Puff Daddy was one of Sean Combs’ stage names. He was born in 1970 in Harlem, then a poor black neighbourhood in New York. His father was shot and killed when Sean was just two years old. The family left New York. Sean turned out to be an ambitious boy, having finished university by the age of 20, and went to work at a record production company. After a few years, he founded his own company ‘Bad Boy Entertainment’ with which he made a lot of money that allowed him to live a luxurious life with women, money and drugs.
Now listen to the song this post is about:
The lyrics of a song are sometimes a whole story, like ‘I’ll be missing you’ will reveal, behind many songs there is also another story.
The song
One of Sean’s best-known performers was the rapper ‘Notorious B.I.G. He was killed by a gunshot in a dispute between rival groups. Sean wrote this song, a kind of ‘in memoriam’, in response to this event. It was an international hit and Sean’s singing career took off.
The refrain of the song is very poetic
Every step I take Every move I make Every single day, every time I pray I’ll be missing you Thinkin’ of the day When you went away What a life to take, what a bond to break I’ll be missing you (I miss you, B.I.G.)
As is often the case, the song has been covered by other artists. Here is another rather smooth version.
Its style
The actual lyrics are a ‘rap’, as you may have noticed. As I explained in the former post, rap is a musical style, reciting lyrics in a rhythmic way. As such, this is nothing new; medieval troubadours were already doing it. The ‘rap’ we know comes from ‘hip-hop’ (sub)culture, that developed in the 1980s in the Bronx, then also a poor neighborhood in New York.
As illustrated by the presentation of Eminem’s songs in the previous post, much rap is opposing (American) society and lyrics are often sexist and glorify violence. The popularity of this genre has grown rapidly and so has the variety of styles. Puff Daddy’s song is gospel rap, having a religious background.
Another hallmark of hip-hop culture is breakdancing. Young people in New York’s black ghettos had few opportunities to make a difference in society. So, they all wanted to become famous rappers or to perform as dancers. Their style is called ‘breakdance’, also popular in the Netherlands in the 1990s. How perfect can it be? Here is an example.
What’s wrong with the song?
But there is something wrong with ‘I’ll be missing you’. Listen to the performance of Sting singing ‘Message in a bottle’ (Paris 2017).
Sting’s song is much older than Puff Daddy’s. Another famous song was found to be plagiarised. A court therefore ruled that all royalties from ‘I’ll be missing you’ would go to Sting until 2023. In 1997, the two men became acquainted, and appeared to like each other. It was decided that from then on, Sting would no longer receive all of his royalties, but ‘only’ an amount of $5,000 per day. They also decided to do a concert together, featuring Faith Evans, the widow of Notorious B.I.G. You can look and listen to this performance here:
Covers
‘l’ll be missing you’ is also a favorite song of amateur choirs. Finally, you might listen and look at an example
What do you think of this performance, compared to the earlier chorus I showed?
Only a few decades ago, both parties in the US Congress disqualified rap as a symptom of the destruction of American values. This because of its coarse language, hatred of women and gays and barely concealed calls for the use of violence. Anno 2024, much seems to have changed. Headlines report that the Spanish swimmers-in-law impressed at the Olympics with a compilation of songs by US rapper Eminem. The swimmers’ performance is a nice opportunity to get a first impression of this kind of music. Find the show here.
What is rap?
Rapping is a vocal style in which the performer rhythmically utters lyrics in rhyme, often against the background of electronic sounds and synthesised (drum)beat. In many songs, ‘samples’ from popular artists provide the musical accompaniment. Rap developed as a part of the hip-hop subculture in the 1970s – along with breakdance and graffiti – the epicenter being the Bronx in New York. ‘Rapper’s Delight’ by the Sugarhill Gang from 1979 is the first recorded rap.
Indulging in hip-hop culture was a way for inner-city black youths to cope with the lack of opportunities.
What is rap about?
In the 1980s was an expression of living conditions in the slums and resistance to them. Leading examples from that time are ‘Fight the Power‘ by Public Enemy , ‘Fuck the police’ by N.W.A. Watch and listen to anoyher example, ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five below.
Following on from this politically-oriented rap, ‘gangsta rap’ emerged, which sang the violent lifestyle of black youths, called on them to rebel and caused great controversy. Later, rappers focused their probes on gays and women in general. A content analysis of rapper Tyler, the Creator’s album ‘Goblin’ showed 213 instances of homophobic language. Another content analysis of rap lyrics showed that 22% contained violence against women, including images of sexual assault, murder and rape. Almost 50% featured swearing, shaming and distrust and 67% depicted women as objects for men to possess, use and abuse.
Eminem
Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Matters III in St. Joseph, Missouri, is raised by his mother Debbie in poverty-stricken conditions in a working-class black neighbourhood in Detroit. Later, Marshall’s girlfriend Kim Scott also is moving in with them. They were one of three white families on the block and regular victims of violence. At the age of 14, Marshall starts rapping with his friend Mike and together they cal themselves ‘M&M’. After Mike disappeared from the picture, Marshall bastards that to Eminem. He appears to possess a special sense of language. He writes long lyrics and looks for words that rhyme or have sound affinity for every syllable. Modest as he is, he barely gets out of words in interviews, but in possession of pen and paper, sentences, metaphors and complex rhyme schemes emerge, often over more than one syllable. In the meantime, he consistently maintains beat and rhythm in a way that many a writer or poet can learn from. In doing so, he proves to be among the greatest rappers ever. However, success was a long time coming.
His first album ‘Infinite‘ dates to 1995 and revolves around the arguments with his mother to raise his newborn daughter Haillie with little money. By then, the family had moved into a mobile home in a crime-ridden area. He sells 1,000 copies of the music cassette from the loading bay of his car and works as a dishwasher, gets fired repeatedly, becomes addicted and attempts suicide. After taking part in the Rap Olympics, better times are breaking out. Here, the already famous Dr. Dre discovers him and gives him a record deal, although the fact that Eminem was white arouses a lot of resistance in the black community.
I have peppered this post with a few of Eminem’s songs, taken from some of his best-selling albums. The first one is ‘Guilty conscience’, from the Slim Shady LP (1999). Eventually, sales of his albums will make him a multimillionaire. Like many other rappers, he is criticised for the violent content of his songs and the hatred of gays and women that emanates from them. In ‘Guilty conscience’, which you can listen to and watch now, it mainly revolves around criminal behavior and violence.
In the music video, Eminem (the bad conscience) and Dr. Dre (the good conscience) rap about dealing with the temptation of criminal behavior, such as a man about to rob a liquor store, a student’s urge to have sex with an underage girl at a frat party, and a construction worker’s intention to kill his wife after he catches her cheating with another man. Eminem and Dr. Dre finally agree that this is the best solution. In some versions of the video, the murder has been removed and only the shot is audible.
