Ch.

14: The 60s & 70s

Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• Avant-Garde (also “The New Thing”, “out music”);
sometimes “Avant-Garde” and “Free” are used
interchangeably
• Pioneers: Miles Davis & John Coltrane & many others
• “Free” jazz: improvised jazz not tied to any
progression of chords pre-agreed upon
• Sometimes also implies a “free” tempo
• Style most closely associated with Ornette Coleman
and Cecil Taylor
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Jazz combined with modern art music
• New aleatoric techniques
• Improvisation
• Modern classical music (forms, harmonies, etc.)
• dissonance
• 1950s: Pioneers were Miles Davis, Charles Mingus,
John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• “Free” jazz:
– First developed in the 1950s & 1960s
– Free jazz artists were dissatisfied with limitations
of bebop, hard bop, modal jazz
– Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, later John Coltrane
– Also Charles Mingus, Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, et al.
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• “Free” jazz: Elements
– Overblowing and other techniques to create strange &
different/new sounds
– Sometimes different recording techniques
– Dependence on a fixed form is eliminated;
improvisation is greatly increased
– Absence of regular meter; still, a pulse or swing feeling
is present (music flows in waves)
– Typically small groups of musicians (exception:
Coltrane’s Ascension)
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• “Free” jazz: Elements
– Generally free of harmonic structures
– Often employed current compositional techniques
used in post-war art music (i.e. classical music)—
pitch sets, new harmonies, bi- and polytonality,
aleatoric processes, etc.
– Groups often eliminated the piano because piano
played chord progressions
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• “Free” jazz: Classical influences
– Karlheinz Stockhausen
– John Cage--Aleatory
• 4’33”
• Orchestral version
• Radio Music
• Imaginary Landscape for 12 Radios
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• “Free” jazz: Criticism
– Many jazz critics and music theorists accused free
jazz musicians of not possessing the discipline or
technique to play other ‘sophisticated’ forms of
jazz (bebop, hard bop, modal jazz)
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• Ornette Coleman (b. 1930)
– Played tenor sax in school band; was dismissed for
improvising on “Washington Post” march
– Assaulted in Baton Rouge after a gig; tenor sax
destroyed. Took up alto sax; couldn’t afford a metal
sax, so he bought a plastic one (hence the strange
tone)
– The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)—blues-based,
melodies, but unusual harmonies and lack of
structure (hailed as a genius by music critics)
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• Ornette Coleman, Free Jazz, 1960
– Excerpt on SCCJ
– Very little music on album is actually entirely “free”
• 1965-1967: At the Golden Circle Stockholm
• 1966: The Empty Foxhole
– Coleman’s 10-year-old son Denardo on drums (publicity
stunt?)
• 1970s: more electronic music
• Ornette Coleman Double Quartet
• Civilization Day (JCCD2, Tr. 12)
 Ch. 14: The 60s & 70s
Avant-Garde & “Free” Jazz
• Ornette Coleman
– 1969: Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame
– By 1970 had composed all tunes on 20 albums
– 2007: Won Pulitzer Prize in music
– 2010: Honorary doctorate from Univ. of Michigan
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Don Cherry (trumpet):
– Influenced by Clifford Brown
– Much of his music influenced by Oriental, Turkish, & Indian music
(which also do not have chord-based compositions or chording
instruments)
– Improvs are original; break away from standard jazz trumpet solos
(cliched)
– Later career: “World Music”

Bemsha Swing (w/ Herbie Hancock)

Multikulti (1991, Stuttgart)
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Cecil Taylor (b. 1929; d. April 5, 2018), piano:
– Unique piano soloist; textural rather than melodic
– Much of his music is wild and turbulent
– Exception: “Enter Evening” (SCCJ)

• Gary Giddins Interview on Cecil Taylor

• Cecil Taylor improvisation (1981)
• Another improv
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Albert Ayler (1936-1970), tenor saxophone
– One of the most original saxophonists after Charlie Parker & Coleman
– Incredible range; ‘slippery’ sound, also blistering tone (used a plastic
reed)
– Other sounds: moans, wails, shrieks, etc.
– Suicide? Murder? Buried in Cleveland, OH.

