1959--The Vintage Year of Jazz

1959. A year some refer to as the “vintage year” of jazz. Five of the best-known, best-loved, and most legendary albums of all time were released within this 12-month span, and 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of this most fruitful period in jazz history. Here is my commentary about each album with a representative track from each.

Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
This is probably the top-selling traditional jazz album of all time. Many critics point to it as the album to buy when starting a jazz CD collection. Its selling points are many. The horn soloists, Miles Davis (trumpet), John Coltrane (tenor), and Cannonball Adderley (alto), are three of the greatest improvisers ever, and Miles and Trane are considered to be among the small handful of musicians who changed the face of jazz several times during their careers. This is also the first album to explore modal jazz on a large scale. Modal jazz uses very slow chord changes so that the soloists can explore single scales for an extended period. This is in contrast to bebop, in which the frantic tempos and complex harmonies require the improviser to change scales up to twice a second. Modal jazz can be laid back or wild, but on this album, it is the cool side that prevails.

The most common tracks recommended on this album are “So What” and “All Blues.” I would like you to instead hear the beautiful Bill Evans ballad “Blue in Green” which features his signature, thick chordal playing on piano. The chord progression is a peculiar 10-bar cycle:

G- |A7#9 |D- Db7 |C-7 F7b9 |Bbmaj7 |A7#9#5 |D- |E7#9#5 |A- |D- |

Each of the chords take on various alterations and extensions throughout. What makes the progression truly unique, however, is that soloists can play it as a 10-bar phrase, 5-bar phrase (chords go by 2x as fast), or a 2.5-bar phrase (4x as fast). The tempo, however, remains constant; only the chord progression changes speeds. Here is the form:

Intro
Miles plays (or rather hints at) the melody on trumpet with a harmon mute (10 bars)
Miles repeats (10 bars)
Bill Evans’ piano solo (twice through 5 bars)
John Coltrane’s tenor solo (twice through 5 bars)
Evans’ solo (twice through 2.5 bars)
Miles’ solo (twice through 10 bars)
Evans’ coda (rubato 2.5-bar version twice through plus the first three bars again, ending on D-)

Try to follow along!

Blue In Green - Miles Davis

Giant Steps, John Coltrane
This album is the antithesis of Kind of Blue. Coltrane had been playing over more and more complex chord progressions leading up to this recording, but here he takes bebop to its zenith. After this album, nobody played anything faster or more technically difficult than Trane did. Nowadays, it is considered a rite of passage to be able to solo over the title track “Giant Steps” up tempo. Listen to how the master did it, and then seek out the full album to hear other breakneck workouts, the quirky “Syeeda’s Song Flute,” and the gorgeous ballad, “Naima.”

Giant Steps - John Coltrane

Mingus Ah-Um, Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus was an incredible bassist, fiery bandleader, and iconic composer. His fusion of blues, bebop, gospel, and the avant garde created a style all his own. The variety of genres contained in this album is a great introduction to his work. Check out “Better Get Hit in Your Soul” for its Sunday morning preaching and the dark, ominous “Boogie Stop Shuffle.” All through the album, you can hear Mingus shouting and exhorting his musicians to higher levels of intensity. One of the more sedate numbers is “Jelly Roll,” an old-time piece which demonstrates how he let his horn players have plenty of freedom in their playing.

Jelly Roll - Charles Mingus

Time Out, Dave Brubeck
This album was a best seller from the moment it was released. The quartet featured Brubeck on piano and his artistic foil Paul Desmond on alto. Desmond’s light, buttery tone was one of my first models (along with Charlie Parker) as a young saxophonist. What is remarkable about the album, however, is its approach to rhythm. For fifty years, jazz had always been played in 4/4 time, but Brubeck changed that with this set of pieces in odd meters such as 3/4, 5/4, and 9/8. The signature tune from the disc is Desmond’s composition “Take Five.” The Joe Morello drum solo is wonderfully bombastic. Imagine an 18-year-old Dan Brame playing this number in the GBS V-Show. Good times…

Take Five - Dave Brubeck Quart...

The Shape of Jazz to Come, Ornette Coleman
Alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman was the pioneer of free jazz in the 1960s. This movement, which created a great deal of controversy in the jazz world, featured a much less constrained form of improvisation. Instead of single soloists with a rhythm section playing predetermined chord changes, the entire ensemble could improvise simultaneously, creating melodies without concern for staying in specific keys. Greater emphasis was placed on ensemble textures and interaction. Just before his album titled Free Jazz, in which he stepped off into the deep end, artistically speaking, he released The Shape of Jazz to Come, an album that is just on the brink of truly free playing. One of my all-time favorite jazz tracks is this one, the haunting and lyrical “Lonely Woman.” Listen for the way the ensemble plays in two different tempos at the same time.

Lonely Woman - Ornette Coleman