Violence, homophobia and misogyny
Violent lyrics, homophobia and misogyny crop up in all of Eminem’s albums. Another example: In the song ’97 Bonnie & Clide on ‘The Slim Shady LP’ (1999), he disposes of his wife’s body. The song “Criminal” on his third album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), includes lines like, “My words are like a dodger with a jagged edge, That’ll stab you in the head, whether you’re a fag or les’, Or a homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest, Pants or dress, hate fags”
Listen and watch ‘Criminal’ on the Marshall Mathers LP (2001) here
Eleven of this album’s 14 tracks include derogatory names for women like “bitch” and “ho(e)” (derived from whore), sexual objectification of women, legitimisation of violence against women, mistrust of women, belittling of sex workers and glorification of pimping. Other rappers, musicians in general and anyone else who has fallen into disgrace with Eminem are also mercilessly put in their place.
Personal struggle
Below you can listen and watch the song ‘Lose yourself’ on the album ‘8 mile’ (2002) Many critics consider this Eminem’s best song and he spent 12 weeks at the top of the ‘Billboard Hot 100’. The song is autobiographical and depicts the struggles he had to overcome to earn respect from other rappers. Joe Biden used the song during his 2020 campaign.
The ‘method’ Eminem
Eminem has so far released 50 singles and 13 albums, which – apart from Infinite – have been huge sales successes. A total of 220 million records have been sold and his music videos have been viewed more than 10 billion times on YouTube. Eminem has won 15 Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards and 17 Billboard Music Awards. Billboard named him the “Artist of the Decade (2000-2009)“. It is not surprising then that he wrote the song ‘Rap God’ in 2013. It appeared on the album The Marshall Mathers LP2.
From his first albums, Eminem has created a murderous dirt-spouting ‘alter ego’ named Slim Shady. Against this extravagant anti-hero, he set himself – Marshall Mathers – as an introverted autobiographer. At the start of the millennium, Slim Shady was the embodiment of the rebellion of an entire generation of young people. By no means exclusively in the slums of US cities, but increasingly worldwide.
A song like ‘My name is’ (Slim Shady) (1999), which you can listen to and watch now, is mixing humor with steely verbiage that more than justifies the ‘Parental Advisory Explicit Content’ sticker.
Eminem has maintained dialogues with his ‘alter ego’ for more than 25 years. In those years, some of the verbiage from the early days of rap has become part of standard language, at least on the street and some of its shock effect has disappeared. In his latest album (2024) ‘The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). Listen to ‘Guilt conscience 2’ on the album ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ (Coup de Grâce).
In this song, Eminem accuses Slim Shady of being the cause of all the controversies he has caused and the resulting damage to his career. Eminem decides that the scoundrel must die, after he has been washed over by a canon of swear words and insults. After this, Eminem kills Slim.
The song ‘Houdini’ illustrates why Eminem is so successful. His music videos are attractively designed and usually based on ear-catching samples from other artists. In this case, it is the Steve Miller Band’s song Abracadabra. Despite what I consider to be the poison-black world he sings about; humor is not lacking. Undisputable, the album’s raunchy lyrics and intricate wordplay show that he is still on a lonely high as a rapper. Check out ‘Houdini’ here, also from Eminem’s latest album ‘The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)’ (2024)
Cultural background
Scholars believe that hip hop is rooted in cultures with predominantly conservative views of masculinity and femininity and that these can lead to condemnation of those who do not conform to them. This applies to US culture much more strongly than European culture, for example.
The original hip-hop subculture in poor American neighborhoods puts the ‘masculinity’ of the black heterosexual on a pedestal and in parallel degrades women and homosexuality. In his 2006 documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes from 2006, which you can watch here, Byron Hurt explores the relationships between hip-hop, masculinity, misogyny (hate against women) and homophobia. After conducting dozens of interviews, Hurt sees a pattern of homophobia, the objectification of women and the mutual struggle for being ‘on the throne’ between men, all of which contribute to how masculinity is validated. The acceptance of rape is then considered as an ‘appropriate response’ to women who challenge male dominance, refuse sexual advances or ‘offend’ men. At the same time, some women nevertheless seem unable to disassociate themselves from featuring ‘wrong men’. In ‘Love the Way You Lie’ on the album Relapse (2010), Eminem and Rihanna sing of such a depraved relationship.
Hip hop grew to become the US best-selling music genre from the turn of the millennium. Its popularity has long since ceased to be limited to disadvantaged residents of slum neighbourhoods. Eventually hip hop has spread worldwide among all social groups and even ages. I wonder whether the appreciation of the songs of Eminem and other famous rappers like Jay-Z has become detached from their content. While writing this post, this question kept coming up as I was writing this post and also how this might be possible
Gourdine and Lemmons’ study, titled “Perceptions of Misogyny in Hip Hop and Rap: What Do the Youths Think?” is helping when answering this question. 64% of all children and teenagers in the US report listening to rap songs daily. There appears to be a strong correlation between their age and the extent to which they recognise its violent slant, misogyny and homophobia. Raps are often incomprehensible, especially for those whose first language is not English. As listeners get older, appreciation for rap as a musical form often persists, despite growing awareness of the negative aspects of its content, comparable with violence in movies.
That the content of a rap and its appreciation can diverge is apparent in the video of Eminem’s live performance at the 2020 Oscars ceremony in front of an enthusiastic audience. One might assume that the majority does not hate women and is not homophobic or violent. The same goes for the Spanish swimmers I started this post with.
A new sound?
From the turn of the millennium, there has been a growing community of LGBTQ+ hip hop artists. Examples include rappers like Azealia Banks and Frank Ocean, mainstream hip-hop artists, who came out recently. They were followed in 2019 by Lil Nas X. In their songs, most female rappers draw attention to women’s rights. So do mainstream artists like Tylor Swift, Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige. As a result, only a small minority of female rappers’ lyrics still mention homophobic and misogynist views.
As a 52-year-old, Eminem is at a turning point in his career. His ranting alter ego has been discarded and continuing the old path, littered with violent scenes, fighting feuds with colleagues, misplaced language towards gays and women, seems like a dead end. He himself puts into perspective the misogyny and homophoby attributed to his raps. For instance, he attributes the frequent use of the term ‘faggot’ (flicker) to his use of slang, in which this term is not necessarily a condemnation. Nevertheless, he apologises for having hurt people. “I don’t have problems with anyone…”
Everyone is watching to see what this means for a possible 14de album. For now, the amount of Eminem’s albums in circulation worldwide still gives plenty of cause for both adoration and disgust.
John William Coltrane (nicknamed ‘Trane’) is born on 23 September 1926 in Hamlet (North Carolina, U.S.) and he died on 17 July 1967 in Huntington (New York, U.S.). He played clarinet and tenor in a local marching band. Later, he switched to saxophone. After high school, he found work in a sugar refinery to supplement the family’s income, which had by now moved to Philadelphia.
1940s
On his 17de birthday, he was given a saxophone. June 1945 was an important moment in his career; it was then that he first heard Charlie Parker play, about which he later said, “the first time I heard Bird play, it hit me right between the eyes.”
In the army, his musical talent was soon discovered, and he joined the Melody Masters, the swing band at his base in Hawai. His first record recording was in 1946, where he played several jazz standards and bebop songs. Back in Philadelphia, thanks to a scholarship, he took courses in music theory and saxophone. While playing in various bands, he continued to practice fanatically.
