glossary

Style Sheets



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Chet Baker

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Gerry Mulligan

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Dave Brubeck

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MJQ

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Miles Davis

Cool

Time Period: 1950 - 1955
  1. Cool jazz popularized jazz and pulled it back into the mainstream
  2. Geographic locations: East Coast and West Coast
    East Coast West Coast
    Miles Davis Gerry Mulligan
    Gerry Mulligan Chet Baker
    John Lewis Bobby Brookmeyer
    Gil Evans Dave Brubeck
    Lennie Tristano Paul Desmond
    Lee Konitz Jimmy Giuffre
    MJQ Chico Hamilton
      Shorty Rogers
      George Shearing
  3. Size of group was more varied than bebop, ranging from trios to tentets
  4. Instrumentation was varied, including classical instruments (more often than not: softer instruments, i.e., flutes, oboes, clarinets, french horns, flugelhorns, tubas, guitars, etc.)
  5. Racial make-up: mainly young white players from big bands such as those of Claude Thornhill, Boyd Raeburn, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Elliott Lawrence
  6. Influences: broad and varied, including swing, bebop, pop, and classical
  7. Performance practice:
    1. arrangements important
    2. polyphony
    3. integration of arrangement and improvisation
    4. rhythm section basically passive
    5. instrumentation often forced a narrow dynamic and expressive range
    6. basic language of bebop, but simplified
    7. tune oriented, vocal as in swing; easy singable lines; narrow range; diatonic lines; simple rhythms
    8. blues minimized
    Important Groups Lesser Groups
    Miles Davis Nonet Marty Paiche Octet
    Lennie Tristano groups Dave Pell Octet
    Modern Jazz Quintet (MJQ) Chico Hamilton
    Gerry Mulligan Quartet Bud Shank
    George Shearing Quintet  
    Shorty Rogers  
speakerspacer Take Five - The Dave Brubeck Quartet

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