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Origins of cool jazz
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There was quite a difference between cool jazz and hard bop. Although sprouted from the bebop era and bebop music, the two shared more differences than similarities. First, cool jazz usually had a slower tempo while hard bop was more upbeat. Smooth jazz had a smoother feel to it while hard bop was rawer and more intense. This is probably due to the fact that cool jazz generally had a greater amount of structure than hard bop which had a greater amount of improvisation by musicians. Miles Davis and Gerry Mulligan were some of the pioneers of cool jazz and recorded Davis’ “Birth of the Cool” with Capitol Records in Los Angeles. Clifford Brown was a key innovator of hard bop, along with Art Blakey. Both Brown and Blakey recorded on the East Coast
Cool jazz as a music genre had more structure than its bebop counterpart. Most of the time, cool jazz songs were created and performed using written arrangements. This gives the songs a more consistent feeling. It also conveyed a feeling of relaxation, as with written arrangements, the musicians are more relaxed and tend to have less expressions when performing. This was one of the characteristics that made cool jazz gain its label “cool.”
What do Clint Black, Bob Dylan, Toad the, Wet Sprocket, and Tina Turner have in common? Their music has its roots in not only the old murder ballads and the raw dance of poor southern whites, but also the blues, the hollers, and the sung of poor blacks. Black rhythm and blues and white country-western merged in such figure as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry in 1950s. Rock and roll was created by blacks and whites together as a new music filled with power and mystery.
Developed in the early 1940's, Bop had established itself as vogue by 1945. It's main innovators were alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. In this stage in jazz, improvisation differed immensely. Bebop soloists engaged in harmonic improvisation, often avoiding the melody altogether after the first chorus. Usually under seven pieces, the soloist was free to explore improvised possibilities as long as they fit into the chord structure. Popular and influential jazz artists include: Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, & Cannonball Adderley. Armstrong is most known for his involvement in hot jazz as a trumpeter, but is especially renowned for his improvisation capabilities. Louis Armstrong, born August 4, 1901 right in the beginning stages of the jazz movement, was originally from New Orleans. Armstrong was a bandleader, soloist, comedian/actor, and vocalist. Another famous, Miles Davis, is what some consider to be the best trumpeter of the era. Davis was born on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois. One unique thing about Davis was that he was taught to play without vibrato, which was incredibly contrary to the popular way of
Louis Armstrong was known for his “hot jazz” while Bix Beiderbecke was known more for his “cool reflective” jazz style. Louis Armstrong developed a new style of jazz music that took New Orleans by storm, and many other bands decided to move to north Chicago because of it. In 1925 Louis recorded his first Hot Five records and this was the first time he developed songs under his name. Then later on he made the Hot Seven and these two records are considered some of the biggest jazz classics. These records really established Louis Armstrong’s “hot jazz” style and many people recognized that. Many people and critics also considered these records as some of the finest jazz recordings in history, solos began to emerge and that really characterized jazz. These tracks were very important because it not only expressed Louis style but it influenced a lot of the jazz world. After the tracks many people began to change from polyphony to soloists, from embellishment to improvisation, and changing from breaks to having solos and their was much more influence. Then there was Bix Beiderbecke who was known for his “cool reflective” jazz. He was known for having a unique lyric tone, he had a vibrant sound, and he and he was different from other trumpet and cornet players. These were the type of things that led to the development of what is known as “cool jazz”. Everything that he went through in his life, the sadness, his heroic side, all this led to his music style. These two had a huge impact with their type of styles, which is the reason for their success. There uniqueness is what led to their style and them being known for their type of jazz, one simply can not say that one is better than the other because they simply did not have the same
Jazz music of the 1940’s and 1950’s was defined by a history of change since its beginning at the dawn of the 20th century. Almost every decade brought a new flavor to the movement, and by the 1940’s jazz had developed into a mature, complex form of music, with many nuances and avenues for continued change. It is important to trace the early movements in jazz to better understand the innovations of the Bebop and Cool jazz eras of the 40’s and 50’s.
This is shown in the single ‘Rock Hard’ which combined rock and hip hop. This was shown even more so in the album ‘Licensed to Ill’ by the Beastie Boys. Def Jam also created hybrids of heavy metal and hip hop which was another method of enticing a young audience.
His “hot bop” style was heard in places like the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theatre. Everyone from all over the country would come to see him. Armstrong recorded such works as I’m in the Mood for Love, and You Rascal You (http://library.thinkquest.org/26656/english/music.html). Another famous person during this era was Coleman Hawkins, a saxophone player. Hawkins is recognized as the first great saxophonist of jazz.
