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Who’s the Greatest?
Well kind and gentle reader, another month has eclipsed and it is time to further entertain and educate you. Edutainment to borrow a term from our hip hop brothers, is designed to bridge the gap between what you need to know and how you want to know it. Recently, Commander Sullivan and John B. asked who is the greatest amongst the Jazz Giants…? It was at that time the wings burst forth from their shoulders and they lighted on or about the halo of John Coltrane (key the celestial whooo) I, however took a less messianic approach. Throughout my life as a person who deeply appreciates the music, I have deliberately avoided jumping on the Coltrane band wagon (no pun at all). In the last few years, I started to listen to Miles. Now, I know for some of you this sounds like the ravings of a jazz madman or the musing of an inspired jazz sage. Relax, there is a point here. The inspiration portion of this discourse is that I have always felt that I would eventually get to those cats. Really!!!!! I knew that it was a given that Coltrane and Miles were the top of the line jazzmen. But, who else is top of the line…? My answer to the “Who’s the greatest question” was Herbie Hancock. I said Herbie because of his work with Miles. I feel that Coltrane’s A Love Supreme would not be as strong if Captain Marvel Elvin Jones wasn’t on the drums. The point is jazz is as wide as it is deep Gentle Reader.
I have taken the time to go deep in an effort to widen my appreciation of this great music. Some of the artists of the Hard Bop style were cats that played with the “greats” and felt that they had a voice that needed to be heard. The term "hard bop" encompasses a variety of jazz styles developed through the mid-1950s and 1960s. While firmly rooted in the bebop tradition, hard bop began to develop a more intense rhythmic drive along with an infusion of blues and gospel influences.
By the mid-1950s, hard boppers began breaking out of the standard bebop format using popular songs as vehicles for improvisation, played at torrid tempos with a straight ahead groove. They also created original compositions expressing a variety of tempos, grooves, and emotions. Such diversity led to the development of classic songs like Clifford Brown's "Joy Spring," Benny Golson's "Blues March," Bobby Timmons's "Moanin'," and Cannonball Adderley's "Work Song." Musicians including Sonny Stitt, Sonny Rollins, J.J. Johnson, Miles Davis and John Coltrane developed their hard bop styles from early experience as beboppers. Bassist Charles Mingus as well as pianist Horace Silver and organist Jimmy Smith were also inspired by the soul music of Ray Charles and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, developing a "funky" side to hard bop.
In contrast to the approach and attitude of mostly white "cool" players on the West Coast, hard bop evolved among African-American musicians and reflected the black experience in Eastern cities including New York, Philadelphia, and Detroit. Incorporating rhythms rooted in traditional African music, drummers like Max Roach and Art Blakey re-established the drums as the core for this style. Blakey's group, called the Jazz Messengers, fostered the early careers of many great musicians including Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Hank Mobley, Cedar Walton, and Curtis Fuller.
Hard bop also encompasses modal jazz developed by trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Bill Evans, and saxophonist John Coltrane, as well as Coltrane's experiments with dense harmonic structures found in his compositions including "Giant Steps" and "Countdown." The hard bop period also spawned several approaches to the piano trio. The Oscar Peterson Trio featuring bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis exemplifies a traditional sound, sans drums. Other groups including the Ahmad Jamal and Bill Evans trios chose the format of piano, bass and drums. The term "post bop" became the label for the music that sprung out the hard bop period. Incorporating many of the characteristics of hard bop, post bop also included exploration within the Avant garde realm. Charles Mingus combined the blues and gospel styles with Avant garde improvisations by such musicians as alto saxophonist and bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy. The popularity of hard bop has continued to be an influential force in the direction of jazz since the 1950s. Today the tradition continues with musicians such as tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison.
There you have it Kind and Gentle Reader. As chair of the Triangle Jazz Society’s Education Committee, I invite you to join the TJS and become involved on a committee as we begin to explore “listening events” were we can come together and take time to go deeper and get wider with this great music.
Tim Johnson
Tim Johnson serves as the 2006 Education Chair for the Triangle Jazz Society. |
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