Free jazz , or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos , tones , and chord changes . Musicians during this period believed that the bebop and modal jazz that had been played before them was too limiting, and became preoccupied with creating something new. The term "free jazz" was drawn from the 1960 Ornette Coleman recording Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation . Europeans tend to favor the term " free improvisation ". Others have used "modern jazz", "creative music", and "art music".
102-543: New Thing or The New Thing may refer to: Free jazz , a subgenre of jazz music often referred to as "The New Thing" New Thing at Newport , a 1965 free jazz album by John Coltrane and Archie Shepp The New Thing & the Blue Thing , a 1965 free jazz album by Ted Curson New Thing! , a 2005 compilation album of jazz music New Thing (Enuff Z'Nuff song) 1989 New Thing (Rye Rye song) , 2011 New Thang ,
204-439: A clarinet and trombone in a call-response pattern. The rhythm section consisted of a sousaphone and drums , and sometimes a banjo . By the early 1920s guitars and pianos sometimes substituted for the banjo and a string bass sometimes substituted for the sousaphone. Use of the string bass opened possibilities for 4/4 instead of 2/4 time at faster tempos , which increased rhythmic freedom. The Chicago style released
306-486: A "Modern Creative" genre, in which "musicians may incorporate free playing into structured modes—or play just about anything." He includes John Zorn , Henry Kaiser , Eugene Chadbourne , Tim Berne , Bill Frisell , Steve Lacy , Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and Ray Anderson in this genre, which continues "the tradition of the '50s to '60s free-jazz mode". Ornette Coleman rejected pre-written chord changes, believing that freely improvised melodic lines should serve as
408-463: A 2014 single by Redfoo Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title New Thing . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Thing&oldid=1059175522 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
510-525: A collection of young, forward-looking musicians who were at the core of the bebop movement and would in the following year be in the Billy Eckstine Orchestra , the first big band to showcase bebop. As the swing era went into decline, it secured legacies in vocalist-centered popular music, "progressive" big band jazz, R&B, and bebop. The trend away from big-band swing was accelerated by wartime conditions and royalty conflicts. In 1941
612-532: A dance music promoter and agent, Goldkette also helped organize and promote McKinney's Cotton Pickers and Glen Gray 's Orange Blossoms (later the Casa Loma Orchestra ), two other Detroit-area bands that were influential in the early swing era. As the 1920s turned to the 1930s, the new concepts in rhythm and ensemble playing that comprised the swing style were transforming the sounds of large and small bands. Starting in 1928, The Earl Hines Orchestra
714-532: A direct response to complex attitudes towards African-American music. Exhibited at documenta 9 in 1992, his video installation Hors-champs (meaning "off-screen") addresses the political context of free jazz in the 1960s, as an extension of black consciousness and is one of his few works to directly address race. Four American musicians, George E. Lewis (trombone), Douglas Ewart (saxophone), Kent Carter (bass) and Oliver Johnson (drums) who lived in France during
816-664: A far ranging, stream-of-consciousness approach to melodic variation". The style was largely inspired by the work of jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman . Some jazz musicians resist any attempt at classification. One difficulty is that most jazz has an element of improvisation. Many musicians draw on free jazz concepts and idioms, and free jazz was never entirely distinct from other genres, but free jazz does have some unique characteristics. Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane used harsh overblowing or other extended techniques to elicit unconventional sounds from their instruments. Like other forms of jazz it places an aesthetic premium on expressing
918-606: A featured soloist or vocalist. Some bands used string or vocal sections, or both. Swing-era repertoire included the Great American Songbook of Tin Pan Alley standards, band originals, traditional jazz tunes such as the " King Porter Stomp ", with which the Goodman orchestra had a smash hit, and blues . Hot swing music is strongly associated with the jitterbug dancing that became a national craze accompanying
1020-511: A key center for the seemingly free parts. It is as if the musician has learned that entire freedom is not an answer to expression, that the player needs boundaries, bases, from which to explore. Tanner, Gerow and Megill name Miles Davis , Cecil Taylor, John Klemmer , Keith Jarrett , Chick Corea , Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner , Alice Coltrane , Wayne Shorter , Anthony Braxton , Don Cherry, and Sun Ra as musicians who have employed this approach. Canadian artist Stan Douglas uses free jazz as
1122-405: A list of top recording artists from the previous year was publicly released. The list revealed that big band sales had decreased since the early 1950s. However, big band music saw a revival in the 1950s and 1960s. One impetus was the demand for studio and stage orchestras as backups for popular vocalists, and in radio and television broadcasts. Ability to adapt performing styles to various situations
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#17327905411171224-437: A more conservative approach to rhythm based on 2/4 time signatures . Meanwhile, string bass players such as Walter Page were developing their technique to the point where they could hold down the bottom end of a full-sized dance orchestra. The growth of radio broadcasting and the recording industry in the 1920s allowed some of the more popular dance bands to gain national exposure. The most popular style of dance orchestra