So, bop can be seen as a reaction to the eventual sterilization and ubiquity of swing music. The first bop records were made by in 1944 by Coleman Hawkins experimenting with his swing band. Several individuals were instrumental in the propagation of this new form, such as Charlie "Bird" Parker (alto sax), Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Thelonious Monk (piano), Bud Powell (piano), Miles Davis (trumpet), and Charles Mingus (bass). The standard ensemble became a quintet, consisting of piano, bass, drums, reed instrument...
Hip-hop is one of the major music genres of today like the blues were in the 1950's. Stanley Crouch views hip-hop as being vulgar and obscene while he sees the blues as being one of the classic music genres. In actuality, these two genres are similar in many ways.
By this time a major change in jazz was afoot, and a young trumpet player named Dizzy Gillespie formed his own small prototype group at the Onyx Club in New York. This group met regularly and played original music based on popular swing tunes, with improvised melodies, and modified chordal structure. This new music was called bebop,
Why was New Orleans the hotspot for Jazz? It was located on a seaport. Being on a seaport is beneficial because it provides tourists and is also where goods go through. Also, it provided the party-like atmosphere and still does so today. People in the 1920’s didn’t have the technological advances such as iPhones and television so the performance took place in a social setting such as local bars and red light district establishments. The music evolution of jazz provided not only the music itself but a reason to get up and dance. According to Gridley, “The evolution of new dances and the overall popularity of dancing were big factors” (40). This was a big factor in jazz because it provided a brass band feel.Brass bands influence from Europeans brought a model for jazz music such as the trumpet, trombone, tuba, saxophone, and clarinet. These factors wouldn’t have been possible without culture and also individuals.
In the New York City neighbourhood of Harlem in particular attracted many african americans intellectuals and artists. Jazz first became popular in the nightclub cultures of big cities, but it wasn't Harlem clubs that one could see the artists fresh and uniquely american music. Jazz came to view in the African American. Jazz was from the mixed influences of ragtime, blues, hot jazz, and even band music that played in Funerals. Works produced during the Harlem Renaissance appealed not just to African Americans but it crossed over to white audiences as well as the musical “Shuffle Along” which in fact became a smash hit on Broadway. The rapid growing record industry who quickly became interested in performers such as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Fletcher Henderson, Cab Calloway, etc. One of the many great legends was Edward Kennedy Ellington but his friends simply called him Duke. Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington orthodoxe black jazz orchestras that began performing at nightclubs in Chicago and for a long run the Cotton Club in New York. They both employed some of the most accomplished Jazz Musicians such as Louis
In 1947, Davis made his first recording and in the summer of 1948, Davis put together a nonet that he played with at the Royal Roost in New York for two weeks in September. He eventually recorded 12 tracks with this nonet for Capitol Records, and these tracks were later put onto the album Birth of the Cool. According to Rolling Stone magazine, this album signaled Davis’s change in style from bebop to something more “introspective” (Macnie; Ruhlmann).
In the eyes of the general public, all of Hip-Hop is usually categorized in the same way. Labeled as the poison of the Black community because nowadays, most Hip-Hop lyrics all sound the same generic way always talking about money, women, cars, drugs, or some type of beef that all these rappers sooner or later continuously have with one another. But what this new generation doesn’t know about are the positive and creative flows that were spit not so long ago in the 80’s and 90’s. Rappers back in the day like Tupac and Ice Cube both had times when they had to show off their thug sides but they both had reasons or a call-to-arms for that, and indeed were in tune with that era’s problems as well as the society where they were raised. Moreover, even though some new school songs actually look promising, old school songs are still always great classics that anybody in this day and age will most certainly vibe to.
Music expresses what words cannot express; music reflects the improvement of the society; music calms our hearts and inspires people. Everyone enjoys music because he or she can have good moods while listening to music. Composers express their feelings in songs. Some put in their ideas about nature, politics and life, others write songs to reflect the progression of society. Popular music in the Gilded Age and jazz music in the Roaring Twenties are examples of music which correspond to the society’s movement. The rise of popular music was the result of the anti-German movement. American composers rose to replace the German culture. Also, popular music was popular because of its affordability. Every class of people could enjoy this kind of music by simply going to music halls. On the other hand, Roaring Twenties was a period of time which marks color line upheavals. Although music in Gilded Age and Roaring Twenties are quite different about their styles, genres and lyrics; popular music and jazz music were both adaptions to the society’s movement during these two periods.