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Jazz Trends in the 1950s

During the 1950s, new variations of bebop arose. The end of the 1940s had already

seen the cubopand progressive jazzdevelop out of bebop, but these variations did not differ

greatly from bebop itself. In the 1950s, two major new trends in jazz surfaced, namely cooljazzand hard bop, often called west coast jazz and east coast jazz, respectively. The souljazzmovement would later evolve as a minor variation of hard bop, and offshoots of cool jazz

became known as third stream, a new type of orchestral jazz.

1948-1953: COOL JAZZ & THE WEST COAST

1. Introduction

Cool jazz is a jazz style which began in the 1940s among white musicians in NewYork and then moved on to California. Within cool jazz we recognize three different trends:

the group of musicians around Lennie Tristano, the group of musicians around Miles Davis

and Bill Evans and lastly the people on the west coast. There is of course no strict divide

among these groups, as Gerry Mulligan played initially in Miles Daviss group and later

became one of the leading figures of the west coast style. Lee Konitz played with Miles Davis

and with Lennie Tristano, too.The label cool refers to a style rather than actual musical content. The compositions

the cool musicians played often feature be-bop-like chord changes and melodies, but the

interpretation and playing style differs. Cool jazz does not signal a conscious break from the

be-bop idiom, but rather its further evolution. Several cool musicians, such as Max Roach,Milt Jackson and Miles Davis even featured in the be-bop tradition in their own rights.

2. Characteristics

1. A restrained musical style, with no expressionist ballast or pathetic effects

2. The horns use little vibrato and play mostly in the middle register3. The influence of classical music: polyphony and complex harmony, the use of instruments

which are a-typical for jazz, such as the cello the French horn, the use of odd measures.

4. The use of arrangements and extensive attention to nuances of sound, experimenting withnew combinations of instruments.

5. The rhythm section is restrained but supportive.

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3. Bebop versus Cool Jazz

1. After the raw energy of bebop, cool jazz signals a return to a more controlled, less

emotional style.

2. Cool jazz made jazz popular again after bebops elitism

3. Although cool jazz is played by both black and white musicians, the young, whitemusicians dominate, whereas bebop had been embraced mainly by black musicians.

4. Cool jazz incorporated an intellectual dimension, characterized by interest in European

chamber music and contemporary classical music by, for example, Stravinsky and Debussy.

This is in great contrast to the bebop movement, which emphasized black roots, the African-

American jazz tradition and the blues.

5. Cool jazz pays more attention to color than bebop did. There is more variation in theinstruments which make up the groups.

Although bepop marked a definite break with what had come before, it still retained 'hot'

aspects from the swing period. These disappeared with the advent of cool jazz. Instead of areturn to the Afro-American sources of inspiration we saw in the bebop period with its

incorporation of Afro-Cuban jazz, cool jazz sparks an interest in European chamber musicand contemporary classical music such as the music of Stravinsky and Debussy, which adds a

sophisticated dimension to the music. This interest in classical music was expressed in the use

of polyphonic forms and complex rhythms. A good theoretical knowledge of music was

required to play cool jazz, which led to a more structured way of studying music theory which

in turn led to the dawn of the first jazz schools. Not only the style of playing changed, but also

the sounds being played. Bebops bright colors gave way to delicate pastel shades and original

orchestral resonance. The rhythm section became more sober and took on a more supportive

role.

4. Influences and Forerunners

4.1. Lester Young(1909-1959) tenor saxophone

Lester Young, with his relaxed swing and his distant, dreamy phrasing was an important

inspiration behind the cool style and influenced many saxophonists such as Lee Konitz, Gerry

Mulligan, Art Pepper, Warne Marsh, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Dexter

Gordon, Jimmy Giuffre and others.

4.2. Progressive Jazz

A number of slightly more adventurous big bands, especially those headed by WoodyHerman, Stan Kenton and Claude Thornhill, showed preference for a more Westernized jazz

with extended, suite-like pieces. In their arrangements, we find ideas which seem to originate

more from Debussy than from Charlie Parker, as well as instrumentation which differed

greatly from traditional big band styles. In this way, jazz is pulled in a more Western

direction, with European roots so that cool jazz sparks interest in new types of

instrumentation, complex harmony, polyphony and counterpoint.

