Jazz is a musical movement of the 20th century. Jazz is a unique art of the 20th century
Jazz is a unique phenomenon of musical art.
Once upon a time, someone asked me:
— Is jazz really music?
I was so amazed that I couldn’t even answer. Time flew by. Life changed, people changed...
— Jazz is a unique phenomenon of musical art...
A very long time ago, when sheet music did not yet exist, music, as it would be easier for me to say, was transmitted “from ear to ear.” After all, musical creativity since ancient times and still exists in three planes: one - the composer of music, the second - the performer, and the third - combining these two concepts - the author and the performer in one person.
Composing for music, let's call compositions, is based on the principle long process, realizing the creative impulse directly in sounds, which is subsequently recorded as a finished work.
At the heart of performing skills are the functions of the performance itself, based on the principle of developing a large volume of musical memory, as well as the development of virtuosic technical techniques of performance.
But the third principle, combining both performance and composition in one person, must have another important function - the so-called talent for improvisation, that is, the principle of simultaneous creation and performance of music (without a preliminary preparation process) during performance. Although this is quite controversial. Because there are examples when the composer had poor performance technique and did not know how to improvise, but wrote unique, virtuosic works. And vice versa, a performer who can excellently improvise on ready-made standards of melodies and harmonies has not composed even the smallest piece.
This short introduction is necessary to understand some things, which I will talk about a little later.
Such a huge number of works have been written about the development and history of jazz that it is already very difficult to add anything. But it’s still worth repeating somewhere, and somewhere focusing attention on those things that sometimes fall out of our attention. Or it can turn awareness of the significance of certain elements of jazz, as a unique phenomenon of musical art of the 20th century, into some new direction.
Understanding perfectly well that each element of the life process has its time, I cannot say that academic music is alive and well, rock music too, not to mention the world's treasury - folklore. But who can say that jazz is already dead?
The major trends in musical culture that created unique, powerful masterpieces will remain in the future development of the earth - forever. Moving away from biggest topics of the entire world musical culture, I would like to ask myself the question: - how does jazz differ from everything else?
To do this, we need to go back and look at one important question: what kind of process is improvisation? This necessity is caused for some future connection and conclusion.
So - improvisation. Musical improvisation much older than musical composition. Improvisation is an Italian word, but comes from the Latin word “improvisus” (unexpected, sudden). This is a special type of artistic creativity in which creation (composition) occurs directly in the process of action (performance). It is known that in the musical cultures of non-European peoples, improvisation still performs the most important function, manifested in different forms. Improvisational types of creativity dominated in Europe and began to gradually lose their positions, starting from (the appearance of the early notation system) the 9th to the 16th centuries. During this turning point (the beginning of the active influence of the written subculture) the word improvisation appeared as a manifestation of a certain watershed. In musical culture - variations, canon, toccata, fantasy and even fugue and sonata form were once actively improvised, and precisely in the process of performance in public. But with the advent of the so-called century of musical notation, it was European musical notation that became, in the full sense of the word, the prevailing element for the musical art of the whole world and this was one of the factors of its universality and worldwide significance, and improvisation disappears from the concert stage. Is this good or bad? Thousands of guesses can be made here. But let’s leave this conversation for now not for this context.
So, the written method (notation) carries a new concept of musical art, different aesthetic criteria, different creative psychology, different auditory qualities, and new methods of professional training. And naturally, written traditions led to a more advanced method of (recording) the music itself and a more accurate chronology of musical history. In the depths of the musical written culture In Europe, improvisational skills began to gradually become emasculated. The manifestation of this phenomenon is noticeable already in the XII-XVI centuries. In the 18th-19th centuries, musical improvisation was looked at especially unkindly, as a manifestation of obvious illiteracy and charlatanism. And at the end of the 19th century, they practically forgot about it completely. Although we know for sure what amazing improvisers they were: Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninov... But still, the age of improvisation, as a historical process, is over for the general European musical culture. But what happened next? To answer this question we need to move from old Europe to young America.
There are various rumors about young America. I think that some progressive Americans still know the history of the formation of young America better than you and me. Therefore, I will direct my thoughts in a different direction. Simply put, people are flocking to America different people, naturally representing different musical cultures, mainly from Europe. They are also brought from Africa, but as slaves... People from pan-Asian countries arrive in smaller numbers. The indigenous peoples of America, mainly Indians, are being forced out. Here many people paid attention to one important detail.
People from all over began to flock to America globe to earn a lot of money in this young country and thereby change your life for the better. It's a good idea. But the social environment, and behind it the way of life and culture, was built on a completely different principle, on “different material” than in conservative (if you can, of course, call it that) Europe. Naturally, such an unimaginable synthesis of cultures and the way of life itself could not but affect the organization, the birth of a certain new subculture, “somewhat” different from European culture. What am I getting at?
The fairy tale that black slaves gave birth to jazz is not entirely believable, and moreover, it is extremely harmful.
The struggle of black Americans for their rights is respectable. Historians, who saw some social roots in this, began to openly manipulate the facts, namely, the structural elements of the new musical subculture, because they themselves did not understand anything about it at that time. And immediately Europe responded, and later the Soviet Union, and off and on it went. The simplest logic was not appropriate in those distant times. But still, even in those distant times of the beginning of the 20th century, progressive scientists wrote more than once (but somehow they did not pay attention to this, or did not want to pay attention, all kinds of revolutions were too fashionable in those days, and the struggle for social rights), that somehow jazz was never born in Africa, and didn’t even take root. And to a greater extent in India too. Although we can say for sure that many Indian folk rhythms are absolutely as acceptable and are identified with jazz rhythms, no less than African ones. Why?
Interesting comparison. Karate-do. All over the world, this martial art is considered Japanese. That's how it is. How the school itself and the social environment for this martial art were formed in Japan. But what is the way of getting this, let's say, teaching, to the Japanese islands. It's simple. From India the road goes to China, then to the Japanese island of Okinawa, which at that time was still Chinese. So what about these factors?
Let's go back to the end of the 19th century. Europe enjoyed the art of great musical masters to its fullest. That only one was worth it - Chopin. And Liszt, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov?.. And everyone somehow missed the moment when the integration of many musical systems, in America, which was already gaining economic strength, began to give rise to a kind of symbiosis, a new musical subculture, which would then take over the whole world in the 20th century , but this is not only jazz, but also rock, as its natural continuation.
My thoughts will be based on very simple concepts and comparisons, and I will also quote freely stated phrases from some works, so as not to lead you into some kind of fornication with theoretical terms, many of which I still remember. But, of course, you and I will not completely abandon terminology, since it often carries a conglomerate of concepts that are difficult to express in one sentence.
If you want to travel with me, I will be glad. If you want to get off the path of my thoughts, close this material.
So. The confluence of historical events, the intertwining of destinies, the social environment, the synthesis of cultures is only a small component of the prerequisites for the creation of a new musical subculture. Yes. You can talk a lot about who was the first performer of a particular musical genre. But still, the most important thing is that we need to understand exactly what direction it is and what exists in this direction.
After all, there’s no escape (“you’ll fall in love and get married”), but all music is based on three, as they say, pillars: melody, harmony and rhythm.
Melody.
Each generation, as it were, develops its own melodic repertoire, which the best way corresponds historical ideas given time. But melody is an integral part of rhythm and, often, harmony, and is largely dependent on these factors. Late 19th century beginning of the 20th century. The main melodic component of that time in America was the European melodic model, and only then the introduction into it of elements inherent in the folklore of black Americans, Indians, English, Scottish, French, Spanish and other peoples inhabiting America. But the most characteristic techniques for performing the melody appeared in the new musical subculture in some so-called blues tones (blue-notes), characteristic of the folklore of American blacks, but not only them (the “flickering” of major and minor is inherent in Old Russian folklore too). Some “dirty”, “unstable” (dirty, labile), scream effects (shout). These are characteristic elements of melodic techniques (I emphasize, techniques) for that time, which later became characteristic of jazz, that is, they became standards, but not fundamental elements of melody.
Harmony.
Harmony in its classical sense is an element of music inherent mainly in the European direction. In the new musical subculture of the beginning of the 20th century on the American continent, the process of development of harmony occurred with the very process of composing, playing music and was associated with those expressive means that a given musician wanted to express at a given moment. In jazz, harmony is inherently linear (sequential, diatonic); this structure of a sequence of harmonies is characteristic of the folk music of many European nations and not only them, although not all works of jazz are such. A striking example: the harmonic structure (harmony sequence) of Blues, many say that this is completely the creation of American blacks, and this is a purely European chord sequence (but sept/sixth chords - that is, the coloring of these chords is already characteristic of jazz itself): I-IV- I-II-V-I (deliberately put the II degree instead of IV in order to remove the talk that illiterate Africans used the V-IV stage turn, a harmonic turn prohibited in classical European music, and II-V - it turns out that it is allowed, but it is almost imperceptible , although let it be V-IV). We found out that the harmony in Blues is purely European. The number of bars is twelve. But this is not the result of the creation of some new Negro non-standard musical structure(forms), but simply adding four more bars to eight bars (an absolutely European system of form formation) that occurred due to the simple repetition of a four-bar line of poetic text. In 1965, master, bachelor, teacher of the Juilliard School, John Mehegan, published a work using a digital system of notation for harmony (general-bass - “general bass”, which has existed for 200 years in European musical culture), thereby accurately and completely reflecting the entire system of organization harmony in jazz, drawing a parallel between the origins of jazz harmony and classical harmony. But I want to emphasize that in jazz triads are practically not used, but chords with at least four sounds are used.
Rhythm.
In the area of rhythm, jazz musicians made the most significant achievements. “It is the rhythmic qualities of jazz that fascinate many people around the world and have come to symbolize the sound of jazz.” But rhythm organization based on standard meter and sizes is a purely European model, inherent in its entire musical culture. Yes. There is no analogy in classical European music for the unique rhythmic elements of jazz. For classical European music, maybe yes, but not for the folk rhythm model of various non-European countries. This applies to pan-Asian countries, Turkey (sakal...), India (detsy-talas...), Bulgarian, Russian rhythms and natural rhythms African continent. Here is an example of simple rhythmic counterpoint inherent in European thinking:
1. eighth notes - melody;
2. halves - harmony;
3. quarters - meter, time.