1326-596: A musical emphasis on timbre and texture over meter and harmony, employing a wide variety of electronic instruments and innovative percussion instruments , including the electric celeste , Hammond B-3 , bass marimba , harp, and timpani . As result, Sun Ra proved to be one of the first jazz musicians to explore electronic instrumentation, as well as displaying an interest in timbral possibilities through his use of progressive and unconventional instrumentation in his compositions. The title track of Charles Mingus' Pithecanthropus Erectus contained one improvised section in
1428-464: A nod to the hot side by hiring jazz trumpeter and Goodman alumnus Bunny Berigan , then hiring Jimmie Lunceford 's arranger Sy Oliver to spice up his catalog in 1939. New York became a touchstone for national success of big bands, with nationally broadcast engagements at the Roseland and Savoy ballrooms a sign that a swing band had arrived on the national scene. With its Savoy engagement in 1937,
1530-447: A revival in swing dancing. In 2001 Robbie Williams 's album Swing When You're Winning consisted mainly of popular swing covers. The album sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. In November 2013, Robbie Williams released Swings Both Ways . Another modern development consists of fusing swing (original, or remixes of classics) with hip hop and house techniques. "Swing house" is a sub genre of swing that has been influenced by
1632-739: A significant impact on the free jazz players of the United States. Japan's first free jazz musicians included drummer Masahiko Togashi , guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi , pianists Yosuke Yamashita and Masahiko Satoh , saxophonist Kaoru Abe , bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa , and trumpeter Itaru Oki . A relatively active free jazz scene behind the iron curtain produced musicians like Janusz Muniak , Tomasz Stańko , Zbigniew Seifert , Vyacheslav Ganelin and Vladimir Tarasov . Some international jazz musicians have come to North America and become immersed in free jazz, most notably Ivo Perelman from Brazil and Gato Barbieri of Argentina (this influence
1734-414: A similar impact on his instrument as Armstrong had on trumpet. Hines' melodic, horn -like conception of playing deviated from the contemporary conventions in jazz piano centered on building rhythmic patterns around "pivot notes". His approaches to rhythm and phrasing were also free and daring, exploring ideas that would define swing playing. His approach to rhythm often used accents on the lead-in instead of
1836-420: A strain with which listeners can relate, following with an entirely free portion, and then returning to the recognizable strain. The pattern may occur several times in a long selection, giving listeners pivotal points to cling to. At this time, listeners accept this – they can recognize the selection while also appreciating the freedom of the player in other portions. Players, meanwhile, are tending toward retaining
1938-455: A strong, anchoring rhythm section in support of more loosely-tied woodwind and brass sections playing call-response to each other. The level of improvisation that the audience might expect varied with the arrangement, song, band, and band-leader. Typically included in big band swing arrangements were an introductory chorus that stated the theme, choruses arranged for soloists, and climactic out-choruses. Some arrangements were built entirely around
2040-413: A style unrelated to the piece's melody or chord structure. His contributions were primarily in his efforts to bring back collective improvisation in a music scene that had become dominated by solo improvisation as a result of big bands. Outside of New York, a number of significant free jazz scenes appeared in the 1960s. They often gave birth to collectives. In Chicago, numerous artists were affiliated with
2142-671: A swing structure. Artists like Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel have continued the swing elements of country music. Asleep at the Wheel has also recorded the Count Basie tunes " One O'Clock Jump ", " Jumpin' at the Woodside ", and "Song of the Wanderer" using a steel guitar as a stand-in for a horn section. Nat King Cole followed Sinatra into pop music, bringing with him a similar combination of swing and ballads. Like Mullican, he
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#17327905411172244-476: Is Spiritual Unity , including his often recorded and most famous composition, Ghosts , in which a simple spiritual-like melody is gradually shifted and distorted through Ayler's unique improvisatory interpretation. Ultimately, Ayler serves as an important example of many ways which free jazz could be interpreted, as he often strays into more tonal areas and melodies while exploring the timbral and textural possibilities within his melodies. In this way, his free jazz
2346-488: Is an American invention, free jazz musicians drew heavily from world music and ethnic music traditions from around the world. Sometimes they played African or Asian instruments, unusual instruments, or invented their own. They emphasized emotional intensity and sound for its own sake, exploring timbre . Free jazz was a reaction to the convolution of bop. Conductor and jazz writer Loren Schoenberg wrote that free jazz "gave up on functional harmony altogether, relying instead on
2448-423: Is built upon both a progressive attitude towards melody and timbre as well as a desire to examine and recontextualize the music of the past. In a 1963 interview with Jazz Magazine, Coltrane said he felt indebted to Coleman. While Coltrane's desire to explore the limits of solo improvisation and the possibilities of innovative form and structure was evident in records like A Love Supreme , his work owed more to
2550-485: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Free jazz The ambiguity of free jazz presents problems of definition. Although it is usually played by small groups or individuals, free jazz big bands have existed. Although musicians and critics claim it is innovative and forward-looking, it draws on early styles of jazz and has been described as an attempt to return to primitive, often religious, roots. Although jazz
