Jazz is a musical movement that originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. Its emergence is the result of the interweaving of two cultures: African and European. This movement will combine spirituals (church chants) of American blacks, African folk rhythms and European harmonious melody. Its characteristic features are: flexible rhythm, which is based on the principle of syncopation, the use of percussion instruments, improvisation, and an expressive manner of performance, characterized by sound and dynamic tension, sometimes reaching the point of ecstasy. Jazz was originally a combination of ragtime and blues elements. In fact, it grew out of these two directions. The peculiarity of the jazz style is, first of all, the individual and unique play of the jazz virtuoso, and improvisation gives this movement constant relevance.

After jazz itself was formed, a continuous process of its development and modification began, which led to the emergence of various directions. Currently there are about thirty of them.

New Orleans (traditional) jazz.

This style usually means exactly the jazz that was performed between 1900 and 1917. It can be said that its emergence coincided with the opening of Storyville (New Orleans' red light district), which gained its popularity due to bars and similar establishments where musicians playing syncopated music could always find work. The previously widespread street orchestras began to be replaced by the so-called “Storyville ensembles,” whose playing was increasingly acquiring individuality compared to their predecessors. These ensembles later became the founders of classical New Orleans jazz. Vivid examples of performers of this style are: Jelly Roll Morton (“His Red Hot Peppers”), Buddy Bolden (“Funky Butt”), Kid Ory. It was they who carried out the transition of African folk music into the first jazz forms.

Chicago Jazz.

In 1917, the next important stage in the development of jazz music began, marked by the appearance of immigrants from New Orleans in Chicago. New jazz orchestras are being formed, the playing of which introduces new elements into early traditional jazz. This is how an independent style of the Chicago school of performance appears, which is divided into two directions: hot jazz of black musicians and Dixieland of whites. The main features of this style: individual solo parts, changes in hot inspiration (the original free ecstatic performance became more nervous, full of tension), synthetics (the music included not only traditional elements, but also ragtime, as well as famous American hits) and changes in instrumental playing (the role of instruments and performing techniques has changed). Fundamental figures of this movement (“What Wonderful World”, “Moon Rivers”) and (“Someday Sweetheart”, “Ded Man Blues”).

Swing is an orchestral style of jazz of the 1920s and 30s that grew directly from the Chicago school and was performed by big bands (The Original Dixieland Jazz Band). It is characterized by the predominance of Western music. Separate sections of saxophones, trumpets and trombones appeared in the orchestras; The banjo is replaced by a guitar, tuba and sassophone - double bass. The music moves away from collective improvisation; the musicians play strictly adhering to pre-written scores. A characteristic technique was the interaction of the rhythm section with melodic instruments. Representatives of this direction: , (“Creole Love Call”, “The Mooche”), Fletcher Henderson (“When Buddha Smiles”), Benny Goodman And His Orchestra, .

Bebop is a modern jazz movement that began in the 40s and was an experimental, anti-commercial movement. Unlike swing, it is a more intellectual style that places a lot of emphasis on complex improvisation and places more emphasis on harmony than melody. Music of this style is also characterized by a very fast tempo. The brightest representatives are: Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Charlie Parker (“Night In Tunisia”, “Manteca”) and Bud Powell.

Mainstream. Includes three movements: Stride ( northeast jazz), Kansas City style and West Coast jazz. Hot stride reigned supreme in Chicago, led by such masters as Louis Armstrong, Andy Condon, and Jimmy Mac Partland. Kansas City is characterized by lyrical plays in the blues style. West Coast jazz developed in Los Angeles under the leadership of , and subsequently resulted in cool jazz.

Cool jazz (cool jazz) emerged in Los Angeles in the 50s as a counterpoint to the dynamic and impulsive swing and bebop. Lester Young is considered to be the founder of this style. It was he who introduced a style of sound production unusual for jazz. This style is characterized by the use of symphonic instruments and emotional restraint. Such masters as Miles Davis (“Blue In Green”), Gerry Mulligan (“Walking Shoes”), Dave Brubeck (“Pick Up Sticks”), Paul Desmond left their mark in this vein.