“Ghosts: First Variation” (1964) (beg. c. 50” in)

 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Charles Mingus (1922-1979), bass
– Incredibly eclectic bass player, composer, bandleader
– Emulated experimentation of Duke Ellington
– Considered avant-garde jazz musician, but never left traditional
sounds/forms
– Much of his music is highly structured
– Program music, Third Stream music*, bop, free jazz, music for
film
– Charles Mingus solo bass (solo at 1:18)
– Gunther Schuller, Transformation (1957, w/ Mingus on bass)
*A synthesis of classical and jazz, emphasizing improv
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Chicago Avant-Garde (3 groups):
– Musicians associated with Sun Ra in the 1950s
– Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians
(AACM)
– Art Ensemble of Chicago
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Chicago Avant-Garde: Sun Ra (1915-1993), piano
– Like Ellington, very eclectic and experimental
– Much music is chant-based, not chord-based

Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra (1965)

--influenced by Edgar Varese and Krzystof Penderecki
(Varese, Poeme Electronique, 1958)
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• AACM (Assoc. for the Advancement of Creative
Musicians)
– More like modern concert music, less like conventional
jazz
NEA interview with Anthony Braxton

• Art Ensemble of Chicago (1970)

 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Avant-garde jazz elsewhere: St. Louis
– The Black Artists Group (trio); World Saxophone Quartet
(with addition of David Murray)

World Saxophone Quartet

Performing Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy Lady
 Avant-Garde Jazz
• Avant-garde Jazz: Popular Appeal
– Least popular of all jazz styles
– Few groups wanted by jazz clubs
– Few recording companies showed interest
– Many recordings are out of print because of low demand
– Not one album made “Top 200” best-selling albums
– Rarely played on the radio, especially free jazz
– Fate of avant-garde jazz similar to abstract expressionism
in art (and other art and music styles)
 Ch. 15: Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick
Corea, & Keith Jarrett
• Bill Evans (1929-1980)
– Most influential modern pianist after Bud Powell
– Influenced McCoy Tyner, Hancock, Corea, and Jarrett
– Harmonies based on modes; also influenced by 20th French
composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy
“Solar” (1961) JCCD3, Tr. 3
“Peace Piece”

• Gil Evans (1912-1988)

– Gil Evans & Ten, “Remember”
 Ch. 15: Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick
Corea, & Keith Jarrett
• Herbie Hancock (b. 1940)
– One of the pioneers of post-bop
– Known for use of synthesizers, modern instruments, classical music
techniques
– Influenced by Debussy & Ravel
– Soul, funk, and early jazz-rock fusion