2652-483: Is more evident in Barbieri's early work). South African artists, including early Dollar Brand , Zim Ngqawana , Chris McGregor , Louis Moholo , and Dudu Pukwana experimented with a form of free jazz (and often big-band free jazz) that fused experimental improvisation with African rhythms and melodies. American musicians like Don Cherry , John Coltrane, Milford Graves , and Pharoah Sanders integrated elements of
2754-582: Is no brass or percussion; guitars and bass form the backbone, with violin, accordion, clarinet or guitar taking the lead. Gypsy swing groups generally have no more than five players. Although they originated in different continents, similarities have often been noted between gypsy swing and Western swing]l, leading to various fusions. Rock music hitmakers like Fats Domino and Elvis Presley included swing-era standards in their repertoire, making crooning ballads " Are You Lonesome Tonight " and " My Blue Heaven " into rock and roll-era hits. The doo-wop vocal group
2856-522: Is not a musical form" (no comment on Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, or Count Basie). The Dixieland revival started in the late 1930s as a self-conscious re-creation of New Orleans jazz in reaction against the orchestrated style of big band swing. Some swing bandleaders saw opportunities in the Dixieland revival. Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven and Bob Crosby's Bobcats were examples of Dixieland ensembles within big swing bands. Between
2958-546: Is often credited by historians and jazz performers to a return to non-tonal music of the nineteenth century, including field hollers , street cries, and jubilees (part of the "return to the roots" element of free jazz). This suggests that perhaps the movement away from tonality was not a conscious effort to devise a formal atonal system, but rather a reflection of the concepts surrounding free jazz. Jazz became "free" by removing dependence on chord progressions and instead using polytempic and polyrhythmic structures. Rejection of
3060-825: The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians , founded in 1965. In St. Louis, the multidisciplinary Black Artists Group was active between 1968 and 1972. Pianist Horace Tapscott founded the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension in Los Angeles. Although they did not organize as formally, a notable number of free jazz musicians were also active in Albert Ayler's hometown of Cleveland. They included Charles Tyler , Norman Howard , and
3162-561: The Black Unity Trio . By the 1970s, the setting for avant-garde jazz was shifting to New York City. Arrivals included Arthur Blythe , James Newton , and Mark Dresser , beginning the period of New York loft jazz . As the name may imply, musicians during this time would perform in private homes and other unconventional spaces. The status of free jazz became more complex, as many musicians sought to bring in different genres into their works. Free jazz no longer necessarily indicated
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3264-904: The Cab Calloway Orchestra and the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. Also in New York, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra featured the new style at the Roseland Ballroom and the swing powerhouse Chick Webb Orchestra started its extended stay at the Savoy Ballroom in 1931. Bennie Moten and the Kansas City Orchestra showcased the riff -propelled, solo-oriented form of swing that had been developing in
3366-596: The Count Basie Orchestra brought the riff-and-solo oriented Kansas City style of swing to national attention. The Basie orchestra collectively and individually would influence later styles that would give rise to the smaller "jump" bands and bebop . The Chick Webb Orchestra remained closely identified with the Savoy Ballroom, having originated the tune " Stompin' at the Savoy ", and became feared in
3468-539: The Fluxus movement. Many critics, particularly at the music's inception, suspected that abandonment of familiar elements of jazz pointed to a lack of technique on the part of the musicians. By 1974, such views were more marginal, and the music had built a body of critical writing. Many critics have drawn connections between the term "free jazz" and the American social setting during the late 1950s and 1960s, especially
3570-410: The "easy listening" genre. Big band jazz made a comeback as well. The Stan Kenton and Woody Herman bands maintained their popularity during lean years of the late 1940s and beyond, making their mark with innovative arrangements and high-level jazz soloists ( Shorty Rogers , Art Pepper , Kai Winding , Stan Getz , Al Cohn , Zoot Sims , Serge Chaloff , Gene Ammons , Sal Nistico ). Lionel Hampton
3672-479: The "less swinging" vocal pop music of this period. The bands in these contexts performed in relative anonymity, receiving secondary credit beneath the top billing. Some, such as the Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins Orchestras, became well known in their own right, with Riddle particularly associated with the success of Sinatra and Cole. Swingin' pop remained popular into the mid-1960s, becoming one current of
3774-400: The "voice" or "sound" of the musician, as opposed to the classical tradition in which the performer is seen more as expressing the thoughts of the composer. Earlier jazz styles typically were built on a framework of song forms, such as twelve-bar blues or the 32-bar AABA popular song form with chord changes. In free jazz, the dependence on a fixed and pre-established form is eliminated, and
3876-434: The 1920s both contributed to the development of the 1930s swing style. Starting in 1923, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra featured innovative arrangements by Don Redman that featured call-response interplay between brass and reed sections, and interludes arranged to back up soloists. The arrangements also had a smoother rhythmic sense than the ragtime -influenced arrangements that were the more typical "hot" dance music of