Avante-Garde began to develop in the 60s. This avant-garde style is based on a break from the original traditional elements and is characterized by the use of new techniques and means of expression. For the musicians of this movement, self-expression, which they carried out through music, came first. To the performers of this current include: Sun Ra (“Kosmos in Blue”, “Moon Dance”), Alice Coltrane (“Ptah The El Daoud”), Archie Shepp.

Progressive jazz arose in parallel with bebop in the 40s, but it was distinguished by its staccato saxophone technique, a complex interweaving of polytonality with rhythmic pulsation and elements of symphonic jazz. The founder of this trend can be called Stan Kenton. Prominent representatives: Gil Evans and Boyd Rayburn.

Hard bop is a type of jazz that has its roots in bebop. Detroit, New York, Philadelphia - this style was born in these cities. In its aggressiveness, it is very reminiscent of bebop, but blues elements still predominate in it. Featured performers include Zachary Breaux (“Uptown Groove”), Art Blakey and The Jass Messengers.

Soul jazz. This term is commonly used to describe all black music. It draws on traditional blues and African-American folklore. This music is characterized by ostinato bass figures and rhythmically repeating samples, due to which it has gained wide popularity among various masses of the population. Hits in this direction include the compositions of Ramsey Lewis “The In Crowd” and Harris-McCain “Compared To What”.

Groove (aka funk) is an offshoot of soul, but is distinguished by its rhythmic focus. Basically, the music of this direction has a major coloration, and in structure it consists of clearly defined parts for each instrument. Solo performances fit harmoniously into the overall sound and are not too individualized. Performers of this style are Shirley Scott, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Gene Emmons, Leo Wright.

Free jazz got its start in the late 50s thanks to the efforts of such innovative masters as Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. Its characteristic features are atonality and a violation of the chord sequence. This style is often called “free jazz”, and its derivatives include loft jazz, modern creative and free funk. Musicians of this style include: Joe Harriott, Bongwater, Henri Texier (“Varech”), AMM (“Sedimantari”).

Creative appeared due to the widespread avant-garde and experimentalism of jazz forms. Such music is difficult to characterize in certain terms, since it is too multifaceted and combines many elements of previous movements. The first followers of this style include Lenny Tristano (“Line Up”), Gunter Schuller, Anthony Braxton, Andrew Cirilla (“The Big Time Stuff”).

Fusion combined elements of almost all musical movements existing at that time. Its most active development began in the 70s. Fusion is a systematic instrumental style characterized by complex time signatures, rhythm, elongated compositions and the absence of vocals. This style is designed for a less broad masses than soul and is its complete opposite. At the head of this trend are Larry Corall and the band Eleventh, Tony Williams and Lifetime (“Bobby Truck Tricks”).

Acid jazz (groove jazz" or "club jazz") arose in Great Britain in the late 80s (heyday 1990 - 1995) and combined funk of the 70s, hip-hop and dance music 90s. The emergence of this style was dictated by the widespread use of jazz-funk samples. The founder is considered to be DJ Giles Peterson. Performers in this direction include Melvin Sparks (“Dig Dis”), RAD, Smoke City (“Flying Away”), Incognito and Brand New Heavies.

Post-bop began to develop in the 50s and 60s and is similar in structure to hard bop. It is distinguished by the presence of elements of soul, funk and groove. Often, when characterizing this direction, they draw a parallel with blues rock. Hank Moblin, Horace Silver, Art Blakey (“Like Someone In Love”) and Lee Morgan (“Yesterday”), Wayne Shorter worked in this style.

Smooth jazz is a modern jazz style that arose from the fusion movement, but differs from it in the intentional polishing of its sound. A special feature of this area is the widespread use of power tools. Famous performers: Michael Franks, Chris Botti, Dee Dee Bridgewater (“All Of Me”, “God Bless The Child”), Larry Carlton (“Dont Give It Up”).

Jazz-manush (gypsy jazz) is a jazz movement specializing in guitar performance. Combines the guitar technique of the gypsy tribes of the Manush group and swing. The founders of this direction are the Ferre brothers and. The most famous performers: Andreas Oberg, Barthalo, Angelo Debarre, Bireli Largen (“Stella By Starlight”, “Fiso Place”, “Autumn Leaves”).

