The first heroes of jazz. Directions and styles of jazz Jazz history of origin and development

Jazz was born in New Orleans. Most histories of jazz begin with a similar phrase, usually with the obligatory clarification that similar music developed in many cities of the American South - Memphis, St. Louis, Dallas, Kansas City.

The musical origins of jazz, both African American and European, are numerous and too long to list, but it is impossible not to mention its two main African American predecessors.

You can listen to jazz songs

Ragtime and blues

Approximately two decades at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries saw the brief heyday of ragtime, which was the first type of popular music. Ragtime was performed primarily on the piano. The word itself translates as “ragged rhythm,” and this genre received its name because of the syncopated rhythm. The author of the most popular plays was Scott Joplin, nicknamed the “King of Ragtime.”

Example: Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag

Another equally important predecessor of jazz was the blues. If ragtime gave jazz its energetic, syncopated rhythm, blues gave it a voice. And in the literal sense, since blues is a vocal genre, but primarily in a figurative sense, since blues is characterized by the use of blurred notes that are absent in the European sound system (both major and minor) - blues notes, as well as a colloquially shouted and rhythmically free manner execution.

Example: Blind Lemon Jefferson - Black Snake Moan

The birth of jazz

Subsequently, African-American jazz musicians transferred this style to instrumental music, and wind instruments began to imitate the human voice, its intonations and even articulations. So-called “dirty” sounds appeared in jazz. Every sound should have a peppery quality. A jazz musician creates music not only with the help of different notes, i.e. sounds of different heights, but also with the help of different timbres and even noises.

Jelly Roll Morton - Sidewalk Blues

Scott Joplin lived in Missouri and the first known published blues was called the "Dallas Blues." However, the first jazz style was called "New Orleans Jazz".

Cornetist Charles "Buddy" Bolden combined ragtime and blues, playing by ear and improvising, and his innovation influenced many of the more famous New Orleans musicians who later took the new music across the country, most notably in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles: Joe "King" Oliver, Bunk Johnson, Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory and, of course, the King of Jazz, Louis Armstrong. This is how jazz took over America.

However, this music did not immediately receive its historical name. At first it was called simply hot music (hot), then the word jass appeared and only then jazz. The first jazz record was recorded by a quintet of white performers, the Original Dixieland Jass Band, in 1917.

Example: Original Dixieland Jass Band - Livery Stable Blues

The Swing Era - Dance Fever

Jazz emerged and spread as dance music. Gradually, dance fever spread throughout America. Dance halls and orchestras multiplied. The era of big bands, or swing, began, lasting about a decade and a half from the mid-20s to the end of the 30s. Never before or since has jazz been so popular.
A special role in the creation of swing belongs to two musicians - Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong. Armstrong influenced a huge number of musicians, teaching them rhythmic freedom and variety. Henderson created the format of a jazz orchestra with its later division into a saxophone section and a wind section with a roll call between them.

Fletcher Henderson - Down South Camp Meeting

The new composition has become widespread. There were about 300 big bands in the country. The leaders of the most popular of them were Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Chick Webb, Jimmy Lunsford, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman. The orchestras' repertoire includes popular melodies that are called jazz standards, or sometimes called jazz classics. The most popular standard in the history of jazz, Body and Soul, was first recorded by Louis Armstrong.

From bebop to post-bop

In the 40s The era of large orchestras ended quite abruptly, primarily for commercial reasons. Musicians began to experiment with small compositions, thanks to which a new jazz style was born - bebop, or simply bop, which meant a whole revolution in jazz. This was music intended not for dancing, but for listening, not for a wide audience, but for a narrower circle of jazz lovers. In a word, jazz ceased to be music for the entertainment of the public, but became a form of self-expression for musicians.

The pioneers of the new style were pianist Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Charlie Parker, pianist Bud Powell, trumpeter Miles Davis and others.

Groovin High - Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie

Bop laid the foundations for modern jazz, which is still predominantly the music of small bands. Finally, bop sharpened jazz's constant desire to search for something new. An outstanding musician aimed at constant innovation was Miles Davis and many of his partners and the talents he discovered, who later became famous jazz performers and jazz stars: John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Wynton Marsalis.

Jazz of the 50s and 60s continues to evolve, on the one hand, remaining true to its roots, but rethinking the principles of improvisation. This is how hard bop, cool...

