Transcript Free Jazz and Fusion

Free Jazz and
Fusion
MUH 271
Free Jazz/Avant-Garde
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“avant-garde” is often associated with free jazz but encompasses a
wider range of styles and artists
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John Coltrane is “in the spectrum” but not typically considered a free
jazz player
Free Jazz:
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Improvisation free from conventional practices
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3 characteristics of free jazz according to Gary Giddens:
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No consistent chord progression – emphasis on “melodic structures”
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Use of nonstandard meters or avoidance of consistent meter
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Disregard for standard form.
Major proponents of free jazz
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Ornette Coleman
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Saxophonist, but played many other instruments; composer
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Controversial, particularly at the time; Miles Davis said that he was “all
screwed up inside”
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1959 appearance at the Five Spot in New York
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“harmelodics” – Coleman’s improvisational concept, which focused on
melodic development (a contraction of “harmony,” “motion,” and
“melody.”
Cecil Taylor
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Piano player and composer
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Extensive formal education in music
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“the most explosive and aggressive pianist in the history of jazz”
John Coltrane
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Tenor saxophone, composer
Born in Hamlet, NC Sept. 23, 1926
Played in Miles Davis’ quintet in 1955, left for a time in 1957, returned for
Kind of Blue
Performed and recorded with Thelonious Monk, Cannonball Adderley,
Bill Evans, and others
Began playing soprano saxophone in addition to tenor around 1960
Formed his own quartet in the early 1960s
"In his final years and after his death, Coltrane acquired an almost
saintly reputation among listeners and fellow musicians for his energetic
and selfless support of young avant-garde performers, his passionate
religious convictions, his peaceful demeanor and his obsessive striving
for a musical ideal."