Jazz– a unique phenomenon in world musical culture. This multifaceted art form originated at the turn of the century (XIX and XX) in the USA. Jazz music has become the brainchild of the cultures of Europe and Africa, a unique fusion of trends and forms from two regions of the world. Subsequently, jazz spread beyond the United States and became popular almost everywhere. This music takes its basis in African folk songs, rhythms and styles. In the history of the development of this direction of jazz, many forms and types are known that appeared as new models of rhythms and harmonics were mastered.

Characteristics of Jazz

The synthesis of two musical cultures made jazz a radically new phenomenon in world art. The specific features of this new music were:

• Syncopated rhythms giving rise to polyrhythms.
• The rhythmic pulsation of music is the beat.
• Complex deviation from the beat - swing.
• Constant improvisation in compositions.
• A wealth of harmonics, rhythms and timbres.

The basis of jazz, especially in the first stages of development, was improvisation combined with a thoughtful form (at the same time, the form of the composition was not necessarily fixed somewhere). And from African music this new style took the following characteristic features:

• Understanding each instrument as a percussion instrument.
• Popular conversational intonations when performing compositions.
• Similar imitation of conversation when playing instruments.

In general, all styles of jazz are distinguished by their own local characteristics, so it is logical to consider them in the context historical development.

The emergence of jazz, ragtime (1880-1910s)

It is believed that jazz originated among black slaves brought from Africa to the United States of America in the 18th century. Since the captive Africans were not represented by a single tribe, they had to look for mutual language with relatives in the New World. Such consolidation led to the emergence of a unified African culture in America, which included musical culture. It was not until the 1880s and 1890s that the first jazz music emerged as a result. This style was driven by global demand for popular dance music. Since African musical art abounded in such rhythmic dances, it was on its basis that a new direction was born. Thousands of middle-class Americans, unable to learn the aristocratic classical dances, began dancing to ragtime pianos. Ragtime introduced several future bases of jazz into music. Thus, the main representative of this style, Scott Joplin, is the author of the “3 versus 4” element (cross-sounding rhythmic patterns with 3 and 4 units, respectively).

New Orleans (1910–1920s)

Classic jazz appeared at the beginning of the twentieth century in the southern states of America, and specifically in New Orleans (which is logical, because it was in the south that the slave trade was widespread).

African and Creole orchestras played here, creating their music under the influence of ragtime, blues and songs of black workers. After the appearance in the city of many musical instruments Amateur groups began to emerge from military bands. The legendary New Orleans musician, creator of his own orchestra, King Oliver, was also self-taught. Important date In the history of jazz it became February 26, 1917, when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band released its first gramophone record. The main features of the style were laid down in New Orleans: the beat of percussion instruments, masterful solos, vocal improvisation with syllables - scat.

Chicago (1910–1920s)

In the 1920s, called the “Roaring Twenties” by classicists, jazz music gradually entered the popular culture, losing the titles “shameful” and “indecent.” Orchestras begin to perform in restaurants and move from the southern states to other parts of the United States. Chicago becomes the center of jazz in the north of the country, where free nightly performances by musicians become popular (during such shows there were frequent improvisations and outside soloists). More complex arrangements appear in the style of music. The jazz icon of this time was Louis Armstrong, who moved to Chicago from New Orleans. Subsequently, the styles of the two cities began to be combined into one genre of jazz music - Dixieland. The main feature This style became collective mass improvisation, which erected main idea jazz absolutely.

Swing and big bands (1930s–1940s)

The continued rise in popularity of jazz created a demand for large orchestras to play dance tunes. This is how swing appeared, representing characteristic deviations in both directions from the rhythm. Swing became the main style direction of that time, manifesting itself in the work of orchestras. The performance of harmonious dance compositions required a more coordinated playing of the orchestra. Jazz musicians were expected to participate evenly, without much improvisation (except for the soloist), so the collective improvisation of Dixieland became a thing of the past. In the 1930s, similar groups flourished, which were called big bands. A characteristic feature of orchestras of that time was competition between groups of instruments and sections. Traditionally, there were three of them: saxophones, trumpets, drums. Most famous jazz musicians and their orchestras: Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington. The last musician is famous for his commitment to black folklore.

