MUS Music of the Modern Era. Free Jazz / Experimental Music Apr. 11, 2013

Transcription

1 MUS Music of the Modern Era Free Jazz / Experimental Music Apr. 11, 2013

2 Free Jazz Also new wave jazz or the new thing 1960 s avant-garde Absence of steady pulse or meter Absence of a predetermined harmonic structure Altered role for rhythm-section instruments Freer formal structures Use of extended techniques / unusual instrumental sounds John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, etc.

3 Ornette Coleman Saxophonist Best known for work with his quartet Don Cherry, trumpet Charlie Haden, bass Billy Higgins, drums 1958 Something Else!!!! The Music of Ornette Coleman + Tomorrow is the Question 1959 The Shape of Jazz to Come + Change of the Century 1960 Free Jazz (Atlantic Records) One quartet for each stereo channel Ornette Coleman, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Billy Higgins on the left. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell on the right. No piano or other harmonic instruments!

4 Ornette Coleman Free Jazz (1960)

5 Ornette Coleman Song X (1985)

6 Ornette Coleman Song X (1985) Performers Ornette Coleman Alto Saxophone, Violin Pat Metheny Guitar, Roland Guitar Synthesizer, Synclavier Guitar Charlie Haden Bass Jack DeJohnette Drums Denardo Coleman Electronic Drums, Percussion Frenetic energy! Textural composition, interaction between layers, communication between players Vocal saxophone sound bent pitches, intonation, growls, multiphonics Extended sound palette with state-of-the-art synthesizer technology (Metheny) Form still includes a head and solo sections Extension of Charlie Parker s work Harmolodic theory melody, harmony, and rhythm all equal

7 Anthony Braxton Saxophonist Member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians Studied with Coleman and Coltrane 1967 Creative Construction Company with Leroy Jenkins (violin/viola) and Leo Smith (trumpet) 1971 Circle with Chick Corea (piano), Dave Holland (bass), and Barry Altschul (drums) Also writes for band, large orchestra; uses theatrical elements Faculty at Wesleyan University

8 Anthony Braxton Five Pieces (1975)

9 Anthony Braxton Five Pieces (1975) Performers Anthony Braxton, saxophone, flute, clarinet Kenny Wheeler, trumpet Dave Holland, bass Barry Altschul, drums echoes of bebop, combined notated and improvised music, and brought together free collective improvisation, individual solos, and written ensemble passages Titles as geometric designs, arrangements of numbers and letters, and human and animal figures

10 Anthony Braxton Five Pieces (1975)

11 Third Stream Term coined by Gunther Schuller in 1957 Synthesis of classical music and jazz Improvisation is key Schuller s 1981 list of "What Third Stream is not": It is not jazz with strings. It is not jazz played on 'classical' instruments. It is not classical music played by jazz players. It is not inserting a bit of Ravel or Schoenberg between be-bop changes nor the reverse. It is not jazz in fugal form. It is not a fugue played by jazz players. It is not designed to do away with jazz or classical music; it is just another option amongst many for today s creative musicians Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Artie Shaw, Charles Mingus from New Grove: J.J. Johnson, André Hodeir, Milton Babbitt, Bill Russo, Gunther Schuller, Don Ellis, Bill Smith, Jimmy Giuffre, Larry Austin, Mike Mantler, Ran Blake, Anthony Braxton, Leo Smith, Steve Lacy and Dave Douglas

12 John Zorn Classically trained saxophonist / composer Film scores, cartoon music, electronic music (recording studio as a compositional tool), game pieces, VARIETY! File card composition process Saxophone ensemble Naked City Downtown avant-garde jazz since 1974 The Stone (Ave C and 2 nd, NYC)

13 John Zorn Cobra (1984)

14 John Zorn Cobra (1984) It s a game! (that s also a piece) Collective improvisation Prompter holds cards to signal performers actions Performers ask to be called upon to determine the next event by holding up a certain number of fingers and pointing at a body part When the play is determined, the prompter cues a downbeat with the card and that episode of improvisation happens Guerilla Systems Players go rogue and enlist others in their subversive cause

15 Sun Ra Born Herman Blount, later Le Sony r Ra Pianist and arranger for Fletcher Henderson (The Intergalactic Myth-Science Solar) Arkestra One of first jazz pianists to use synthesizers and electric keyboards Interest in color of sound lots of percussion, nontraditional jazz instruments Collective improvisation Microtonality, electronics, costumes, happenings, psychedelics

16 Sun Ra Space is the Place ( )

17 Sun Ra Space is the Place ( ) Track 1 from 1973 album of same name John Coney film and soundtrack with same name Performers Sun Ra Piano, Farfisa Professional = space organ Akh Tal Ebah trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals Kwame Hadi (Lamont McClamb trumpet) Marshall Allen - alto saxophone, flute Danny Davis - alto saxophone, flute John Gilmore - tenor saxophone, vocals Danny Thompson - baritone saxophone, flute, vocal Eloe Omoe - bass clarinet, flute Pat Patrick - electric bass, baritone saxophone, vocal Lex Humphries drums Atakatun (Stanley Morgan) and Odun (Russel Branch) percussion Everyone plays percussion! Afrofuturism combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, Afrocentricity, and magic realism with non-western cosmologies in order to critique not only the present-day dilemmas of people of color, but also to revise, interrogate, and re-examine the historical events of the past.

18 Summary New approach to jazz emphasizing collective improvisation shifting tonal centers interaction between players within a more gestural and textural framework rhythmic and timbral freedom Retains use of head and solo structure; riffs; some works rooted in the blues; interpretations of other songs Experimental music reaches beyond genre boundaries Third Stream Popular music / 60s subculture Serious composition, political undertones as African-Americans continue to strive for equal recognition / validation and bring attention to the historical plight of a people