1950s
Meanwhile, Charlie Parker had also discovered his talent and Coltrane regularly played with him as a freelancer, as did Dizzie Gillespie and Johnny Hodges. In 1955, Miles Davis invited him to join his quintet when it was coming back from his heroin addiction. With this quintet, Coltrane recorded the albums Cookin’, Relaxin’, Workin’and Steamin’ (with the Miles Davis Quintet).
From ‘Relaxin’, you can listen here to a live performance in Zurich by Coltrane and Davis in ‘If I Were a Bell’. The recording dates from 1961.
The quintet ceased to exist after several years, now because of Coltrane’s heroin addiction.
In 1957, Coltrane teams up with Thelonius Monk, but due to various contractual obligations, a joint album never materialised. Only in 2005, a good recording of a concert in November 1957 surfaced and an album was produced after all: ‘Thelonius Monk Quartet With John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall’. This album was highly acclaimed. Newsweek spoke of the “musical equivalent of the discovery of a new Mount Everest”. The album shows how Monk gives all the space to Coltrane and subtly supports his solos. Listen to ‘Sweet and Lovely'(1957):
In 1957, Coltrane resumes collaboration with Miles Davis, who perfected the style he had already practised with Monk, i.e. rapid succession of notes, fitting within a predefined sequence of chords. At this time, Daves’ albums ‘Milestones’ and ‘Kind of Blue’ were also recorded.
1960s
Free jazz
In the early 1960s, Coltrane recorded the album ‘Giant Steps’ (1960). In the history of jazz, this album rivals Davis’ Kind of Blue’. This album has a trickier sequence of patterns of notes than any jazz song. Listening to the title track ‘Giant steps’ while watching an animation of the notes flying by is fascinating. ‘Giant steps’ is compulsory practice material for conservatory students.
Of a very different nature is ‘Naima‘, a tone poem dedicated to his wife. This also applies to two other songs referring to family members: ‘Cousin Mary’ and Syeeda’s Song Flute’, dedicated to his stepdaughter. Watch and listen to the latter song. Played here by the Colorado State University Jazz Ensemble:
A recording like this gives a good idea of what the song sounds like on the record. The difference, of course, is that the song on the album is largely improvised and this version is a transcription of it.
Coltrane forms his first quartet now, later quintet. Its first record was ‘My Favorite Things‘ (1965), on which he plays soprano saxophone. The group plays regularly at the famous jazz club ‘Village Vanguard’ in New York and develops increasingly towards ‘free jazz’. This is evident in one of the most frequently played pieces, ‘Chasin’ the Trane’ (1961). Later, Coltrane added a second bass player to get a deeper pulsating foundation. You can hear that on the albums Olé Coltrane’ (1961), ‘Africa/Africa/Brass’(1961). This song is played here by Archie Shepp and the Hessische Rundfunk Bigband. The beauty of this arrangement is that a second bass player has also been added to this orchestra and the timbre is made extra massive by four (!) tubas.
Of slightly later date are ‘The John Coltrane Quartet Plays’ (1965) and ‘Ascension’ (1965). You watch and listen to part of this album here.
A middle ground?
Many critics were decidedly negative about Coltrane’s development. They spoke of ‘anti-jazz’ and fellow musicians, including Miles Davis, also disliked it. Coltrane took this criticism to heart and the style of the ‘Classic Quartet’, as it was called, becomes more harmonic. This is especially evident in the albums ‘Ballads‘(1961).
In live performances, he continues to push the boundaries between jazz standards and more free forms of jazz. This is evident on albums such as ‘Impressions’ (1963), ‘Live at Birdland’ (1963) and ‘Newport‘(1963). You can watch and listen to ‘I want to talk about you’, from the latter album, here.
Spiritual inspiration
In 1964, the ‘Classic Quartet’ produced its bestseller, ‘A Love Supreme’. This work is an ode to Coltrane’s love for and belief in God. For this, Coltrane thoroughly immersed himself in the writings of various religions. His spiritual inspiration is continued in other albums, such as ‘Ascention‘ (1965), ‘Om‘ (1965) and ‘Meditations‘ (1966) . ‘Om’ is main symbol of Hinduism and refers to the infinity of the universe.
In these albums, Coltrane deepened his commitment to avant-garde jazz, inspired by Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra. He asked Pharoah Sanders to join the quartet and attracted a second drummer. Other members of the quartet could no longer follow Coltrane’s path and left the band.
Coltrane died unexpectedly of liver cancer at the age of 40, after which the African Orthodox Church canonised him. Coltrane is depicted as one of the saints on and 280m2 icon – the ‘Dancing Saints’- in St Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco.
Coltrane’s sons continue his musical work. I end with a song taken from the album ‘Expression’, played by Ravi Coltrane’s quartet in 2008.
‘Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary’ is a 2016 film directed by John Scheinfeld. You can watch it here
Miles Dewey Davis III was born on 26 May 1926 in Alton (Illinois, U.S.). He died on 28 September 1991 in Santa Monica (California, U.S.). He grew up affluent; his mother was a violinist and his father a dentist.
Davis has been attracted to blues, big bands and gospel from an early age. At nine, he became his first trumpet. Elwood Buchanan taught him to play on it. Davis later spoke of it as the “biggest influence on my life”. Buchanan stressed the importance of playing without vibrato, against the fashion of the time, which he continued all his life.
1940s
At the age of 15, Davis goes to high school and joins a marching band, led by his music teacher Buchanan. He also plays in small ensembles. He eagerly studies music theory and learns to read scores.
Under pressure from his mother, who felt he should finish school first, he turned down the offer to join the Tiny Bradshaw band. Shortly afterwards, he plays as a substitute in the Billie Eckstine Band, in which Art Blakey, Dizzie Gillespie and Charlie Parker also play. After this experience, Davis decides to move to New York “where the action is”. He is admitted to the Juilliard School of Music but does not finish his education to pursue music full-time. He plays in several bands, including the Charlie Parker quintet. Here he regularly plays with Gillespie and Mingus. In one of the songs ‘Now’s the Time’, he plays a solo that anticipates what would become ‘cool jazz’.
In August 1948, Davis, along with Mulligan, Roach, Lewis and others, form a nine-member band (nonet), seeking a musical alternative to bebop. Eventually, nine songs were recorded and released as singles. It was not until 1957 that these were compiled into the album ‘Birth of the Cool’, which has a previously unprecedented orchestral timbre.
1950s
After returning from a stay in Paris, Davis became depressed and he found himself out of work. He was not yet 24 and became addicted to heroin, which did not help his playing. He eventually got to grips with his addiction and recorded two albums: ‘Miles Davis Quartet’ (1953) and ‘Miles Davis Volume 2′ (1956). More albums followed and they portray his transition from cool jazz to hard bop. Hard bop is more focused on harmony and melody and regularly uses popular songs as a starting point for improvisation. ‘Walkin” is the first album representative of this genre. You can see a recording from this album here:
Davis travelled to Paris several times, including recording the soundtrack to ‘Ascenseur pour l’échafaud‘ (1958, with director Louis Malle).
Tired of all performances and travel, Davis was ready for a new project. He aspires to a job at a university to combine his theoretical knowledge and his skills as a performer. But it becomes a project with Canadian-American composer, pianist and arranger Gil Evans. Between 1957 and 1962, the two make five albums that differ greatly from Davis’s oeuvre up to that point.