Bebop (1940s)

Swing's departure from the traditions of early jazz and, in particular, classical African melodies and styles, caused discontent among history experts. Big bands and swing performers, who increasingly worked for the public, began to be opposed by the jazz music of small ensembles of black musicians. Experimenters introduced super-fast melodies, brought back long improvisation, complex rhythms, and virtuoso control of the solo instrument. A new style, positioning itself as exclusive, began to be called bebop. The icons of this period were outrageous jazz musicians: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The revolt of black Americans against the commercialization of jazz, the desire to return intimacy and uniqueness to this music became a key point. From this moment and from this style, the history of modern jazz begins. At the same time, big band leaders also come to small orchestras, wanting to take a break from the big halls. In ensembles called combos, such musicians adhered to a swing style, but were given freedom to improvise.

Cool jazz, hard bop, soul jazz and jazz-funk (1940s–1960s)

In the 1950s, the genre of music such as jazz began to develop in two opposite directions. Supporters classical music“cooled down” bebop, bringing it back into fashion academic music, polyphony, arrangement. Cool jazz became known for its restraint, dryness and melancholy. The main representatives of this direction of jazz were: Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck. But the second direction, on the contrary, began to develop the ideas of bebop. The hard bop style preached the idea of ​​returning to the roots of black music. Traditional folklore melodies, bright and aggressive rhythms, explosive soloing and improvisation have returned to fashion. Known in the hard bop style are: Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane. This style developed organically along with soul jazz and jazz-funk. These styles moved closer to the blues, making rhythm a key aspect of performance. Jazz-funk in particular was introduced by Richard Holmes and Shirley Scott.

Jazz is a direction in music characterized by a combination of rhythmicity and melody. A separate feature of jazz is improvisation. The musical direction gained its popularity due to its unusual sound and combination of several completely different cultures.

The history of jazz began at the beginning of the 20th century in the USA. Traditional jazz was formed in New Orleans. Subsequently, new varieties of jazz began to emerge in many other cities. Despite all the variety of sounds of different styles, jazz music can be immediately distinguished from another genre due to its characteristic features.

Improvisation

Musical improvisation is one of the main features of jazz, which is present in all its varieties. Performers create music spontaneously, never thinking ahead or rehearsing. Playing jazz and improvising requires experience and skill in this area of ​​music-making. In addition, a jazz player must remember rhythm and tonality. The relationship between the musicians in the group is of no small importance, because the success of the resulting melody depends on understanding each other’s mood.

Improvisation in jazz allows you to create something new every time. The sound of music depends only on the inspiration of the musician at the moment of playing.

It cannot be said that if there is no improvisation in a performance, then it is no longer jazz. This type of music-making was inherited from African peoples. Since Africans had no concept of notes and rehearsal, music was passed on to each other only by memorizing its melody and theme. And each new musician could already play the same music in a new way.

Rhythm and melody

The second important feature of the jazz style is rhythm. Musicians have the opportunity to spontaneously create sound, as the constant pulsation creates the effect of liveliness, play, and excitement. Rhythm also limits improvisation, requiring sounds to be produced according to a given rhythm.

Like improvisation, rhythm came to jazz from African cultures. But precisely this feature is main characteristic musical movement. The first free jazz artists abandoned rhythm completely in order to be completely free to create music. Because of this, the new direction in jazz was not recognized for a long time. Rhythm is provided percussion instruments.

Jazz inherited the melody of music from European culture. It is the combination of rhythm and improvisation with harmonious and soft music that gives jazz its unusual sound.

Jazz - hidden in this word is not just a designation of another musical style, it also conceals whole story new music, which was first heard at the beginning of the 20th century. The roots of jazz can be found much earlier, but it developed as an individual style relatively recently. It arose in the USA at a time when the country was experiencing oppression of the black people, persecution of this segment of the population, which was largely expressed in jazz compositions.

Background to the emergence of jazz

Back in the distant 17th century, the first slaves were brought to America from Africa. These people were used on plantations for the most difficult labor. Black slaves had practically no rights, being content with what they had. They found their only source of consolation and joy in music.

Africans have a great sense of rhythm, which is why they can sing to the beat. In those hours when they were given a little rest, the dark-skinned slaves sang, accompanying themselves by hitting banks, tins, clapping their hands, etc. This is how the first motives of the music that in the future would be called jazz arose.

History of jazz development

Development of Jazz - New Orleans

In the cosmopolitan city of New Orleans, different cultures developed, which led to the development new form musical art. The period from 1900 to 1917 is commonly called the time of traditional or New Orleans jazz.