3978-482: The 1950s–60s revival include those led by Thad Jones , Mel Lewis , Quincy Jones , and Oliver Nelson . Big band jazz remains a major component of college jazz instruction curricula. In country music Jimmie Rodgers , Moon Mullican , and Bob Wills combined elements of swing and blues to create a Western swing . Mullican left the Cliff Bruner band to pursue solo career that included many songs that maintained
4080-484: The 1956 record Sounds of Joy , Sun Ra's early work employed a typical bop style. But he soon foreshadowed the free jazz movements with compositions like "A Call for All Demons" off of the 1955–57 record Angels and Demons at Play , which combines atonal improvisation with Latin-inspired mambo percussion. His period of fully realized free jazz experimentation began in 1965, with the release of The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra and The Magic City . These records placed
4182-427: The 1960s and beyond, with both veteran leaders receiving high acclaim for their contemporary work and performing until they were physically unable. Drummer Buddy Rich , after briefly leading one big band during the late 1940s and performing in various jazz and big band gigs, formed his definitive big band in 1966. His name became synonymous with the dynamic, exuberant style of his big band. Other big jazz bands that drove
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4284-433: The 1970s into the 1980s. The tours featured bandleaders and vocalists of the swing era who were semi-retired, such as Harry James and vocalist Dick Haymes. Historically-themed radio broadcasts featuring period comedy, melodrama, and music also played a role in sustaining interest in the music of the swing era. Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks , and later David Grisman , presented adaptations of Gypsy Swing, rekindling interest in
4386-485: The American Society of Composers and Producers ( ASCAP ) demanded bigger royalties from broadcasters and the broadcasters refused. Consequently, ASCAP banned the large repertoire they controlled from airplay, severely restricting what the radio audience could hear. ASCAP also demanded pre-approval of set lists and even written solos for live broadcasts, to assure that not even a quoted fragment of ASCAP repertoire
4488-548: The Century marked a radical step beyond his more conventional early work. On these albums, he strayed from the tonal basis that formed the lines of his earlier albums and began truly examining the possibilities of atonal improvisation. The most important recording to the free jazz movement from Coleman during this era, however, came with Free Jazz , recorded in A&;R Studios in New York in 1960. It marked an abrupt departure from
4590-473: The Henderson band with being an early influence when he was developing the sound for his own band. In 1925 Armstrong left the Henderson band and would add his innovations to New Orleans style jazz to develop Chicago style jazz, another step towards swing. Traditional New Orleans style jazz was based on a two- beat meter and contrapuntal improvisation led by a trumpet or cornet , typically followed by
4692-514: The Marcels had a big hit with their lively version of the swing-era ballad " Blue Moon ". Multi-genre mandolinist Jethro Burns is widely known for playing Swing, Jazz, and many other forms of the genre on the mandolin. He has produced many albums that feature Jazz rhythms and swing chord progressions. He is often considered "The Father of Jazz Mandolin". Though swing music was no longer mainstream, fans could attend "Big Band Nostalgia" tours from
4794-713: The New Deal Rhythm Band in 1978 for her long career with Manhattan Transfer. Founding leader of the New Deal Rhythm Band John Holte led swing revival bands in the Seattle area until 2003. A Swing revival occurred during the 1990s and 2000s led by Royal Crown Revue , Big Bad Voodoo Daddy , The Cherry Poppin' Daddies , Squirrel Nut Zippers , Lavay Smith , and Brian Setzer . Many of the bands played neo-swing which combined swing with rockabilly , ska , and rock. The music brought
4896-580: The Palomar engagement starting on 21 August 1935, audiences of young white dancers favored Goodman's rhythm and daring arrangements. The sudden success of the Goodman orchestra transformed the landscape of popular music in America. Goodman's success with "hot" swing brought forth imitators and enthusiasts of the new style throughout the world of dance bands, which launched the "swing era" that lasted until 1946. A typical song played in swing style would feature
4998-910: The Savoy's Battles of the Bands. It humiliated Goodman's band, and had memorable encounters with the Ellington and Basie bands. The Goodman band's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert turned into a summit of swing, with guests from the Basie and Ellington bands invited for a jam session after the Goodman band's performance. Coleman Hawkins arrived back from an extended stay in Europe to New York in 1939, recorded his famous version of " Body and Soul ", and fronted his own big band. 1940 saw top-flight musicians such as Charlie Parker , Dizzy Gillespie , Don Byas , Charlie Christian , and Gene Ramey , whose careers in swing had brought them to New York, beginning to coalesce and develop
5100-524: The World War II era, swing began to decline in popularity, and after war, bebop and jump blues gained popularity. Swing blended with other genres to create new musical styles. In country music , artists such as Jimmie Rodgers , Moon Mullican , Milton Brown and Bob Wills introduced elements of swing along with blues to create a genre called " western swing ". Famous roma guitarist Django Reinhardt created gypsy swing music and composed
5202-508: The aforementioned Joe Harriott , saxophonists Peter Brötzmann , Evan Parker , trombonist Conny Bauer , guitarist Derek Bailey , pianists François Tusques , Fred Van Hove , Misha Mengelberg , drummer Han Bennink , saxophonist and bass clarinetist Willem Breuker were among the most well-known early European free jazz performers. European free jazz can generally be seen as approaching free improvisation , with an ever more distant relationship to jazz tradition. Specifically Brötzmann has had