On Miles Ahead (1957), Davis plays on flugelhorn “The Maids of Cadiz” by Léo Delibes, the first time Davis recorded ‘classical music’. You can listen to a recording of this song played by Gil Evans’ big band here (2018).
Porgy and Bess (1959), one of the albums made with Gil Evans, contains arrangements of pieces from George Gershwin’s opera. Sketches of Spain (1960) features music by Joaquín Rodrigo and Manuel de Falla and compositions by Evans. The album was a great success; it sold more than 120,000 copies in the US alone. On this album, you can listen to, among others, Davis’s version of the Concerto d ‘Aranjuez.
The duo’s last album is Quiet Nights (1963), a collection of bossa nova songs that, incidentally, was released against Davis’ and Evans’ wishes.
The box set Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings (1996) won the 1997 Grammy Award for ‘Best Historical Album’ and ‘Best Album Notes’. It is gift with which to please many a music lover.
In March 1959, Davis released ”Kind of Blue” which is often called his best album and one of the best albums in the history of jazz. By 2019, it had sold a total of 5 million copies. Songs include: ‘Freddy Freeloader’, ‘So What’ and ‘All Blues”. The latter song is played here by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band in 2020.
‘Kind of Blue’ departs from Davis’s earlier hardbop jazz style where improvisations are based on complex chord progressions. Instead, soloists improvise based on a predetermined ‘mode’, usually one or more of the seven classical scales, or a variation thereof. The aim of such a modal approach is to increase the freedom for soloists to shape an improvisation. Later, John Coltrane, among others, would also opt for this ‘modal approach’.
1960s
Miles continues to tour with his quintet during these years, which sees many personnel changes over the years. He also had to be hospitalised several times for hip fractures and a liver infection. His record sales dropped to a minimum. However, In the late 1960s he again record five new albums: ‘Miles smiles’ (1966), Sorcerer‘(1967), ‘Nefertiti‘(1967), ‘Miles in the sky’(1968) and ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro’(1968). During concerts, the band links songs together so that they flow into each other. Davis continued to do this until 1975.
In the last two albums, Davis switches partly to electric instruments, the beginning of his ‘fusion’ period. Rock influences are now increasingly audible. ‘In a silent way’ (1969) is considered the first fusion album, and it prompted a lot of comments from jazz critics. Here you can listen and watch ‘In a silent way’ from the album of the same name.
1970s
‘Bitches Brew’ (1970) is another bestseller. By 2003, it had sold one million copies. The songs that make up the album were compiled and edited from separate recordings with technical aids. Miles Davis starts performing with ‘Bitches Brew’ in the support acts of rock bands such as those of Steve Miller and Neil Young. He also performs to an audience of 600,000 at The Island of Wight Festival. Again, critics follow him with suspicion. You can watch and listen to part of Bitches Brew here.
Davis became influenced by the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen; critics spoke of ‘space music’. The album ‘On the corner’(1972) mixes this influence with funk. A series of albums with recordings of performances followed: ‘In concert’(1972), ‘Get up with it’(1974), Agharta (1974), Pangea (1976) and Dark Magnus (1977). Fans loved these albums; critics wiped the floor with them. They denounced Davis’s habit of playing with his back to the audience or looking at the ground during performances. He used alcohol, codeine and morphine to stay on his feet during these performances and had to be hospitalised repeatedly.
In 1975, Davis stops making music. In the following five years, he tries to put together a new band. Eventually, he managed to come back. He releases two new album ‘The man with too horn’(1981) and ‘We want Miles’ (1981), which earned him a Grammy Award for ‘Best Jazz Instrumental Performance By a Soloist’.
It was only after he suffers a stroke that he distanced himself from the use of alcohol and drugs for the rest of his life, started drawing and living a healthy life. He now also plays ‘cover’ versions of pop songs, such as Cindy Lauper’s ‘Time After Time’. He swapped his funk-based style for a more melodic one. He also collaborated with a slew of other artists, such as Zucchero Fornaciari in a version of Dune Moss.
1990s
In 1991, at the Montreux jazz festival, Davis plays for the first time songs from the albums Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain, which he had recorded with the recently deceased Gil Evans in the late 1950s, with an orchestra conducted by Quincy Jones. You can listen and watch their entire performance here. Davis’s occasionally weak playing was because he was seriously ill at the time of the concert.
At a grand concert in Paris attended by many colleagues, he receives the order “Chevalier of the Legion of Honour” from the hands of the French minister of culture, who called him the “Picasso of Jazz”.
Back in the US, his latest album ‘Doo-Bop’ which would be released posthumously (1992), as well as Rubberband (2019). On 25 August, he performs publicly for the last time. A snippet of his last performance in Europe on 1 July 1991, the song ‘Human Nature’, can be seen here.
In September, Miles dies of a series of complications.
Miles Davis is widely hailed as a pioneer of 20th-century jazz and his influence on the development of rock. The Guardian places him among the best jazz musicians ever. Davis was at the forefront of many innovations: ‘cool jazz’, ‘hard bop’, ‘fusion’ with rock, soul, funk and hip-hop. As such, his work is a sustained critique of bebop. He stretched the boundaries of jazz far and, in doing so, also inspired many musicians.
Dizzy (John Birks) Gillespie was born on 21 October 1917 in Cheraw (South Carolina, U.S.) and he died on 6 January 1993 In Englewood (New Jersey, U.S.). His father was the leader of a local band. At the age of four, he started playing the piano. After his father’s death, he was 10 at the time, he skilled himself on trombone and trumpet.
1930s
After hearing Roy Eldridge play on the radio, he aspired to a career in jazz. From 1935, he played professionally in various orchestras. In Teddy Hill’s band, he made his first record, the ‘King Porter Stomp'(1937). This ‘jazz standard’ was recorded many times after that. You can listen to the song here, played on a classic gramophone:
A technically improved reissue from1994 can be found here. A ‘stomp’ is a specific repetition of chords and is deployed in many melodies. Here you can hear it and probably youbrecognize the ‘stomp’.
From 1939, Gillespie was part of Cab Calloway’s orchestra that played at the Cotton Club in Harlem at the time. With this orchestra, Gillespie records his first composition “Pickin’ the Cabbage”(1940). Listen to the original recording here.
After an argument, Calloway fired Gillespie. He blamed him for misplaced humor and, moreover, thought his solos were too adventurous. ‘Chinese music’, Calloway called them. Later, Calloway would make repeated use of Gillespie’s virtuosity. After his dismissal, he wrote and arranged music for various bands, including those of Woody Herman, Jimmy Dorsey and Ella Fitzgerald. However, new opportunities presented themselves.
First, he joins Earl Hines band and then Billy Eckstine’s band, of which Charlie Parker was also a member. In these bands, his contribution to the development of bebop came to fruition and Gillespie became the face of this genre.
During this time, Gillespie brings several compositions to his name, such as ‘A Night in Tunisia’ (1942, recorded here in 1981), ‘Groovin’High‘ (1947), Woody ‘n’ You’ (1944), ‘Salted Peanuts’ (performed here by Dizzie Gillespie and his Orchestra in 1946). These songs are substantially different from mainstream swing music in melodic and rhythmic terms. ‘Woody ‘n’ You’, a tribute to Woody Herman, is one of the earliest examples of bebop. You can listen to this song here in a performance by the WDR Big Band from 2023.