At this time, this style becomes especially popular. Not only black guys, but also white Americans become his fans. One of the most famous performers of jazz music is Louis Armstrong, who was born in New Orleans.

Swing is a means of expression in jazz

With the beginning of the Swing era, many small ensembles reorganized into large groups. Thanks to the development of this expressive means, jazz music now creates the impression of enormous internal energy that is in a state of unstable equilibrium.

Bebop - modern jazz

Another style that gradually developed in jazz music. It has a fairly fast tempo, and is also distinguished by complex improvisations, which are created by changing not the melody, but the harmony itself.

Free jazz

The late 50s and early 60s became a time of free jazz, which involved a departure from Western consonance and rhythm. The main emphasis from now on was on the search for greater freedom of expression.

Decline of jazz music

At the end of the 60s of the 20th century, this style of music experienced a decline in popularity. Despite the fact that many performers tried to revive this style, introducing modern listeners to jazz, they failed. It is for this reason why jazz musicians were left without work, and a large number of Jazz clubs were closed during this period.

Renaissance

However, time passed, and jazz gradually returned. Today it arouses interest among listeners from all over the world, regardless of what nationality a person has. Jazz traditions were being revived, and the style was becoming popular again.

It is noteworthy that in jazz there is no permanent composition. There is always an ensemble of soloists, which distinguishes this style from all others.

Jazz also developed in our country, appearing back in the 20s of the 20th century. The special orchestra was organized by Valentin Parnakh. Ten years later, jazz began to gain particular popularity among residents of the USSR, largely thanks to the performances of the ensemble led by Leonid Utesov.

Jazz as a separate musical style still lives today. He has many fans who are willing to give a lot for him to develop and continue to exist for many years to come.

Understanding who is who in jazz is not so easy. The direction is commercially successful, and therefore they often shout about “the only concert of the legendary Vasya Pupkin” from all the cracks, and the really important figures go into the shadows. Under the pressure of Grammy winners and advertising from Jazz radio, it’s easy to lose your bearings and remain indifferent to style. If you want to learn to understand this kind of music, and maybe even love it, learn the most important rule: don’t trust anyone.

One must make judgments about new phenomena with caution, or like Hugues Panasier, the famous musicologist who drew a line and branded all jazz after the 50s, calling it “unreal.” Ultimately, he was proven wrong, but this did not affect the popularity of his book, The History of Authentic Jazz.

It is better to treat a new phenomenon with silent suspicion, so you will definitely pass as one of our own: snobbery and adherence to the old are one of the most striking characteristics of the subculture.

When talking about jazz, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald are often remembered - it would seem that you can’t go wrong here. But such remarks reveal a neophyte. These are emblematic figures, and if Fitzgerald can still be talked about in a suitable context, then Armstrong is the Charlie Chaplin of jazz. You're not going to talk to an arthouse movie buff about Charlie Chaplin, are you? And if you do, then at least not in the first place. Mentioning both illustrious names is possible in certain cases, but if you have nothing in your pocket other than these two aces, hold on to them and wait for the right situation.

In many directions there are phenomena that are fashionable and not very fashionable, but to the greatest extent this is characteristic of jazz. A mature hipster, accustomed to looking for rare and strange things, will not understand why Czech jazz of the 40s is not interesting. You won’t be able to find something conventionally “unusual” and show off your “deep erudition” here. To imagine the style in general terms, you should list its main directions, starting with late XIX century.

Ragtime and blues are sometimes called proto-jazz, and if the former, being not a completely complete form from a modern point of view, is interesting simply as a fact of the history of music, then the blues is still relevant.

Ragtimes by Scott Joplin

And although researchers cite the psychological state of Russians and a total feeling of hopelessness as the reason for such a surge in love for the blues in the 90s, in reality everything can be much simpler.

A selection of 100 popular blues songs

Classic boogie-woogie

As in European culture, among African Americans, music was divided into secular and spiritual, and if blues belonged to the first group, then spiritual and gospel belonged to the second.

Spirituals are more austere than gospel songs and are sung by a choir of believers, often with accompaniment in the form of clapping on even beats - an important feature of all styles of jazz and a problem for many European listeners who clap out of place. Old World music most often makes us nod to odd beats. In jazz it's the other way around. Therefore, if you are not sure that you feel these unusual second and fourth beats for a European, it is better to refrain from clapping. Or watch how the performers themselves do it, and then try to repeat it.

