Where can I learn about the different sub-genres of jazz?
February 8, 2021 6:19 AM Subscribe
So, I've recently started listening to a lot more jazz. I know there are certain types of jazz that I really like, and certain types I don't like, but I don't have the vocabulary to describe them. My family never listened to much jazz when I was growing up so it's not a musical tradition I'm very familiar with. Where can I read an overview of the major sub-genres of jazz and start developing my vocabulary so I can find more of what I like?
Ideally looking for something sort of long-article-length that gives background and context for several types of jazz, including lots of musical samples. Where would be a good starting place? I know it's a huge topic and any single article will only scratch the surface, but once I have a starting place I can hopefully steer myself better towards learning about the specific areas that interest me.
Ideally looking for something sort of long-article-length that gives background and context for several types of jazz, including lots of musical samples. Where would be a good starting place? I know it's a huge topic and any single article will only scratch the surface, but once I have a starting place I can hopefully steer myself better towards learning about the specific areas that interest me.
This might be a good starting point.
(Edited to add: same link as above.)
posted by slkinsey at 6:29 AM on February 8, 2021
(Edited to add: same link as above.)
posted by slkinsey at 6:29 AM on February 8, 2021
When I first got into jazz, I found NPR's Curious Listener's Guide to Jazz at my local library. I'm by no means an expert, but it was a helpful starting point.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:40 AM on February 8, 2021
posted by kevinbelt at 6:40 AM on February 8, 2021
Joel Dinerstein’s book Jazz: A Quick Immersion does a great job of this, especially in conjunction with the playlists he has assembled.
posted by umbú at 6:42 AM on February 8, 2021
posted by umbú at 6:42 AM on February 8, 2021
I haven't watched it myself, but there is a Ken Burns miniseries on jazz.
Once you've started to discover your preferences and interests, Downbeat Magazine has long been the premier source of jazz news and reviews and interviews and articles, so a browse through their archives (or a subscription) could certainly be of use in expanding and clarifying your knowledge.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:53 AM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Once you've started to discover your preferences and interests, Downbeat Magazine has long been the premier source of jazz news and reviews and interviews and articles, so a browse through their archives (or a subscription) could certainly be of use in expanding and clarifying your knowledge.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:53 AM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
The Ken Burns documentary series on jazz has a lot of good details, but beware of the overarching timeline of it. It has a very particular Wynton Marsalis-directed bias, which is the view that after the early 1960s Coltrane moment when jazz became more multiple, with free jazz and electric jazz/jazz fusion and world jazz, it went inexorably downhill until Wynton came along in the 1980s to save it. Dinerstein does a better job of handling the 1960s-1970s than Burns, in that he treats both mainstream and more experimental jazz with the same respect.
posted by umbú at 7:33 AM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by umbú at 7:33 AM on February 8, 2021 [4 favorites]
Years ago the Smithsonian issued a multi-disc compilation of very well-selected jazz recordings encompassing the entire history of the genre. Taking advantage of the museum's public standing, the producers were able to include commercial recordings from all of the major labels. I encountered this anthology at a public library and still consider it to be a wonderful introduction to the various jazz periods and sub-genres. Amazon lists it at a good price, as little as twelve bucks for a used CD set, $42.00 new:
Smithsonian Collection
posted by Agave at 7:42 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Smithsonian Collection
posted by Agave at 7:42 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
OUP is releasing a revised and expanded version of Ted Gioia's well-regarded history of jazz on March 1, so that might be a good resource.
posted by the sobsister at 8:42 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by the sobsister at 8:42 AM on February 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
As a jazz musician who has gone through the jazz education system and also played professionally for some years, I'd just like to say that jazz is kind of a stupid term. And I don't even mean the race related issues in its past and well known artists' dislike of the term.
It is a term used to describe nearly 100 years of music, much of which sounds completely and utterly different. A 1920's rag time played on piano is lumped into the same genre as freely improvised synthesizer music of the 1970's. While the lineage makes total sense to a jazz history buff, to someone just looking to enjoy the music it is overly vast and confusing. (Classical music suffers a similar problem, perhaps even more so).