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#17327905411175304-460: The ban. These labels had limited distribution centered in large urban markets, which tended to limit the size of the ensembles with which recording could be a money-making proposition. Another blow fell on the market for dance-oriented swing in 1944 when the federal government levied a 30% excise tax on "dancing" nightclubs, undercutting the market for dance music in smaller venues. Swing bands and sales continued to decline from 1953 to 1954. In 1955,
5406-410: The basis for group performance and improvisation. Free jazz practitioners sometimes use such material. Other compositional structures are employed, some detailed and complex. The breakdown of form and rhythmic structure has been seen by some critics to coincide with jazz musicians' exposure to and use of elements from non-Western music, especially African, Arabic, and Indian. The atonality of free jazz
5508-516: The basis for harmonic progression. His first notable recordings for Contemporary included Tomorrow Is the Question! and Something Else!!!! in 1958. These albums do not follow typical 32-bar form and often employ abrupt changes in tempo and mood. The free jazz movement received its biggest impetus when Coleman moved from the west coast to New York City and was signed to Atlantic . Albums such as The Shape of Jazz to Come and Change of
5610-444: The bop aesthetic was combined with a fascination with earlier styles of jazz, such as dixieland with its collective improvisation, as well as African music. Interest in ethnic music resulted in the use of instruments from around the world, such as Ed Blackwell 's West African talking drum , and Leon Thomas 's interpretation of pygmy yodeling. Ideas and inspiration were found in the music of John Cage , Musica Elettronica Viva , and
5712-590: The classical chords of standard harmonies confronted with an unrestrained all over painted improvisation. Jean-Max Albert still explores the free jazz lessons, collaborating with pianist François Tusques in experimental films : Birth of Free Jazz, Don Cherry... these topics considered through a pleasant and poetic way. Founded in 1967, the Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec was Canada's most notable early free jazz outfit. Outside of North America, free jazz scenes have become established in Europe and Japan. Alongside
5814-588: The conventions of bebop and swing Taylor also began exploring classical avant-garde, as in his use of prepared pianos developed by composer John Cage. Albert Ayler was one of the essential composers and performers during the beginning period of free jazz. He began his career as a bebop tenor saxophonist in Scandinavia, and had already begun pushing the boundaries of tonal jazz and blues to their harmonic limits. He soon began collaborating with notable free jazz musicians, including Cecil Taylor in 1962. He pushed
5916-543: The day including Bix Beiderbecke , Jimmy Dorsey , Frank Trumbauer , Pee Wee Russell , Eddie Lang , and Joe Venuti . The Victor Recording Orchestra won the respect of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in a Battle of the Bands; Henderson's cornetist Rex Stewart credited the Goldkette band with being the most influential white band in the development of swing music before Benny Goodman's. As
6018-454: The day. In 1924 Louis Armstrong joined the Henderson band, lending impetus to an even greater emphasis on soloists. The Henderson band also featured Coleman Hawkins , Benny Carter , and Buster Bailey as soloists, who all were influential in the development of swing era instrumental styles. During the Henderson band's extended residency at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, it became influential on other big bands. Duke Ellington credited
6120-485: The early 1930s came the financial difficulties of the Great Depression that curtailed recording of the new music and drove some bands out of business, including the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and McKinney's Cotton Pickers in 1934. Henderson's next business was selling arrangements to up-and-coming bandleader Benny Goodman . At this time, "Sweet" dance music remained most popular with white audiences and
6222-463: The emerging social tensions of racial integration and the civil rights movement . Many argue those recent phenomena such as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the emergence of the Freedom Riders in 1961, the 1963 Freedom Summer of activist-supported black voter registration, and the free alternative black Freedom Schools demonstrate the political implications of
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#17327905411176324-714: The free jazz period in the 1960s, improvise Albert Ayler's 1965 composition "Spirits Rejoice." New York Eye and Ear Control is Canadian artist Michael Snow 's 1964 film with a soundtrack of group improvisations recorded by an augmented version of Albert Ayler's group and released as the album New York Eye and Ear Control . Critics have compared the album with the key free jazz recordings: Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation and John Coltrane's Ascension . John Litweiler regards it favourably in comparison because of its "free motion of tempo (often slow, usually fast); of ensemble density (players enter and depart at will); of linear movement". Ekkehard Jost places it in
6426-405: The gypsy swing standard "Minor Swing". In the late 1980s to early 1990s, new urban -styled swing-beat emerged called new jack swing (New York go-go), created by young producer Teddy Riley . In the late 1990s and into the 2000s, there was a swing revival , led by Squirrel Nut Zippers , Brian Setzer orchestra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy . Developments in dance orchestra and jazz music during
6528-527: The highly structured compositions of his past. Recorded with a double quartet separated into left and right channels, Free Jazz brought a more aggressive, cacophonous texture to Coleman's work, and the record's title would provide the name for the nascent free jazz movement. Pianist Cecil Taylor was also exploring the possibilities of avant-garde free jazz. A classically trained pianist, Taylor's main influences included Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver , who prove key to Taylor's later unconventional uses of