4.3.Woody Herman(1913-1987) clarinet, alto sax and vocals

Woody Herman led a series of big bands and in the mid 1940s he evolved in the direction of

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bebop and progressive jazz with his band: "First Herd." His arranger in this period was Ralph

Burns. It is for this band that Stravinsky composed his Ebony Concerto. The band stoppedplaying in 1946 but after a few months, Woody Herman founded a new group: "Second

Herd". Although Second Herd played mainly bebop, the earliest cool-jazz experiments began

with this band. In this second version of 'Herd', (many variations of the Herd would follow),

the new 'Four Brothers' sound' predominates, a style that refers to the song of the same name.The reed section was made up of three tenor saxophones and one baritone sax that gives the

band a unique sound. The "Four Brothers musicians were: Serge Chalof on baritone

saxophone, the tenor saxophonists Zoot Sims, Stan Getz and Herbie Steward who would later

be replaced by Al Cohn. These four saxophonists all hailed from the Lester Young tradition ofa soft attack with no vibrato. The arrangements of the saxophone section consist mainly of

parallel movements in the same register, thus creating cool jazzs orchestral sound.

4.4.Stan Kenton(1912-1979), piano

Stan Kenton founded his first big band in 1941. From the outset he was determined to breakwith established musical patterns. He strove to fuse his ideas about jazz together with 20th

century European symphonic music. Many well-known jazz musicians played in his band,

"Innovations in Modern Music", which was a big band with a string section. Among the best-known jazz musicians were Art Pepper and Bud Shank on alto saxophone, Maynard Ferguson

and Shorty Rogers on trumpet and Shelly Manne on drums. A later version of the band in1953 included Lee Konitz on alto sax, Zoot Sims on tenor sax and Frank Lino Rosso on

trombone. With this band, Stan Kenton recorded works by the contemporary composer Bob

Graettinger on the album City of Glass. The band played from 1949 to 1952 but stopped for

financial reasons, after which Kenton returned to more traditional occupations, and only

occasionally to larger orchestral compositions. Stan Kenton primarily influenced West Coast

musicians.

4.5.Claude Thornhill(1909-1965), piano and composition

In the 1940s Claude Thornhill led a big band which had a distinct sound due to thepresence of a bass clarinet, a French horn and a tuba. Gerry Mulligan and Lee Konitz were

the bands principal soloists. Thornhills arrangements were unique thanks to the use of

instruments normally associated with classical music, as well as to unique combinations of

sound and static sound masses in the low register with no vibrato. The Canadian Gil Evans

arranged for this band and it is especially his arrangement of the song Anthropologywhich

inspired Miles Davis for the sound of TheBirth of the Coolproject.

5. The Main Centers

5.1. New York

Miles Davis (1926-1991): TheBirth of the Cool sessions

In 1948 Miles Davis set up a nine-piece band for gigs at the Royal Roost, a New York club.

Due to the success of this series of concerts, the record label Capitol organized some

recording sessions in January and March of the following year (1949) as well as in March,

1950. These recordings were later grouped together under the name TheBirth of the Cool.The band members were: Miles Davis, trumpet; either Kai Winding or J.J.Johson, trombone;

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Bill Barber, tuba; Lee Konitz: alto sax; Gerry Mulligan, baritone; Al Haig and John Lewis,

piano; Joe Schulman, Nelson Boyd and Al Mc Kibbon, bass; either Junior Collins, SandySiegel Stein or Gunther Shuller, French horn; Max Roach and/or Kenny Clarke, drums and

for the third session Max Roach again on drums. Kenny Hagood sings vocals on one number.

The arrangements for this band were done by Gerry Mulligan, John Lewis and Gil Evans.

Miles Davis had already met Gil Evans when he made an arrangement of Donna Lee forClaude Thornhills group. Miles was impressed by Evanss arranging style and by the subtle

color palette Evans had developed for that band. For this project Miles made use of some of

the typical features from Thornhills repertoire, such as the inclusion of the tuba and the

French horn in the brass section. Miles even took some musicians away from Thornhill'sband: Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Barber and of course the arranger Gil Evans.

Musical Features Unique to TheBirth of the Cool

1. Chamber music in an intimate atmosphere which distances itself from the 'hot' style

2. Discrete attacks, no vibrato, which creates a light sound

3. Because of the predominantly low-register instruments, the ensembles sound is hot. Milesand Konitz, on trumpet and alto sax, respectively, play mainly in the mid-range.

