Cool jazz
Encyclopedia
Cool is a style of modern jazz
music that arose following the Second World War. It is characterized by its relaxed tempo
s and lighter tone, in contrast to the bebop
style that preceded it. Cool jazz often employs formal arrangement
s and incorporates elements of classical music
.
jazz styles employing a more subdued approach than that found in other contemporaneous jazz idioms. As Paul Tanner
, Maurice Gerow, and David Megill suggest, "the tonal sonorities of these conservative players could be compared to pastel
colors, while the solos of [Dizzy] Gillespie
and his followers could be compared to fiery red colors." The term "cool" started being applied to this music around 1953, when Capitol Records
released the album Classics in Jazz: Cool and Quiet.
Mark C. Gridley, writing for All Music Guide to Jazz, identifies four sub-categories, with considerable overlap, that encompass cool jazz:
identifies cornet
ist Bix Beiderbecke
and saxophonist
Frankie Trumbauer
as early progenitors of the cool aesthetic
in jazz. Gioia cites Beiderbecke's softening of jazz's strong rhythmic impact in favor of maintaining melodic flow, while also employing complex techniques such as unusual harmonies and whole tone scale
s. Trumbauer, through "his smooth and seemingly effortless saxophone work," greatly affected tenor saxophonist
Lester Young, who prefigured – and influenced – cool jazz more than any other musician.
Young's saxophone playing employed a light sound, in contrast to the "full-bodied" approach of players such as Coleman Hawkins
. Young also had a tendency to play behind the beat, instead of driving it. He more strongly emphasized melodic development in his improvisation, rather than "hot" phrases or chord changes. While Young's style initially alienated some observers, the cool school embraced it. (Young would also influence bebop through Charlie Parker
's emulation of Young's playing style.)
Tanner, Gerow, and Megill point out that "cool developed gradually, as did previous styles." In addition to Lester Young's approach, cool had other antecedents:
formed a band that included tenor saxophonists Stan Getz, Zoot Sims
, and Herbie Steward
, and baritone saxophonist
Serge Chaloff
. The result was the "Four Brothers" sound, in which four strong improvisers could still perform well as a coordinated, blended section. (Jimmy Giuffre composed "Four Brothers," which highlighted this group.) The Herman band's recording of "Early Autumn
" launched Getz's career. Meanwhile, between 1946 and 1949, baritone saxophonist and arranger
Gerry Mulligan, arranger Gil Evans
, and alto saxophonist Lee Konitz were all working for the Claude Thornhill
Orchestra, whose instrumentation included a French horn and tuba
.
In 1948, Miles Davis formed a nonet
including Mulligan, Konitz, and Evans from Thornhill's orchestra. Capitol Records
recorded the group (at arranger Pete Rugolo
's suggestion) in 1949 and 1950. These recordings, originally issued as 78 rpm records, were later compiled
as Birth of the Cool
(1957). Gerry Mulligan explained that the idea behind Davis's Nonet was not to get away from bebop, but "just to try to get a good little rehearsal band together. Something to write for…. As far as the 'Cool Jazz' part of it, all of that comes after the fact of what it was designed to be." As for Davis, his concern at the time was simply to play with a lighter sound, which he believed to be more expressive.
The Miles Davis Nonet's existence was brief, consisting only of a two-week September 1948 engagement at the Manhattan's Royal Roost
and the three recording dates that make up Birth of the Cool. These recordings were not widely appreciated until some years later. However, they prefigured the work of nonet members John Lewis and Gerry Mulligan.
John Lewis went on to co-found the Modern Jazz Quartet, who incorporated classical forms, such as the fugue
, in their music. Tanner, Gerow, and Megill note that the Quartet "played classical forms quite precisely. For example, the fugues they played were truly baroque
in form except that the exposition
parts were improvised." While third stream
music would combine classical elements with jazz, the Modern Jazz Quartet used these forms "just to play good, swinging, subtle jazz" and in pursuit of "the joy of collective improvisation and counterpoint
."
Gerry Mulligan, with Chet Baker
, formed a pianoless quartet that was both innovative and successful. Later, Mulligan formed a "Tentette"
that further developed the ideas he had brought to the Birth of the Cool nonet.
