Avant garde/Free Jazz
Jazz
history timeline?-the late 1950’s through the 1960’s
I. General Characteristics:
A. lack of present chord changes; often atonal harmonies
B. open or free forms; tunes often complete improvisations
C. usually dense textures, high energy playing
D. collective improvisation
E. greater use of dissonance rather than consonance tone clusters
F. phrasing towards greater fragmentation; pointillism
G. often omission of piano in ensembles
H. experimental instrumentations
I. unorthodox sounds: squeaks, squawks, screams, noise, etc.
J. drones
K. many musical ideas drawn from twentieth-century composers such as John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen
L. interest in non-western musical concepts
M. abstract expression
II. Ornette Coleman (1930-), alto sax/trumpet/violin/composer
III. ---the pioneer of free jazz (free bop)
A. Playing Style
1. legato, tuneful improvisations
2. strong blues influence
3. often purposefully out-of-tune; plastic alto sax (late 1950s early 1960s)
B. Compositional Style
1. tunes often utilize diatonic melodies without present chord changes: harmolodics
2. open solo forms
C. Important Recordings and Groups
The Ornette Coleman Quartet (late 50s – early 60s) with: Don Cherry- pocket trumpet, Charlie Haden- bass, and Eddie Blackwell- drums: Something Else (1958) and The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) – early “free jazz” recordings
Free Jazz (1961) – innovative and influential recording featuring a double quartet
Skies of America (1965) – third stream work with symphony orchestra
Prime Time- jazz rock fusion band of he 1980s and ‘90s
Song X (1986) – Grammy award winner with guitarist Pat Metheny
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Cecil Taylor (1929-), pianist/composer- developed a distinctively individual style that existed outside of traditional jazz styles; aggressive atonal playing devoid of melodic lines and traditional swing fee; many of his solo piano improvisations feature dense harmonic structures (tone clusters) and fragmented, pointillistic textures; unit structures
Eric Dolphy (1928-1964), alto sax/flute/bass clarinet- created an unorthodox style utilizing smears, “animal-like cries” glissandos, and very fast runs interspersed with bop-like phrases; the first important jazz soloist on the bass clarinet; a true virtuoso on all three of his primary instruments; performance with John Coltrane in 1961
Albert Ayler (1936-1970), tenor sax- inspired by Coltrane, he created a revolutionary approach unlike any bop or swing styles; concepts more related to “classical” and folk music than to jazz; vocal quality; much use of the altissimo register
Sun Ra (1914-1993), keyboards/composer/bandleader- led an Ellington inspired big band (“Arkestra”) that emphasized unusual and varying instrumentations, collective improvisations and theatrics; “cosmic” music featured alto saxophonist Marshall Allen, tenor saxophonist John Gilmore, and trombonist Pat Patrick.
Others:
Steve Lacy- soprano sax
Marion Brown- alto sax
Archie Shepp-tenor sax
Dewey Redman- tenor sax
Pharoah Sanders- tenor sax
Sam Rivers- tenor/soprano sax
Yusef Lateef-woodwinds
Albert Mangelsdorff-trombone
Keith Jarrett-pianist/composer
Carla Bley- pianist/composer
Paul Bley-pianist/composer
Richard Davis- bass
Dave Holland-bass
Jack DeJohnette-drums
Sunny Murray-drums Andrew Cyrille-drums
Barry Altschul-drums
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General Characteristics:
1. stressed the continuity between composition and improvisation
2. multi-stylistic
3. sometimes avoidance of steady tempo; abandonment of jazz swing feeling
4. often dense textures; sound mass
5. unusual and varied instrumentation
6. multi-instrumentalists
7. visual effects: costumes and choreography often reflecting African heritage
8. non-western musical traditions utilized
9. often abolition of traditional rules regarding soloist and accompaniment
10. acoustic, rarely are electronics used
11. AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative music) founded by pianist/composer Richard Muhal Abrams in 1965
Some Important Groups and Performers:
The Art Ensemble of Chicago- multi-instrumentalists, especially percussion; free, collective improvisation; visual aspects vital to the performance
Lester Bowe-trumpet
Roscoe Mitchel- saxophones, woodwinds
Joseph Jarman- saxophones, woodwinds
Malchi Favors- bass
Famoudou Don Moye-drums, percussion
Anthony Braxton (1945-), saxophones and clarinets/composer- inspired by Paul Desmond, John Coltrane, Jackie McLean, Eric Dolphy, marching band music, and composers Charles Ives and Karlheinz Stockhausen, Braxton has created uniquely ordered free improvisational style that often exploits a specific compositional or saxophone technique; his music varies from solo alto saxophone performances, jazz combos where he plays a variety of woodwind instruments ranging from the contra-bass clarinet to the sopranino saxophone, and third stream compositions; his titles are most often diagrams that are simply identifications of compositions or performances
The World Saxophone Quartet- the first in a series of contemporary acappella jazz saxophone quartets integrating composition and collective improvisation
Others:
Julius Hemphill-alto Oliver Lake-alto David Murray-tenor Hamiet Bluiett-baritone
Henry Threadgrill-saxophones Ari Brown-saxophones Leo Smith-trumpet
SteveMcCall-drums Kahil-El’Zabar-African percussion Leroy Jekins-violin