4. The use of polyphony and counterpoint

5. The contrast between the brass section and the reed players, so typical of the swing era, is

completely absent. The horn section functions as one unit, or in the more polyphonic passages

we hear formats that are independent of the terms brass and woodwind.6. Attention to color, using French horn and tuba.

Later collaborations between Miles and Gil Evans are the albums Miles Ahead in 1957,

Porgy and Bessfrom 1958 and Sketches of Spainfrom 1959. These albums are in sync withthe Third Stream movement of the late '50s. In addition there is the less successful album

Quiet Nightsfrom 1962.

The Modern Jazz Quartet, MJQ

The Modern Jazz Quartet was one of Miles Daviss groups. John Lewis (1920-2001) was

the Modern Jazz Quartets pianist, and he also played in the Birth of the Cool project. Some

members of the MJQ had already been influential to bebop: Milt Jackson (1923-1999) had

played with Dizzy Gillespie and John Lewis had played not only with Dizzy but also withCharlie Parker. The MJQs set-up, with vibraphone, piano, bass and drums, is original for the

absence of horns. The group functioned as a unit without a real star. MJQ created an intimate

atmosphere through mixing vibraphonist Milt Jackson's blues with European baroque music.The pianist John Lewis played rondos and Bach-like fugues. The other band members were

Percy Heath (1923-2005) on bass and Connie Kay (1927-1994) on drums. The group lastedfrom 1954 to 1974. After a hiatus in the early 1980s, the band reunited annually to tour for a

few months. John Lewis in particular gained fame not only as leader of the MJQ but also for

his role in the "Third Stream" movement.

Lennie Tristano (1919-1978), piano

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The Chicago-born pianist, composer and pedagogue Leonard Joseph Tristanos musical

oeuvre dates almost entirely from the cool jazz era. Blind from the age of nine, Tristano'saffliction did not prevent him from training in classical music. In 1943 Tristano obtained a

degree in piano and composition in Chicago. Shortly afterwards he became a music teacher

giving private lessons, with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and trombonist-composer Bill Russo

among his first pupils. In 1946 Tristano moved to New York and gathered a circle of truedisciples around him. In 1951 in New York he founded The New School of Music. Tristano

recruited teachers for the school from among his original disciples, among whom Lee Konitz,

Warne Marsh and Billy Bauer. These musicians were also all members of Tristanos sextet. In

1956 Tristano closed his school and returned to private tuition. From 1965, he venturedlessand less from home and studio, concentrating on study, recording and teaching. His last public

appearance was in 1968.Tristano gained great inspiration from Bach, but was also well versed in contemporary

classical music. That put a stamp on his harmonic ideas. Some of his recordings from the late

'40s are distinguished by their feel and already evolving toward polytonal atonality. With the

sextet he founded in 1949, Tristano wrote a number of improvisations completely free from

written themes and with no regular harmonic pattern. In numbers such as Intuition, he wasa decade ahead of the free jazz movement as well as of jazzs later more commonplace

atonality. Proponents of pure jazz criticized Tristano for his effete intellectualism and as well

as for his suppression of warmth and emotional expression. Tristano's music was indeed verycerebral and abstract, but his critics often overlooked the fact that he really wanted to break

with a number of routine formulas and sought to develop new forms of collectiveimprovisation.

As a pianist Tristano demonstrates great technique and surprising timing with a remarkable

agility in both hands. We find both long, flowing phrases as well as block chords. His

influence on the cool jazz movement is apparent for example in the two-part polyphonic

improvisations in which Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh specialized which were also inspired

by Bachs counterpoint.

Stan Getz (1927-1991), tenor saxophone

Getz turned out to be one of the leading tenor saxophonists of the cool jazz era, after

joining Woody Herman as one of the pivotal 'Four Brothers', and especially thanks to his

legendary solo on "Early Autumn. Getz began his professional career at the age of 15,

performing in Jack Teagardens big band. He went on to play with Jimmy Dorsey, Stan

Kenton and Benny Goodman. After Woody Hermans band, Getz preferred to play small

ensembles. When at the end of the 1950s Getz moved for a time to Europe he became an

almost forgotten figure in the jazz scene, thanks also to his use of hard drugs. Thanks to the

bossa nova craze however, Getz made a spectacular comeback. The bossa nova was a mix of

cool jazz and Brazilian music and Getz had not the slightest difficulty making that style of

music his own. The combination of lilt and rhythm, typical of Brazilian music had alwaysbeen a facet of Getzs own personal style.