George Shearing's quintet, which used a more subtle bebop style, also influenced cool's development. Both Thelonious Monk
and Dizzy Gillespie praised Shearing's approach.
While Davis, Lewis, Mulligan, and Shearing's efforts were rooted in bebop, other musicians were less indebted to that style. In New York, pianist Lennie Tristano and saxophonist Lee Konitz developed a "somewhat atonal
cerebral alternative to bop which concentrated on linear improvisation and interweaving rhythmic complexities". In California, Dave Brubeck hired alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, forming a quartet. Both Konitz and Desmond used an approach that ran counter to bebop, in the sense that neither player employed a sound or style heavily indebted to Charlie Parker (or Parker's blues elements).
disbanded his Innovations Orchestra in Los Angeles
, California
. Many of the musicians, some of whom had also played in Woody Herman's band, chose to remain in California. Trumpeter Shorty Rogers
and drummer Shelly Manne
were central figures among this group of musicians. Much of this activity centered around the Hermosa Beach
Lighthouse Café
, where bassist
Howard Rumsey
led a house band
, the Lighthouse All-Stars.
Drummer Chico Hamilton led an ensemble that – unusually for a jazz group – included a cellist
, Fred Katz
. Tanner, Gerow, and Megill liken Hamilton's music to chamber music
, and have noted that Hamilton's "subtle rhythmic control and use of different drum pitches and timbres" was well-suited for this style of music.
Tanner, Gerow, and Megill are largely dismissive of the term "West Coast jazz." As it often refers to Gerry Mulligan and his associates in California, "west coast" merely becomes synonymous with "cool," although Lester Young, Claude Thornhill, and Miles Davis were based in New York. At the same time, many musicians associated with West Coast jazz "were much more involved in a hotter approach to jazz. Communication being what it is, it is hardly likely that any style of jazz was fostered exclusively in one area."
recorded Time Out
, which reached #2 on the Billboard "Pop Albums" chart. The cool influence stretches into such later developments as bossa nova
, modal jazz
(especially in the form of Davis's Kind of Blue
(1959)), and even free jazz
(in the form of Jimmy Giuffre's 1961-1962 trio).
Following their work on Birth of the Cool, Miles Davis and Gil Evans would again collaborate on albums such as Miles Ahead
, Porgy and Bess
and Sketches of Spain
.
Some observers saw the subsequent hard bop
style as a response to cool and West Coast jazz. Conversely, David H. Rosenthal
sees the development of hard bop as a response to both a perceived decline in bebop and the rise of rhythm and blues. Shelly Manne suggested that cool jazz and hard bop simply reflected their respective geographic environments: the relaxed cool jazz style reflected a more relaxed lifestyle in California, while driving bop typified the New York scene.
Ted Gioia has noted that some of the artists associated with the ECM label during the 1970s are direct stylistic heirs of cool jazz. While these musicians may not sound similar to earlier cool artists, they share the same values: "clarity of expression; subtlety of meaning; a willingness to depart from the standard rhythms of hot jazz and learn from other genres of music;a preference for emotion rather than mere emoting;progressive ambitions and a tendency to experiment; above all, a dislike for bombast." Gioia also identifies cool's influence upon other idioms, such as New Age
, minimalism, pop
, folk
, and world music
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music that arose following the Second World War. It is characterized by its relaxed tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
s and lighter tone, in contrast to the bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
style that preceded it. Cool jazz often employs formal arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s and incorporates elements of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
.
Overview
Broadly, "cool" refers to a number of post-warPost-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
jazz styles employing a more subdued approach than that found in other contemporaneous jazz idioms. As Paul Tanner
Paul Tanner
-Career:Tanner gained fame by playing trombone with Glenn Miller's band from 1938 until 1942, later working as a studio musician in Hollywood. He was a professor at UCLA and also authored or co-authored several academic and popular histories related to jazz....
, Maurice Gerow, and David Megill suggest, "the tonal sonorities of these conservative players could be compared to pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
colors, while the solos of [Dizzy] Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
and his followers could be compared to fiery red colors." The term "cool" started being applied to this music around 1953, when Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
released the album Classics in Jazz: Cool and Quiet.