It is on these three verticals in jazz that a certain new rhythmic organization takes place, which cannot be written down in any kind of musical notation. Although this is a controversial issue. You can record everything... I don’t want to talk a lot about shuffle, drive, cross-rhythm - all this can be combined with the word swing, but this is also a conventional name and naturally this word cannot combine all the concepts of the rhythm organization of jazz, especially cross-rhythm (cross rhythms). Much has been written about rhythms, the history of the development of rhythms, biorhythmics by major composers of the 20th century such as Messiaen, Boulez, Webern... I would like to note that among the romantic composers of the late 19th century there was already an increasing tendency towards a kind of free-dynamic emphasis against the metric function of the beat . It was already a kind of swing, but more free and sophisticated. However, the jazz rhythm started new era rhythm organizations of the 20th century.
Following the logic of my reasoning, it becomes clear that no one in those days created anything supernatural, and there was no need to. “Collection of all works” in the field of folk (I emphasize - folk, at the same time, different nations) musical culture at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries on the American continent led to the birth of a powerful musical direction - Jazz, which became comparable only to academic musical culture. At the same time, the use of European musical instruments, including even drums, once again emphasizes the logic that ninety percent of jazz is based on the European method and rules of music-making accepted at that time.
Melody. Harmony. Rhythm. While changing, these three pillars still remained fundamental in jazz. But jazz would not be jazz if you and I still ignored the element that in jazz is its core - improvisation. Eighty percent of jazz music is improvisation. Without improvisation, jazz, such as we have today, would not exist at all.
But let's return again to improvisation. You and I already know that at the end of the 19th century, improvisation in academic music was viewed especially unkindly. But on the American continent, by and large, at the end of the 19th century, academic music was, to put it mildly, treated coolly.
But... But still many musical pieces and the songs of that time, even such as early ragtime, country and early blues, were played without allowing for the possibility of improvisation. They were just learning.
But how did the process of returning improvisation to musical culture, even a new one, begin?
Improvisation, as an art form, requires a special talent, which distinguishes an improvising musician from a musician who only reads notes.
The improviser must master the material of his art: musical form, melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, polyphony, etc., no worse than the composer. That is, the prerequisites for the revival of improvisation are the emergence of people (improvising musicians) who could embody all the elements of this art form. And the process began. That is, the process of self-expression of musicians began (fortunately, the new direction of music - jazz allowed this), both in terms of composition and in terms of performing skills.
There is a law in psychology called “anticipatory reflection.” In musical activity, this was expressed in the ability of musicians to predict the further development of a musical work. This factor, along with many others (about which a little later), is important in the work of an improviser. Considering the significant number of operations performed by an improviser, it should be noted that most skills should be automated, since the consciousness of a musician at the moment of improvisation is mainly occupied with the search for the development of musical thought. Every improvising musician must have an “elementary musical complex”:
1 ability to respond emotionally to music;
2nd modal (harmonic) feeling;
3 sense of form;
4 auditory presentation;
5 rhythmic feeling;
6 the ability to analyze music during performance and predict its development.
This is the minimum that an improviser should have.
But I would still like to take a closer look at the two main factors of the improviser, which you and I already know:
1) composer's apparatus;
2) performing apparatus.
Musical improvisation is a form of productive artistic activity, as a result of which a new work or a new version of an existing one appears. musical theme. The main tool for this is creative thinking. The work of imagination and management of acquired skills is central to creativity. When creating a work, the composer solves mental problems to a certain extent on an analytical level, acting by the method of selection, comparing what has been achieved with the goal towards which he is moving. Constructive thinking often acts independently as the main driving factor. Constructive thinking is immediately followed by so-called artistic-imaginative thinking. Both types of thinking form the basis of the composer’s apparatus of the improviser. The components of evaluation, that is, the aesthetic taste of the composer's apparatus, are a sense of proportion and a sense of form.
And an improviser, who simultaneously performs music and creates it, must also possess a performing apparatus no less than a compositional one. The performing apparatus differs from the composer's apparatus. In the language of philosophy, the performer contemplates. And if we look even deeper into the fabric of the performer’s creative process, then he, as it were, finalizes and speculates the composer’s activity, turning his theme (work) into a complete, highly artistic image. This means that the main element of the performer is the type of thinking (reproductive) and its derivative - a highly organized type of imagination. And naturally, it has already been said about this that the basis of the performing skills of an improviser are the principles of developing a large volume of musical memory, as well as the development of virtuosic technical techniques of performance.
And so these two global images, two directions musical thinking and skills merged into a certain substance that gave birth to a completely new generation of improvising musicians, thereby closing the chain of the return of the improvisational element to the musical culture of the 20th century as a whole. Of course, this process was not lightning fast and unambiguous. Everything developed and returned to its place gradually.
The first skills of an improviser lay in the plane of so-called paraphrase improvisation, that is, improvisation of appropriate variation, embellishment of the melody, slight variety in rhythms, etc.
Further, the improvisational skills of the musicians developed and resulted in a certain system of linear improvisation. This system of improvisation dominates, almost to this day, but naturally, it is developing. Today everything falls into the improvisational element: melody, harmony, rhythm and even form, as the general structure of the work. So, linear improvisation is a kind of composition of a new version of a melodic line based on the existing harmony, theme, form, or maybe only on the harmony, or even just on the modal structure of the work.
But there are various rumors about the third type (system) of improvisation - spontaneous. Spontaneous improvisation, free, is something that is difficult to analyze. Let's say I offer myself this option for improvisation: g-moll (Mixolydian mode), plus based on some kind of rhythm, or I choose the character of the piece, determine the tempo, texture, etc. This suggests that there is no such thing as absolutely free improvisation. The process of improvisation is by no means some secret ritual performed arbitrarily without prior and precise knowledge and skills. Rather, it is the conscious application of logical and comprehensive musical ideas that reach heights of expression in collaboration with trained musical talent endowed with the ability to imagine.
I present these small crumbs of knowledge of the improvisational apparatus of a musician in this work, knowing, of course, not fully, but still knowing how the improvisational element developed in the history of musical culture.
The development of improvisation in the 20th century is practically a repetition of this story, but at a new stage of time. This is the revival and return of improvisation to the general music world. And this happened thanks to the birth and development of a unique, large, beautiful and inimitable musical art - jazz.
And yet, in order not to be unfounded, let's make a small excursion into the history of improvisational art. This is extremely useful. Very little is written about this. But anyone who doesn’t want to read this, or knows this material, can skip it.
In the first centuries of our era, in the musical tradition of the Mediterranean there was only the so-called oral tradition of transmission musical material. The ancient schools of late antique culture that have come down to us taught: “you must sing according to your own inspiration.” In the philosopher Boethius of 480-525 we find the words: “but he who does not know how to sing pleasantly still hums to himself”... In the 7th century, the time of spiritual chant comes. At first, the church did not exclude improvisation. At the moment when it was necessary to compose something instantly, the singer naturally used improvisation skills. The Gregorian traditions of churches have left their mark. The singer who lived in the first millennium had no need for precise notation, since literally repeatable music did not yet exist. Each musician brought something new to the musical material, i.e. improvised.
At the beginning of the second millennium, the word improvisation appears more and more often in musical treatises on the art of music, as a precursor to written creativity. Apparently the musicians of that era were already thinking about the phenomenon of improvisation itself. Outstanding reformer music pedagogy and music notation, Guido Aretinsky puts forward a composition method based on chance. This is very similar to what would be a letter (or number) harmony improvisation in today's game. But in this type of spontaneous composition proposed by Aretinsky, the system of modern academic composers working in serial and aleatoric composition is still most visible.
In the 12th-14th centuries, the manner of improvisation of minstrels, jugglers, and shpilmans and the degree of their virtuosity largely depended on specific conditions. Aristocratic entertainment (hunting tournaments) was accompanied by music, and a medieval procession could combine elements of folklore performance, religious drama, dance, chant and ensemble improvisation, which is confirmed by the words of a chronicler of the Burgudian court:
“and the silver trumpets, as many as six or more, and other minstrel trumpets, organ players, harps and other countless instruments - all with the power of their playing made such a noise that the whole city rang.” Forms, methods and techniques of collective improvisation in the Middle Ages were developed almost spontaneously.
Emergence and development early forms polyphony in professional European music of the 15th century was based on a balance between written and improvisational tendencies. Essentially all written polyphonic forms used by medieval authors originated from collective improvisation. At this time, a form of improvised polyphony, the so-called faubourdon, became widespread in Europe. This is essentially a variation of the mixed form, where the outer voices were composed and the middle one was improvised. But in the 15th century, another principle of improvised polyphony appeared - imitation...
During the Renaissance of the 16th-17th centuries, so-called spontaneous creativity was highly valued. Improvisation was no longer equated with some uncontrollable element, but demanded high skill, constant improvement, universal knowledge, abilities for structural thinking and mastery of a whole system of technical techniques, that is, a real school. The art of improvisation itself was also universal, covering not only music, but also poetry and dramatic art. The maestro (as the musician or poet-improviser was called) was required not to repeat a memorized and specially prepared work, but to have the skill of improvisation, that is, to always introduce something new. Not just memory, but a virtuoso ability to create every minute. At this time, special schools of improvisers were created, where the teacher himself had to master this art in practice. The technique of improvisation at this time reaches high degree professionally developed and includes several varieties.
The first is the transformation of one tune into a polyphonic piece (vertical line). Now this is expressed in the harmonic thinking of the modern improvising musician.
Another variety is the variation of new motives and phrases that transform the melodic line ( horizontal line). Nowadays it is called linear improvisation.