Miles Davis - So What

...modal jazz, free jazz, post-bop.

Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island

On the other hand, jazz begins to absorb other types of music, for example, Afro-Cuban and Latin. This is how Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian jazz (bossanova) appeared.

Manteca - Dizzy Gillespie

Jazz and rock = fusion

The most powerful impetus for the development of jazz was the appeal of jazz musicians to rock music, the use of its rhythms and electric instruments (electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers). The pioneer here was again Miles Davis, whose initiative was picked up by Joe Zawinul (Weather Report), John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Herbie Hancock (The Headhunters), Chick Corea (Return to Forever). This is how jazz-rock or fusion arose...

Mahavishnu Orchestra — Meeting Of The Spirits

and psychedelic jazz.

Milky Way - Weather Report

History of jazz and jazz standards

The history of jazz is not only about styles, movements and famous jazz performers, it is also about many beautiful melodies that live in many versions. They are easily recognized, even if they don’t remember or don’t know the names. Jazz owes its popularity and attractiveness to such wonderful composers as George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Hoggy Carmichael, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kernb and others. Although they wrote music primarily for musicals and shows, their themes, taken up by representatives of jazz, became the best jazz compositions of the twentieth century, which were called jazz standards.

Summertime, Stardust, What Is This Thing Called Love, My Funny Valentine, All the Things You Are - these and many other themes are known to every jazz musician, as well as compositions created by the jazzmen themselves: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Paul Desmond and many others (Caravan, Night in Tunisia, 'Round Midnight, Take Five). This is a jazz classic and a language that unites both the performers themselves and the jazz audience.

Modern jazz

Modern jazz is a pluralism of styles and genres and a constant search for new combinations at the intersections of directions and styles. And modern jazz performers often play in a variety of styles. Jazz is susceptible to influence from many types of music, from avant-garde and folk music to hip-hop and pop. It turned out to be the most flexible type of music.

The recognition of the worldwide role of jazz was the proclamation by UNESCO in 2011 of International Jazz Day, which is celebrated annually on April 30.

A small river, the source of which was in New Orleans, in just over 100 years turned into an ocean that washes the whole world. American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald once called the 20s. the age of jazz. Now these words can be applied to the twentieth century as a whole, since jazz is the music of the twentieth century. The history of the emergence and development of jazz almost fits into the chronological framework of the last century. But, of course, it doesn't end there.

1. Louis Armstrong

2. Duke Ellington

3. Benny Goodman

4. Count Basie

5. Billie Holiday

6. Ella Fitzgerald

7. Art Tatum

8. Dizzy Gillespie

9. Charlie Parker

10. Thelonious Monk

11. Art Blakey

12. Bud Powell

14. John Coltrane

15. Bill Evans

16. Charlie Mingus

17. Ornette Coleman

18. Herbie Hancock

19. Keith Jarrett

20. Joe Zawinul

Text: Alexander Yudin

The origins of jazz should be sought in the mixture, or, as they say, in the synthesis of European and African musical cultures. Oddly enough, jazz began with Christopher Columbus.

Of course, the great discoverer was not the first performer of jazz music. But by opening America to Europeans, Columbus marked the beginning of the interpenetration of European and African musical traditions.

You may ask: what does Africa have to do with it? The fact is that, while exploring the American continent, Europeans began to bring black slaves here, transporting them across the Atlantic from the west coast of Africa. Between 1600 and 1700, the number of slaves on the American continent exceeded hundreds of thousands.

The Europeans had no idea that, along with the slaves transported to the American continent, they brought there African musical culture, which is distinguished by its amazing attention to musical rhythm. In the homeland of Africans, music was an indispensable component of various rituals. Rhythm was of enormous importance here, being the basis of collective dance, collective prayer, in other words, collective ritual.
The characteristic features of African folk music are polyrhythm, rhythmic polyphony and cross-rhythm. Melody and harmony here are almost in their infancy. This determines that African music more free, it contains more room for improvisation. So, together with black slaves, Europeans brought to the American continent what became the rhythmic basis of jazz music.

What is the role of European musical culture in the formation of jazz? Europe introduced melody and harmony, minor and major standards, and a solo melodic principle into jazz.