Mark C. Gridley, writing for All Music Guide to Jazz, identifies four sub-categories, with considerable overlap, that encompass cool jazz:
- "Soft variants of bebop", including the Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
recordings that constitute Birth of the CoolBirth of the CoolBirth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1957 on Capitol Records. It compiles twelve songs recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950...
; the complete works of the Modern Jazz QuartetModern Jazz QuartetThe Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath , and Kenny Clarke . Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955...
; the output of Gerry MulliganGerry MulliganGerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
, especially his work with Chet BakerChet BakerChesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
and Bob BrookmeyerBob BrookmeyerRobert Brookmeyer is an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer.-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Gerry Mulligan's quartet from 1954 to 1957. He later worked with Jimmy Giuffre...
; the music of Stan KentonStan KentonStanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
's sidemen during the late 1940s through the 1950s; and the works of George ShearingGeorge ShearingSir George Shearing, OBE was an Anglo-American jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for MGM Records and Capitol Records. The composer of over 300 titles, he had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s...
and Stan GetzStan GetzStanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
. - The output of modern players who eschewed bebop in favor of advanced swing era developments, including musicians such as Lennie TristanoLennie TristanoLeonard Joseph Tristano was a jazz pianist, composer and teacher of jazz improvisation. He performed in the cool jazz, bebop, post bop and avant-garde jazz genres. He remains a somewhat overlooked figure in jazz history, but his enormous originality and dazzling work as an improviser have long...
, Lee KonitzLee KonitzLee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
, and Warne MarshWarne MarshWarne Marion Marsh was an American tenor saxophonist born in Los Angeles.-Biography:Marsh came from an affluent background: his father was the cinematographer Oliver T. Marsh , and his mother Elizabeth was a violinist...
; Dave BrubeckDave BrubeckDavid Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
and Paul DesmondPaul DesmondPaul Desmond , born Paul Emil Breitenfeld, was a jazz alto saxophonist and composer born in San Francisco, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for penning that group's greatest hit, "Take Five"...
; and performers such as Jimmy GiuffreJimmy GiuffreJames Peter Giuffre was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.-Biography:Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry,...
and Dave PellDave PellDave Pell is an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader born in New York City.Pell first played in his teens with the big bands of Tony Pastor, Bob Astor, and Bobby Sherwood, and then moved to California in the middle of the 1940s. There he played on Bob Crosby's radio show in 1946, and was a...
who furthered Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
and Lester YoungLester YoungLester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
's small group music. - Musicians from either of the previous categories who were active in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
from the 1940s through the 1960s, developing what came to be known as "West Coast jazzWest coast jazzWest Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged,...
". - "Exploratory music with a subdued effect by Teddy CharlesTeddy CharlesTeddy Charles is an American jazz pianist, drummer and vibraphone musician. Born Theodore Charles Cohen in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, he began his musical career studying at Juilliard School of Music as a percussionist...
, Chico HamiltonChico HamiltonChico Hamilton , is an American jazz drummer and bandleader.-Early life through 1960s:Hamilton was born in Los Angeles, California. He had a fast-track musical education in a band with Charles Mingus, Illinois Jacquet, Ernie Royal, Dexter Gordon, Buddy Collette and Jack Kelso...
, John LaPortaJohn LaPortaJohn LaPorta was a Philadelphia-born jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. LaPorta's sound has been compared to that of fellow jazz experimenter Jimmy Giuffre...
, and their colleagues during the 1950s."
Background
Ted GioiaTed Gioia
Ted Gioia is a noted jazz critic and music historian, best known for his books The History of Jazz and Delta Blues, both selected as notable books of the year by The New York Times. He is one of the editors in chief of the Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians. He is also a jazz musician and one of the...
identifies cornet
Cornet
The cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
ist Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke
Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...
and saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Frankie Trumbauer
Frankie Trumbauer
Orie Frank Trumbauer was one of the leading jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s. He played the C-melody saxophone which, in size, is between an alto and tenor saxophone...
as early progenitors of the cool aesthetic
Cool (aesthetic)
Something regarded as cool is an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of...
in jazz. Gioia cites Beiderbecke's softening of jazz's strong rhythmic impact in favor of maintaining melodic flow, while also employing complex techniques such as unusual harmonies and whole tone scale
Whole tone scale
In music, a whole tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole step. There are only two complementary whole tone scales, both six-note or hexatonic scales:...
s. Trumbauer, through "his smooth and seemingly effortless saxophone work," greatly affected tenor saxophonist
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
Lester Young, who prefigured – and influenced – cool jazz more than any other musician.