5.2. West Coast

The West Coast style was actually created in New York and imported to California by

musicians who already worked there or who moved there to work, such as Gerry Mulligan.Essentially there is no real difference between cool jazz as played in New York and cool jazz

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played on the West Coast. In the 1930s and 1940s New York City was the center of jazz, as

was Chicago to a lesser extent. In 1947 Parker recorded his famous Los Angeles DialSessions and from the 1950s the West Coast became a vibrant scene for cool jazz in both Los

Angeles and San Francisco, at least for a while. From the 1950s Los Angeles became more

and more a center of film, culture and the arts in general. Many major record companies

opened offices in LA and the city became a center for jazz musicians who found work notonly in the club scene but also in the film industry as studio musicians.

Chet Baker (1929-1988), trumpet

Chet Baker enjoyed a brief stint playing with Charlie Parker in 1952 and after that he

played in Mulligans successful piano-free quartet, after which he returned to playing with

Parker for a time. From 1954 on, Chet Bakers own musical career saw many ups and downs.

As a result of his addiction to hard drugs, Baker repeatedly found himself in trouble. Initially,Chet Baker was initially regarded as a disciple of Miles Davis, but their stylistic similarities

actually owe a lot to their common inspiration: Bix Beiderbecke. Chet Baker did not become

acquainted with Miles Daviss music until after he had already developed his own style. Fromhis teen years, Chet had been a fan of the bebop style and especially of Dizzy Gillespie.

Interestingly, as a result of the great amount of time he spent on the road touring, as well as,of course and perhaps chiefly due to his unorthodox lifestyle and his many stints in jail, Chet

failed to experience first-hand many of the innovations in jazz music which occurred during

his career. Therefore, Chet Bakers style did not know the sort of evolutions which we

encounter, for example, in Miles Daviss playing. Chet Baker persistently played his own

style of intimate music and he became one of the most lyrical trumpet players in jazz history.

He frequently achieved top ranking in countless music magazine polls and left his colleagues,

such as Davis and Gillespie, far behind. In the summer of 1953 Baker won both the New Star

Award as well as Downbeat Magazines 1953 readers poll, which he won again in 1954. In1955 and 1956 he won first place in both Melody Maker and Metronomes polls and he won

the 1958 polls for both Jazz Echo and Playboy. Chet Bakers career can be divided into threeperiods: his early years which include his first successes as sideman to Parker and Mulligan

(1952-1958); the Great Depression (1959-1973); and his comeback, characterized above all

by his European successes (1974-1988).

From 1955 Baker more or less wandered through Europe. His only somewhat

fixed residence during this period was the home of the Belgian pharmacist and saxophonist

Jacques Pelzer in Lige. From 1959 to 1960 Baker spent a year and a half in an Italian prisonon drugs charges. In 1964 he returned to the states but in 1968 was forced to stop playing for

a time because he had lost his teeth in a brawl. In 1973 Baker staged a comeback and in 1975he returned to Europe but in Amsterdam in 1988, Baker fell from a window to his death.

Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), piano and Paul Desmond (1924 -1977), alto saxophone

Dave Brubeck studied classical music and was a pupil of Arnold Schoenberg and Darius

Milhaud. Brubecks group in the early 1960s with Paul Desmond on alto, would become one

of the highest-paid jazz combos of its day. The group carried out fascinating experiments on

European classical music styles and complicated compound timing. The group remainedtogether until 1967 after which Brubeck concentrated more on composing.

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Chico Hamilton (b. 1920), drums

Hamilton grew up in LA where during his childhood he jammed with his schoolmates

Charles Mingus, Buddy Colette, Dexter Gordon and Illinois Jacquet. Hamilton also played in

the original Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker in 1952 and 1953. In 1955 he formed his

own quintet made up of, entirely in the cool jazz tradition, a very eccentric combination: fluteor clarinet, guitar, cello, bass and drums. Famous jazz musicians such as Eric Dolphy, Charles

Lloyd and Ron Carter all played for a while in this band.

In conclusion a few other musicians in the cool and West Coast movements must be

mentioned: Art Pepper and Bud Shank: alto sax, Jimmy Giuffre and Zoot Sims: tenor sax,

Shorty Rogers: trumpet, Frank Ross Lino, trombone, Barney Kessel and Jim Hall: guitar,

Russ Freeman: piano, Red Mitchell and Monty Budwig: bass, Mel Lewis, Shelly Manne and

Chico Hamilton: drums.