So, homeland jazz became the United States of America. Jazz historians still argue about where exactly jazz music was first performed. There are two opposing opinions on this matter. Some believe that jazz appeared in the northern United States, where already in the 18th century, English and French Protestant missionaries began to convert blacks to the Christian faith. It was here that a completely special musical genre “spirituals” arose - these are spiritual chants that North American blacks began to perform. The chants were extremely emotional and largely improvisational in nature. Jazz subsequently arose from these chants.

Proponents of another point of view argue that jazz originated in the southern United States, where the vast majority of Europeans were Catholics. They treated Africans and their culture with particular contempt and disdain, which played a positive role in preserving the originality of African musical folklore. The African American musical culture of dark-skinned slaves was rejected by Europeans, which preserved its authenticity. Jazz was formed on the basis of authentic African rhythms.

Director of the New York Institute of Jazz Studies Marshall Stearns- author of the monograph "" (1956) - showed that the situation is much more complicated. He pointed out that the basis of jazz music is the interpenetration of West African rhythms, work songs, religious chants of American blacks, the blues, African folklore of the past, the musical compositions of itinerant musicians and street brass bands.

What do brass bands have to do with it, you ask? After the end of the American Civil War, many brass bands were disbanded and their instruments were sold off. At sales, wind instruments could be purchased for practically nothing. Many musicians playing wind instruments appeared on the streets. It is precisely with sales of wind instruments that the fact that jazz bands have their traditional set is connected: saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, trombone, double bass. The basis is, of course, the drums.

The city of New Orleans became the center of jazz music in the United States. It was inhabited by very free-thinking people, not alien to adventurism. In addition, the city has an advantageous geographical location. These are favorable conditions for the synthesis of musical cultures. Even a special jazz style was formed, which is called New Orleans jazz.

February 26, 1917 year was recorded here in the Victor studio the first gramophone record to feature jazz music. It was a jazz band Original Dixieland Jazz Band" By the way, the musicians of the group were not dark-skinned. These were white Americans.

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

In subsequent years, jazz turned from a marginal musical direction into a fairly serious musical movement that captured the minds and hearts of the general public on the American continent. The spread of jazz began after the closure of the Storyville entertainment district in New Orleans. But this does not mean that jazz was only a New Orleans phenomenon.

The islands of jazz music were St. Louis, Kansas City, and Memphis - the birthplace of ragtime, which had a significant influence on the formation of jazz. It is interesting that many subsequently outstanding jazz musicians and orchestras were ordinary minstrels who participated in special traveling concerts: for example, the famous musician Jelly Roll Morton, the Thom Browne Orchestra, Freddie Keppard's Creole Band.

Orchestras gave concerts on ships that sailed along the Mississippi. This certainly contributed to the popularization of jazz music. From such orchestras came the brilliant jazzmen Bix Beiderbake and Jess Stacy. Louis Armstrong's future wife, Lil Hardin, played piano in the jazz orchestra.

In the 20-30s of the last century, the city of Chicago, and then New York, became the center of jazz. This is connected with the names of the great masters of jazz, Eddie Condon, Jimmy Mac Partland, Art Hodes, Barrett Deems and, of course, Benny Goodman, who did a lot to popularize jazz music.

Big bands became the basis of jazz in the 30-40s of the 20th century. The orchestras were led by Count Basie, Chick Webb, Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnett, Jimmy Lunsford, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton. The “battles of the orchestras” were a stunning spectacle. The orchestra soloists brought the audience into a frenzy with their improvisations. It was exciting. Since then, big bands in jazz have been a tradition.

Currently, prominent jazz orchestras include the Jazz of Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, and many others.

Blues

(melancholy, sadness) - initially - a solo lyrical song of American blacks, later - a direction in music.

In the 20s of the twentieth century, classic blues was formed, which was based on a 12-bar period corresponding to a 3-line poetic form. Blues was originally music performed by blacks for blacks. After the emergence of blues in the southern United States, it began to spread throughout the country.

Blues melody is characterized by a question-and-answer structure and the use of the blues scale.

The blues had a huge influence on the formation of jazz and pop music. Elements of the blues were used by composers of the 20th century.

Archaic Jazz

Archaic (early) jazz– Designation of the oldest, traditional types of jazz that have existed since the middle of the last century in a number of southern states of the USA.

Archaic jazz was represented, in particular, by the music of black and Creole marching bands of the 19th century.

