FREE JAZZ circa 1956-69
All
the forms above adhered more or less to some modicum of conventional harmony.
Melody might be foregone except in an opening theme, but the subsequent soloing
adhered to set chord progressions. Even though the chord progressions might
occasionally be odd, they made some musical sense. And rhythm may have changed
tempo, but essentially it kept time, even if it was away from the ground
beat.
Even
the bop players, who were all about breaking convention, followed strict
musical rules when they played. In the 1950s a new, even more radical gang
of upstarts rode into to town and decided to shoot out the rules. Forget
rhythm, forget harmony, hell, forget the melody. Just concentrate on the
sound, on direct communication. To them Jazz could be a-harmonic, arrhythmic
and a-melodic and still express the intentions of the musician.
At
the forefront of this avant garde movement were Lenny Tristano, Horace Silver,
Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp and, during the last third of
his career, John Coltrane.
Free
jazz is an active music, and you must be an active listener to appreciate
it, or it will probably get on your nerves. It's hard to listen to if you're
trying to mellow out.
Nevertheless, free jazz is a vital, vivacious part of jazz history and some fascinating sides were cut.