During these years, Gillespie played in several small ensembles and formed several big bands. With one of these, he records the film ‘Jivin’ in Be-Bop’ in 1947. Watch and listen to a clip ‘Bebop Dancers’ here, which shows that fast-paced bebop requires special dancing skills. The film consists of a sequence of song and dance numbers, with no further plot.
The band ‘Gillespie and his Bee Bop Orchestra’ played an important role in broadening the popularity of bebop. At the fourth ‘Cavalcade of Jazz’ in 1948, he was announced with the words, “the musicianship, inventive technique, and daring of this young man has created a new style, which can be defined as off the chord solo gymnastics.”
Since the sound cup of his trumpet had become bent during a party 45o, he always played on such a type of trumpet because he liked the sound.
1960s – 1970s
Gillespie met South American trumpeter Mario Bauzá, with whom he performed together in various jazz clubs in Harlem. Gillespie becomes an aficionado of Afro-Cuban jazz, which was popular for its danceable nature. With his compositions ‘Manteca‘ and ‘Tin Tin Deo’, Gillespie himself also contributed to Afro-Cuban jazz. On a jazz cruise to Havana, he met Arturo Sandoval and together they toured Europe with the United Nations Orchestra. Here is a recording in Havanna in 1985 in which Gillespie and Sandoval play ‘Night in Tunisia’:
1980s/90s
In the musical ‘Stevie Wonder’, he played the trumpet solo in the song ‘Do I Do’. He wrote the soundtrack for the film ‘The Winter in Lisboa’. You can watch that now.
In December 1991, Gillespie was diagnosed as suffering from pancreatic cancer. He abruptly cancels his tour but succeeds in recording another album in early 1992. In December that year, a grand celebration of his 75ste birthday took place, but he could not attend it himself due to his poor health. He died on 6 January 1993.
He is considered one of the best jazz trumpeters of all time.
Ellington conducts the orchestra from behind the piano
Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington was born in Washington D.C. on 29 April 1899 and died in New York City in 1974. His father and mother both played the piano. At the age of seven, he received piano lessons himself. His mother made sure he always looked neatly groomed. This worked out so well that in his surroundings he was called ‘Duke’. ‘Duke’ was a passionate baseball fan, and he earned some extra money by selling peanuts during games.
1910s
Only at the age of 14, Duke gets a taste for playing the piano. He writes his first composition ‘Soda Fountain Rag’, probably inspired by his job as a bartender. You can hear this one here:
More than 1,000 more compositions would follow, many of them destined to be played on a 78-rpm record. Many of these became jazz standards.
He now also takes music lessons to improve his technique and to master notation. At the age of 17, he leaves school to perform here and there, while painting during the day. At 18, he forms his own band, ‘The Duke’s Serenaders’. Instead of being satisfied with the successful gigs, he leaves for Harlem NYC with musical friends to get a piece of the ‘Harlem Renaissance’. This fails and ‘Duke’ and his friends return penniless to Washington D.C.
1920s
Still, Ellington will return to Harlem NYC in 1923 where he got a four-year contract at the Hollywood Club. He became bandleader of a 10-piece band. With this orchestra that gradually came to be called ‘Duke Ellington Orchestra’, Ellington played all his life. The orchestra still tours the world under the direction of Ellington’s youngest son Paul.
Ellington wrote a few songs for the ‘Chocolate Kiddles’, a revue that toured several European cities in 1925. You can hear an excerpt from this revue, played and sung by Johnny Dunn and Jake Green, here:
By now, the band had a recognizable sound thanks to Ellington’s innovative arrangements and piano playing. In 1927, the prestigious ‘Cotton Club’ contracted the band after a successful audition. The repertoire was broad, consisting mainly of songs and tunes from revues. Audiences flocked, moreover, the performances were heard weekly on the radio. He recorded several songs with singer Adelaide Hall, of which ‘Creole Love Call’, became a world hit. You can hear the original recording here.
1930s
In the early 1930s, Ellington records several films. In ‘Check and Double Check’, the orchestra plays his ‘Old Man Blues’ during a dance scene.
During the Great Depression, Duke Ellington’s orchestra managed to survive. In 1933, he recruits singer Ivie Anderson and together they produce the hit ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). In the following recording, you can hear Ella Fitzgerald sing the song, accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra (1965). Ella also shows she has mastered scat singing. That is singing on meaningless words.
During this period, he and his orchestra performed several times in England, Scotland, France and Ellington writes series of compositions around a specific musician. ‘Jeep’s Blues‘ was bested for Johnny Hodges, ‘Yearning for Love’ for Lawrence Brown, ‘Trumpet in Spades’ for Rex Steward, ‘Echoes of Harlem’ for Cootie Williams and ‘Clarinet Lament‘ for Barney Bigard. These compositions perfectly matched the style and technical skill of each.
A well-known song like ‘Caravan’ also dates from this period (1937). Incidentally, this song was composed by Juan Tizol, one of the members of Ellington’s band. You can see a recent version here, played at the 2021 Big Band Jazz Party. A nice band, no show suits, a mix of old and young players, a beautiful setting and stars that fall from the sky.
1940s
Meanwhile Ellington teamed up with Billy Strayhorn, who became an indispensable ‘alter ego’ when it came to polishing lyrics and compositions, as well as rehearsing with the band and even playing the piano on recordings. Strayhorn also composed ”Take the ‘A’ Train’, still today the band’s signature tune.
Ellington was a master of composing short melodies; he also continued composing longer pieces, such as ‘Black, Brown, and Beige(1943) which deals with the history of slavery. The link is to a performance by the Klezmer Company Orchestra (2011). This composition received a lukewarm reception. More successful was ‘Jump for Joy'(1941). Here performed by the ‘Newark Academy Jazz Essentially Ellington Orchestra’ (2017)
Once again, big bands struggled to pull together. Count Basie disbanded and continued with a small ensemble. Duke Ellington was initially luckier; he booked a 77-day tour in Europe in which he performed 74 times. Then difficult times also dawned for the Duke Ellington Orchestra. At the Newport Jazz Festival on 7 July 1956, a small miracle happened, which I described in episode 2/11 of this series. Everything had backfired on that day; eventually tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves played a solo, and Ellington let him improvise for six minutes, while the audience turned into a dancing crowd. The recording of this performance would become the best-selling album of Ellington’s career.
1960s
Ellington starts devoting himself to composing film music. The first film was ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959). This was followed by ‘Paris Blues'(1961) in which Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier performed. Here you listen to Paul Newman playing ‘Mood indigo’.
He performs all over the world and is recording with several local artists, such as Sweden’s Alice Babs, and South Africa’s Sathima Bea Benjamin.
1970s
Ellington works on his first opera,’ Queenie Pie’, but it remains unfinished. His last performance was in the ballroom at Northern Illinois University on 20 March 1974. He dies of lung cancer on 24 May 1974. At his funeral, Ella Fitzgerald spoke the words “It’d a very sad day. A genius has passed”.