The period of archaic jazz preceded the emergence of the New Orleans (classical) style.

New Orleans

The American homeland, where jazz itself arose, is considered the city of songs and music - New Orleans.
Although there is debate that jazz arose throughout America, and not just in this city, it was here that it developed most powerfully. In addition, all the old jazz musicians pointed to the center, which they considered New Orleans. New Orleans provided the most favorable environment for the development of this musical trend: there was a large black community and a large percentage of the population were Creoles; Many musical trends and genres actively developed here, elements of which were later included in the works of famous jazzmen. Different groups developed their own musical styles, and African-Americans created a new art that has no analogues from a combination of blues melodies, ragtime and their own traditions. The first jazz recordings confirm the prerogative of New Orleans in the birth and development of the art of jazz.

Dixieland

(Dixie Country) is a colloquial term for the southern states of the United States, one of the varieties of traditional jazz.

Most of the blues singers, boogie-woogie pianists, raigtime performers and jazz bands came from the South to Chicago, bringing with them the music that was soon nicknamed Dixieland.

Dixieland- the broadest designation for the musical style of the earliest New Orleans and Chicago jazz musicians who recorded records from 1917 to 1923.

Some historians attribute Dixieland only to the music of white bands playing in the New Orleans style.

Dixieland musicians were looking for a revival of classic New Orleans jazz.

These attempts were successful.

Boogie Woogie

Piano blues style, one of the earliest varieties of black instrumental music.

A style that turned out to be very accessible to a wide listening audience.

Full-voiced boogie-woogie style appeared due to the need that arose at the beginning of the twentieth century to hire pianists to replace orchestras in inexpensive honky-tonk cafes. To replace an entire orchestra, pianists invented different ways of playing rhythmically.

Characteristic features: improvisation, technical virtuosity, a specific type of accompaniment - motor ostinato figuration in the left hand part, a gap (up to 2-3 octaves) between the bass and the melody, continuity of rhythmic movement, refusal to use a pedal.

Representatives of classic boogie-woogie: Romeo Nelson, Arthur Montana Taylor, Charles Avery, Mead Lux ​​Lewis, Jimmy Yankee.

Folk Blues

Archaic acoustic blues, based on the rural folklore of the black population of the United States, in contrast to the classic blues, which had a predominantly urban existence.

Folk blues- This is a type of blues performed, as a rule, not on electric musical instruments. It covers a wide range of playing and musical styles, and can include unpretentious, simple music played on the mandolin, banjo, harmonica and other non-electric instruments designed like jug bands. Folk blues creates an impression crude, somewhat informal music. In a word, this is real folk music, played by the people and for the people.

Within folk blues there were more influential singers than Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Alger Alexander.

Soul

(literally – soul); the most popular style of music in the 60s of the twentieth century, which developed from the cult music of American blacks and borrowed many elements of rhythm and blues.

In soul music, there are several directions, the most important of which are the so-called “Memphis” and “Detroit” soul, as well as “white” soul, characteristic mainly of musicians from Europe.

Funk

The term was born in jazz of the 50s of the twentieth century. The “funk” style is a direct continuation of “soul” music. One of the forms of rhythm and blues.

The first performers of what would later be classified as “funk” music were jazzmen who played a more energetic, specific type of jazz back in the late 50s and early 60s.

Funk, first of all, is dance music, which determines its musical characteristics: the extreme syncopation of the parts of all instruments.

Funk is characterized by a prominent rhythm section, a sharply syncopated bass guitar line, ostinato riffs as the melodic-thematic basis of the composition, an electronic sound, upbeat vocals, and a fast tempo of music.

James Brown and George Clinton created an experimental funk school with the groups PARLAMENT/FUNKDEIC.

Classic funk records date back to the turn of the 1960s and 1970s.

free funk

Free funk– a mixture of avant-garde jazz with funk rhythms.