Young's saxophone playing employed a light sound, in contrast to the "full-bodied" approach of players such as Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
. Young also had a tendency to play behind the beat, instead of driving it. He more strongly emphasized melodic development in his improvisation, rather than "hot" phrases or chord changes. While Young's style initially alienated some observers, the cool school embraced it. (Young would also influence bebop through Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
's emulation of Young's playing style.)
Tanner, Gerow, and Megill point out that "cool developed gradually, as did previous styles." In addition to Lester Young's approach, cool had other antecedents:
Saxophonist Benny CarterBenny CarterBennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
underplayed his attacks, Teddy WilsonTeddy WilsonTheodore Shaw "Teddy" Wilson was an American jazz pianist whose sophisticated and elegant style was featured on the records of many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.-Biography:Wilson was born in Austin, Texas in...
played the pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
with a delicate touch, Benny GoodmanBenny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
stopped using the thick vibratoVibratoVibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
of Jimmy NooneJimmie NooneJimmie Noone was an American jazz clarinetist.- Background :...
and other clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
ists. Miles Davis's solo on Charlie Parker's "Chasin' the Bird" in 1947 and John LewisJohn Lewis (pianist)John Aaron Lewis was an American jazz pianist and composer best known as the musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet.- Early life:...
's piano solo on Dizzie Gillespie's record of "'Round Midnight'Round Midnight (song)Round Midnight" is a 1944 jazz standard by pianist Thelonious Monk. Jazz artists Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Pepper, and Miles Davis have further embellished the song, with songwriter Bernie Hanighen adding lyrics...
" in 1948 anticipated the Cool Era.
Development
In 1947, Woody HermanWoody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
formed a band that included tenor saxophonists Stan Getz, Zoot Sims
Zoot Sims
John Haley "Zoot" Sims was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor and soprano.-Biography:He was born in Inglewood, California, the son of vaudeville performers Kate Haley and John Sims. Growing up in a performing family, Sims learned to play both drums and clarinet at an early age...
, and Herbie Steward
Herbie Steward
Herbert Steward , is an American jazz saxophonist.He is best known for being the tenor saxophone player in Four Brothers, part of Woody Herman's Second Herd.-Discography:...
, and baritone saxophonist
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
Serge Chaloff
Serge Chaloff
Serge Chaloff was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.The son of noted Boston piano teachers, Margaret and Julius Chaloff, he was among the few major jazz performers on his instrument. Until Chaloff the only prominent baritone player in jazz was Harry Carney of the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
. The result was the "Four Brothers" sound, in which four strong improvisers could still perform well as a coordinated, blended section. (Jimmy Giuffre composed "Four Brothers," which highlighted this group.) The Herman band's recording of "Early Autumn
Early Autumn (song)
"Early Autumn" is a song composed by Ralph Burns and Woody Herman with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was a hit for Woody Herman in the year it was written.-Notable recordings:...
" launched Getz's career. Meanwhile, between 1946 and 1949, baritone saxophonist and arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
Gerry Mulligan, arranger Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, and alto saxophonist Lee Konitz were all working for the Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader...
Orchestra, whose instrumentation included a French horn and tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
.
In 1948, Miles Davis formed a nonet
Nonet
A nonet refers to a group of nine.*In music, a nonet is a composition which requires nine musicians for a performance. Spohr and Martinu composed nonets....
including Mulligan, Konitz, and Evans from Thornhill's orchestra. Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
recorded the group (at arranger Pete Rugolo
Pete Rugolo
Pietro "Pete" Rugolo was an Italian-born jazz composer and arranger.-Life and career:Rugolo was born in San Piero Patti, Sicily, Italy. His family emigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Santa Rosa, California...