Instrumental music of the Renaissance puts forward an additional variety - “free” improvisation. This is already a textural-motor aspect of improvisation, leading to the first independent forms of prelude, toccata, etc. Nowadays it would be called spontaneous improvisation, but on a clearly verified basis.
Another type of passage is developing, ornamentus, or diminuements - ornamental models of improvisation, i.e. improvised decorations. Nowadays it would be called paraphrase improvisation, not entirely accurately, but still...
The next stage in the development of musical culture (XVIII-XIX centuries) was the process of eliminating improvisation from performing skills. The art of improvisation becomes the lot of individual composer-performers (organists, pianists, violinists...).
That's how it happened. That's the story.
Before returning to the 20th century, to the century of the birth, formation and development of jazz, I would like to understand improvisation itself, but now as a kind of internal process of musical performance.
So.
Here is one possible point of view on the process of improvisation itself.
Improvisation is based on certain types of memory. The improviser creates musical material from certain ready-made blocks, previously remembered musical segments. The improviser manipulates these blocks, combining them like a mosaic. The smaller the block, the more beautiful the mosaic, the more original its coloring and the higher the artistic image of the canvas itself. This process is based on the regulative will and taste of the performer. Improvisation is recorded in memory as a memorable musical event, the value of which is not only in its intonation quality, but in its uniqueness. Models (tonemes), phrases that arose during this musical act are collected and cataloged in the memory of the improviser himself. This lava of improvisational heat gradually hardens and can be contemplated and improved. Therefore, in the compositional dictionary of European music, perhaps, there is not a single phrase that was not once found in the process of improvisation. Back in 1753, the work “An Experience in the Correct Way to Play the Clavier” demonstrates a method of teaching improvisation techniques. Individual improvisation has always required thorough preparation—school. Improvisers were highly valued in those days. Handel often improvised as he performed. Beethoven always prepared in advance for his public improvisations. Young Weber systematically practiced the technique of improvisation under the supervision of Abbe Vogler. Each major musician developed his own methodology for mastering the art of improvisation. This was related to individual performing and composing technique and represented an awareness of one's own playing technique. A student who knows how to improvise will discover in himself a special creative initiative in his attitude to music, a developed sense of form, style, and a tenacious memory. Of course, the phenomenon of improvisation has brought forward a lot scientific problems, since a certain historical gap in this area has made itself felt. Of particular interest are studies of the psychological and social aspects of improvisation, the development of problems in the theory of intuition, the creation of a manual on improvised counterpoint, diminuements, a more detailed and developed school of rhythm and harmony; research is needed on the relationship between memory and chance, the polystylistics of improvisation, etc. But the process has begun and is progressing successfully.
Let's summarize.
In early jazz we have such concepts as rhythm, harmony, melody, improvisation... These concepts have purely European roots, as I outlined above. Instruments in early jazz: winds, piano (or banjo), double bass, drums. This European instruments Apart from, perhaps, the banjo and drum set, which evolved and developed over time, the saxophone also appeared later. What has changed already in modern jazz? The basis remains the same. Musically, polystylistics have developed and continue to exist in jazz. The instruments included an electric guitar (by the way, in 1936), later a bass guitar, keyboards (synthesizers), and various instruments of a symphony orchestra and ethnic instruments of different nations were added.
And yet jazz is a completely new substance, a new unique art born in the 20th century.
What is this connected with?
But before we move on to the musicians themselves, without whom this trend in modern musical culture would naturally not exist, I want to analyze a little the musical fabric of jazz itself.
How did jazz become different from the rest of musical culture at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries? Here we must understand that the infrastructure of academic music in America was insufficient and underdeveloped for many reasons. This is where it all just began. Filling the vacuum of musical culture was naturally filled by the ethnic musical cultures of the peoples inhabiting this country. And, especially since everything here is mixed up.
1. Naturally folk styles different peoples were personified in most cases by the so-called small forms. These were practically songs and instrumental pieces, mostly of a dance nature.
2. Next - minimizing tools. If in the cities there were still musical instruments: piano, double bass, wind instruments, violins, European percussion instruments, then there were country instruments: a harmonica, some small drums: bongos, maracas, maybe another kind of rural violin...
3. The style of music, first of all, personified a certain symbiosis of ethnic song and dance styles of non-European and European cultures. This was expressed, first of all, by introducing unique elements characteristic of the musical cultures of different nations into the musical fabric of the same songs or dance pieces. Moreover, social roots began to influence the musical fabric of the emerging new musical art. It all came from life itself, from its way of life, social economic base... Also, rural (country) music had a great influence on urban musical culture and vice versa.
4. And naturally, since we are talking about the merging of ethnic musical cultures, then, first of all, folk music has always developed as an oral tradition, that is, through transmission “from ear to ear” and this certainly had an impact on the formation and development of improvisational skills of musicians of that time. The revival of this powerful layer of musical culture (improvisation) has begun, as a kind of master school base for the formation and development of virtuoso performing and composing skills of young musicians performing this music.
Thus, the emerging unique musical culture, later called jazz, at the threshold of the 20th century turned out to be a kind of synthesis of the ethnic cultures of the peoples inhabiting America. Naturally, there could be no talk of any classical (academic) music at the beginning of the development of jazz. Although the instrumental music of early reg-times can, with a stretch, be characterized as some small instrumental pieces for piano, close to the academic trends of piano music, but of a completely “special” musical nature. I would not like to repeat myself about the influence of such movements as country/and/western and early blues on the development of jazz. A huge number of works have been written and rewritten about all this... We are talking about something else. Jazz, as a musical art, turned out to be a completely new means of transmitting musical information coming from the Man of the Century and to the Man of the Century. Jazz gave birth to a certain substance that continued its life in rock music. I want to emphasize that we are not talking about the attitude towards rock music as the music of some hairy, dirty, wild and uneducated drug addicts, but as a huge layer of musical culture of the second half of the 20th century, which created a large number of musical masterpieces. So, jazz completely changed the general concept of performing and perceiving music. Everything seems to remain the same. It seems like nothing special new was invented. But everything has changed. I don't want to talk about this much. Place next to each other an academic (classical) ensemble and a jazz ensemble, and then a rock group. There seem to be the same number of musicians, but everything is so different. What happened?
And something happened... All the processes taking place in the formation of a new model of musical art were closed on people. As with many other things on this earth.
The social roots of young America developed heterogeneously. It was a kind of bundle of social and political contradictions that we could not survive for a minute in old Europe. They wouldn't even be able to appear there. For the young new state, in which the slave system still existed, and the slaves were Africans, the basis was in the rising economy. Everything was thrown into its development. Many people were dependent on her. And yet people remained people. No matter what shocks swept over their heads, no matter what difficulties, crimes and violence they passed through, the foundation of the Man of the Century was preserved - his soul. After all, what’s interesting is that when America was building and growing rich, there were many Chinese in the dirtiest jobs, but the influence of the Chinese on the birth of jazz was little noticeable, because they, politically speaking, were relatively free.
Whether it was on the ranch or in the cities, people, based on the economy, developed a certain awareness of the division of people into masters and workers, this model basically exists to this day. Although there is also a second layer - these are politicians and their employees - officials. It may be an old model for people, but in America it needed to be established. Naturally, “masters” must be served by “slaves,” and they were already present in young America, which, however, persisted for a long time, even when slavery was abolished. Thus, the question of who should have played the most music for the gentlemen becomes clear.
What follows is even more interesting. Much has been written about this. If somewhere on the ranch, as it were, Africans could be preserved in their hereditary form, but in the cities the process of assimilation with the white population naturally took place. This created what we have today - the so-called Creoles or American blacks. Further and even more interesting. Assimilation creates an amazing world that we now call Latin American. Added to them is what ethnographers call the Afro-Cuban population. These are the origins that today have a huge influence on jazz and not only on jazz. Yes. We can say that there were and are many African musical and ethnic components in jazz. Yes, we can say that many of the first jazz stars were Creoles, i.e. American blacks mixed with whites. But who can calculate how much other European ethno-musical sources influenced the component of jazz: French, English, Spanish, etc.? Or how did the musical origins of other non-European peoples influence the component of jazz? It seems to be forgotten, but in vain. About European musical origins jazz was told by me earlier and here, as it were, everything is already clear. But it’s not clear why we are somehow accustomed to the fact that it was Africans who “invented” jazz?! Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe no one got used to it. But somehow it happened that the black population of America is associated with jazz. This is not entirely true. And it’s not even like that at all.
They will reproach me, but why divide who was first and how they played jazz?
There is only one objection - after all, the Japanese, as karate fighters, are naturally strong, but many fighters in the world are also no weaker.
But this is not a battle or a battle.
After all, Basie Smith, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington are leading jazz musicians, but so are Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, and George Gershwin. Further. Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, but also Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Randy and Michael Brecker... But this is not a comparison. Comparison is not appropriate here. The point is, who divided jazz into black and white? For me, jazz is a new unique art of the 20th century, born in America, or more precisely in the USA, and belonging to the entire universe. This is not anyone's property. This is the property of the entire earthly world. Just like rock music. Whose property is rock music? Does it really sound funny?
When you live in this world, many things open up differently. You can look at your feet, you can look at the stars, or you can do both.
There is and will be freedom of choice.
Free will and awareness of Universal harmony.
And how much harmony there is in jazz!
Rhythm is energy and movement.
And what an extraordinary, cosmic rhythm in jazz!
Thought is the engine of development. Melody is a thought. Thought is infinite and immortal.
And what an exquisite melody in jazz!
Creativity is the Universal flow that leads the Man of the Century to immortality.
And how much creativity there is in jazz!
Once upon a time, someone asked me:
— Is jazz really music?
I was so amazed that I couldn’t even answer. Time flew by. Life changed, people changed...
And for the third year now, I have begun lectures on the jazz improvisation course with the words:
— Jazz is a unique phenomenon of musical art...