Here the first joint performance with Louis Armstrong after 40 years on the Ed Sullivan Show, ‘In a Mellow Tone'(1961)
Louis Armstrong (nicknames Satch and Satchmo) was born on August 4th, 1901, in New Orleans and died on July 6th ,1971 in New York City. He played trumpet and cornet and had a great influence on the development of jazz.
He spent his childhood in poverty. At the age of 11, he bought a cornet in a pawn shop and by the age of 13, he was already playing in bands entertaining audiences in dance halls, brothels and riverboats.
1920s
In 1922, ‘King Oliver’ asked Armstrong moving to Chicago and play in his ‘Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band’. You can listen to an early recording of the band here.
In Chicago he is payd well for the first time. Influenced by his first future wife Lil Hardin, he broadens his skills by also playing classical music. From 1924, he plays in the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, the most prominent African-American band of the time. Here you can listen to this orchestra, whose members at the time included both Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins.
Armstrong has fully mastered the New Orleans style (‘old jazz’). When he joined the Fletcher Henderson band, he had been pioneering the most current forms of jazz for quite some time. This included the shift from collective to individual improvisation. His improvisations were sophisticated, subtle and melodic.
In 1925 Armstrong formed his own band ‘Louis Armstrong Hot Five (later Hot Seven)’. Among others he recorded the hit Potato Head Blues (1927) and his improvised solo in this song has since been imitated countless times.
Writing about improvisations, the introduction and solo of the song ‘Weather Bird’ (1928) together with pianist Earl Hines is one of the most famous improvisations in the history of jazz. Listen here:
During that year, Armstrong made 25 recordings. He also started singing more and more, his ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1929) became a hit. So did Armstrong’s interpretation of Carmichael’s ‘Stardust’ (1931) and ‘Lazy River’ (1931). You can listen to the latter below. He appears to be a master of ‘scat singing’, which is singing and improvising with meaningless words.
1930s
The Great Depression put many musicians out of work. Louis Armstrong could come and play at the New Cotton Club in Los Angeles, along with Lionel Hampton on drums. Hollywood could still afford a rich nightlife. Moreover, radio recordings were made of all the performances. Later, Armstrong developed problems with his fingers and lips, and signed contracts to play in films more often.
1940s
After many years on the road, in 1943 Armstrong settled in Queens NYC with his then fourth wife. Again, many big bands had to stop performing because expenditure became too high. At the same time, interest in small ensembles was increasing, which suited Armstrong. Armstrong’s new group was called ‘Louis Armstrong and His All Stars’. In 1948, he recorded the English-language version of Suzy Delair’s song ‘C’est si bon’ which became a world hit. You can hear and see him play and sing on this 1962 recording:
1950s
Over the last 30 years, Armstrong has written over 50 songs, averaged over 300 performances a year, made many recordings and appeared in 30 films. His best-known film is ‘High Society’ with Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm. Listen to the duet with Crosby:
In the 1950s, Armstrong was a beloved American icon. However, at that time a generation gap emerged between him and the younger generation of jazz musicians, such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, who scorned Armstrong’s ‘vaudeville style’. In turn, Armstrong called their bebop style ‘Chinese music’.
In 1963, he appears in Dave Brubeck’s jazz musical ‘The Real Ambassadors’ in which he performs ‘Summer Song’, one of his most popular vocal performances up to then. You can listen to it below
During these years, Armstrong toured Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria. However, he suffered a heart attack and had to rest for quite some time. It was not until 1964 that he set foot in the studio again and recorded his international hit ‘Hello Dolly’. The song reached number one on the Hot 100 and dethroned the Beatles. You can watch and listen to a recording from 1968 here.
Armstrong starts another world tour, but he breaks it off for health reasons as well.
In 1968, he made the last recordings with his trumpet on the album ‘Disney Songs the Satchmo Way’ and scored another hit ‘What a Wonderful World’. You can hear and see that one now:
Armstrong dies in his sleep of a heart attack on 6 July 1971.
Previous instalments dealt with trends and changes in jazz during the post-war period: ‘Bebob’, the flight into virtuosity that didn’t catch on much with audiences. ‘Cool jazz’ that took the hard edges off bebop. ‘Fusion’ and ‘smooth jazz’ that inspired musicians to mix jazz and other genres. ‘Free jazz’ that gave musicians room to break free from most of the rules that had hitherto governed jazz music and improvisation.
Several jazz musicians feel drawn to none of these trend and continue to search for the ‘true nature’ of jazz. It is obvious that not everyone thought the same way. The result is a range of new styles’, some of which this posts highlights. These include ‘hard bob’, ‘straight ahead jazz’ and ‘neo-bop’. ‘Soul jazz’ is often included in this list, but in my opinion, it belongs under ‘fusion’ and is also discussed there.
Hard bop (1950s – 1960s)
What distinguishes hard bop from bebop and cool jazz? Essentially, the difference is about increasing the appeal of jazz to a wider audience while preserving jazz as an art form.
Features
– As in bebop, solos take chord sequences as a starting point, which are repeated throughout the song.
– The tempo of hard bop is often as fast as that of bebop;
– The melodies are more recognizable and simpler.
– Piano and saxophone are dominant instruments.
Innovator Miles Davis introduced hard bob at the first Newport jazz festival (1954) with his song ‘Walking’. You can see and listen to this song on a 1957 recording here.
Other Miles Davis compositions from this era can be found on albums like ‘Milestones’ (1958) and ‘Kind of blue'(1959). You can now see and listen to the song ‘All Blues’ from this last album, played by the Frankfurt Radio Bigband (2020)
Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (1961 – ) played an important role in the succession of hard bop by ‘straight ahead jazz’ (1960s-70s) and neo-bop (from 1980s onwards). Marsalis’ ideal was also that jazz would achieve ‘fine-art’ status and would eventually be compared to classical music.
Features
– Both straight ahead jazz and neo-bob seek connection with old-time jazz and swing.
– Straight ahead jazz musicians reject both free jazz and fusion because of the influence of pop music.
– The emphasis is on acoustic instrumentation, such as conventional piano, walking bass patterns, 4/4 beat and swing and bop-based drum rhythms.
– Neo-bop had a more swinging and melodic character than straight ahead jazz, influenced by the styles that had developed in the pre-1980 period.
– ‘True’ jazz, according to Marsalis, was based on swing, acoustic sounds, tonality, craftsmanship and knowledge of the jazz tradition.
Wynton Marselis has performed in 30 countries. His Grammy Awards in jazz include for ‘Best Instrumental Solo’ : Think of one1(983) and Hot House Flowers, (1984) Best Jazz Instrumental Album : Black Codes (From The Underground) (1985, recorded 2013) and Marsalis Standard time (1987). You can listen to ‘Smokehouse Blues played by the Wynton Marsalis Septet in 2015 here.
Horace Silver and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers were also a breeding ground in terms of style for young musicians who wanted to play ‘true’ jazz. Marsalis, incidentally, also played in this group as a trumpeter. A leading album by the Jazz Messengers is ‘Straight Ahead ‘(1981). You can listen to ‘Just By Myself'(1958) here
Several musicians who had made a mark on ‘fusion’ in the 1970s started recording acoustic jazz again, including Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. Even Miles Davis’ music of the 1980s, though certainly still fusion, became more accessible and recognizable at that time than his abstract work of the mid-1970s. Nevertheless, he had nothing to do with neo-traditionalism. He spoke of a ‘warmed-up’ turkey and considered Marsalis the jazz police.
