CHAPTER 12: The 1950s: Cool Jazz and Hard Bop
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is NOT the ideological schism between fans of different schools of jazz
performance?
a.
swing fans shunning bebop as undanceable
b.
Dixieland fans shunning Louis Armstrong’s embrace of popular songs
c.
hard bop fans shunning Dizzy Gillespie as a corporate sell-out
d.
New Orleans fans shunning Duke Ellington’s elaborate orchestrations
e.
bebop fans shunning the 1960s avant-garde as noise
2. When did the word “jazz” achieve its present-day historical meaning?
a.
in the 1920s, when New Orleans jazz began to spread worldwide
b.
in the aftermath of bop, when the multiplicity of schools made a unifying term necessary
c.
during the Swing Era, when jazz was the nation’s popular music
d.
in the late 1960s, when avant-garde improvisers began denying the influence of jazz
e.
at midcentury, with the earliest codifications of jazz education
3. Why it is ironic that the “cool jazz” label became associated with white musicians on the West
Coast?
a.
because the white cool jazz players were all based on the East Coast
b.
because the notion of coolness has deep roots in African American culture
c.
because the cool school emerged from the experimentation of the territory bands in the
Southwest
d.
because the California climate is warm all year
e.
because the West Coast musicians referred to themselves as “postmodernists”
4. Which aspect of Lee Konitz’s playing represents an important lesson that he learned from Lennie
Tristano?
a.
his feathery timbre
b.
his blistering, bluesy licks
c.
his ability to play multiple lines simultaneously
d.
his refusal to play familiar licks and clichés
e.
all of the above
5. Tadd Dameron’s “Hot House” combines which kinds of melodic and harmonic materials?
a.
cool melody, intricate harmonies
b.
complex melody, simple harmonies
c.
rigid melody, free harmonies
d.
square melody, off-kilter harmonies
e.
freewheeling melody, no harmonies
6. All of the following were creative goals of the Miles Davis Nonet EXCEPT:
a.
a lyrical approach to improvisation
b.
warm timbres emphasizing each instrument’s middle range
c.
a more relaxed pace than bebop
d.
a balance between composition and improvisation
e.
an insistent pulse for dancers
7. This arranger’s “pad” on 55th Street in New York became an important meeting place for
progressive musicians in the 1950s.
a.
John Lewis
b.
Gunther Schuller
c.
Billy Strayhorn
d.
Gil Evans
e.
Claude Thornhill
8. Which is NOT true of the Birth of the Cool band’s members?
a.
included white and black musicians
b.
included musicians from more than one artistic generation
c.
included musicians from the United States and from European countries
d.
included musicians with jazz and classical backgrounds
e.
included several composers and arrangers as performers
9. In the absence of a piano, how did Gerry Mulligan’s group fill out the musical texture?
a.
with frequent two-note double-stops in the bass part
b.
with tuned notes on drums
c.
with contrapuntal interplay and sustained background lines in the baritone sax and trumpet
parts
d.
by adding a second bassist to the group
e.
all of the above
10. What was new at the time about the Modern Jazz Quartet’s way of presenting themselves to the
public?
a.
They did not object to audiences treating their music as background music.
b.
They clowned around and told jokes to appease their audience.
c.
They refused to play for white listeners.
d.
They treated each performance as a concert, dressed well, and expected audiences to be
quiet and listen.
e.
Nothing
11. John Lewis’s arrangement of “All the Things You Are” shows the influence of which classical
form?
a.
sonata
b.
fugue
c.
theme and variations
d.
suite
e.
rondo
12. All of the following are true of pianist Dave Brubeck EXCEPT:
a.
experimented with odd time signatures
b.
was featured on the cover of Time magazine
c.
had a productive partnership with ethereal saxophonist Paul Desmond
d.
studied with composer Darius Milhaud
e.
developed an improvisational style that is universally admired in its unpredictability
13. Which school of 1950s jazz emphasized heavy, dark timbres; featured tenor saxophone more often
than alto; and used an assertive, hard-swinging drumming style?
a.
cool jazz
b.
Third Stream
c.
hard bop
d.
modal
e.
orchestral jazz
14. Which 1948 change in audio technology enabled musicians to release records with around twenty
minutes of music per side?
a.
stereo recording
b.
45-rpm records
c.
wire recorders
d.