Jazz is a relatively “young” cultural phenomenon of the twentieth century and its contemporary. Originating in the United States of America, in the process of its evolution it went beyond the purely American phenomenon, spreading throughout the world and bringing with it a certain image awareness of the surrounding reality. In this regard, attempts to understand jazz as a cultural phenomenon began to appear. At the beginning of its formation, jazz was an expression of the ideas of existentialism (according to researchers, jazz music was preferred by young “ lost generation" USA and Western Europe in the period after the First World War), in the fine arts of the twentieth century - an exponent of the ideas of futurism and avant-garde (images of the grotesque and sarcasm). Polemics on the essence of jazz and its basic principles - freedom (improvisation) and dialogue - were conducted throughout the second half of the twentieth century among cultural scientists and sociologists in the field of musicology, in particular jazzology. In her dissertation research, “The Influence of Jazz on the Professional Composer’s Creativity of Western Europe in the First Decades of the 20th Century,” M. Matyukhina substantiates the point of view that in the process of evolution, jazz acquired the features of postmodernism, or rather its basic principle as playing “as a way to isolate oneself from reality and an opportunity to decorate gray everyday life... like a game of life.” Throughout the 20th century, there were also extreme views in philosophy and sociology on the art of jazz as negative, Dionysian, causing chaos and leading to decay. These are the points of view of A. Losev and T. Adorno. However, the art of jazz is constantly in the process of evolution, being open to the social phenomena of the surrounding life and the movement of philosophical thought.
The jazz phenomenon is pure musical means embodies the substantial - vitally important for a person - idea of FREEDOM. This idea, as Russian researcher V. Erokhin notes in his research, “...is the core of the content and form of jazz art, its structural and semantic dominant.” In no other area of artistic creativity has it been expressed with such force and conviction until now. For an active and spiritually rich person, freedom is one of the highest values. The art of jazz represents a musical model of “controlled freedom.” It should be noted that the jazz character of music is truly revealed only in real sound (not “on paper”), although the musical text can create certain prerequisites for this. In jazz, more often than in other forms of music-making, improvisation occurs, which gives each sounding composition spontaneity, individuality, and, when a new concept is applied to it, uniqueness. However, improvisation is not only freedom and individuality (personality), but also the ability to produce a large number of variations of a certain melodic construct, which develops creativity and heuristics. Specific to jazz creativity is the absence of division into a composer on the one hand and a performer on the other, as well as the openness (defined as “existential communicativeness”) of this type of music-making for the listener, who can take part in the process of performing and creating a jazz composition through claps and other noise effects. Jazz art also allows one to organically combine both the aesthetics of entertainment and hedonism, as well as the mysticism of Eastern philosophy, pragmatics and the “intellectualism” of Western rationalism.
In Belarus, jazz music began to sound on the concert stage with the organization of the State Jazz Orchestra under the direction of E. Rosner in 1940, and then, thanks to the creative and concert activities of Y. Belzatsky, B. Raisky, M. Finberg and other musicians, this type of musical art was further developed . Having repeated the first evolutionary stage of the development of world jazz (Western European and Russian) - existing in the sphere of a light genre - over time, Belarusian jazz overcame the entertainment level, turning at this stage into intellectual and even elitist music. Bypassing the era of stagnation in which this art form had been since the mid-1960s, existing only as background music (which was due to the political situation in the USSR), by the end of the seventies, Belarusian jazz joined the powerful stream of the jazz festival movement, which embraced the entire Soviet cultural space, which gave impetus to a new evolutionary round. Jazz moved to the concert hall stage, becoming music that needed to be understood (this transition in American jazz took place in the 1940s and marked the birth of modern jazz). At the present stage, there are two trends in the functioning of jazz art - this is a creative direction that develops the creative activity of big band musicians of the National concert orchestra Republic of Belarus under the direction of M. Finberg and various small compositions within this team. Also, the search for new things is carried out in creative activity The Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of V. Babarikin in the field of combining academic, jazz, rock and popular music, in concert performances and studio recordings of musicians of the Apple Tea group and solo programs of P. Arakelyan and D. Pukst. On the other hand, there is an opposite tendency to preserve the jazz tradition, the so-called mainstream, which exists within the framework of festivals and concerts held in the Palace of Trade Unions as meetings of the Minsk Jazz Club of E. Vladimirov and performances of groups performing music in the style of early and late classical jazz - Dixieland “Renaissance” under the direction of V. Lap-tenka and “Nix Jazz Band” under the direction of N. Fedoren-ko. There is also a constant exchange of musical ideas within the framework of touring concerts of Western (American as direct bearers of tradition, European as a more experimental direction) and Russian jazz musicians. In Belarusian musical art, attention to jazz is evident among composers of the academic tradition. This type interaction is in the nature of the author's conceptual understanding of genre-style idioms and the essence of jazz music.
Thus, Belarusian jazz is developing in the context of modern European jazz and at this stage is a means of expanding the cultural space of the Republic of Belarus.
Literature
- Matyukhina, M. The influence of jazz on the professional composition of Western Europe in the first decades of the 20th century [Electronic resource]: Dis. ..cand. art criticism: 17.00.02. M. Matyukhina - M., 2003.
- Adorno, Theodor W. Selected: Sociology of Music Theodor W. Adorno. - M.-SPb.: University Book, 1998.
- Erokhin, V. De musica instrumentalis: Germany.1960-1990. Analytical essays/V. Erokhin. - M.: Music, 1997.
- Yaskevich, Ya. S. Applied Internet: dictionary of terms: Textbook. manual for graduate students and students of the advanced training system Ya. S. Yaskevich, I. L. Andreev, N. V. Krivosheev. - Minsk: RIVSH BSU, 2003. - 80 s.
480 rub. | 150 UAH | $7.5 ", MOUSEOFF, FGCOLOR, "#FFFFCC",BGCOLOR, "#393939");" onMouseOut="return nd();"> Dissertation - 480 RUR, delivery 10 minutes, around the clock, seven days a week and holidays
Kornev Petr Kazimirovich. Jazz in the cultural space of the 20th century: dissertation... candidate of cultural studies: 24.00.01 / Kornev Petr Kazimirovich; [Place of protection: St. Petersburg. state University of Culture and Arts]. - St. Petersburg, 2009. - 191 p.: ill. RSL OD, 61 09-24/77
Introduction
Chapter I. The art of jazz: from mass to elite 11
1.1. Development of jazz in the first half of the 20th century 11
1.2. Features of jazz culture 27
1.3. Jazz subculture 49
Conclusions to the first chapter 67
Chapter II. Dynamics of development of jazz in the artistic culture of the 20th century 71
2.1. Historical change of styles (stride, swing, bebop) 71
2.2. Jazz musicians of the first half of the 20th century 84
2.3. Interpenetration and mutual influence of jazz and other arts 122
Conclusions to the second chapter 136
Conclusion 138
List of used literature 142
Applications 156
Introduction to the work
The relevance of research. Throughout the 20th century, jazz caused a huge amount of controversy and discussion in world artistic culture. For a better understanding and adequate perception of the specifics of the place, role and significance of music in modern culture, it is necessary to study the formation and development of jazz, which has become a fundamentally new phenomenon not only in music, but in the spiritual life of several generations. Jazz influenced the formation of a new artistic reality in the culture of the 20th century.
Numerous reference books, encyclopedic publications, and critical literature on jazz traditionally distinguish two stages: the era of swing (late 20s - early 40s) and the formation of modern jazz (mid 40s - 50s), and also provides biographical information about each performing pianist. But we will not find any comparative characteristics or cultural analysis in these books. However, the main thing is that one of the genetic cores of jazz is in its twentieth century (1930-1949). Due to the fact that in modern jazz art we observe a balance between “yesterday’s” and “today’s” performance features, it became necessary to study the sequence of development of jazz in the first half of the 20th century, in particular, the period of the 30s-40s. During these years, three styles of jazz were improved - stride, swing and bebop, which makes it possible to talk about the professionalization of jazz and the formation of a special elite listening audience by the end of the 40s.
By the end of the 40s of the XX century, jazz became an integral part of world culture, influencing academic music, literature, painting, cinema, choreography, enriching means of expression dance and promoting talented performers and choreographers to the heights of this art. A wave of global interest in jazz-dance music (hybrid jazz) unusually developed the recording industry and contributed to the emergence of record designers, stage designers, and costume designers.
Numerous studies devoted to the style of jazz music traditionally examine the period of the 20-30s, and then explore the jazz of the 40-50s. The most important period - the 30-40s - turned out to be a gap in research works. The saturation of changes of the twenties (30s-40s) is a major factor for the seeming “non-mixing” of styles on both sides of this time “fault”. The twenty years in question were not specifically studied as a period in history artistic culture, in which the foundations of styles and movements were laid that have become the personification of the musical culture of the XX-XXI centuries, as well as how crucial moment in the evolution of jazz from the phenomenon popular culture into elite art. It should also be noted that the study of jazz, stylistics and culture of performance and perception of jazz music is necessary to create the most complete understanding of the culture of our time.
The degree of development of the problem. To date, a certain tradition has developed in the study of cultural musical heritage, including the style of jazz music of the period under consideration. The basis of the research was the material accumulated in the field of cultural studies, sociology, social psychology, musicology, as well as factorological studies covering the historiography of the issue. Important for the study were the works of S. N. Ikonnikova on the history of culture and the prospects for the development of culture, V. P. Bolshakov on the meaning of culture, its development, on cultural values, V. D. Leleko, devoted to aesthetics and the culture of everyday life, the works of S. T. Makhlina on art history and semiotics of culture, N. N. Suvorov on the elitist and mass consciousness, about the culture of postmodernism, G.V. Skotnikova about artistic styles and cultural continuity, I.I. Travina about the sociology of the city and lifestyle, which analyze the features and structure of modern artistic culture, the role of art in the culture of a certain era. In the works of foreign scientists J. Newton, S. Finkelstein, Fr. Bergerot considers the problems of continuity of generations, especially
the importance of various subcultures different from the culture of society, the development and formation of new musical art in world culture.