Coda
If you listen to bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, straight ahead jazz and neo-bop, you will hear a wide variety even within these styles and recognizing them is often difficult. Probably they represent the core of jazz. However, it is going too far to speak of ‘true jazz’. Fusion and free jazz have stretched the playing field and ultimately enriched jazz.
Jazz musicians also like to listen to rock, pop or classical music. If these styles inspire some musicians is obvious. They had another reason to go the way of fusion, namely to make jazz more accessible to a wider audience and possibly achieve commercial success. Fusion and smooth jazz blend seamlessly. The examples in this episode show that making music that is easy on the ear and at the same time maintaining the melodic and harmonic principles of jazz is feasible. With smooth jazz, the emphasis is a bit more on the first premise.
Here you can listen to Miles Davis playing the pop song ‘Time After Time’ (1985).
In his album Bitches Brew (1969), Davis largely abandons swing beat and uses rock and roll idiom. The album mixes free jazz horns with an ensemble featuring electronic keyboards, guitar and percussion. He sold 400,000 albums, four times his annual average. In the same year, he released his album In a Silent Way (1969), which is considered his first fusion album.[12] Almost all of the aforementioned musicians collaborated on it.
Jazz and rock
The most used form of fusion is a ‘crossover’ between jazz and rock. Bridges between these genres have been built from both sides. An older example is the Charles Lloyd Quartet with Keith Jarrett, among others, which went down this route from the late 1960s. You can see here a recent recording by the quartet (now without Keith Jarrett) of the composition ‘Dream Weaver’.
Yet initially, it was mostly rock groups that mixed jazz and rock. Examples include: Colosseum (Take Me Back to Doomsday, 1970), Chicago (Tanglewood, 1970), Blood, Sweat & Tears (God Bless This Child, 1973), Soft Machine (Switzerland, 1974), Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Gratefull Death (October, Winterland, 1974), The Allman Brothers, In Memory of Elisabeth Reed, 1970). Santana (Evil Woman, 1969), Jimi Hendrix (Voodo Child, 1970), King Krimson (Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, 1972) and most recently Ozric Tentacles (Epiphilioy, 2016) Every song is worth listening to! From Emerson, Lake & Palmer, hear now: Mussorgsky – Pictures At An Exhibition,1970)
Emerson Lake & Palmer have been called the most pretentious ‘progressive rock’ group ever, because of their ever more overwhelming stage presence. At their peak, they took 40 tons of equipment and sometimes a 50-piece choir.
These were rock bands with above-average artistic pretensions and often referred to as progressive rock, which were inspired by jazz. Progressive rock already some characteristics of jazz, such as an affinity for long solos, divergent time signatures and complex rhythms and melodies.
While the days of ‘progressive rock’ were long gone, fusion between jazz and rock remained popular, with musicians such as Pat Metheny (Jaco, 1977), John Abercrombie (Timeless, 2021), John Scofield (Live, Leverkusener Jazztage, 2023), the Swedish group e.s.t. (Behind The Yashmak, here with Pat Metheny, 2003), Brad Mehldau (Live in Montreal, 2023) and The Bad Plus (Live Moers festival, 2017). The latter two have explored contemporary rock music within the possibilities of the traditional acoustic jazz piano trio, recording instrumental jazz versions of rock songs. Here, The Bad Plus plays Confortable Numb by Pinkfloyd with vocals by Wendy Lewis. You can watch the Brad Mehldau trio perform Hello Joe by Jimmie Hendrix here:
By the way, Brad Mehldau is considered one of the best jazz pianists of the 21ste century. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award every year since 2013, one of which he finally won in 2020 for his album “Finding Gabriel”.
Jazz and soul
Soul jazz is an outgrowth of hard bob with influences from soul, blues and rhythm & blues. The Hammond organ plays an important role. Compared to hard bop, soul jazz has a more ‘earthy and bluesy’ character that invited dancing. Soul jazz quickly moved towards smooth jazz.
Some prominent names include: Cannonball Adderly (‘Work song’, 1963), Lee Morgan (‘The sidewinder’, 1963), Frank Foster (‘Samba blues’, 1963), Horace Silver (‘Song for my father’ ( 1964), Ramsey Lewis (‘The ‘in’crowd (1965, recording 1973), which became a hit and artists like Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and later the ‘Norwegian’ style of Bugge Wesseltoft. But here, too, fusion and smooth jazz are close to each others.
Finally, worth mentioning is the Cinematic Orchestra, which combines (classical) jazz, soul and the use of electronics, including turntables, in tuneful productions.
You can watch and listen to two songs of various kinds “To build a home” (sung by Patrick Watson) and “Breath” (sung by Fontella Bass), both live from the Barbican in London in 2007. You can listen to the latter track here.
The Cinematic Orchestra’s music has found its way to audiences through albums and performances but especially because of its frequent use in documentaries and (feature) films.
Jazz and funk
Fusion was not limited to jazz, rock or soul. Herbie Hancock sought a crossover between jazz and funk. An example is his album Head Hunters (1973). It was already his 12de album, mar with it he broke through artistically and commercially.
Hancock had already begun to push the boundaries of hard bop. His first album, for instance, contained the song ‘Watermelon Man’(1962) featuring his tight funky piano playing. Miles Davis also made a foray into jazz funk, notably his album ‘On the Corner'(1972. This was an attempt on his part to narrow the gap with young African-Americans.
Characteristic of jazz funk is the strong backbeat (fourth beat). And the already early introduction of electronic synthesizers.
As in the case of jazz rock, jazz’s hardliners reacted with aversion and talked about jazz for the dance halls. Nevertheless, the album Head Hunters was a significant moment in the development of jazz. It inspired jazz musicians, as well as funk, soul and hip-hop artists. It also stimulated the further use of synthesizers as a tool in the fusion genre.
Smooth jazz
Many jazz musicians who chose fusion also wanted to increase the acceptance of their music, hence the transition between fusion and smooth jazz is gradual.
Features:
– Most songs are ‘downtempo’ (90-105 counts per minute)
– The melody is usually played by just one instrument. This is usually a saxophone or an electric guitar.
– Smooth jazz often shuns improvisation and emphasizes a melodic whole. This is why commercially oriented ‘would be’ jazz is often referred to disparagingly.
Guitarist Wes (Leslie) Montgomery laid the foundations for smooth jazz in the last years of his still young life (he died in 1968 at the age of 45), making music that appealed to both jazz and pop lovers. Before that, he mainly played (hard) bop. Examples include ‘Here Is That Rainy Day‘ (1965). ‘Full House‘ and ‘Round Midnight’, which you can watch and listen to below.
Since the 1990s, jazz has been characterized by a pluralism, with a wide range of styles, genres and blends, each with its own fans. Fusion occupies an important place here. The style has brought together a multitude of genres, bringing back the jazz audience, mainly thanks to the combination of melody and rhythm.