's suggestion) in 1949 and 1950. These recordings, originally issued as 78 rpm records, were later compiled
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
as Birth of the Cool
Birth of the Cool
Birth of the Cool is a compilation album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1957 on Capitol Records. It compiles twelve songs recorded by Davis's nonet for the label over the course of three sessions during 1949 and 1950...
(1957). Gerry Mulligan explained that the idea behind Davis's Nonet was not to get away from bebop, but "just to try to get a good little rehearsal band together. Something to write for…. As far as the 'Cool Jazz' part of it, all of that comes after the fact of what it was designed to be." As for Davis, his concern at the time was simply to play with a lighter sound, which he believed to be more expressive.
The Miles Davis Nonet's existence was brief, consisting only of a two-week September 1948 engagement at the Manhattan's Royal Roost
Royal Roost
-History:Ralph Watkins originally opened the Royal Roost as a chicken restaurant. After a difficult start, Watkins was persuaded by Sid Torin to try presenting modern jazz at the club. Beginning in 1948 the club began to showcase the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Dexter...
and the three recording dates that make up Birth of the Cool. These recordings were not widely appreciated until some years later. However, they prefigured the work of nonet members John Lewis and Gerry Mulligan.
John Lewis went on to co-found the Modern Jazz Quartet, who incorporated classical forms, such as the fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
, in their music. Tanner, Gerow, and Megill note that the Quartet "played classical forms quite precisely. For example, the fugues they played were truly baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
in form except that the exposition
Exposition (music)
In musical form and analysis, exposition is the initial presentation of the thematic material of a musical composition, movement, or section. The use of the term generally implies that the material will be developed or varied....
parts were improvised." While third stream
Third stream
Third Stream is a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller, within a lecture at Brandeis University, to describe a musical genre which is a synthesis of classical music and jazz...
music would combine classical elements with jazz, the Modern Jazz Quartet used these forms "just to play good, swinging, subtle jazz" and in pursuit of "the joy of collective improvisation and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
."
Gerry Mulligan, with Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
, formed a pianoless quartet that was both innovative and successful. Later, Mulligan formed a "Tentette"
Decet (music)
In music, a decet—sometimes dectet, decimette, or even tentet —is a composition which requires ten musicians for a performance, or a musical group that consists of ten people. The corresponding German word is dezett, the French is dixtuor...
that further developed the ideas he had brought to the Birth of the Cool nonet.
George Shearing's quintet, which used a more subtle bebop style, also influenced cool's development. Both Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
and Dizzy Gillespie praised Shearing's approach.
While Davis, Lewis, Mulligan, and Shearing's efforts were rooted in bebop, other musicians were less indebted to that style. In New York, pianist Lennie Tristano and saxophonist Lee Konitz developed a "somewhat atonal
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
cerebral alternative to bop which concentrated on linear improvisation and interweaving rhythmic complexities". In California, Dave Brubeck hired alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, forming a quartet. Both Konitz and Desmond used an approach that ran counter to bebop, in the sense that neither player employed a sound or style heavily indebted to Charlie Parker (or Parker's blues elements).
West Coast jazz
In 1951, Stan KentonStan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
disbanded his Innovations Orchestra in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Many of the musicians, some of whom had also played in Woody Herman's band, chose to remain in California. Trumpeter Shorty Rogers
Shorty Rogers
Milton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and...
and drummer Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
were central figures among this group of musicians. Much of this activity centered around the Hermosa Beach
Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,506 at the 2010 census, up from 18,566 at the 2000 census....
Lighthouse Café
Lighthouse Café
The Lighthouse Café is a nightclub located at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, California. It has been active as a jazz showcase since 1949 and, under the name "The Lighthouse", was one of the central West Coast jazz clubs from the 1950s through the late 1970s....
, where bassist
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
Howard Rumsey
Howard Rumsey
Howard Rumsey is a Californian bassist primarily known for his leadership of the Los Angeles group the Lighthouse All-Stars in the 1950s.-Life:...
led a house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
, the Lighthouse All-Stars.
Drummer Chico Hamilton led an ensemble that – unusually for a jazz group – included a cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, Fred Katz
Fred Katz (cellist)
Fred Katz is an American cellist and composer. He is notable as one of the first jazz musicians to establish the cello as a viable improvising solo instrument. Katz has been described in CODA magazine as "the first real jazz cellist." Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm Fred Katz (born February 25, 1919 in...
