965)
Cool Jazz
A calmer sound, chamber orchestration, European sophistication. Miles Davis "Birth of the Cool", Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan.
Hard Bop
A return to blues roots and gospel energy, "soul jazz." Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Clifford Brown.
Modal Jazz
Improvisation on scales instead of quick harmonic changes: Miles Davis "Kind of Blue", John Coltrane "My Favorite Things" - spaciousness and meditativeness.
Avant-garde and free jazz (1960s)
The search for "total freedom" from fixed harmonies and forms. Ornette Coleman , Cecil Taylor , late Coltrane - emphasis on timbre, collective improvisation, political and spiritual message.
"Freedom is the responsibility to listen to each other and speak the truth with sound."
Fusion and Electric Jazz (late 1960s – 1980s)
Synthesis of jazz with rock, funk and electronics: electric keys, synthesizers, boosted bass. Miles Davis "Bitches Brew", Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock "Headhunters".
- Complex meters, groove-oriented;
- Studio technologies, effects processing;
- Expanding the audience beyond jazz clubs.
Neo-Bop, Post-Bop and Global Jazz (1990s–present)
Conservation of the canon and its rethinking at the same time: neo-bop (Wynton Marsalis), post-bop (Wayne Shorter Quartet), Nordic and ethno-jazz (ECM), neo-soul-jazz and hip-hop collaborations (Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington, Snarky Puppy). In Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, jazz absorbs local rhythms and melodies, becoming a truly global language.
Jazz in the USSR and Russia
Despite the ideological obstacles of the early period, jazz developed: Leonid Utesov and Tea-jazz, Anatoly Kroll, Igor Butman and the Moscow Jazz Orchestra, festivals in Koktebel, Sochi, St. Petersburg. The modern scene combines academic school, folklore and world trends.
Important forms and concepts
Structures
- 12-bar blues (I-IV-V), rhythm changes (according to Gershwin)
- Form AABA, ABAC, modal ostinato
Rhythm section
- Piano - comping , harmony and rhythm
- Double bass – walking bass
- Drums - ride , hi-hat, interaction
- Guitar - chord drive or solo
The language of improvisation
- Licks, arpeggios, chromatics, whole-tone
- Blues Notes and "Bypass" Moves
Chronology (briefly)
- 1890–1910 — ragtime, blues, New Orleans.
- 1920s - Jazz Age, Chicago, New York.
- 1930–1943 — swing, big bands.
- 1944–1950 — bebop.
- 1950s - cool jazz and hard bop.
- 1959–1965 — modal jazz, “Kind of Blue”, “A Love Supreme”.
- 1960s - Free Jazz.
- 1969–1980s – fusion, electronics.
- 1990s - present - neo-bop, post-bop, global and cross-genre jazz.
Classic Entry Albums
- Louis Armstrong - Hot Five & Hot Seven
- Duke Ellington - Ellington at Newport
- Count Basie - The Atomic Mr. Basie
- Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Bird & Diz
- Thelonious Monk - Monk's Dream
- Miles Davis - Kind of Blue , Bitches Brew
- John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
- Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
- Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters
- Weather Report - Heavy Weather
- Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
- Art Blakey — Moanin'
- Dave Brubeck — Time Out
- Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um
- Keith Jarrett — The Köln Concert
The list is indicative: start with a couple of recordings from each period to hear the evolution of the language.
Why Jazz Remains Relevant
- Live dialogue : improvisation as communication here and now;
- Openness : absorbs new genres and technologies;
- Education : a global network of schools, jams and festivals;
- Ethics of listening : teaches attention, interaction and freedom within the framework of form.
©The history of jazz is a short guide to styles, people and ideas. Listen, compare, discover your own sound.