Watermelon Man
Maiden Voyage
 Ch. 15: Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Chick
Corea, & Keith Jarrett
• Chick Corea (b. 1941)
– Quartal harmony (chords built in fourths)
– Latin-American jazz
– ”Return to Forever”
– “Steps” (1968); “Noon Song”
• Keith Jarrett (b. 1945)
– Lyrical, ‘singing’ quality
– Influenced by Bill Evans
– Classical influences: Bartok, Berg, Ravel
– American gospel, folk, country, and Ornette Coleman
“Sundial” (1976) JCCD3, Tr. 5
 Ch. 16: Jazz-Rock Fusion
• Elements of Rock and Funk:
– Shorter phrase lengths
– Less frequent chord changes
– Less complexity of melody & harmony
– Less improvisation
– More repetition of melodic phrases and chord progressions
– Simpler, more repetitive drumming patterns
– More prominent (& repetitive) bass figures
 Jazz-Rock Fusion
• U.S.--1960’s: African-American jazz and R&B
• Also Cream, Grateful Dead
• Britain: Skiffle bands; rock
• Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames: “Yeh Yeh” (1965)
• The Free Spirits: “Tattoo Man” (1967)
• Also:
• Singer/songwriter jazz-rock: Joni Mitchell (also 2000), Van Morrison
• Improv-oriented rock groups: Traffic, Santana, Cream
• Jazz-flavored R&B & rock groups: Blood, Sweat and Tears; Chicago;
Steely Dan
• Blood, Sweat and Tears: “Lucretia MacEvil”
• Eclectic groups: Frank Zappa; Soft Machine
 Jazz-Rock Fusion
• 1970’s:
• Miles Davis: Bitches Brew, In a Silent Way
• (pioneer albums in jazz-rock fusion)
• Weather Report: “Birdland” (CD tr. 89)
• “Surucucu” (1972) JCCD3, Tr. 6
• Chick Corea: “Return to Forever” (1:20 in)
• Herbie Hancock, “Chameleon” (1973) JCCD3, Tr. 7
• Mahavishnu Orchestra: “Birds of Fire” (1:00 in)
• Pat Metheny: “Phase Dance” (1977)
• Others (my LPs)
 Jazz-Rock Fusion
• 1980’s: Smooth Jazz (jazz infused with R&B,
funk and pop)
• Al Jarreau, Freddie Hubbard, George Benson,
Chuck Mangione, Sergio Mendes, David Sanborn,
Bob James, Brecker Brothers, Little Feat,
and Kenny G. (Ugh)
 Jazz-Rock Fusion
• Jazz & rock fusion: represented separate
African-American streams that overlapped
• Jazz differed from rock:
– Less repetition
– More improvisation
– Greater complexity
– Higher musicianship
 Jazz-Rock Fusion
• Chicago Transit Authority, Blood, Sweat and
Tears, Ten Wheel Drive NOT considered
fusion because they used little improv and had
more roots in soul than rock-n-roll
• Miles Davis’ albums were pioneer:
– Bitches Brew
– In a Silent Way
 Ch. 17: 1980 to the Present
Acid Jazz:
• Mixture of Jazz, Funk, Hip-Hop (i.e. looped beats)
– Sampling, looping, overdubbing, turntablists
• U.K. roots: Southern England rare groove scene;
London’s mod scene
• Urban Species: “Blanket” (1:00 in) (aka “jazz rap”)
• U.S. Acid Jazz Bands:
• Groove Collective, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Liquid Soul
• Japan: Mondo Grosso, United Future Organization
• Russia: Moscow Grooves Institute
 Minimalism
• Generating a work of art using as little
material as possible
 Minimalism
• Terry Riley, In C
• Steve Reich, Six Pianos
• Reich, Music for Eighteen Musicians
• Philip Glass, Koyaanisqatsi
– Internal scene
– Final scene
Warhol, 200 Campbell Soup Cans, 1962
Warhol,
Green Coca Cola Bottles,
1962
Warhol, Marilyn Diptych, 1962
Raushenberg in front of his White Painting, 1951
Donald Judd,
Untitled,
1980
 Minimalism
• Nik Bartsch’s Ronin (11:45 in) (Zurich)
• The Necks (Australia)
• Don Li (Switzerland)
• Supersilent (Norway)
 Other Late 20th Century Jazz Musicians:
Bill Watrous--Trombone
(b. 1939)
• Bop-oriented
• 1971: played with Jazz Fusion
• Formed Manhattan Wildlife Refuge Big Band
• Brilliant technician
• “Spain” (with Chick Corea) (2:45 in)
• “Fourth Floor Walk-Up” (beg. at 1:20; solo at 1:46)
 Allen Vizzutti
(b. 1952)
• International performer
• Film scores; classical compositions
• Brilliant technique
• “Firedance” (1977) (Beg., & 2:00 in)
• Cadenza
 Late 20th Century Jazz Vocalists

• Al Jarreau (b. 1940)

– 7 Grammys (2nd after Michael Jackson): jazz, pop, R&B
– “We’re in This Love Together” (Breakin’ Away, 1981)
– “Spain” (Chick Corea; beg. 1:20)
– “Blue Rondo a la Turk” (Dave Brubeck)

• Bobby McFerrin (b. 1950)

– “Don’t Worry Be Happy”
– “Sing! Day of Song”

• Tom Thum (b. 1988) (Australia)

– Beat boxing jazz
 Exam 4 Study Guide
• Exam will consist of five essays only (no multiple choice questions);
each essay is worth 20 points.
• Bring a blue book.
• The five essay topics you’ll write on:
1. Discuss the development of avant-garde (and “free”) jazz. Include in
your discussion the elements of avant-garde/free jazz. Who were the
pioneers? Why did they develop this new jazz language?
2. Discuss the popular appeal (or lack thereof) of avant-garde jazz.
3. Describe the styles and contributions of each of the three major groups
who were part of the Chicago avant-garde.
4. Discuss the styles and contributions of each of the following jazz
pianists: Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Keith Jarrett.
5. Discuss the elements of jazz-rock fusion: what rock elements made their
way into the language of jazz?