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West Coast jazz

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West Coast jazz
Stylistic originsbebop, swing music, classical music
Cultural origins1940s
Local scenes
Los Angeles, San Francisco
Other topics
Cool jazz

West Coast jazz refers to various styles of jazz music that developed around Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a sub-genre of cool jazz, which featured a less frenetic, calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music tended to be more heavily arranged, and more often composition-based. While this style was prominent for a while, it was by no means the only style of jazz played on the West Coast, which exhibited more variety than could be conveyed by a simple name.

History

Background

Prior to World War II, the West Coast of the United States had hosted a bustling music scene, though its activity remained largely localized.[1]

In 1917, Jelly Roll Morton moved to California, and remained in Los Angeles until 1922, when he left for Chicago.[2][3]: 481  Kid Ory formed a band in Los Angeles after moving to California in 1919.[4]

In 1944, Norman Granz began staging Jazz at the Philharmonic shows at Philharmonic Auditorium in Los Angeles.[1] In 1946, Ross Russell established Dial Records in Hollywood, with the purpose of recording Charlie Parker during his sojourn in Los Angeles.[5] Meanwhile, a thriving jazz scene had appeared along Los Angeles's Central Avenue, featuring musicians such as Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, Teddy Edwards, Charles Mingus, and Buddy Collette.[1] Central Avenue's activity rivaled that of the earlier Kansas City jazz scene, but at the time it was little-known outside of Los Angeles.[1]

In 1947, Woody Herman organized a new band, the Second Herd, in Los Angeles.[3]: 336 [6] The Second Herd included tenor saxophonists Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, and Herbie Steward, and baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff.[6] The resulting "Four Brothers" sound (named for the Jimmy Giuffre composition, "Four Brothers," which highlighted this group) was a precursor of the cool style.[3]: 336 [6]

Development

During 1949 and 1950, baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan participated in the Miles Davis Nonet, contributing arrangements to the recordings that were later compiled as Birth of the Cool (1957). In 1952, Mulligan, who had relocated to California, formed an innovative and successful pianoless quartet with trumpeter Chet Baker, drummer Chico Hamilton, and bassist Bob Whitlock.[1][3]: 304  Mulligan would later form a decet based on the Birth of the Cool nonet.[1]

In 1951, Stan Kenton disbanded his Innovations Orchestra in Los Angeles.[1] Many of the musicians, some of whom had also played in Woody Herman's band, chose to remain in California.[1] Trumpeter Shorty Rogers and drummer Shelly Manne were central figures among this group of musicians.[1] Much of this activity centered around the Hermosa Beach Lighthouse Café, where bassist Howard Rumsey led a house band, the Lighthouse All-Stars.[1]

Manne suggested that these musicians' relaxed lifestyle in California was reflected in a laid-back, relaxed approach to jazz.[7] Bob Rusch concurs:

The West coast sound perhaps didn't have the gravitas that the East coast had, but, after all, these were Californians enjoying the sun and the surf and the extent that celebrity offered itself through the studio work that the entertainment industry was offering. So I think, you know, you think of California as a sun and surf, you think of New York City as cement and grit, and the music somewhat reflected that. One better than the other? Depends what you want.[8]

Chico Hamilton, during the 1950s, led an ensemble that – unusually for a jazz group – included a cellist, Fred Katz.[6] Tanner, Gerow, and Megill liken Hamilton's music to chamber music, and have noted that Hamilton's "subtle rhythmic control and use of different drum pitches and timbres" was well-suited for this style of music.[6]

In 1951, pianist Dave Brubeck hired alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, forming a quartet.[1][3]: 119  Desmond's playing style ran counter to bebop, as he seldom used blues elements, and was influenced by Pete Brown and Benny Carter rather than Charlie Parker.[1][3]: 203 

The Pacific Jazz and Contemporary record labels were two of the best known that carried West Coast jazz, just as Blue Note was the biggest hard-bop label. Some of the major pioneers of West Coast jazz were Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Jimmy Giuffre, Shelly Manne, Russ Freeman, Bill Holman, André Previn, and Dave Brubeck with Paul Desmond.