From the beginning of the 21ste century, jazz has become a distinct and popular type of music more than before. A number a young musicians are making themselves heard, including pianists Jason Moran and Vijay Iyer, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, trumpeters Roy Hargrove and Terence Blanchard in the US.
Avant-garde jazz developed from the mid-50’s and was mostly called free jazz from the 70s onwards. Avant-garde is an originally military term that, in the world of art refers to deliberately breaking existing norms. This is often done to experiment, to stand up to other artists or to make a political statement.
Anyone hearing avant-garde jazz for the first time is likely to be confused, if not averse. In that case, it is important to remember that all art forms have avant-garde. Some examples of classically oriented avant-garde composers of the 20th century include Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Philip Glass. Listening to their compositions helps to get a first idea of this kind of music and perhaps to begin appreciating it. Therefore, here you can listen to Karlheinz Stockhausen’s composition ‘Gruppen’ (1955 – 1957), played by Ensemble Intercontemporain, which consists of no less than three orchestras.
Already somewhat used to avant-garde music? Now you listen to what this genre sounds like in jazz. But first this. We tend to appreciate music most that we recognise. This usually involves melody, meter (3/4 or 4/4), rhythm and structure (stanza/refrain). The creators of this music employ an ‘idiom’, just as every language has its own idiom. The better you know that idiom, the easier it is to speak that language or be able to bring home and appreciate that music. Sometimes you will sing along with a song even if you have only heard it once.
Avant-garde artists got rid of the idiom they had become accustomed to in previous years. They looked for other ways to organise ‘sounds’. This primarily involved the expression express of their own mood or an abstract idea.
Features
– The tempo can vary or be pulsed. Regularly slowing down and speeding up gives the impression that the music is moving like a wave.
– Rhythm can change constantly, sometimes along with changes in pace.
– Different time signatures are used simultaneously (polyrhythmic)
– Free jazz is often atonal rather than using a fixed key.
– Band members often improvise at the same time (collective improvisation).
– Identical lines are often played simultaneously, where tempo and timbre may differ (contrapuntal interaction)
– Using chromatic scales (all 12 tones of an octave are used) and microtonality (pitch differences of a quarter or less)
– Abandoning fixed chord progressions
– Chords can be placed under any note to accentuate it, regardless of the meter.
– Many practitioners have a fascination with earlier jazz styles, such as dixieland with its collective improvisation, with African music and more broadly with world music.
– Sometimes they would play African or Asian instruments or invent their own ones.
The idiom of free jazz is thus much less pre-given and thus offers the listener little to hold on to. This is precisely what makes free jazz attractive to fans.
Forerunners
One of the first musicians to use atonal improvisation in his compositions was Lennie Tristan. In “Intuition” (1950), only the order in which the musicians participate in ensemble playing and its timing are predetermined. Key, beat, tempo, melody or rhythm were left open. Contrapuntal interaction was used as a means of maintaining cohesion. Appreciation among fellow musicians varied. Charlie Parker who was always open to innovation was enthusiastic, others found it too avant-garde and doubted whether this kind of work could ever become popular.
In 1953, he released “Descent into the Maelstrom”. It was based on Edgar Allan Poe’s story of the same title and consisted of an improvised piano solo, using multitracking (superimposing several recordings), which had no preconceived harmonic structure. Instead, he built on a series of motifs. You can listen to this work here:
You can now watch and listen to “City of Glass”, written in 1948 by Bob Graettinger for the Stan Kenton band. It is a four-voice piece that in one long movement “narrates”) the contents of a poem (tone poem).
It is characterised by polyphonic and atonal intensity. The composition was fully in line with Stan Kenton’s aspiration to play ‘progressive’ jazz to be listened to in a concert hall, thus bridging the gap between (avant-garde) jazz and classical music.
The composition is performed here by David Kweksilber Bigband in Amsterdam (2013)
In the late 50s, Ornette Coleman, Albert Aylor, Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Sun Ra, among others, applied their own accent. I highlight some of these artists.
“Free Jazz, a collective improvisation” lasts 37 minutes, which at the time was the longest recording of a jazz song ever. The piece was recorded with two quartets, each having its own stereo channel. Both quartets played simultaneously, with the two rhythm sections laying a dense rhythmic foundation for the horns soloing, interspersed with pre-composed passages. These passages consist of short and dissonant interplay between solos. You can listen to it now.
Coleman has continued to experiment into the 21ste century, increasingly using electronic instruments. His pallet of styles has broadened considerably. On this recording, he plays the song Song X with Pat Metheny, in pronounced free jazz style (1985). Herehe plays Virgin Beauty (1980), which seems more like a free form of cool jazz. He is the second jazz musician after Wynton Marsalis to receive the Pulitzer Prize.
Albert Ayler
Albert Ayler was one of the most important composers and performers during in the early days of free jazz. At the beginning of his career as a bebop tenor saxophonist in Scandinavia, he had already begun to push the boundaries of tonal jazz and blues to their harmonic limits. He began collaborating with free jazz musicians such as Cecil Taylor in 1962.
One of Ayler’s most important free jazz songs is “Spiritual Unity (1964). You can listen to that here. The song is played here by Marc Ribot at the Vision Festival XI on 19 June 2007.
Timbre is the backbone of his playing rather than harmony and melody. His ecstatic music as “Ghosts” (1964) and “Spirits Rejoice” (1965), included simple, themes interspersed with group improvisations.
Ayler stretched the jazz idiom to its limits and many of his compositions hardly resemble jazz of the past. He exploited the possibilities of microtonal improvisation. This involves reducing the distance between notes. By tinkering with his saxophone, he was able to achieve polyphonic effects.
Cecil Taylor
As a classically trained musician, Taylor was particularly influenced by European avant-garde composers such as Bela Bartók and Karlheinz Stockhausen. His piano playing was influenced by Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver, who play a key role in Taylor’s later unconventional use of the piano. This sounds like 88-tuned drums.
The composition “Unit Structures” (1966) marks his transition to free jazz. He made hardly any use of scores, time signatures and harmonic progressions. The work is complex and has a rich timbre. The two bassists make varied contributions to the whole. One provides the driving force; the other is volatile and mysterious. You can listen to the composition here.
John Coltrane
Coltrane’s most work belongs to the post-bop genre. His record “Ascention” (1965) shows his appreciation of free jazz. On this record, Coltrane expanded his quartet to include six hornsplayers, including Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders.[8]: The composition features free solo improvisation. One of the hallmarks of Pharoah Sanders’ and John Coltrane’s playing on this record is overblowing.
Sun Ra
Much of Sun Ra’s music can be classified as free jazz, especially his work from the 1960s. His earlier work was more melodic in nature, but even after that time, many works have a hybrid character, with elements of ragtime, swing, bebop and fusion. His work “The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra” (1966) was characterised as black mysticism. Many compositions were created while experimenting and improvising in the studio.
Sun Ra has recorded more than 100 albums. He also performed frequently. His success was limited to a small group of followers. You can watch a recent performance by the Sun Ra Arkestra (2022) here. Sun Ra died in 1993 at the age of 79.
Elements of free jazz have blended with other styles and genres over the years, whose diversity has also increased as a result.
Music: Listen, Look and Enjoy 