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JAZZ
PERSPECTIVES Jazz Forms - Cool
By the end of the
forties, the jazz scene consisted of a variety of styles, including New Orleans
jazz, big band Swing, BeBop, and Afro-Cuban jazz. Before the close of the
decade, a new expression began to emerge, a reaction by musicians to the hard
edge of BeBop. The Cool approach was calm control, with a softening of tone and
dynamics, a relaxation of intensity, and a more cerebral execution of melodic
development. As early as 1947, Miles Davis plays trumpet with a muted tone and
lyrical feel on Chasin' The Bird,
contrary to the bright, rapid-fire staccato usually found in BeBop. The
following year, pianist John Lewis played light, flowing phrases through Monk's 'Round Midnight*, and tenor
saxophonist Stan Getz recorded Early
Autumn using a breathy sound with minimal vibrato.
Towards the end of 1948,
The Miles Davis Orchestra was formed to fulfill a two-week engagement at New
York's Royal Roost. Miles used arrangements by band members Gerry Mulligan (bari
sax), John Lewis, and Gil Evans, the arranger for Claude Thornhill big band. The
collaboration of Davis and Evans produced the unique sound of the group, and
Miles felt the arrangements so critical to the music, he insisted their names be
posted outside the club, the first occurrence of such public credit. Lee Konitz
contributed his flute-like alto sound, and parts for French horn and tuba were
included in the ensemble. The scoring was light, with single instruments blended
into unique colorations. Drums were played with brushes, and the bass bowed in
delicate passages. Impressionistic harmonies, slower tempos, and a distancing
from the raw earthiness of the blues made the sound more appealing to listeners
feeling lost in the BeBop whirlwind.
The Capitol label
recorded the band and released Birth Of
The Cool in 1949. Other releases that year included Lennie Tristano's Tautology, which included 12-tone serial writing, the development of
composer Arnold Schoenberg. Pianist Tristano's long, flowing lines had a cooling
effect on the emotional tone, creating an abstract musical result. Dave
Brubeck's Octet, including Paul Desmond's dry, delicate alto tone, recorded in a
chamber ensemble format which soon characterized the Cool sound. Brubeck's
experiments with odd meters were particularly successful, including the popular Take
Five. Brubeck and Tristano both incorporated modern classical influences
into jazz, such as dense chromaticism and compositional complexity. With Wayne
Marsh on tenor, Lee Konitz released Marshmallow,
based on Ray Noble's Cherokee. The
light brushwork, pure tones and precise, smoothly articulated melodic lines
became trademarks of the new jazz.
All of the musicians
involved continued to release recordings in the Cool style throughout the
fifties. A core of musicians on the West Coast picked up on the sound, including
Shorty Rogers (tpt), Shelly Manne (drums), Andre Previn (piano), and Jimmy
Giuffre (cl - sax). Although critics separated the coasts in labeling, the
musicians connected with each other, and developed the music through mutual
interest. John Lewis formed the Modern Jazz Quartet in 1951 with BeBop innovator
Kenny Clarke (drums), Percy Heath (bass), and Milt Jackson, who cooled the sound
of his vibraphone with reduced vibrato and light, precise mallet technique. The
work of Davis and Evans culminated in Porgy
And Bess in 1958, and Sketches Of
Spain in 1959. Cool joined the ranks of established styles, and showed
another possible side of an increasingly multi-faceted art form. The music grew
from musicians versed in existing jazz styles, and in this sense is typical of
the path jazz has taken. Jazz evolution remains one of logical progression
combined with contrary revolt, providing continual enrichment to America's
classical music. [top]
- article by Frank Singer ©2002
*
A recording of Round Midnight can be found on the CD
Tito
In Wonderland 
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JAZZ PERSPECTIVES
CONTENTS
Jazz
Origins
I - Beginnings
II - Jazz and Technology
III - Radio and the Industrial Beat
The
Swing Era
I - Precursors
II - The Decade of Swing
III - The
BeBop Strain
A
First Look Back
New Orleans
Revival
Jazz
Forms
The Blues
The 32 bar Song Form
The Latin Influence
Cool
Hard Bop
Evolution 1 - A New Dialogue
Evolution 2 - Into The Seventies
Evolution Of The Jam Session
Post Modernism
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