While many Los Angeles area jazz musicians, particularly the former members of the Herman and Kenton bands, found regular employment in broadcast and motion picture studios, most of these musicians were white, leading to accusations that the studios deliberately excluded African Americans.[1] The situation was a contributing factor toward the integration of the Los Angeles chapters of the American Federation of Musicians during the early 1950s.[9][10] Pianist Marl Young recalled that in 1950,

as far as I knew, there were no blacks working regularly in the industry, especially on the networks – ABC, CBS and NBC. [Estelle Edson] asked me if the fact that the Musicians Unions were segregated contributed to the scarcity of blacks in the industry. It certainly could have been a contributing factor in that all the contracts for employment of musicians in the broadcast and motion picture studios were negotiated by the then all-white union, Local 47. The black union, Local 767, merely adopted the scales negotiated by Local 47, if and when a black musician got a studio call.[9]

Young, who also held a law degree, worked with Local 767 musicians (including Buddy Collette, Red Callender, and Benny Carter) along with Local 47 members (including Roger Segure) to integrate the union.[9] Josephine Baker supported the local integration effort.[9]

California Hard

While West Coast jazz is often likened to the cool style, a number of Los Angeles musicians, locally known as "Hard Swingers," "blew bop as tough as anything emerging out of Detroit and New York…."[1] In later years, their music was known as "California Hard."[1] Roy Carr notes that this is not surprising: by the late 1940s, the Central Avenue scene had the most bebop musicians outside of New York.[1] Max Roach and Clifford Brown, Shelly Manne, and Curtis Counce all established harder-sounding bands in Los Angeles.[1]

The Sound

Featured a rhythm section that omitted the use of a piano, guitar, or chordal instrument. This format lends lends itself to a more open and freer sound. This sound was popularized by the famous record by Gerry Mulligan: The Original Quartet with Chet Baker (Blue Note, 1998). Another west coast characteristic is the inclusion of non-standard Jazz instruments like the French horn and Tuba. Gil Evans' classic arrangement on the Birth of the Cool album featured these instruments at a time when the West coast style was emerging. The sound can be thought as a reaction to the franticness and complexity some listeners found in Bebop. West Coast Jazz Albums

Reception

Tanner, Gerow, and Megill are largely dismissive of the term "West Coast jazz." As it often refers to Gerry Mulligan and his associates in California, "west coast" merely becomes synonymous with "cool jazz," although Lester Young, Claude Thornhill, and Miles Davis were based in New York.[6] At the same time, many musicians associated with West Coast jazz "were much more involved in a hotter approach to jazz. Communication being what it is, it is hardly likely that any style of jazz was fostered exclusively in one area."[6]

Some jazz critics, such as French critic Hugues Panassié[citation needed], looked down upon West Coast jazz because most of its musicians were white. However, there were a sizable number of African American musicians who played in the style, such as Curtis Counce, Chico Hamilton, Buddy Collette and Hampton Hawes.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Carr, Roy (2006) [1997], "The Cool on the Coast", A Century of Jazz: A Hundred Years of the Greatest Music Ever Made, London: Hamlyn, pp. 92–105, ISBN 0-681-03179-4
  2. ^ Schuller, Gunther. "Jelly Roll Morton". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Wynn, Ron (1994), Ron Wynn (ed.), All Music Guide to Jazz, M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, ISBN 0-87930-308-5
  4. ^ "Kid Ory, 'tailgate' trombonist & composer". African American Registry. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  5. ^ Yanow, Scott. Ross Russell at AllMusic
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Tanner, Paul O. W. (1988) [1964]. "Cool (1949-1955)". Jazz (6th ed.). Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown, College Division. pp. 103–111. ISBN 0-697-03663-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Manne, Shelly. "Jazz: American Classic" (Interview). Interviewed by Reginald Buckner. {{cite interview}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |subjectlink= ignored (|subject-link= suggested) (help) Cited in Tanner et al. "Hard Bop — Funky." Jazz, p. 113.
  8. ^ Rusch, Robert D. (2012). "Papatamus". Cadence Magazine. 38 (1 (399)). Richland, OR: Cadence Magazine, LLC: 136. ISSN 0162-6973. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ a b c d Young, Marl (1999). "Amalgamation of Local 47 and 767". Overture Magazine. Retrieved 2012-03-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ McLellan, Dennis (2009-05-03). "Marl Young dies at 92; pianist was key in desegregating L.A. musicians unions". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  • Gioia, Ted. West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California 1945-1960 (Oxford University Press, 1992)
  • Gordon, Robert. Jazz West Coast: The Los Angeles Jazz Scene of the 1950s (Quartet Books, 1986)


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