When Ornette Coleman formed Prime Time, it became a "double quartet" (consisting of two guitarists, two bassists and two drummers, plus his alto), playing music in free keys but with eccentric funk rhythms. Three members of Coleman's band (guitarist James Blood Ulmer, bassist Jamaaladin Takuma, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson) later formed their own free-funk projects, and free-funk was a major influence of m-bass artists, including violists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby.
Swing

(swing, swing). Orchestral jazz style, which emerged at the turn of the 1920s and 30s as a result of the synthesis of Negro and European stylistic forms of jazz music.
A characteristic type of pulsation based on constant rhythm deviations (advanced and retarded) from the supporting beats.
Thanks to this, the impression of great internal energy is created, which is in a state of unstable equilibrium. The swing rhythm carried over from jazz into early rock and roll.
Outstanding Swing Artists: Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie...
Bebop

Bop- a jazz style that developed in the mid-40s of the twentieth century and is characterized by a fast tempo and complex improvisations based on playing harmony rather than melody. Bebop revolutionized jazz; boppers created new ideas about what music was.

The bebop phase marked a significant shift in the emphasis of jazz from melody-based dance music to the less popular, more rhythm-based "music for musicians." Bop musicians preferred complex improvisations based on strumming chords instead of melodies.

Bebop was fast, harsh, and “cruel with the listener.”

Jazz Progressive

In parallel with the emergence of bebop, a new genre was developing among jazz - progressive jazz. The main difference of this genre is the desire to move away from the frozen cliché of big bands and outdated techniques of the so-called. symphonic jazz.

The musicians who performed progressive jazz sought to update and improve swing phrase models, introducing into the practice of composition the latest achievements of European symphonism in the field of tonality and harmony. The greatest contribution to the development of “progressive” was made by Stan Kenton. The sound of the music performed by his first orchestra was close to the style of Sergei Rachmaninov, and the compositions bore the features of romanticism.

The series of recorded albums “Artistry”, “Miles Ahead”, “Spanish Drawings” can be considered a kind of apotheosis of the development of progressive music.

Cool

(Cool Jazz), one of the styles of modern jazz, formed at the turn of the 40s and 50s of the twentieth century based on the development of the achievements of swing and bop.

Trumpeter Miles Davis, an early pioneer of bebop, became an innovator of the genre.

Cool jazz is characterized by such features as a light, “dry” sound color, slow motion, frozen harmony, which creates the illusion of space. Dissonance also played some role, but with a softened, subdued character.

Saxophonist Lester Young first introduced the term “cool” into use.

The most famous kula musicians are: Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, George Shearing, Milt Jackson, "Shorty" Rogers .
Mainstream

(literally - main current); a term in relation to a certain period of swing, in which performers managed to avoid the established cliches of this style and continued the traditions of black jazz, introducing elements of improvisation.

The mainstream is characterized by a simple but expressive melodic line, traditional harmony and a clear rhythm with a pronounced drive.

Leading performers: Ben Webster, Gene Krupa, Coleman Hawkins, and big band leaders Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman.

Hard Bop

(hard, hard bop), style of modern jazz.

It is a continuation of the traditions of classic rhythm and blues and bebop.

It arose in the 50s of the twentieth century as a reaction to the academicism and European orientation of cool and west coast jazz, which had reached its heyday by that time.

The characteristic features of early hard bop are the predominance of strictly accented rhythmic accompaniment, the strengthening of blues elements in intonation and harmony, the tendency to reveal the vocal principle in improvisation, and some simplification of the musical language.

The main representatives of hard bop are mostly black musicians.

The first of the ensembles of this style to record on records was Art Blakey's quintet JAZZ MESSENGERS (1954).

Other leading musicians: John Coltrane, Sony Rollins, Henk Mobley, Max Roach...

Fusion

(literally – fusion, fusion), a modern style movement that arose on the basis of jazz rock, a synthesis of elements of European academic music and non-European folklore. Beginning not only from the fusion of jazz with pop music and rock, fusion as a musical genre appeared in the late 1960s under the name jazz-rock.

Larry Coryell, Tony Williams, and Miles Davis introduced elements such as electronics, rock rhythms, and extended tracks, eliminating much of what jazz was based on—the swing beat.

Another change was in the area of ​​rhythm, where swing was either revised or ignored altogether. Pulsation and meter were no longer an essential element in the reading of jazz.

Free jazz continues to exist today as a viable form of expression, and is in fact no longer as controversial a style as it was perceived to be in its early days.

Jazz Latin

The fusion of Latin rhythmic elements was present almost from the beginning in the melting pot of cultures that originated in New Orleans. Latin musical influence spread in jazz not only to orchestras and bands with top-notch Latino improvisers, but also to a combination of local and Latin performers, creating some of the most exciting stage music.