6630-640: The hothouse of Kansas City. Emblematic of the evolving music was the change in the name of Moten's signature tune, from "Moten Stomp" to " Moten Swing ". Moten's orchestra had a highly successful tour in late 1932. Audiences raved about the new music, and at the Pearl Theatre in Philadelphia in December 1932, the doors were let open to the public who crammed into the theatre to hear the new sound, demanding seven encores from Moten's orchestra. With
6732-528: The ideas that would become bebop . The early 1940s saw emerging trends in popular music and jazz that would, once they had run their course, result in the end of the swing era. Vocalists were becoming the star attractions of the big bands. Vocalist Ella Fitzgerald , after joining the Chick Webb Orchestra in 1936, propelled the band to great popularity and the band continued under her name after Webb's death in 1939. In 1940 vocalist Vaughn Monroe
6834-529: The jazz idiom to its absolute limits, and many of his compositions bear little resemblance to jazz of the past. Ayler's musical language focused on the possibilities of microtonal improvisation and extended saxophone technique, creating squawks and honks with his instrument to achieve multiphonic effects. Yet amidst Ayler's progressive techniques, he shows an attachment for simple, rounded melodies reminiscent of folk music , which he explores via his more avant-garde style. One of Ayler's key free jazz recordings
6936-725: The late 1940s, particularly " Intuition ", "Digression", and "Descent into the Maelstrom" exhibit the use of techniques associated with free jazz, such as atonal collective improvisation and lack of discrete chord changes. Other notable examples of proto-free jazz include City of Glass written in 1948 by Bob Graettinger for the Stan Kenton band and Jimmy Giuffre 's 1953 "Fugue". It can be argued, however, that these works are more representative of third stream jazz with its references to contemporary classical music techniques such as serialism . Keith Johnson of AllMusic describes
7038-501: The likes of Louis Jordan and Louis Prima. Electro swing is mainly popular in Europe, and electro swing artists incorporate influences such as tango and Django Reinhardt's gypsy swing. Leading artists include Caravan Palace and Parov Stelar , who became popular in the late 2010s. Musically, Electro Swing is a misnomer as it usually samples music from the earlier Charleston Era of the 1920s and doesn't actually swing . Both genres of swing house and electro swing have been connected with
7140-414: The main beat, and mixed meters , to build a sense of anticipation to the rhythm and make his playing swing. He also used "stops" or musical silences to build tension in his phrasing. Hines' style was a seminal influence on the styles of swing-era pianists Teddy Wilson , Art Tatum , Jess Stacy , Nat "King" Cole , Erroll Garner , Mary Lou Williams , and Jay McShann . Black territory dance bands in
7242-606: The military draft. In July 1942 the American Federation of Musicians called a ban on recording until record labels agreed to pay royalties to musicians. That stopped recording of instrumental music for major labels for over a year, with the last labels agreeing to new contract terms in November 1944. In the meantime, vocalists continued to record backed by vocal groups and the recording industry released earlier swing recordings from their vaults, increasingly reflecting
7344-480: The more commercial big bands catered to more "sweet" sensibilities with string sections. Some bandleaders such as John Kirby , Raymond Scott , and Claude Thornhill were fusing swing with classical repertoire. Lower manpower requirements and simplicity favored the rise of small band swing. The Savoy Sultans and other smaller bands led by Louis Jordan , Lucky Millinder , Louis Prima , and Tony Pastor were showcasing an exuberant "jump swing" style that would lead to
7446-506: The music of Africa , India , and the Middle East for world -influenced free jazz. Swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement. The danceable swing style of big bands and bandleaders such as Benny Goodman
7548-508: The musical form. Other swing revivals occurred during the 1970s. The jazz, R&B, and swing revival vocal group Manhattan Transfer and Bette Midler included swing era hits on albums during the early 1970s. In Seattle the New Deal Rhythm Band and the Horns O Plenty Orchestra revived 1930s swing with a dose of comedy behind vocalists Phil "De Basket" Shallat, Cheryl "Benzene" Bentyne , and six-foot-tall "Little Janie" Lambert. Bentyne would leave
7650-793: The piano. Jazz Advance , his album released in 1956 for Transition showed ties to traditional jazz, albeit with an expanded harmonic vocabulary. But the harmonic freedom of these early releases would lead to his transition into free jazz during the early 1960s. Key to this transformation was the introduction of saxophonist Jimmy Lyons and drummer Sunny Murray in 1962 because they encouraged more progressive musical language, such as tone clusters and abstracted rhythmic figures. On Unit Structures (Blue Note, 1966) Taylor marked his transition to free jazz, as his compositions were composed almost without notated scores, devoid of conventional jazz meter, and harmonic progression. This direction influenced by drummer Andrew Cyrille, who provided rhythmic dynamism outside
7752-595: The poles of hot and sweet, middlebrow interpretations of swing led to great commercial success for bands such as those led by Artie Shaw , Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey . Miller's trademark clarinet-led reed section was decidedly "sweet", but the Miller catalog had no shortage of bouncy, medium-tempo dance tunes and some up-tempo tunes such as Mission to Moscow and the Lionel Hampton composition " Flying Home ". "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" Tommy Dorsey made
