The period between 1900 and 1940 witnessed huge growth and development of jazz leading it to become a widely popular genre of music not just in the United States but the entire globe. However, as is with any other type of music, this genre saw a lot of transformation in terms of style and structure. As time progressed, new forms of jazz that deviated from the traditional style and structure started to emerge. A perfect example of this is the bebop style that started gaining popularity in the 1940’s. The bebop style began to become popular at the onset of the Second World War that saw a lot of people go to fight, and a lot of jazz bands consequently break up. The bebop style was characterized by a lot of improvisation and unlike the traditional style of jazz that was mainly arranged and structured for dancing, this new form of jazz was much more flexible. The bebop style led to the emergence of other forms of jazz in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. These included such styles as cool jazz, hard bop and modal jazz. There are various jazz composers who are associated with the development of these new forms of jazz. Two of the most prominent musicians whose names are often mentioned when discussion these jazz forms and Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Each of the two artist had a unique contribution to the development of cool jazz, hard bop, and modal jazz.
Miles Davis is considered as one of the biggest names in 20th Century jazz. Some even put him on the same level with Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. He has been credited as being one of the pioneers of the jazz revolution that happened in the United Sates between 1940 and 1960’s. Davis was born in the Illinois in 1926. By the time he was 20, he was already playing jazz with big wigs like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Although he was not technically gifted as his peers like Gillespie, he however developed a unique style which placed greater emphasis on mood, timing and selecting the perfect notes instead of agility and speed.
In 1949, he released the lane “Birth of the Cool”. Many considered this to be the official ushering in of a new form of jazz what was first gaining popularity, and that had been developed as a reaction to the fast bebop. This was cool jazz. The cool jazz was a deviation from bebop and featured relatively slower tempos. However, the cool jazz still contained some elements of bebop such as light drumming style as well as an inclusion of the bass in regulating the beat
The interesting thing is that Davis, who was considered to be the father of cool jazz was one of the first artists to shun it in early 1950’s. There was growing sentiments that cool jazz was “white man’s music”. This prompted many jazz artists to adjust their style hurriedly as many did not want to be seen as traitors to their race that had been credited with the invention of jazz.
In the 1950’s, Davis played with many great artists such as Art Blakely and Sony Rollins. He continued setting his sight on new forms, and this is what preconfigured the emergence of the new form referred to as hard bop. In 1954, he recorded “Walking”, a jazz song that is considered to be a perfect exemplification of hard bop. In fact, many claim that “Walking’ is the song that officially ushered in the era of hard bop. Hard bop as it signaled a return to what many considered to be soul jazz. It characterized the return to the roots of jazz that was the blues and black gospel music.
Davis achieved even more fame and prominence in the latter half of the 1950’s. During this time, he had delved completely into hard bop and also started experimenting with modal jazz. He particularly released two albums, “Porgy and Bess” and “Sketches of Spain” in 1958 and 1969 respectively that passed many elements of modal jazz. However, the album that had the greatest effect on the modal jazz genre and that would come to inspire many modal jazz musicians was “King of Blue”. Modal jazz was quite different to bop, and this was clearly exhibited in Davis music. While bop featured music that was harmonically very busy, modal jazz decreased the intensity of the harmony so that more focus was placed on the melody. Davis was one of the pioneers in trying to move jazz from hard bop to modal jazz.
It appears that Davis had a phobia for stability, and he was constantly looking to evolve as a jazz musician. This perhaps explains why he kept moving from one form of jazz to the next. This is also an exhibition of his involvement in the free jazz movement which sought to unchain or free jazz from the traditional conventions that hugely constrained it for a long time. He started with bebop. He then moved on to cool jazz, influenced the emergence of hard bop and then also stimulated the emergence of modal jazz. This is perhaps why Davis is considered to be among ten top three jazz musicians of all times. His influence and role in the development of all jazz, hard bop and modal jazz cannot be overemphasized.
Davis was also responsible for assembling various ensembles that had prominent members such as Cannonball Adderall and John Coltrane. His growth and development went on into the 1960’s where he continued evolving and delving into other forms such as soul jazz and avant-garde jazz.
John Coltrane is the name that is very synonymous to the jazz industry. He was particularly a big name in the 1950’s and the 1960’s whereby his music was shaped both subconsciously and consciously by the civil rights movements.
John Coltrane was born in North Carolina. He was a great collaborator of Miles Davis, and the two of them actually played together several times.
Coltrane major influence to the free jazz movement was felt in the hard bop which he was considered to be a pioneer. Hi main instrument was the saxophone that he had a great mastery of. Just like Davis, his career had commenced in the 1940’s where he also played without the great jazz musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and his band. In 1955, he officially joined Miles Davis band called the ‘Miles Davis Quintet."
As mentioned, Coltrane’s main contribution to jazz was in the hard bop genre that emerged in the 1954-1955 period. He stretched this form as much as possible. In 1960, he formed his own band which he called “The John Coltrane Quintet." This band primarily played hard bop and included such artists as Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones, McCoy Tanner. Some of the group’s most enduring albums included “My Favorite Things” and ‘Giant Steps”. “Giant Steps’ featured an exploration of scales and chords. In addition, it also featured harmonic sequences that were more complicated as well as rapid tempo. “My Favorite Things” is considered to have elements of modal jazz. This fifteen-minute pieces became a huge hit, and this was partly attributed to the splendid use of modes by Coltrane. In fact, this composition together with those of other popular musicians such as Miles Davis were said to have paved way for the popularity of modal jazz that was witnessed in the 1960’s. “Impressions” is another composition by Coltrane whereby modes were used sparingly.
In his later years of life, Coltrane also showed great interest in avant-garde jazz just like Miles Davis. However, he continued advocating for the free jazz movement and inspiring young jazz to explore and experiment with various styles and structures and not be confined to the traditional structures of jazz.
As mentioned earlier, Coltrane’s music was hugely influenced by the Civil Rights movement. He particularly tried to include aspects of civil rights into his hard bop form of jazz in the 1950’s. Many of the black jazz musicians tried to use their music to agitate for civil rights. Both Davies and Coltrane were contributors to the free jazz movement which is also seen as a movement against the community oppression. By defying the expectations of the genre of jazz, the tow created music for the mass. In addition, the two constantly denounced racism, segregation and prejudice in their concerts that was also a direct contribution to the civil rights movement.
Miles Davis and John Coltrane are truly two of the biggest names in jazz history. Their contribution to the free jazz movement is enormous, with Davis particularly playing a very great role in the evolution of jazz between the 1940s and the 1960’s. The two played a great role in the emergence and development of such forms of jazz as cool jazz, hard bop, and modal jazz.
Bibliography
Gabbard, Krin, ed. Jazz among the Discourses. Duke University Press, 1995.
Carr, Ian. Miles Davis: the definitive biography. HarperCollins, 1998.
Giddins, Gary, and Scott Knowles DeVeaux. Jazz. WW Norton, 2009.
DeVeaux, Scott. "Constructing the jazz tradition: Jazz historiography." In Black American Literature Forum, pp. 525-560. Indiana State University, 1991.
Porter, Lewis. John Coltrane: His life and music. University of Michigan Press, 1997.
