Free jazz

Free jazz is a style of experimental music that grew out of jazz in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Musicians wanted to break away from old rules like steady tempos, set tones, and regular chord changes. They felt earlier jazz styles like bebop and modal jazz were too limiting and wanted to try something completely new. The name "free jazz" comes from a famous 1960 recording by Ornette Coleman called Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation.

Free jazz can be hard to define because it looks different to different people. It is usually played by small groups, but sometimes big bands play it too. Even though it is seen as modern and forward-looking, it often uses ideas from older jazz styles and even from music around the world. Musicians might play African or Asian instruments, or create their own special instruments. The focus was on expressing strong feelings and exploring different sounds and textures in music.

Characteristics

Free jazz was a new style of jazz that started in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Musicians wanted to try something different and break away from old jazz rules like steady beats and set chord changes. They were inspired by saxophonist Ornette Coleman and wanted to make music that felt more free and creative.

In free jazz, musicians often play without following strict musical forms or rhythms. They focus more on expressing their own unique sound and style. This style sometimes uses sounds from other types of music, like African, Arabic, and Indian music. Free jazz also drew inspiration from earlier jazz styles and world instruments, showing a love for different musical traditions. Over time, free jazz gained respect and became an important part of jazz history.

History

Free jazz started to develop in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Musicians wanted to try new things and break old rules about tempo, tones, and chords in jazz. They felt older styles like bebop and modal jazz were too limiting.

Important early free jazz musicians included Lennie Tristano, who used techniques like atonal collective improvisation. Other early examples include works by Bob Graettinger and Jimmy Giuffre.

Ornette Coleman was a key figure. He rejected pre-written chord changes and focused on freely improvised melodies. His albums like The Shape of Jazz to Come and Change of the Century were big steps forward. His 1960 recording Free Jazz used two quartets playing separately, creating a bold new sound that gave the movement its name.

Other important free jazz musicians included pianist Cecil Taylor, who used unconventional piano techniques, and Albert Ayler, who used unique saxophone sounds and simple melodies. John Coltrane also explored free jazz ideas in albums like Ascension. Sun Ra used electronic instruments and unusual percussion in his free jazz compositions.

Free jazz scenes also developed in cities like Chicago, St. Louis, and Los Angeles in the 1960s. By the 1970s, free jazz in New York became more mixed with other music styles, but it remained an important influence.

Other media

Canadian artist Stan Douglas used free jazz to explore ideas about African-American music. In 1992, he showed a video called Hors-champs, meaning "off-screen," at documenta 9. This video looked at free jazz from the 1960s as part of black consciousness. It featured four American musicians—George E. Lewis, Douglas Ewart, Kent Carter, and Oliver Johnson—who lived in France during that time. They played a piece called "Spirits Rejoice" by Albert Ayler.

Another Canadian artist, Michael Snow, made a film in 1964 called New York Eye and Ear Control. The music was created by a group including Albert Ayler's musicians. People compare this music to important free jazz recordings like Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation and John Coltrane's Ascension. Critics like how the music changes speed and how the musicians come in and out of the performance.

French artist Jean-Max Albert played trumpet in one of the first free jazz groups in France during the 1960s. Later, as a painter, he created artworks inspired by free jazz. His painting Free jazz from 1973 used shapes to show the mix of structured and free music. Jean-Max Albert continues to explore free jazz ideas in films with pianist François Tusques.

In the world

The Quatuor de Jazz Libre du Québec started in Canada in 1967 and became well-known for free jazz. Free jazz also grew in Europe and Japan. Famous European musicians included saxophonists like Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, and trombonist Conny Bauer. They often focused more on free improvisation and moved away from traditional jazz styles. Brötzmann especially influenced jazz players in the United States.

In Japan, musicians such as drummer Masahiko Togashi and guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi helped start the free jazz movement. Other musicians came from places behind the iron curtain, like Janusz Muniak from Poland. Some artists from Brazil and Argentina, such as Ivo Perelman and Gato Barbieri, also joined the free jazz world.

South African artists mixed free jazz with African rhythms, and American musicians like Don Cherry and John Coltrane added sounds from Africa, India, and the Middle East to their free jazz.