Modern jazz

The following day recorded program of the presentation of the National Association of

educational broadcasters.

This is the 23rd in a series of programs on the roots of jazz in the United States.

On this program we consider modern jazz.

Dad again has a close relative of folk to the folk songs

chants and dances of the Negro people of the South. The instruments were

crude and improvised. The voices unschooled primitive.

There was the influence of Western civilization in the language used and in the melodies

and lyrics paraphrased. But the most characteristic quality of jazz

prototypes was the African rhythm and the storytelling urge.

Western instruments were introduced in New Orleans and some musicians there

actually took lessons before they began playing. In Chicago the

encroachment of Western culture became more insistent. Parts were

arranged even for small groups musicianship became more

important especially amongst the Chicago white school

in New York.

The Arranger became a necessary adjunct to the big bands and the

pianist became the mentor of jazz just as he has long been in the field of

serious music. Styles began to develop in the 30s

jazz and mood ever in the direction of increasing order.

It wasn't it is now no longer strictly a focus expression. It is an

art in the 40s. The artists of jazz some

older with a rich heritage from the past. Some young with a

strong desire to break styles and become individuals began

experimenting with increased freedom in the possibilities of musical expression.

Bopp was bawn and progressive jazz in larger groups. Young

musicians were on the scene. Experiments that had been nurtured during

wartime blossomed in the aftermath of war. Much of the toying

around was just that the increase in freedom required

a greater artist in order to preserve taste. There were few

such men available but there were some. And out of bop came

a new spirit for jazz a new philosophy Some

call that change or a change for the worse. They decried the

loss of hot solos in favor of cool modulation. They

considered Bob and his posts Eden's Reflections of a youth lacking

security feeling anxiety and uncertainty. But there

were and are others who see what is known as cool jazz as the

firmest of foundations upon which artists can build a newer and finer

structure of American music. Studs Terkel says.

Well this would bring us up to date now and now and come to a very special problem.

The times we live in what about you today and jazz like as

well. What about it. Well it'll bring us into Bob. We're going to whack Klopp as definition.

Well you know the nature of it we know it's a reflection of our times. We know that dissonance is a key to

a lot of the nervous and erratic kind of music was at times that the others might be termed

good time it was a good time jazz is bad time music. I'm not

saying the music is bad. Saying the times reflected the nervousness and so you

today we it's definitely tied in with what we call the youth problem. It's the age

problem to mishandling a mis understanding of what is of the young

ones today and what their problems are unstable conditions the world

over and so is in the music too and so I don't know how well Louis Armstrong

draws today as far as he is concerned. But we come to the young musician

what are you trying to say Chet Baker as a young trumpet man now very excited

when I don't know what he's trying to say but obviously there's something he's trying to say I mean something to him. And

of those who listen to him and he's a good artist no doubt but what is it is you saying life was horrible

and wrecked or life can be good I don't know where you want to blow saying I was saying that's clear

he's saying pretty rough I'd like it better. What this young

genius and I don't know.

But modern jazz authority Barry Ulanov says when we were first

confronted with the look as well as the sound of cool jazz some of us

were dubious about its qualities the company and parts of the look were a

relaxation of the body to accompany their restraint of tone and an indifferent

facial expression amounting to apathy. The phlegmatic personalities of the Woody

Herman band of 1948 suggested that the coolness would soon become

frigidity so blasé did these musicians seem as they moved or rather moved

about their completion of their appointed tasks. But from the icy stare in the

immobile mean something good and positive and musician they did emerge.

You're listening to the saxophone of one of the pioneers in cool jazz. Stan

Getz. He states a part of the new philosophy of cool jazz in this

quotation.

Fast tempos seem unnatural to me. The fastest I like to get is Lady in

red. Faster I don't feel it's relaxed. I have to stop and think about the

chords my time goes I lose my ideas. When you go slow

you can create. I like to play simply to hold back some of my

ideas. Listen to Byrd you know he's holding back. That he's always got

something in reserve. You can play everything you know.

Oh.

Yeah.

Why.

Up to the 1940s speed and temperature had constantly risen in

jazz performances. Everyone is familiar with the fluid runs of clarinet

s such as Artie shore and Benny Goodman. The machine gun staccato of

Trumpet is like Harry James and Ziggy on even the alto saxophone

has been treated to its share of 16 notes and any number of pianists

have run up one side of chords and down the other fingered out several scales in

seconds and even thumb the entire keyboard. The question

often raised and rightly so is how much of this musical gymnastic

exhibition is jazz in the sense of it being creative art.

The answer of those who play cool jazz is very little.

As Stan Getz indicates it is difficult enough to get worthwhile

ideas while playing a slow ballad let alone doing something meaningful and

flying home. So one ingredient of cool jazz

is a relaxing of the tempo. Another is the lengthening of the

improvised line. The artist playing a slow tempo

is not restricted to the short half dozen to baker's dozen notes in

which to state his feeling. There is time. Time to add one

idea to another. With increasing subtlety. Time even

to reflect and take a new path. Choruses are found

to be developments of one idea flowing into another or

leading to a final sense of completion.

Another ingredient of this new philosophy is its increased borrowing from

the innovations of serious musicians and composers. Many of the

leaders of cool jazz have studied serious music at high levels. They've

graduated from the New England Conservatory the American Conservatory in

Chicago Juilliard in New York and any number of colleges and

universities across the country where the teaching of Music has long been

established in the western civilization sense. They've

studied under such contemporary masters as Paul Hindemith a Yale Darrius

Meo at Mills and Ernst talk at the University of Southern California.

These influences have revived interest in exploring the basic

forms so federally examined and developed over 200 years ago by one

Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Fugue the Toccata the expressions in counterpoint are

all being re-examined by these cool jazz musicians.

Added to this resurgence of interest in Bach modes is the act

tonality and poly tonality with the latter the most current

interest. There are several groups in this country that have developed

this latest phase of jazz. And for the remainder of this

program will listen to recordings of some of these groups. First

Lenny Tristana a blind pianist who graduated from the American

Conservatory and who more than any other has served as a fountain head of

ideas and rationales for cool jazz. Here he plays

with leek on its alto saxophone Billy-Bob guitar on hold fished

and bass and Shelly Mann drums.

Yeah. Yeah.

Sure.

This is the Jerry Mulligan quartet. With a mulligan on baritone sax

and the trumpet of it Studs Terkel mentioned earlier in the program.

On trumpet.

Thorough hurt.

You're.

A.

This is the Stan Getz want to withstand on Thomas sax and

Al Haig.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

This is the sensitive topic Miles Davis.

And now one of the earliest efforts at multi instrument improvisation

in jazz. This is the early Dave Brubeck octet. With

Dave Brubeck at piano and Paul Desmond on the alto saxophone.

The boob.

Tube.

Then the sounds of. The latest of the many of

which are American art.

One. More great

one as with a contemporary.

This has been a 20 a series of programs on the roots of jazz in the United States.

The roots of jazz as written produced by Norman Cleary in the studios of WOR

Radio easy was the reader and a man of God know the sound technician.

This is Norman Cleary speaking.

The preceding program was tape recorded. This is

the end of a radio network.