You like JAzzz?
In recent years, Jazz has gained notoriety as an elitist secret society of microtonal demigods who eat music sheets for breakfast and form sentences in ⅞. Of course, this could not be further from the truth. In fact, Jazz has never been more accessible and easy to pick up in this internet age. Spotify has more remastered jazz classics than ever and Youtube channels like Adam Neely, David Bruce Composer and Vox break down tough jazz concepts in a fun, translatable package. Perhaps what people truly fear are the wilder subgenres of Jazz, such as Bebop and the infamous Free Jazz. So, let’s skip past the crazy stuff and dive into the welcoming arms of Hard Bop and Cool Jazz.
Music is like a game of tennis
An important factor in the development of all new music is that it is reactionary in nature. Cool Jazz was a direct response to Bebop much in the same way that Hard Bop ended up being a direct response to Cool Jazz. Whereas Bebop was sophisticated, frantic and bombastic, Cool Jazz was much more restrained and subtle. These standards had slower tempos and a soothing mood that relaxed you in an instant. Soloists would play behind the beat instead of driving it forward, complex chord changes were abandoned in favour of more melodic developments, and the playing style was much more delicate and soft. Then, in response to both Bebop and Cool Jazz, Jazz musicians in the mid 1950s began to turn up the energy a little bit and infuse elements of RnB and gospel into the composition and playing, resulting in the rollicking, thumping Hard Bop. This era of Jazz was much more exuberant, due in part to the “amen chords” and triadic harmonies used which were more direct and reminiscent of church music. In fact, Hard Bop was often interchanged with Soul Jazz. Compared to the daintiness and introvertedness of Cool Jazz, Hard Bop was bold and exciting, but never as bizarre as Bebop was. The main point is here is this, every new thing in music is a clear reaction to what preceded it. So be different, react to what you’re hearing and either take it to new heights or take off in the opposite direction!
Express Yourself
Jazz and improvisation were never about who could play the most complicated scales or most amount of notes. It served as the purest form of musical expression and it still does. While foundational knowledge of music theory certainly helps, that doesn’t define the full whole of why jazz improvisation is so mesmerising to listen to. Feel, timing, space and personality, these are what make great solos stand out and it’s these elements that imbue an endearing sense of individuality into your playing. Even if you don’t know all those fancy altered scales, just have a whack at your instrument and see what cool shit you may accidentally come up with! Just play.
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