Instrumental History of Jazz

history
  • Boplicity
see Birth Of The Cool
  • John Barber
  • Nelson Boyd
  • Kenny Clarke
  • Miles Davis
  • J.J. Johnson
  • Lee Konitz
  • John Lewis
  • Sandy Siegelstein
April 22, 1949
see "Complete Pacific Jazz"
  • Chet Baker
  • Chico Hamilton
  • Bob Whitlock
August 16, 1952

 LINER NOTES

COOL JAZZ 1949 to the late 1950s

The Los Angeles area was the primary location of the next period in jazz history - cool jazz. This music was performed, more often than not, by white jazz artists living on the West Coast. The "cool school" of jazz was much lighter, airier and more contrapuntal than the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Bob Yurochko states:

The new cool style was more highly organized with sophisticated arrangements in a classical approach. More attention was given to each performance structure as a whole with a balance of solos that were noticeably shorter in length. Cool jazz was laid-back, unemotional, and musically subdued, inspired by classical music, particularly the Baroque style.

A recording session led by Miles Davis in 1949, entitled "Birth of the Cool" is credited with having given birth to this new era in jazz history. The instrumentation employed at this session was very unusual: the brass section included trumpet, trombone, French horn and tuba; the reed section consisted of alto and baritone saxophones (without tenor saxophone); and the rhythm section consisted of piano, bass and drums (no guitar). This nine-piece ensemble created a new, light and relaxed feel that would be practiced by many West Coast musicians during the '50s; however, 1955 was the peak of activity for these new sounds.