And yet, today we are witnessing the mixing of an increasing number of world cultures, constantly bringing us closer to what, in essence, is already becoming “world music” (world music).

Today's jazz can no longer help but be influenced by sounds penetrating into it from almost every corner of the globe.

The potential opportunities for the further development of jazz are currently quite large, since the ways of developing talent and the means of its expression are unpredictable, multiplying by the combined efforts of various jazz genres encouraged today.

Jazz is the music of the soul, and there is still an endless amount of debate about the history of this musical direction. Many believe that jazz originated in New Orleans, while others believe that jazz was first performed in Africa, citing complex rhythms and all kinds of dancing, stomping and clapping. But I challenge you to get to know lively, vibrant, ever-changing jazz a little better.

The origin of jazz is due to numerous reasons. Its beginning was extraordinary, dynamic, and to some extent miraculous events contributed to this. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the formation of jazz music took place; it became the brainchild of the cultures of Europe and Africa, a kind of fusion of forms and trends of two continents.

It is generally accepted that the birth of jazz began in one way or another with the importation of slaves from Africa to the territory of the New World. People who were brought to one place most often did not understand each other and, as necessary, a unification of many cultures took place, including this due to the merging of musical cultures. This is how jazz was born.

The south of America is considered the epicenter of the development of jazz culture, and to be more precise, it is New Orleans. Subsequently, the rhythmic melodies of jazz smoothly flow into another capital of music, which is located in the north - Chicago. There, night performances were in particular demand, incredible arrangements gave special spice to the performers, but the most important rule of jazz has always been improvisation. An outstanding representative of that time was the inimitable Louis Armstrong.

Period 1900-1917 In New Orleans, the jazz movement is actively developing, and the concept of a “New Orleans” musician, as well as the era of the 20s, comes into use. The 20th century is commonly called the “jazz era.” Now that we have found out where and how jazz appeared, it is worth understanding the distinctive features of this musical direction. First of all, jazz is based on a specific polyrhythm, which relies on syncopated rhythms. Syncopation is a shift of emphasis from a strong beat to a weak one, that is, a deliberate violation of the rhythmic accent.

The main difference between jazz and other movements is rhythm, or rather its arbitrary execution. It is this freedom that gives musicians the feeling of free and relaxed performance. In professional circles this is called swing. Everything is supported by a bright and colorful musical range and, of course, you should never forget about the main feature - improvisation. All this, combined with talent and desire, results in a sensual and rhythmic composition called jazz.

The further development of jazz is no less interesting than its origins. Subsequently, new directions appeared: swing (1930s), bebop (1940s), cool jazz, hard pop, soul jazz and jazz-funk (1940s-1960s). In the era of swing, collective improvisation faded into the background; only a soloist could afford such luxury; the rest of the musicians had to adhere to the prepared musical composition. In the 1930s There was a frantic growth of such groups, which later became known as big bands. The most prominent representatives of this period are considered to be Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Glen Miller.

Ten years later, a revolution in the history of jazz occurs again. Small groups, predominantly consisting of black performers, where absolutely all participants could afford to improvise, were coming back into fashion. The stars of the turning point were Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The musicians sought to return jazz to its former lightness and ease, and to move as far away from commercialism as possible. Big band leaders who were simply tired of loud performances and large halls who just wanted to enjoy the music came to small orchestras.

Music 1940-1960s has undergone a colossal change. Jazz was divided into two groups. One was adjacent to classical performance; cool jazz is famous for its restraint and melancholy. The main representatives are Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis. But the second group developed the ideas of bebop, where the main ones were bright and aggressive rhythms, explosive soloing and, of course, improvisation. In this style, the top of the pedestal was taken by John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey.

The final point in the development of jazz was 1950, when jazz merged with other styles of music. Subsequently, new forms appeared, and jazz developed in the USSR and the CIS. Prominent Russian representatives were Valentin Parnakh, who created the first orchestra in the country, Oleg Lundstrem, Konstantin Orbelyan and Alexander Varlamov. Now, in the modern world, there is also an intensive development of jazz, musicians are implementing new forms, trying, combining and achieving success.

Now you know a little more about music, and specifically about jazz. Jazz is not music for everyone, but even if you are not the biggest fan of this genre, it’s definitely worth listening to in order to plunge into history. Happy listening.

Victoria Lyzhova