Scene from the film "12 Years a Slave" with the performance of a classic spiritual

Contemporary spiritual performed by Take 6

Gospel songs were often performed by a single singer and had more freedom than spirituals, so they became popular as a concert genre.

Classic gospel performed by Mahalia Jackson

Contemporary gospel from the film "Joyful Noise"

In the 1910s, traditional, or New Orleans, jazz was formed. The music from which it arose was performed by street orchestras, which were very popular at that time. The importance of instruments is growing sharply; an important event of the era is the emergence of jazz bands, small orchestras of 9–15 people. The success of black groups motivated white Americans who created the so-called Dixielands.

Traditional jazz is associated with films about American gangsters. This is due to the fact that its heyday occurred during Prohibition and the Great Depression. One of the prominent representatives of the style is the already mentioned Louis Armstrong.

The distinctive features of a traditional jazz band are the stable position of the banjo, the leading position of the trumpet and the full participation of the clarinet. The last two instruments will over time be replaced by the saxophone, which will become the permanent leader of such an orchestra. By the nature of the music, traditional jazz is more static.

Jelly Roll Morton Jazz Band

Modern Dixieland Marshall's Dixieland Jazz Band

What's wrong with jazz and why is it common to say that no one knows how to play this music?

It's all about her African origin. Despite the fact that by the middle of the 20th century whites defended their right to this style, it is still widely believed that African Americans have a special sense of rhythm that allows them to create a feeling of swinging, which is called “swing” (from the English. to swing - “to swing”) "). Arguing with this is risky: most of the great white pianists from the 1950s to the present day became famous for their style or intellectual improvisations that betray deep musical erudition.

Therefore, if in a conversation you mention a white jazz player, you should not say something like “how great he swings” - after all, he swings either normally or not at all, such is reverse racism.

And the word “swing” itself is too worn out; it is better to pronounce it at the very last moment, when it is most likely appropriate.

Every jazz player must be able to perform “jazz standards” (main melodies, or, otherwise, evergreen), which, however, are divided into orchestral and ensemble. For example, In the Mood is more likely to be one of the former.

In the Mood. Performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra

Then they appear famous works George Gershwin, which are considered both jazz and academic at the same time. These are Rhapsody in Blue (or Rhapsody in Blue), written in 1924, and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), famous for its aria Summertime. Before Gershwin, jazz harmonies were used by composers such as Charles Ives and Antonin Dvorak (symphony “From the New World”).

George Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Aria Summertime. Academically performed by Maria Callas

George Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Aria Summertime. Jazz performance by Frank Sinatra

George Gershwin. Porgy and Bess. Aria Summertime. Rock version. Performed by Janis Joplin

George Gershwin. Rhapsody in blues style. Performed by Leonard Bernstein and his orchestra

One of the most famous Russian composers like Gershwin, writing in a jazz style, is Nikolai Kapustin .

Both camps look askance at such experiments: jazzists are convinced that a written piece without improvisation is no longer jazz “by definition,” and academic composers consider jazz means of expression too trivial to work with them seriously.

However, classical performers play Kapustin with pleasure and even try to improvise, while their “counterparts” act wiser and do not encroach on someone else’s territory. Academic pianists who put their improvisations on display have long become a meme in jazz circles.

Since the 20s, the number of cult and iconic figures in the history of the movement has been growing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to put these numerous names in one’s head. However, some can be recognized by their characteristic timbre or manner of performance. One of these memorable singers was Billie Holiday.

All of Me. Performed by Billie Holiday

In the 50s, a new era called “modern jazz” began. It was this that the above-mentioned musicologist Hugues Panassier disowned. This direction opens with the bebop style: its characteristic feature is high speed and frequent changes of harmony, and therefore it requires exceptional performing skills, which were possessed by such outstanding personalities as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane.

Bebop was created as an elitist genre. Any musician from the street could always come to a jam session - an evening of improvisation - so the pioneers of bebop introduced fast tempos to get rid of amateurs and weak professionals. This snobbery is partly inherent in fans of this music, who consider their favorite direction to be the pinnacle of jazz development. It's common to treat bebop with respect, even if you don't know anything about it.