. Tanner, Gerow, and Megill liken Hamilton's music to chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, and have noted that Hamilton's "subtle rhythmic control and use of different drum pitches and timbres" was well-suited for this style of music.
Tanner, Gerow, and Megill are largely dismissive of the term "West Coast jazz." As it often refers to Gerry Mulligan and his associates in California, "west coast" merely becomes synonymous with "cool," although Lester Young, Claude Thornhill, and Miles Davis were based in New York. At the same time, many musicians associated with West Coast jazz "were much more involved in a hotter approach to jazz. Communication being what it is, it is hardly likely that any style of jazz was fostered exclusively in one area."
Legacy
In 1959, The Dave Brubeck QuartetThe Dave Brubeck Quartet
The Dave Brubeck Quartet is an American jazz quartet, founded in 1951 by Dave Brubeck and originally featuring Paul Desmond on saxophone and Brubeck on piano...
recorded Time Out
Time Out (album)
Time Out is a jazz album by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, released in 1959 on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 1397. Recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City, it is based upon the use of time signatures that were unusual for jazz such as 9/8 and 5/4. The album is a subtle blend of cool...
, which reached #2 on the Billboard "Pop Albums" chart. The cool influence stretches into such later developments as bossa nova
Bossa nova
Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...
, modal jazz
Modal jazz
Modal jazz is jazz that uses musical modes rather than chord progressions as a harmonic framework. Originating in the late 1950s and 1960s, modal jazz is characterized by Miles Davis's "Milestones" Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's classic quartet from 1960–64. Other important performers include...
(especially in the form of Davis's Kind of Blue
Kind of Blue
Kind of Blue is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released August 17, 1959, on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City on March 2 and April 22, 1959...
(1959)), and even free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
(in the form of Jimmy Giuffre's 1961-1962 trio).
Following their work on Birth of the Cool, Miles Davis and Gil Evans would again collaborate on albums such as Miles Ahead
Miles Ahead
Miles Ahead is a jazz album by Miles Davis that was released in 1957 on Columbia CL 1041. This was the first album following Birth of the Cool that Davis recorded with Gil Evans, with whom he would go on to release albums such as Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain...
, Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess (Miles Davis album)
Porgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1958 on Columbia Records. The album features arrangements by Davis and collaborator Gil Evans from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. The album was recorded in four sessions on July 22, July 29, August 4, and August 18,...
and Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain
Sketches of Spain is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City....
.
Some observers saw the subsequent hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
style as a response to cool and West Coast jazz. Conversely, David H. Rosenthal
David H. Rosenthal
David H. Rosenthal was an American author, poet, editor, and translator. He wrote mostly on the history of Jazz music and was also an important translator of Portuguese and Catalan literature.-Selected books:* Eyes on the Street...
sees the development of hard bop as a response to both a perceived decline in bebop and the rise of rhythm and blues. Shelly Manne suggested that cool jazz and hard bop simply reflected their respective geographic environments: the relaxed cool jazz style reflected a more relaxed lifestyle in California, while driving bop typified the New York scene.
Ted Gioia has noted that some of the artists associated with the ECM label during the 1970s are direct stylistic heirs of cool jazz. While these musicians may not sound similar to earlier cool artists, they share the same values: "clarity of expression; subtlety of meaning; a willingness to depart from the standard rhythms of hot jazz and learn from other genres of music;a preference for emotion rather than mere emoting;progressive ambitions and a tendency to experiment; above all, a dislike for bombast." Gioia also identifies cool's influence upon other idioms, such as New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
, minimalism, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
.
Quotation
- John FordhamFurther reading
- MacAdams, LewisLewis MacAdamsLewis MacAdams is an American poet, journalist, political activist, and filmmaker who lives in Los Angeles, California.-Life and work:...
, Birth of the Cool: Beat, Bebop, and the American Avant-Garde, Simon and Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-81354-8
External links
- A History of Cool Jazz in 100 Tracks, edited by Ted Gioia (Jazz.com)
- [ allmusic Cool Jazz]
- Forever Cool: Cool and West Coast Jazz on the Internet
- The Birth of the Cool 1927, by Len Weinstock.