The works of M. S. Kagan, Yu. U. Fokht-Babushkin, and N. A. Khrenov are devoted to the study of artistic activity. The art of jazz is considered in the foreign works of L. Fizer, J. L. Collier. The main stages in the development of jazz in the periods of the 20-30s and 40-50s. studied by J. E. Hasse and further more detailed study creative process in the formation of jazz was carried out by J. Simon, D. Clark. The publications of J. Hammond, W. Connover, and J. Glaser in periodicals of the 30s and 40s: the magazines “Metronome” and “Down Beat” seem to be very significant for understanding the “era of swing” and modern jazz.
The works of domestic scientists made a significant contribution to the study of jazz: E. S. Barban, A. N. Batashov, G. S. Vasyutochkin, Yu. T. Vermenich, V. D. Konen, V. S. Mysovsky, E. L. Rybakova, V.B. Feyertag. Among the publications of foreign authors, I. Wasserberg, T. Lehmann deserve special attention, in which the history, performers and elements of jazz are discussed in detail, as well as books by Y. Panasier and W. Sargent published in Russian in the 1970s-1980s. The works of I. M. Bril and Yu. N. Chugunov, which were published in the last third of the 20th century, are devoted to the problems of jazz improvisation and the evolution of the harmonic language of jazz. Since the 1990s, over 20 dissertation studies on jazz music have been defended in Russia. The problems of the musical language of D. Brubeck (A. R. Galitsky), improvisation and composition in jazz (Yu. G. Kinus), theoretical problems of style in jazz music (O. N. Kovalenko), the phenomenon of improvisation in jazz (D. R. Livshits), the influence of jazz on the professional composition of Western Europe in the first half of the 20th century (M. V. Matyukhina), jazz as a sociocultural phenomenon (F. M. Shak); The problems of modern jazz dance in the system of choreographic education of actors are considered in the work of V. Yu. Nikitin. The problems of style education and harmony are considered in the works “Jazz Swing” by I. V. Yurchenko and in the dissertation of A. N. Frisher “Harmony in African American Jazz
period of style modulation - from swing to bebop." A large amount of factual material corresponding to the time of understanding and the level of development of jazz is contained in domestic publications of a reference and encyclopedic nature.
One of the fundamental reference publications, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Jazz (2000), provides a detailed description of all historical periods of jazz, styles, trends, the work of instrumentalists, vocalists, highlights the features of the jazz scene, the spread of jazz in various countries. A number of chapters in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Jazz are devoted to the 20-30s, and then to the 40-50s, while at the same time the 30-50s are not sufficiently represented: for example, there are no comparative characteristics of jazz pianists of this period .
Despite the vastness of materials on jazz of the period under study, there are practically no studies devoted to cultural analysis stylistic features of jazz performance in the context of the era, as well as the jazz subculture.
Object of study is the art of jazz in the culture of the 20th century.
Subject of study- specificity and sociocultural significance of jazz of the 30-40s of the XX century.
Purpose of the work: to study the specifics and sociocultural significance of jazz of the 30-40s in the cultural space of the 20th century.
In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following research problems:
consider the history and features of jazz in the context of the dynamics of the cultural space of the 20th century;
identify the reasons and conditions due to which jazz was transformed from a phenomenon of mass culture into an elite art;
enter into scientific circulation the concept of jazz subculture; determine the range of use of signs and symbols, terms of the jazz subculture;
identify the origins of the emergence of new styles and movements: stride, swing, bebop in the 30s of the 20th century;
justify the significance creative achievements jazz musicians, and in particular pianists, in the 1930s-1940s for world artistic culture;
characterize jazz of the 30s and 40s as a factor that influenced the formation of modern artistic culture.
Theoretical basis dissertation research is a comprehensive cultural approach to the phenomenon of jazz. It allows you to systematize information accumulated by sociology, cultural history, musicology, semiotics and, on this basis, determine the place of jazz in world artistic culture. To solve the problems, the following methods were used: integrative, which involves the use of materials and research results of a complex of humanities disciplines; system analysis, which allows us to identify the structural relationships of stylistic multidirectional trends in jazz; a comparative method that promotes the consideration of jazz compositions in the context of artistic culture.
Scientific novelty of the research
the circle of external and internal conditions for the evolution of jazz in the cultural space of the 20th century has been determined; the specificity of jazz of the first half of the 20th century has been revealed, which formed the basis not only of all popular music, but also of new, complex artistic and musical forms (jazz theater, feature films with jazz music, jazz ballet, jazz documentary films, jazz music concerts in prestigious concert halls , festivals, show programs, design of records and posters, exhibitions of jazz musicians - artists, literature about jazz, concert jazz - jazz music written in classical forms (suites, concerts);
the role of jazz is highlighted as the most important component of urban culture of the 30-40s (municipal dance floors, street processions and performances, a network of restaurants and cafes, closed jazz clubs);
jazz of the 30s and 40s is characterized as a musical phenomenon that largely determined the features of modern elite and mass culture, in
industries of entertainment, cinema and photography, dance, fashion, everyday culture;
the concept of jazz subculture was introduced into scientific circulation, criteria and signs of this social phenomenon were identified; the range of use of verbal terms and non-verbal symbols and signs of the jazz subculture is defined;
the originality of jazz of the 30th century was determined, the features of piano jazz (stride, swing, bebop), innovations of performers that influenced the formation of the musical language of modern culture were studied;
the significance of the creative achievements of jazz musicians is substantiated, an original diagram-table of the creative activity of leading jazz pianists, who determined the development of the main trends of jazz in the 1930-1940s, was compiled.
Main provisions submitted for defense
Jazz in the cultural space of the 20th century developed in two directions. The first developed within the commercial entertainment industry, within which jazz still exists today; second direction - how independent art, independent from commercial popular music. These two directions made it possible to determine the path of development of jazz from a mass culture phenomenon to an elite art.
In the first half of the 20th century, jazz became part of the interests of almost all social strata of society. In the 30-40s, jazz finally established itself as one of the most important components of urban culture.
The consideration of jazz as a specific subculture is based on the presence of special terminology, the characteristics of stage costumes, styles of clothing, shoes, accessories, the design of jazz posters, gramophone record sleeves, the originality of verbal and non-verbal communication in jazz.
Jazz of the 1930s-1940s had a serious impact on the work of artists, writers, playwrights, poets and on the formation of the musical language of modern culture, including everyday and festive ones. On OS-
New jazz saw the birth and development of jazz dance, tap, musicals, and new forms of the film industry.
The 30-40s of the 20th century were the time of birth of new styles of jazz music: stride, swing and bebop. The complication of harmonic language, technical techniques, arrangements, and the improvement of performing skills leads to the evolution of jazz and influences the development of jazz art in subsequent decades.
The role of performing skills and the personalities of pianists in the stylistic changes of jazz and the consistent change of jazz styles of the period under study is very significant: stride - J. P. Johnson, L. Smith, F. Waller, swing - A. Tatum, T. Wilson, J. Stacy to bebop - T. Monk, B. Powell, E. Haig.
Theoretical and practical significance of the research
The materials of the dissertation research and the results obtained allow us to expand knowledge about the development of artistic culture of the 20th century. The work traces the transition from mass spectacular dance performances in front of a crowd of thousands to elite music that can sound to several dozen people, remaining successful and complete. The section devoted to the characteristics of the stylistic features of stride, swing and bebop allows us to consider the entire complex of new comparative and analytical works about jazz performers by decade and by the stage-by-stage movement towards the music and culture of our time.
The results of the dissertation research can be used in teaching university courses “history of culture”, “jazz aesthetics”, “outstanding performers in jazz”.
Approbation of work took place in reports at interuniversity and international scientific conferences“Modern problems of cultural research” (St. Petersburg, April 2007), at the Bavarian Music Academy (Marktoberdorf, October 2007), “Paradigms of culture of the 21st century in the research of young scientists” (St. Petersburg, April 2008), at the Bavarian Music Academy Academy (Marktoberdorf, October 2008). Dissertation materials
used by the author when teaching the course “Outstanding Performers in Jazz” at the Department of Musical Art of the St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Culture. The text of the dissertation was discussed at meetings of the Department of Musical Art of Variety and the Department of Theory and History of Culture of St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Culture.
Development of jazz in the first half of the 20th century
A creative surge in many forms of art “welcomed” the approach of the 20th century. Instrumental jazz originated in the depths of Negro songwriting, but the end of the outgoing 19th century was marked by a symbiosis of the fiery, vibrant cake walk dance and music that was unusually suitable for it - the first ragtimes. Meanwhile, both in painting and in classical music, which had a longer history and experience, everything turned out unexpectedly and revolutionary. All types of art are beginning to free themselves from the shackling classical canons.
In 1874 in Paris, a group of young innovative artists organized an exhibition. The exhibited works used a special technique of separate strokes, halftones, and colored shadows that conveyed the impermanence and fleetingness of impressions. The new direction in art was called “impressionism”, and its most prominent representatives - Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pizarro, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley and Paul Cezanne - were called “impressionists”. The works of the Dutchman Vincent Van Gogh, Oskar Kokoschka (Austria), Edvard Munch (Norway) paved the way for “expressionism”. Soon new trends began to appear in sculpture, literature, architecture and music. But there was also feedback. The departure from the classical laws of harmony was associated with the name of the French composer Claude Debussy, about whom the music world started talking in the 90s of the 19th century. The works of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel conveyed subtle, airy, devoid of specifics feelings and carried the aesthetics of impressionism. Other composers also developed this direction and experimented with rhythm - Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok. Sculptors in their works of the early 20th century, like painters, sought to move away from the concrete to the abstract (Constantin Brancusi, Henry Moore). The aesthetics of modernist architecture, which Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959) implemented in his buildings, was based on the style of “organic architecture”, complete unity with the surrounding landscape.
