chapter 12 free form, avant-garde. © 2009 mcgraw-hill all rights reserved 2 the process free form -...
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 12
Free Form,Avant-Garde
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 2
The Process
• Free form - also known as Free Improvisation– Sheds the structures of harmonic repetition and
rhythmic regularity– Players react to one another without restrictions
• Finished product less important than the process
• Style can be compared to abstract art
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 3
Score for Free-form demonstration 9
“Dialogue”
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 4
Justification
• Seeds of free playing have always existed– The nature of improvisation places emphasis on
spontaneity – Every jazz performance contains improvisation
• Success of Free-form rests on the compositional strength of the performers
• Improvisation takes the dominant role
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 5
Ornette Coleman(b. 1930)
• One of the most controversial free jazz players
• Capable of playing melodically and rhythmically, and swinging
• Feels no obligation to contain or extend musical ideas to fit a certain preset situation
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 6
Ornette Coleman-continued-
• First player to move all the way to harmonic freedom
• Frequently played without piano
• Not locked into Western tuning conventions
• Pursuit of new ideas a trademark
Listen to “Faces and Places” CD2, track 7
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 7
Cecil Taylor(b. 1929)
• Background included conservatory training and an interest in contemporary European compositional practices
• Considered an avant-garde expression of third stream
• Music can be appreciated by classical or jazz audience
• Concerts feature long uninterrupted compositions
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 8
Cecil Taylor-continued-
• Uses a variety of musical textures
• Fragmented and often percussive style
• Often easier to comprehend the whole rather than focus on the parts
• Listening to Taylor requires patience and stamina
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 9
Coltrane Legacy
• Short career but great influence• Seamless transition to freer playing• Modal approach was a springboard• Melodies centered on higher harmonics• Tunes often move from familiar to
unfamiliar e.g. “My Favorite Things”
Listen to “A Love Supreme” CD 2, track 8
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 10
Chicago Style Free Jazz
• First notable artist was Sun Ra (1914-1993)
– First composer to employ collective improvisation in a big band
– Controversial posture as a musical cosmic scientist/philosopher
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 11
Other Chicago free players
• AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Music)
• Art Ensemble of Chicago– Emphasis on creative interaction– Wide range of tone colors– Exploration of sound structures– Suspension of fixed rhythmic support
• World Saxophone Quartet
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 12
Anthony Braxton(b. 1945)
• Member of AACM in the 60s
• Blended non-jazz compositional ideas with more traditional idioms
• Music sometimes more measured and classical in approach
• Some compositions based on philosophical theories
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 13
Contemporary Avant-garde
• Greg Osby, alto saxophone– Prominent younger free player – Forward looking as means of finding an
individual voice
• Henry Threadgill, composer– Also challenges neoclassicism in jazz– Iconoclast ideas and philosophy– Pushes the boundaries of creativity
© 2009 McGraw-Hill All Rights Reserved 14
The Free jazz controversy
• Wide range of opinions and acceptance of free jazz– It has managed to maintain a faithful audience
• Seeks to redefine itself
• Players thrive on controversy
• The listener must decide to accept or not– Here the definition of jazz becomes subjective