7854-472: The popularity of big band vocalists. In 1943 Columbia Records re-released the 1939 recording of " All or Nothing at All " by the Harry James Orchestra with Frank Sinatra , giving Sinatra top billing ("Acc. Harry James and his Orchestra"). The recording found the commercial success that had eluded its original release. Small band swing was recorded for small specialty labels not affected by
7956-407: The postwar rise of R&B . In a 1939 Downbeat interview, Duke Ellington expressed dissatisfaction with the creative state of swing music; within a few years he and other bandleaders would be delving into more ambitious, and less danceable, forms of orchestral jazz and the creative forefront for soloists would be moving into smaller ensembles and bebop . The Earl Hines Orchestra in 1943 featured
8058-404: The rambunctiousness of swing music. Swing was sometimes regarded as light entertainment, more of an industry to sell records to the masses than a form of art, among fans of both jazz and "serious" music. Some jazz critics such as Hugues Panassié held the polyphonic improvisation of New Orleans jazz to be the pure form of jazz, with swing a form corrupted by regimentation and commercialism. Panassié
8160-492: The rejection of tonal melody, overarching harmonic structure, or metrical divide, as laid out by Coleman, Coltrane, and Taylor. Instead, the free jazz that developed in the 1960s became one of many influences, including pop music and world music. Paul Tanner , Maurice Gerow, and David Megill have suggested, the freer aspects of jazz, at least, have reduced the freedom acquired in the sixties. Most successful recording artists today construct their works in this way: beginning with
8262-448: The role of improvisation is correspondingly increased. Other forms of jazz use regular meters and pulsed rhythms, usually in 4/4 or (less often) 3/4. Free jazz retains pulsation and sometimes swings but without regular meter. Frequent accelerando and ritardando give an impression of rhythm that moves like a wave. Previous jazz forms used harmonic structures, usually cycles of diatonic chords. When improvisation occurred, it
8364-506: The same company and comments on "extraordinarily intensive give-and-take by the musicians" and "a breadth of variation and differentiation on all musical levels". French artist Jean-Max Albert , as trumpet player of Henri Texier 's first quintet, participated in the 1960s in one of the first expressions of free jazz in France. As a painter, he then experimented plastic transpositions of Ornette Coleman's approach. Free jazz , painted in 1973, used architectural structures in correspondence to
8466-498: The soloist from the constraints of contrapuntal improvisation with other front-line instruments, lending greater freedom in creating melodic lines . Louis Armstrong used the additional freedom of the new format with 4/4 time, accenting the second and fourth beats and anticipating the main beats with lead-in notes in his solos to create a sense of rhythmic pulse that happened between the beats as well as on them, i.e. swing . In 1927 Armstrong worked with pianist Earl Hines , who had
8568-423: The southwest were developing dynamic styles that often went in the direction of blues-based simplicity, using riffs in a call-response pattern to build a strong, danceable rhythm and provide a musical platform for extended solos. The rhythm-heavy tunes for dancing were called "stomps". The requirement for volume led to continued use of the sousaphone over the string bass with the larger ensembles, which dictated
8670-487: The swing craze. Swing dancing originated in the late 1920s as the " Lindy Hop ", and would later incorporate other styles including The Suzie Q , Truckin', Peckin' Jive , The Big Apple , and The Shag in various combinations of moves. A subculture of jitterbuggers, sometimes growing quite competitive, congregated around ballrooms that featured hot swing music. A dance floor full of jitterbuggers had cinematic appeal; they were sometimes featured in newsreels and movies. Some of
8772-439: The timbral possibilities of his instrument, using over-blowing to achieve multiphonic tones. Coltrane continued to explore the avant-garde in his following compositions, including such albums as Om , Kulu Se Mama , and Meditations , as well as collaborating with John Tchicai . Much of Sun Ra 's music could be classified as free jazz, especially his work from the 1960s, although Sun Ra said repeatedly that his music
8874-655: The top jitterbuggers gathered in professional dance troupes such as Whitey's Lindy Hoppers (featured in A Day At the Races , Everybody Dance , and Hellzapoppin' ). Swing dancing would outlive the swing era, becoming associated with R&B and early Rock&Roll . As with many new popular musical styles, swing met with some resistance because of its improvisation, tempo, occasionally risqué lyrics, and frenetic dancing . Audiences used to traditional "sweet" arrangements, such as those offered by Guy Lombardo , Sammy Kaye , Kay Kyser and Shep Fields , were taken aback by
8976-473: The tradition of modal jazz and post-bop . But with the recording of Ascension in 1965, Coltrane demonstrated his appreciation for the new wave of free jazz innovators. On Ascension Coltrane augmented his quartet with six horn players, including Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders. The composition includes free-form solo improvisation interspersed with sections of collective improvisation reminiscent of Coleman's Free Jazz . The piece sees Coltrane exploring
9078-427: The word "free" in context of free jazz. Thus many consider free jazz to be not only a rejection of certain musical credos and ideas, but a musical reaction to the oppression and experience of black Americans . Although free jazz is widely considered to begin in the late 1950s, there are compositions that precede this era that have notable connections to the free jazz aesthetic. Some of the works of Lennie Tristano in
9180-537: Was a leader in the R&;B genre during the late 1940s then re-entered big band jazz in the early 1950s, remaining a popular attraction through the 1960s. Count Basie and Duke Ellington had both downsized their big bands during the first half of the 1950s, then reconstituted them by 1956. Ellington's venture back into big band jazz was encouraged by its reception at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival . The Basie and Ellington bands flourished creatively and commercially through