Like everything new, jazz during its growth period was mobile and communicative, influencing other forms of art and absorbing any creative impulses. Many works of art from the early 20th century are infused with jazz. We can feel these “jazz” moods in painting - lines, contours, play of colors (for example, the work of P. Picasso is reflected in the compositions of D. Ellington; cubism and abstract art are “in tune” with the works of T. Monk, C. Mingus, O. Colman); in literature - the rhythm of E. Hemingway’s phrases “pushes” one to comprehend the bebop style, the luxury and richness of F. S. Fitzgerald’s phrases form a single whole with the music of the “Golden Age” of jazz - swing. A whole cohort of European and American composers is emerging, contemporaries of the development of jazz, inclined to search for a new language and techniques. Jazz indirectly influences through academic music (for example, C. Debussy) and classical ballet. The emergence of new plastic arts and movements is “pushed” by the hidden connection of these arts (in the work of Vaslav Nijinsky - “The Afternoon of a Faun”). Jazz motifs also appear in costumes based on Lev Bakst’s sketches - in lines, color combinations; in the first jazz posters, advertising and design of new sheet music. The surrealism of S. Dali, R. Magritte and H. Mirro, as well as the languid sounds and lyrics of the blues, are implicated in subconscious sex motivation, which was proclaimed to the whole world in his studies of the beginning of the 20th century by the psychoanalyst and scientist Z. Freud. The emergence of jazz and the emergence of “Freudianism” surprisingly coincide in time.
The first steps of jazz were characterized by eccentricity, frivolity, and dance character. Jazz music quickly spread in different countries and became widespread. Thus, jazz in the first decades became a product for wide consumption. And it turned out that jazz is the phenomenon that was so lacking for the fullness of life.
Throughout the 20-30s of the 20th century, jazz became a world favorite, a “child”, a manifestation of mass culture. Representatives of all social strata were fans of jazz music, and this allows us to consider jazz as a phenomenon with signs of universality. This music becomes an integral part artistic life society on a par with academic, chamber, folk music, ballet.
The tastes of the masses subsequently dictated the specifics (mass participation, dance character, external attributes, style of behavior) of the development and expansion of the jazz repertoire. Thus, in the 30s, fast dances were popular, and orchestras competed in the fiery performances of the same melodies. Or the other extreme - tired dancers needed to play something calmer; for this case, the big band's repertoire included ballads - slow pieces in which the vocalist most often performed solo. There were also many orchestras playing salon-sweet music - “sweet-bands”. A huge number of these bands have sunk into obscurity. This was a real phenomenon of mass culture in the 30s and 40s.
The secret of the success of jazz is in its extraordinary pulse, the brightness of the sound, the composition of the instruments, the changing role of each of them, and the new style of the leading vocalists. The impact of a large orchestra on the viewer is amazing not only by the quality of the musical material, but also by the unusual arrangement of the musicians on stage. Most often this is a semicircle and the viewer feels at the epicenter of attention and sound tension, where all the artists of the jazz orchestra work for the audience. This is facilitated by the special poses of the artists. The “drawn” movements of the bells of wind instruments are staged - the wings of the trombones sway from side to side synchronously with the rhythm, the trumpeters raise their instruments to the sky, the saxophonists combine various turns and “steps”, the pianist gesticulates and smiles, the double bass player plays deliberately demonstratively, and the drummer, sitting “above all” the orchestra members, he works miracles of rhythm and sometimes juggling.
The established mass, dance character of jazz music pushed businessmen from the entertainment business to create an entire jazz industry. Based on successful and proven samples (hits), their “twins” were created and replicated: melodies, songs, tunes, arranged in rhythmic patterns. It was a cliché of the jazz repertoire. The period from the late 20s to the early 40s is a kind of record for the duration of interest in jazz music, not only for America, but also for European countries. This was facilitated by a successful combination of the following factors, the presence of a kind of “chain”: orchestras (performing “link”) - dancers (active “link” of consumers) - gramophone records (a “link” that greatly increases the number of fans - a huge number of stores sold records all over the world) - radio broadcasts (a “link” that disseminates jazz music instantly and over any distance, expanding the audience of listeners as technical improvements) - advertising (this “link” was widely used and involved talented designers in the art of creating posters and posters). This record for the duration of interest will only be broken by rock music of the 60s and 90s.
In the period of the 30-40s, among hundreds of orchestras, leaders and arrangers of big bands stood out, who were looking for their own way, sought to get rid of the commercial doom of the repertoire. These orchestras dropped out of the list of dance big bands (for example, D. Ellington). Even the “king” of swing of the late 30s, B. Goodman, noted in his memoirs that playing in a large orchestra did not bring the creative satisfaction that was achieved in playing with a small ensemble. Playing with a large orchestra meant “playing for dancing.” Considering the activities of large orchestras throughout the 30-40s, it is necessary to note its main directions: playing in huge dance halls; performances in large clubs with a stage and appropriate equipment and decorations; work in small cafes and restaurants, where it was difficult to accommodate an orchestra; concerts in prestigious halls, philharmonic societies; touring America and going on tour to European countries.
Features of jazz culture
The emergence of jazz was vigorously perceived by theorists and researchers who believed that the high virtues of jazz were harmed by intelligence and civilization. It has been called both “primitive” and “barbaric” with a hint of praise, although in reality jazz was created mainly by black people in conditions of slavery. Another misconception was the theory that high levels of instrumental technique or the art of composing were detrimental to true jazz. It was also generally accepted that jazz was a “complete breakthrough” among all previous, or, more precisely, all Western music.
A common view among jazz scholars is that a trail is drawn from jazz to African music. Many of those who have listened to a lot of recordings of African drums and chants see in them similarities with jazz and build various theories without noticing the difference. So we can say that European music also leads back to Gregorian chants, which, in turn, have their roots in Asian, Greek and Hebrew music.
“Jazz is not African music,” as anyone who knows Johnny Dods' "Joe Turner Blues," Louis Armstrong's "Knocking a Jug," or Kid Ory's "High Society" can say, and how those pieces relate to African drumming or black vocals. ideas?
The term "African-American" is especially popular among jazz theorists. To use such a hybrid term is to imply that there are two Americas. In addition to African-Americans, there are Anglo-Americans, Irish-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Italian-Americans and others. Jazz music combines elements borrowed from other cultures: European hymns, French folk songs, Spanish songs and dances, highland songs and dances. And as a result of the unification, a new, fresh musical art was born, reflecting the emotional, social life, sorrows and anger of the people resettled on the American continent as slaves. After the abolition of slavery, blacks were limited in obtaining basic professions, education, freedom of movement and civil rights, “for work” low wages and relocation to the ghetto. In the process of the struggle for freedom, the history, traditions and culture of the people were created. The music created by the black people (spirituals, blues and jazz) spread widely as original music. The theory that jazz is “primitive” music, so widespread in the 40s, today cannot be accepted not only by listeners, but also by musicians. The word “primitive” is in most cases incorrectly interpreted by researchers as a synonym for primitive society. Primitive man was a creator due to circumstances, thanks to which we received the basics of linguistic communication, the beginnings of musical and artistic communications, and the first tools.
Some works of the 20s are also unusual, for example, “The History of a Soldier” by I. Stravinsky, written during the war. In this work, as in others, post-war, there is a conscious insistence on achieving a “primitive” resemblance to African drums. As a result, the composer manages to be closer to the “beat” of the original source than is done in jazz.
The “subconscious” theory is another misleading postulate. Jazz is not the product of just one mind. “Jazz is the growth of emotions in musical journey conscious skill, taste, artistry and intelligence. However, jazz cannot be called pure improvisation, only because in a number of exceptions it was created by musicians who could not read music. The process of improvisation is fundamental in jazz and is not so strikingly different from the processes that go on in the mind of the composer. Writing music has an important place in the history of jazz, in the development of jazz musicians, and the development of their creative abilities. Achieving high mastery in this art is progressing significantly today.”
Jazz has been constantly changing throughout its history. And in every period of development it continues to be outstanding music. When new life problems and obstacles appeared on the path of the jazz creator, this also caused changes in music. But the process of development, change, exploration of new materials and emotions is the basis not only of jazz, but of all existing music.
“Under the pressure of many prohibitions and restrictions, the black people managed to create art, which, first of all, was a distraction from the hardships of life, art “for themselves.” Unexpectedly, this art turned out to be ready-made entertainment “for everyone.” The people created music of phenomenal unusualness and beauty. Many people in the world began to admire this music.” Jazz should be considered a great contribution to the world's cultural heritage.
One of the features of jazz is its unusual sound. Negro music XIX centuries was immature. The Negro musician, the creator of wonderful American forms of music, almost always abandoned and alone, not attaching much importance to the accusations that fell on his head, was called the dissolute "genius of his race." After the Civil War, new instruments were adapted to the new quality of music. Instruments from the Confederate army: trumpets, cornets, trombones, clarinets, tubas, double basses, banjo (later guitar), drums appeared in street orchestras. The piano began to be used in variety shows due to the rhythmic-percussive properties of this instrument. A common music for dances and parades appeared, in which each instrument had its own “voice”, but they were all intertwined together with melodic lines and later this came to be called “New Orleans music”.
Historical change of styles (stride, swing, bebop)
Speaking about the emergence of stride, we will have to go back a decade - to the 20s. This style owes its birth to New York. It was here that the figure of a single pianist was in demand at any “party”, in a restaurant, bar, hotel. The musician could perform any new song, a fashionable melody, often transforming the song material to his taste. This pianist was, in essence, a “one-man orchestra”. The left hand served as the rhythm section, and the right hand decorated and complemented the melody and its interpretation with various techniques. The "Striding" technique in the left hand ("walking bass") came from ragtime (bass - chord - bass - chord), but the playing of the right hand changed significantly. This style of playing was later called "Harlem Stride Piano" or simply "stride".
Starting in its development from ragtime, stride began its formation during the First World War, but especially after its end. This style - energetic, filled with a pulse - was in tune with the appearance of an increasing number of mechanisms and various devices (cars, airplanes, telephones) changing people's lives, and reflected the new rhythm of the city, like other types of modern art (painting, sculpture, choreography).
