Overview
Amidst a politically tumultuous world, a new style of jazz broke away from the constraints of mainstream modern jazz. Known as free jazz, this new style formed the core of the avant-garde movement in jazz. In this section, we will examine some influential avant-garde and free jazz musicians, and the artistic and cultural significance of their music. In addition, we'll consider the music of Miles Davis' mid-60s quintet, along with the significant individual contributions of the quintet’s pianist, Herbie Hancock.
Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to do the following:
- Identify musicians who contributed to avant-garde and free jazz styles
- Appreciate Ornette Coleman’s unique use of pitch bending
- Appreciate the Miles Davis mid-60s quintet as another innovative jazz group led by Davis
- Recognize the accomplishments of Herbie Hancock during that time
- Identify musicians who collaborated with Herbie Hancock
Congeniality
Ornette Coleman sought to expand the expressive capabilities of jazz in many emotional directions. A marked contrast to the mournful cries of Lonely Woman ♫ may be heard in another Coleman piece from the same recording session, Congeniality ♫. In this piece, Coleman employs a marvelous compositional logic that is both subtle and circular.
The headA synonym for melody. is built from three ideas that create a 10-bar (4-2-4) A section. This theme is defined as much by its melodic contours as its changes in tempoA term that refers to how quickly the beats pass in a piece of music.. A broad ritardandoA gradual decrease in tempo. is initiated through bars 3-4 so that the tempo through the middle subsection (bars 5 and 6) is very slow. Then the tempo picks back up in the last four bars, leading directly into a modified repetition of the A section (A').
Bars 9-10 are so similar to bars 1-2 that it's easy to miss the end of the A section and the beginning of the A' section (0:15). And the A' section itself is very similar to the A section. The only differences are in the third subsection (bars 7-10). Even at that, the rhythmic similarities between the sections serves to downplay their differences.
After completing the 20-bar A A' formA standard form in American song and in jazz, frequently 32 bars in length and divisible into two subsections. At the halfway point, this form returns to its familiar opening material., the head is repeated (0:29-0:57). Coleman then takes the first solo (0:57). Cherry follows with his own solo (3:44) before the group closes with a full repeat of the head.
For all its innovative characteristics — and there are many — the music's connection to hard bop is readily discernible, especially through the solos. And the key of B-flat major, while understated, is implicit throughout.
Let's listen now to the Ornette Coleman Quartet performing Congeniality ♫.
Ornette Coleman taught himself to first play Alto saxophone, then tenor saxaphone as a teenager. In the 1960's, Coleman taught himself to play the violin and trumpet.