9282-482: Was also an advocate of the theory that jazz was a primal expression of the black American experience and that white musicians, or black musicians who became interested in more sophisticated musical ideas, were generally incapable of expressing its core values. In his 1941 autobiography, W. C. Handy wrote that "prominent white orchestra leaders, concert singers and others are making commercial use of Negro music in its various phases. That's why they introduced "swing" which
9384-503: Was an essential skill among these bands-for-hire, with a somewhat sedated version of swing in common use for backing up vocalists. The resurgent commercial success of Frank Sinatra with a mildly swinging backup during the mid-1950s solidified the trend. It became a sound associated with pop vocalists such as Bobby Darin , Dean Martin , Judy Garland , and Nat King Cole , as well as jazz-oriented vocalists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Keely Smith . Many of these singers were also involved in
9486-609: Was broadcast throughout much of the midwest from the Grand Terrace Cafe in Chicago, where Hines had the opportunity to expound upon his new approaches to rhythm and phrasing with a big band. Hines' arranger Jimmy Mundy would later contribute to the catalog of the Benny Goodman Orchestra . The Duke Ellington Orchestra had its new sounds broadcast nationally from New York's Cotton Club , followed by
9588-447: Was broadcast. Those restrictions made broadcast swing much less appealing for the year in which the ban was in place. Big band swing remained popular during the war years, but the resources required to support it became problematic. Wartime restriction on travel, coupled with rising expenses, curtailed road touring. The manpower requirements for big swing bands placed a burden on the scarce resources available for touring and were impacted by
9690-621: Was even praised by Louis Armstrong as one of his favorites In 1935 the Benny Goodman Orchestra had won a spot on the radio show Let's Dance and started showcasing an updated repertoire featuring Fletcher Henderson arrangements. Goodman's slot was after midnight in the East, and few people heard it. It was on earlier on the West Coast and developed the audience that later led to Goodman's Palomar Ballroom triumph. At
9792-563: Was founded on the notes in the chords. Free jazz almost by definition is free of such structures, but also by definition (it is, after all, "jazz" as much as it is "free") it retains much of the language of earlier jazz playing. It is therefore very common to hear diatonic, altered dominant and blues phrases in this music. Guitarist Marc Ribot commented that Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler "although they were freeing up certain strictures of bebop, were in fact each developing new structures of composition." Some forms use composed melodies as
9894-429: Was important in bringing piano to the fore of popular music. Gypsy swing is an outgrowth of the jazz violin swing of Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang . In Europe it was heard in the music of guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli . Their repertoire overlaps 1930s swing, including French popular music, gypsy songs, and compositions by Reinhardt, but gypsy swing bands are formulated differently. There
9996-573: Was leading his own big band and Frank Sinatra was becoming the star attraction of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, inciting mass hysteria among bobby-soxers . Vocalist Peggy Lee joined the Goodman Orchestra in 1941 for a two-year stint, quickly becoming its star attraction on its biggest hits. Some big bands were moving away from the swing styles that dominated the late 1930s, for both commercial and creative reasons. Some of
10098-442: Was successfully showcased by bandleaders such as Guy Lombardo and Shep Fields , but the Casa Loma Orchestra and the Benny Goodman Orchestra went against that grain, targeting the new swing style to younger audiences. Despite Benny Goodman 's claim that "sweet" music was a "weak sister" as compared to the "real music" of America, Lombardo's band enjoyed widespread popularity for decades while crossing over racial divides and
10200-428: Was the "sweet" style, often with strings. Paul Whiteman developed a style he called " symphonic jazz ", grafting a classical approach over his interpretation of jazz rhythms in an approach he hoped would be the future of jazz. Whiteman's Orchestra enjoyed great commercial success and was a major influence on the sweet bands. Jean Goldkette 's Victor Recording Orchestra featured many of the top white jazz musicians of
10302-835: Was the dominant form of American popular music from 1935 to 1946, known as the swing era , when people were dancing the Lindy Hop . The verb "to swing " is also used as a term of praise for playing that has a strong groove or drive. Musicians of the swing era include Duke Ellington , Benny Goodman , Count Basie , Cab Calloway , Benny Carter , Jimmy Dorsey , Tommy Dorsey , Woody Herman , Earl Hines , Bunny Berigan , Harry James , Lionel Hampton , Glenn Miller , Artie Shaw , Jimmie Lunceford , and Django Reinhardt . Swing has its roots in 1920s dance music ensembles , which began using new styles of written arrangements, incorporating rhythmic innovations pioneered by Louis Armstrong , Coleman Hawkins , Benny Carter and other jazzmen. During
10404-401: Was written and boasted that what he wrote sounded more free than what "the freedom boys" played. The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra (1965) was steeped in what could be referred to as a new black mysticism. But Sun Ra's penchant for nonconformity aside, he was along with Coleman and Taylor an integral voice to the formation of new jazz styles during the 1960s. As evidenced by his compositions on
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