Fast tempos and intensity (density of sound) led stride pianists to dense, active interaction of hands. The right hand technique advanced the accompaniment rhythm in the left hand. This style was distinguished by a different level of rhythmic intensity, rapid chord changes and a more linearly aligned meter. While the basis for the right hand was to preserve figures and versatility, the single-voice melodic line was increasingly used and became the norm. Stride pianists also added blues notes to their playing, while this technique was extremely rare in ragtime. These stylistic changes spoke of the awareness and education of the musicians. Stride absorbed a lot from his “predecessors” - ragtime and New Orleans style. Let us conditionally divide the stride into “early”, of which J. P. Johnson was a prominent representative, and “late”, in which F. Waller was the leading figure. It was Waller’s style that pushed the development of the “swing” style and contributed to the emergence of such masters as T. Wilson and A. Tatum.
The best stride performers were concentrated in the eastern United States, in New York, and the style was more often called "Harlem" stride. J. P. Johnson was the central figure, and his predecessors included Luckey Roberts, Eubie Blake, Richard "Abba Labba" McLean.
Let us note some characteristic features of these periods. Thus, in the early period, the best stride pianists had an “incredible” left hand and were able to play at very fast tempos. Chords and harmonic progressions improved, and improvisation became the norm for this style, in contrast to ragtime. The left hand technique is similar to that used in classic regg, but the chords and progressions are more complete and refined. The use of blues effects distinguished stride piano from ragtime. Early stride pianists played with intense rhythmic movement - "drive", like the New Orleans performers. Their improvisation was built on embellishments and variations.
The most popular figure of the "late" period was Fats Waller. His touch on the instrument (touch) was lighter than that of J.P. Johnson and F. Waller was a transitional figure from the stride to the swing style.
F. Waller builds his playing and compositions on “motives”. Motifs are short melodic, rhythmic or melodic-rhythmic ideas, which can then be varied many times. The motives, due to their brevity, were easy to remember. This was typical not only of blues traditions, but also of classical music. The features of stride also include: continuous accompaniment in the left hand; the rhythmic line of the left hand became more complex; the technique of using blues notes in a melodic line; the use of repeated phrases - piano riffs and trills in the right hand; chord improvisation over several bars; playing chords in the left hand on each quarter, without using separate bass notes, at a fast tempo; Late stride performers, complicating the piano technique, were forced to lighten the touch; constant dynamics throughout the play.
The thirties were also the beginning of the “boogie-woogie” style, created by pianists who played the blues square, simple in form and harmony, with rich, rhythmically repeating riff figures in the left hand. Taking its name from a dance common in the South among blacks, the style of “boogie-woogie” marched to the North of the United States with the powerful migration of the black population after the First World War. Already in the mid-20s, “boogie-woogie” began to spread on “race records” (records for blacks). Here are the names of the first performers: Clay Custer, Jimmy Blyth, Pine Top Smith. The record could also come with dance instructions.
Considering the formation of the swing style in early jazz, it is necessary to note its evolution on two levels - in a small ensemble and in solo piano music. In the mid-30s, the ensembles changed. Jazz ensembles grew in breadth, becoming orchestras. It was a fusion, a “hybrid” of a jazz combo and a big dance orchestra of the 20s. During the period of transition from small groups to large ones, while the "softening" process took place in music, a new piano style also emerged.
The example of a swing rhythm section was C. Basie's orchestra. The rhythm section musicians (guitar, double bass, piano, drums) played all four beats of each measure in one breath and with such a pulse that they seemed to sound like one instrument.
Swing pianists seemed torn between two worlds. The swing required a slight touch and a sense of lag; the prodding accents of the stride piano were smoothed out. Studying the features of swing based on the work of T. Wilson, we note the following. As in early styles, the left hand largely maintained the rhythm, playing on every quarter beat. The heavy pulsation of the stride pianists' left hand was replaced by a steadily relaxed meter. There was also a difference in the way swing pianists modified their left hand technique. Most walking lines were extended over a beat, but there were also long sequences stretched over two or more beats. T. Wilson was characterized by an attachment to smooth, smoothed lines, thinner and more graceful than those of stride pianists. Back in the 20s, L. Armstrong prepared the ground for this approach to improvisation, as did E. Hines. Although Teddy Wilson best represented the swing style, Art Tatum (1910-1956) summed up all the styles of jazz piano in his playing, inspiring the next generation of bebop jazz musicians. One of the most remarkable musicians who ever lived, A. Tatum was almost blind, but had such a brilliant technique that he inspired awe in many famous classical pianists. He transformed the harmonies of pieces in unexpected ways and often wrote down or improvised straight chord progressions that are still astonishingly modern today. Tatum's playing still remained somewhat in the ragtime mold, but he "went deep," exploring jazz piano more than anyone before him. The peak of improvisation in A. Tatum’s game is quite controversial. Some critics consider his rendering of the original musical material to be overly decorated and ornamental. Despite these criticisms, the truth for the most part is that Tatum was a remarkable improviser also because he manipulated the material on offer in unique and creative ways. He was not such a flamboyant, linear improviser as T. Wilson, but he improvised much more than T. F. Waller.
The end of the swing era forced orchestra leaders to seriously reconsider their repertoire. Many orchestras that emerged playing in the rhythm and blues style used all the discoveries of the founders of boogie-woogie. Not only newcomers, but also well-known big bands (D. Ellington, C. Basie, L. Milinder, C. Calloway, W. Bradley, etc.) introduced fiery rhythmic plays into their repertoire. Towards the end of the swing era (early 40s), pianists began to explore new approaches to playing. After the unprecedented virtuosity of Art Tatum, where could jazz piano performance be headed? Time was waiting for new performers. These jazz revolutionaries of the early 1940s played with much less rhythmic emphasis in the accompanying line and a more angular, unpredictable improvisational line. Jazz pianists in the 40s found a new way: the playing of the right hands in an ensemble with drums and double bass changed. The famous stride players have now been replaced by modern jazz piano trios.
Jazz is a music phenomenon of the twentieth century
Jazz is a significant part of American musical culture. Originating from the base folk music, the music of black Americans, jazz has become a distinctive professional art, exerting a significant influence on the development of modern music.
Jazz music has been called an American art, America's contribution to the arts. Jazz also gained recognition among those who were mainly brought up on the traditions of Western European concert music.
Today, jazz has adherents and performers in all parts of the world and has penetrated into the culture of all countries. It's fair to say that jazz is world music, and the first in this regard.
Jazz (English jazz) developed in the southern states of the USA at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries as a result of the synthesis of European and African musical culture. The bearers of African culture were American blacks - descendants of slaves taken from Africa. This was manifested in ritual dances, work songs, spiritual hymns - spirituals, lyrical blues and ragtime, gospel songs (Negro psalms) that arose during the 18th - 20th centuries in the process of assimilation by blacks of the culture of the white population of the United States.
The main features of jazz are the fundamental role of rhythm, regular metrical pulsation, or “beat”, melodic accents that create a feeling of wave-like movement (swing), improvisational beginning, etc. Jazz is also called an orchestra consisting mainly of wind, percussion and noise instruments designed to perform such music.
Jazz is primarily a performing art. This word first appeared in 1913 in one of the San Francisco newspapers, in 1915 it became part of the name of T. Brown's jazz orchestra, which performed in Chicago, and in 1917 it appeared on a gramophone record recorded by the famous New Orleans orchestra Original DixieIand Jazz ( Jass) Band.
The origin of the word "jazz" is itself rather unclear. Nevertheless, there is no doubt. That it had a rather vulgar meaning at the time when it began to be applied to this type of music - around 1915. It should be emphasized that initially this name was given to the music by whites, showing their disdain for it.
At first, the word “jazz” could only be heard in the combination “jazz band,” which meant a small ensemble consisting of a trumpet, clarinet, trombone and rhythm section (it could be a banjo or guitar, tuba or double bass), interpreting the melodies of spirituals and ragtime , blues and popular songs. The performance was a collective polyphonic improvisation. Later, collective improvisation was retained only in the opening and closing episodes, and in the rest, one voice was the soloist, supported by the rhythm section and the simple chordal sound of the wind instruments.
In 18th century Europe, when improvisation was a common feature musical performance, only one musician (or singer) improvised. In jazz, provided there is some agreement, even eight musicians can improvise at the same time. This is exactly what happened in the earliest style of jazz - in the so-called Dixieland ensembles.
The blues is the most important and influential of all African-American idioms for jazz. The blues used in jazz does not necessarily reflect sadness or sadness. This form is a combination of elements from African and European traditions. Blues is sung with melodic spontaneity and high emotion. In the early 20s, and perhaps earlier, blues became not only a vocal, but also an instrumental genre.
Authentic ragtime appeared in the late 1890s. It immediately became popular and was subject to all sorts of simplifications. At its core, ragtime was music to be played on instruments that had a keyboard similar to that of a piano. There is no doubt that the cakewalk dance (originally based on an elegant, stylized parody of the cutesy mannerisms of white southerners) predated ragtime, so there had to be cakewalk music.
There are so-called New Orleans and Chicago styles of jazz. The natives of New Orleans created the most famous ensembles and works of jazz. Early jazz was usually performed by small orchestras of 5 to 8 instruments and was characterized by a specific instrumental style. Feelings penetrate jazz, hence the greater emotional uplift and depth. In its final phase, the center of jazz development moved to Chicago. Its most prominent representatives were trumpeters Joe King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, clarinetists J. Dodds and J. Nui, pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton, guitarist J. St. Cyr and drummer Warren Baby Dodds.
One of the first to perform plays jazz bands– Original Dixieland Jazz-Band – was recorded on gramophone records in 1917, and systematic recording of jazz plays began in 1923.
A wide circle of the US public became acquainted with jazz immediately after the end of the First World War. His technique was picked up a large number performers and left its mark on all entertainment music in the USA and Western Europe.
However, from the 1920s through the mid-1930s, it was common to apply the word "jazz" indiscriminately to almost all types of music that were influenced by jazz rhythmically, melodically, and tonally.