Giant Steps. Performed by John Coltrane

It’s especially chic to admire the shocking, deliberately rude manner of performance of Thelonious Monk, who, according to gossip, played complex academic works superbly, but carefully hid it.

Round Midnight. Performed by Thelonious Monk

By the way, discussing gossip about jazz performers is not considered shameful - rather, on the contrary, it indicates deep involvement and hints at a long listening experience. Therefore, you should know that Miles Davis's drug addiction affected his stage behavior, Frank Sinatra had connections with the mafia, and there is a church named after John Coltrane in San Francisco.

Mural "Dancing Saints" from a church in San Francisco.

Along with bebop, another style arose within the same direction - cool jazz(cool jazz), which is distinguished by a “cold” sound, moderate character and leisurely tempo. One of its founders was Lester Young, but there are also many white musicians in this niche: Dave Brubeck , Bill Evans(not to be confused with Gil Evans), Stan Getz and etc.

Take Five. Performed by the Dave Brubeck Ensemble

If the 50s, despite the reproaches of conservatives, opened the way to experiments, then in the 60s they became the norm. At this time, Bill Evans recorded two albums of arrangements of classical works with a symphony orchestra, Stan Kenton, representative progressive jazz, creates rich orchestrations, the harmony of which is compared to Rachmaninov’s, and in Brazil there emerges its own version of jazz, completely different from other styles - bossa nova .

Granados. Jazz arrangement of the work “Mach and the Nightingale” by the Spanish composer Granados. Performed by Bill Evans accompanied by a symphony orchestra

Malaguena. Performed by the Stan Kenton Orchestra

Girl from Ipanema. Performed by Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz

Loving bossa nova is as easy as loving minimalism in modern academic music.

Thanks to its unobtrusive and “neutral” sound, Brazilian jazz found its way into elevators and hotel lobbies as background music, although this does not detract from the importance of the style as such. It’s worth saying that you love bossa nova only if you really know its representatives well.

An important turn was taking place in the popular orchestral style - symphonic jazz. In the 40s, jazz powdered with an academic symphonic sound became a fashionable phenomenon and the standard of the golden mean between two styles with completely different backgrounds.

Luck Be a Lady. Performed by Frank Sinatra with a symphonic jazz orchestra

In the 60s, the sound of the symphonic jazz orchestra lost its novelty, which led to experiments with harmony by Stan Kenton, arrangements by Bill Evans and thematic albums by Gil Evans, such as Sketches of Spain and Miles Ahead.

Sketches of Spain. Performed by Miles Davis with Gil Evans Orchestra

Experiments in the symphonic jazz field are still relevant; the most interesting projects in recent years in this niche have been the Metropole Orkest, The Cinematic Orchestra and Snarky Puppy.

Breathe. Performed by The Cinematic Orchestra

Gretel. Performed by Snarky Puppy and Metropole Orkest (Grammy Award, 2014)

The traditions of bebop and cool jazz merged into a direction called hard bop, an improved version of bebop, although it is quite difficult to distinguish one from the other by ear. The Jazz Messengers, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and some other musicians who originally played bebop are considered outstanding performers in this style.

Hard Bop. Performed by The Jazz Messengers Orchestra

Moanin'. Performed by Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers

Intense improvisations at fast tempos required ingenuity, which led to searches in the field Lada. Thus was born modal jazz. It is often isolated as an independent style, although similar improvisations are also found in other genres. The most popular modal piece was the composition “So What?” Miles Davis.

So what? Performed by Miles Davis

While great jazz players were figuring out how to further complicate already complex music, blind authors and performers Ray Charles and walked the path of the heart, combining jazz, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in their work.

Fingertips. Performed by Stevie Wonder

What'd I Say. Performed by Ray Charles

At the same time, jazz organists loudly made themselves known, playing music on a Hammond electric organ.

Jimmy Smith

In the mid-60s, soul jazz appeared, which combined the democracy of soul with the intellectualism of bebop, but historically it is usually associated with the latter, keeping silent about the significance of the former. The most popular figure in soul jazz was Ramsey Lewis.

The 'In' Crowd. Performed by the Ramsey Lewis Trio

If from the beginning of the 50s the division of jazz into two branches was only felt, then in the 70s this could already be spoken of as an irrefutable fact. The pinnacle of the elite trend was