33 1/3-rpm microgroove LPs
e.
cassette tapes
15. The availability of tape recording and the LP record enabled musicians to explore which
innovation in recording?
a.
extensive live recording
b.
extended compositions
c.
lengthy improvisations
d.
thematically unified albums
e.
all of the above
16. All of the following are independent record labels that featured hard bop EXCEPT:
a.
Columbia
b.
Blue Note
c.
Riverside
d.
Prestige
e.
Contemporary
17. Which drummer’s band served as a training ground or showcase for many modern jazz musicians,
including Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis, Hank Mobley, and Cedar Walton?
a.
Max Roach
b.
Art Blakey
c.
Kenny Clarke
d.
Mel Lewis
e.
Jo Jones
18. Which is NOT true of pianist Horace Silver?
a.
composed “Song for My Father” and “Opus de Funk”
b.
collaborated with Stan Getz, Art Blakey, and Miles Davis
c.
composed tunes that attracted the label “funky”
d.
was lauded among jazz musicians and virtually unknown in the larger music world
e.
was inspired by his father’s time in Cape Verde
19. All of the following describe trumpeter Clifford Brown EXCEPT:
a.
noted for his rich trumpet timbre and virtuoso technique
b.
band he led with drummer Philly Joe Jones regarded as the last great bebop ensemble
c.
did not smoke, drink, or abuse drugs
d.
died in a car accident at age twenty-five
e.
worked with a wide array of vocalists
20. Which of the following aspects of Sonny Rollins’s musical approach is NOT captured on his best
live recordings?
a.
the spiritual intensity of his stage performances
b.
his through-composed large group arrangements
c.
the planned and understated mode of the recording studio
d.
his rich and larger-than-life timbre
e.
his freewheeling, motivic approach to improvisation
21. Which texture is included a typical solo by Wes Montgomery?
a.
single-note lines
b.
lines supported by full chords
c.
lines played in octaves
d.
none of the above
e.
all of the above
TRUE/FALSE
1. Once it became clear that bebop was not a fad, older swing fans eventually embraced the newer
style.
2. The 1948–49 Birth of the Cool recordings immediately attracted significant interest from the press
and the public.
3. Trumpeter Chet Baker also recorded as a singer.
4. The success of the Dave Brubeck Quartet prompted most hard bop musicians to explore complex
meters.
5. Drummer Art Blakey became famous for his press roll, an intense roll played at transitional points
in the musical form that propelled soloists to a new level of energy.
6. The word “funky” has a long history of African American usage that can be traced back to
nineteenth-century slang for spoiled tobacco.
7. Saxophonist Joe Henderson is known solely for his association with Horace Silver.
8. Clifford Brown built a massive following among audiences and musicians despite the fact that his
performing career lasted only four years.
9. Sonny Rollins has withdrawn from public performance three times in order to practice intensely.
10. Wes Montgomery’s guitar technique differed from that of other guitarists because he struck the
strings with his thumb instead of a pick.
SHORT ANSWER
1. Cool jazz and hard bop are divergent schools that both developed from the shared practices of
________ of the 1940s.
2. The simple, utilitarian mode of piano playing demonstrated by Tadd Dameron is known by
musicians as ________________.
3. Although they were recorded in 1949–50, the Birth of the Cool recordings were not released as a
unified album until _______.
4. Pianist ______________ worked to bring together the baroque polyphony of J. S. Bach and the
rhythmic feeling of the blues.
5. Art Blakey’s ____________________ was an important hard bop ensemble that became a proving
ground for several generations of modern jazz musicians.
6. More than anyone else in jazz, Sonny Rollins has made use of __________, unaccompanied solos
at the beginning or end of a performance.
MATCHING
Match each musician to the style with which they are associated.
a.
Spacy experimentation
d.
Funky hard bop
b.
Third Stream
e.
Jazz calypso
c.
West Coast cool
1. Horace Silver
2. Gerry Mulligan
3. Gunther Schuller
4. Lennie Tristano
5. Sonny Rollins
ESSAY
1. Choose two musical examples that allow you to discuss the cultural and musical meanings of
“coolness” and “hotness” in the context of jazz in the 1950s. Be specific in describing particular
musical details, and be clear in explaining the connection between those musical details and
cultural associations with “coolness” and “hotness.”
2. Explain the importance of new recording technologies to the spread of cool jazz and hard bop in
the 1950s.
3. Original compositions were important to the various schools of jazz in the 1950s, but so were the
songs of the Tin Pan Alley repertoire. Discuss two examples of innovative uses of American
popular songs by jazz artists discussed in Chapter 12.