Symphojazz (eng. simphojazz) is a style variety of jazz combined with light-genre symphonic music. This term was first used in the 1920s by the famous American conductor Paul Whiteman. In most cases it was dance music with a touch of "salonity". However, the same Whiteman initiated the creation and first performer of the famous “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, where a fusion of jazz and symphonic music It turned out to be extremely organic. There were attempts to recreate a similar synthesis in a new quality and at a later time.
By the early 1930s, New Orleans and Chicago jazz were replaced by the “swing” style, which was personified by “big bands” that included 3-4 saxophones, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and a rhythm section. The term "swing" came from Louis Armstrong and was used to define the style in which his influence was strongly felt. The increase in the composition made it necessary to switch to the performance of pre-created arrangements, recorded on notes or learned directly by ear according to the direct instructions of the author. The most significant contributions to “swing” were made by F. Henderson, E. Kennedy, Duke Ellington, W. Chick Webb, J. Landsford. Each of them combined the talents of an orchestra leader, arranger, composer and instrumentalist. Following them, the orchestras of B. Goodman, G. Miller and others appeared, which borrowed the technical achievements of black musicians.
By the end of the 1930s, “swing” had exhausted itself, turning into a set of formal and technical techniques. Many prominent masters of “swing” are beginning to develop the genres of chamber and concert jazz. Performing in small ensembles, they create a series of plays addressed equally to both the dancing public and a relatively narrow circle of connoisseur listeners. Ellington recorded with his orchestra the suite "Reminiscence in Tempo", which took jazz beyond the three-minute dance number.
The decisive turning point came in the early 40s, when a group of musicians led a new direction of jazz, calling it the onomatopoeic word “bebop.” He laid the foundation for modern jazz modern jazz) – this term is usually used to designate the styles and trends of jazz that arose after the dominance of swing. Bebop marked the final break between jazz and the realm of entertainment music. IN artistically he opened the way for the independent development of jazz as one of the branches of modern musical art.
In the 1940s, the most popular orchestra was the Glenn Miller Orchestra. However, the credit for genuine creativity in jazz during these years goes to Duke Ellington, who, according to one critic, produced masterpieces seemingly every week.
At the end of the 40s, the direction of “cool” jazz emerged, characterized by moderate sonority, transparency of colors and the absence of sharp dynamic contrasts. The emergence of this trend is associated with the activities of trumpeter M. Davis. Subsequently, “cool” jazz was practiced mainly by groups working on the west coast of the United States.
In jazz of the 40s and 50s, the harmonic language became more and more chromatic, even “neo-Debussian,” and musicians performed complex popular melodies. At the same time, they continue to express the traditional essence of the blues. And the music retained and expanded the vitality of its rhythmic basis.
The most important developments in the history of jazz center around the composers who synthesize the music and shape it into general forms, and then around the individual musicians, the inventive soloists who periodically update the jazz vocabulary. Sometimes these stages are interchangeable, from Morton’s synthesis to Armstrong’s innovations, from Ellington’s synthesis to Parker’s innovations.
Since the second half of the twentieth century, the number of very different artistic concepts and styles of performing jazz music has been increasing. A notable contribution to the improvement of the technique of jazz composition was made by the Modern Jazz Quartet ensemble, which synthesized the principles of “bebop”, “cool jazz” and European polyphony of the 17th - 18th centuries. This trend led to the creation of extended plays for mixed orchestras, including academic orchestra players and jazz improvisers. This further deepened the gap between jazz and the field of entertainment music and completely alienated large sections of the public from it.
In search of a suitable substitute, dancing youth began to turn to the genre of everyday black music “rhythm-and-blues,” which combines expressive vocal performance in the blues style with energetic drum accompaniment and cues from an electric guitar or saxophone. In this form, music served as a predecessor to the “rock and roll” of the 50s and 60s, which had a great influence on the composition and performance of popular songs. In turn, "boogie-woogie", which was very popular in the United States in the late 30s (in fact, it is much older), are styles of blues played on the piano.
At the end of the 50s, rhythm and blues was joined by another popular genre - soul, which is a secular version of one of the branches of Negro sacred music.
Another trend in jazz in the late 60s and early 70s was due to the growing interest in folklore and professional musical art of Asia and Africa. A number of plays by different authors appear, based on the material of folk tunes and dances of Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.
In the late 60s, a genre of jazz music developed in the United States using traditional rock, under the influence of the black musician Miles Davis and his students, who tried to make their music clearer and more accessible. The boom of "intelligent" rock and the novelty of the style made it extremely popular in the mid-1970s. Later, jazz-rock split into several more specific forms, some of its adherents returned to traditional jazz, some came to outright pop music, and only a few continued to look for ways for a deeper interpenetration of jazz and rock. Modern forms Jazz-rock is better known as fusion.
For decades, the development of jazz was predominantly spontaneous and largely determined by a coincidence of circumstances. While remaining primarily a phenomenon of African-American culture, the system of the musical language of jazz and the principles of its performance are gradually acquiring an international character. Jazz can easily assimilate artistic elements any musical culture, while maintaining its originality and integrity.
The emergence of jazz in Europe in the late 1910s immediately attracted the attention of leading composers. Certain elements of structure, intonation and rhythmic turns and techniques were used in their works by C. Debussy, I. F. Stravinsky, M. Ravel, K. Weil and others.
At the same time, the influence of jazz on the work of these composers was limited and short-lived. In the USA, the fusion of jazz with music European tradition gave birth to the work of J. Gershwin, who went down in the history of music as the most prominent representative of symphonic jazz.
Thus, the history of jazz can be told on the basis of the development of rhythm sections and the relationship of jazz musicians to the trumpet part.
European jazz ensembles began to emerge in the early 1920s, but until the end of World War II, lack of support from a mass audience forced them to perform mainly pop and dance repertoire. After 1945, over the next 15-20 years, in most capitals and large cities of Europe, a cadre of instrumentalists was formed who mastered the technique of performing almost all forms of jazz: M. Legrand, H. Littleton, R. Scott, J. Dankworth, L. Gullin, V. Schleter, J. Kwasnicki.
Jazz operates in an environment where it competes with other types of popular music. At the same time, it is such a popular art that it has received the highest and widely accepted appreciation and respect and has attracted the attention of both critics and scholars. Moreover, changes in other types of popular music sometimes seem like a whim of fashion. Jazz, for its part, evolves and develops. Its performers took a lot from the music of the past and built their music on it. And, as S. Dance said, “the best musicians were always ahead of their audiences” .
List of used literature
Jazz / Music Encyclopedia. T. 2. pp. 211-216.
Mikhailov J.K. Reflections on American music // USA. Economics, politics, ideology. 1978. No. 12. pp. 28-39.
Pereverzev L. Work songs of the Negro people // Sov. music. 1963. No. 9. pp. 125-128.
Troitskaya G. Singer in jazz. For foreign stage tours // Theatre. 1961. No. 12. pp. 184-185.
Williams M. A Brief History of Jazz // USA. Economics, politics, ideology. 1974. No. 10. pp. 84-92. No. 11. pp. 107-114.
Jazz touches on a variety of aspects of human life: from the deep emotional feelings of an individual listener to the culture of thinking on a large scale. As one of the brightest directions In the arts, jazz music has inspired people for decades to undertake numerous historical musical studies, progressive methods in composing jazz improvisations, and educational activities; this is where the great influence of jazz lies.
Taking into account that, according to the most common description of the concept, “culture of thinking” is a certain synthesis of acquired and improved human qualities, we will highlight the most important of them and trace the relationship of the influence of jazz on their development.
The influence of jazz from a scientific point of view
According to the doctor Robert J. Zatorre from the Montreal Neurological Institute, jazz is a natural and comfortable part of everyday human activity, but at the same time, one of the most complex and demanding music for the brain.
In other words, thanks to complex trends in jazz, especially such as avant-garde, mainstream, bebop, hard bop, our brain works several times more actively in order to understand changes in musical harmony and instrumental solo improvisations. Along with the above, these jazz styles require excellent reaction speed and constant performance control, and as a result, the neural connections of the brain improve, which is what Dr. Robert Zatorr explores in his scientific works:
We examine the effects of music on cognitive properties of the brain and auditory regions, with a particular focus on studying the interactions between these systems in a musical context.
Candidate of Cultural Sciences Konstantin Ushakov created an entire dissertation, in which a significant part is devoted to the direct influence and evolution of jazz itself and, accordingly, to changes in the cultural thinking of people.
The scientist describes and discusses jazz in detail from the time of its formation to its state today, while simultaneously analyzing each turning point in history. Jazz in its influence is able to combine several accents that improve a person’s mental abilities: learning ability, speed of reaction, innovative approach and the development of logical thinking.
The methodological basis of the study was chosen to be a problem-logical method. It allowed us to consider the features of jazz as a cultural phenomenon, identify the elements of musical language and aesthetics that characterize it, explore the patterns, mechanisms of the dynamics of jazz and the direction of its evolution, determine the features of the transformation of jazz in Russia and study the possibility of updating the national musical culture through jazz innovations.
Perhaps one of the major “achievements” of jazz is the powerful spiritual power it possesses! Jazz revolutionized racial segregation, reconciling people of different races and colors and uniting them, without belittling the merits of both sides. Rooted in its origins, jazz music owes its existence to the black people whose talents helped create this movement, and creative power was able to overcome most human weaknesses and passions. 
So, we realize that, among other things, jazz helps people get rid of their moral shortcomings, which in turn leads to the next stage of personal development - tranquility. This concept can mean a lot, but it is worth highlighting such factors as moral stability and a prevailing positive attitude.
Of course, not all people who listen to jazz music are calm and balanced. However, the mental endurance of such individuals is much higher than that of those who prefer, for example, heavy music.
This explains a large proportion of people who listen to jazz in complex professions that require increased concentration: surgeons, directors of large corporations and enterprises, scientists. In conclusion, I would like to note that jazz music in general has a positive effect on many factors of the human psyche and culture of thinking, but with artistic point From our point of view, this direction inspires the majority of listeners to strive to expand their preferences, which also leads to the development of good taste.
