Music Appreciation Week 14 - Jazz and Rock Pt. 2

MUSIC APPRECIATION WEEK 14

JAZZ AND ROCK PART 2

The 60s

The world began changing in major ways in the 60s and the music reflected this in both Jazz and Rock.

Saxophonist John Coltrane was one of the great virtuosos in Jazz. He became famous in the 50s for paying so fast over changes that they called his playing "sheets of sound." His composition "Giant Steps", with its challenging chord progression is a bit of a rite of passage for all Jazz improvisors. In the early 60s, though, he began to move away from fast moving chord changes and towards a Modal Jazz style. This was innovated by Miles Davis on his album Kind of Blue (discussed last week). In this style of improvisation the player will improvise a solo over just one "mode" or scale. This frees the mind from worrying about "cutting the changes" and allows for total concentration on creativity and expression. Lets watch a video of Coltrane playing

his version of "My Favorite Things".

Later on John Coltrane would go on to embrace Free Jazz, like Ornette Coleman. Here is an excerpt from "Ascension."

Motown ruled the Black music charts throughout the early 60s with its upbeat tunes and groups hand picked to deliver hit singles. One of the most famous of these acts was The Supremes. Here is "Where Did Our Love Go?"

After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the British Invasion started, introducing such acts as The Beatles:

...and the Rolling Stones:

Both of these groups were to evolve over the next several years.

The Beatles especially made huge strides as artists throughout their career. Here is a whirlwind tour. With the release of Revolver in 1966, the Beatles showed they were more than just talented Rock and Roll lads but artists with as much to say as the Jazz and Classical artists before them. JohnLennon's "Tomorrow Never Knows" embraces Eastern ideas and advanced studio techniques that still sound fresh today.

If you go back and watch Coltrane's "Ascension" again, you can see that there was something new in the air in the mid-60s, as Rock was about to enter its most creative period, lead by the Beatles in Jazz and John Coltrane and Miles Davis in Jazz.

In this period Miles was in his Post Bop Swing phase. With his group of young Jazz virtuosos including Wayne Shorter (sax), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass) and Tony Williams (drums) he was still playing straight ahead Jazz but you could see it wanting to break free from old Jazz formulas. The players in this group play with telepathic communication and represent all that is excellent about improvised music. Here is a complete performance from 1967 where you can hear Jazz seeming to break apart at the seems but Miles in control of the maelstrom created by his band members. Witness some of the most exciting moments in modern Jazz.

The freedom of Miles Davis' groups and John Coltrane was not lost on 60s Psychedelic groups like The Byrds. Here is "Eight Miles High," which guitarist Roger McGuin says was inspired by John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme."

Bob Dylan was a major influence on The Byrds. Dylan is Rock's official poet and definitely one of its best songwriters. His lyrics are endlessly fascinating to ponder and the way he uses words, even without the music, is musical in itself. While it is impossible to pick one tune to represent Dylan, probably my favorite Dylan tune is "Like a Rolling Stone," an epic song that broke the "four minute rule" in radio and is just plain fun to sing along with, whatever it means. In this performance, Dylan is being heckled for betraying his folk roots and "going electric." I love the extra sneer and attitude his gives the song as he joins the Rock and Rollers and ticks off the traditionalists.

At this point, the 60s were in full swing complete with hippies, experimental drugs
and "free love." The Psychedelic music of this period reflects these aspects. Jimi Hendrix was an unabashed Dylan fan himself. You should check out his version of Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower," which Dylan thought bettered his original. Here is Jimi singing "Purple Haze." The guitar solo is in the mixolydian mode, again reflecting the influence people like Miles Davis and John Coltrane were having on Rock music.

The San Francisco scene produced a lot of great artists including Janice Joplin, Jefferson Airplane
and The Grateful Dead, seen here performing "St. Stephen" on Playboy After Dark in 1969.

The Doors were a band made up of a poet, a flamenco guitar player, a classically trained organist and a jazz drummer. All these elements came together in their music, which many times looked at the dark side of psychedelia. Here is their classic "Light My Fire" live at The Hollywood Bowl. The video does a good job of conveying the improvisational and unpredictable aspects of their music.

The Velvet Underground were from New York City and looked forward to the Punk Rock and New Wave movement in the mid-70s. Their music stretched the bounds of Rock and is only for those with adventurous ears. Lou Reed and John Cale would go on to have solo careers later on.

Here is the chilling Indian Raga-influenced "Venus in Furs" with footage of the band rehearsing.

The 60s were a rich period for Rock and the high point of its creativity that has never been replicated since. The 70s came close, though, and that is the subject of the next blog in this special two part look at the 60s and 70s in Jazz and Rock.

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