The point I'm trying to make is despite the fact that I am thrilled you've found your way to jazz, the genre labels are not always helpful to you in finding music you'll enjoy listening to. Instead maybe find an artist you really like, find artists they played and performed with, then find out who influenced them and who they in turn influenced. You will find a connected tree of music that you love that may branch in and out of jazz.
I love this music and have dedicated my life to it, but generally the way its written about bores the hell out of me. Apologies for the rant, hopefully between this and the other users who actually dutifully answered your specific question you'll find new music you love and can share.
posted by alhadro at 12:12 PM on February 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
It is a term used to describe nearly 100 years of music, much of which sounds completely and utterly different. A 1920's rag time played on piano is lumped into the same genre as freely improvised synthesizer music of the 1970's. While the lineage makes total sense to a jazz history buff, to someone just looking to enjoy the music it is overly vast and confusing. (Classical music suffers a similar problem, perhaps even more so).
The point I'm trying to make is despite the fact that I am thrilled you've found your way to jazz, the genre labels are not always helpful to you in finding music you'll enjoy listening to. Instead maybe find an artist you really like, find artists they played and performed with, then find out who influenced them and who they in turn influenced. You will find a connected tree of music that you love that may branch in and out of jazz.
I love this music and have dedicated my life to it, but generally the way its written about bores the hell out of me. Apologies for the rant, hopefully between this and the other users who actually dutifully answered your specific question you'll find new music you love and can share.
posted by alhadro at 12:12 PM on February 8, 2021 [8 favorites]
obvious suggestion for any neophyte curious about a complex thing: Wikipedia main article is often a decent starting point...
posted by ovvl at 3:55 PM on February 8, 2021
posted by ovvl at 3:55 PM on February 8, 2021
I agree with alhadro that subgenre labels in jazz aren't very helpful and might be overwhelming. However, you could try tracing the career of Miles Davis, who was involved in most of the forms of jazz that arose during the 20th Century.
-His early stuff as a side man for Charlie Parker is a good example bebop.
-His first "great" quintet with John Coltrane is a good example of hard bop (try Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet).
-Kind of Blue is what might be called modal jazz. It's not so much a subgenre as a style of composition that has been integrated into a lot of modern jazz.
-Around the same time, Miles collaborated with Gil Evans on albums like Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain. Maybe you'd call this third stream (sort of a blend of jazz and orchestral music)? Not Miles Davis, but I always think of the Modern Jazz Quartet (try The Complete Last Concert) as a good example of third stream.
-The second "great" quintet with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock is "post-bop" (albums include ESP, Miles Smiles, Nefertiti, and others). This is the subgenre I would use to label a huge chunk of modern jazz.
-After this, you get albums like In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, which are usually classified as fusion. Fusion covers a big swath of different styles of jazz, from the free-form stuff you find on Bitches Brew to really technical electronic stuff. An example of the latter is The Chick Corea Elektric Band. Chick isn't Miles Davis, but he played with Miles on some of his fusion albums.
Obviously, there's much more than this. I didn't even mention big band (artists like Duke Ellington and Count Basie) or free jazz (Ornette Coleman's stuff). But I think exploring these examples might get you started discovering the stuff you like and how to find more of it.
posted by crLLC at 6:37 AM on February 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
-His early stuff as a side man for Charlie Parker is a good example bebop.
-His first "great" quintet with John Coltrane is a good example of hard bop (try Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet).
-Kind of Blue is what might be called modal jazz. It's not so much a subgenre as a style of composition that has been integrated into a lot of modern jazz.
-Around the same time, Miles collaborated with Gil Evans on albums like Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain. Maybe you'd call this third stream (sort of a blend of jazz and orchestral music)? Not Miles Davis, but I always think of the Modern Jazz Quartet (try The Complete Last Concert) as a good example of third stream.
-The second "great" quintet with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock is "post-bop" (albums include ESP, Miles Smiles, Nefertiti, and others). This is the subgenre I would use to label a huge chunk of modern jazz.
-After this, you get albums like In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, which are usually classified as fusion. Fusion covers a big swath of different styles of jazz, from the free-form stuff you find on Bitches Brew to really technical electronic stuff. An example of the latter is The Chick Corea Elektric Band. Chick isn't Miles Davis, but he played with Miles on some of his fusion albums.
Obviously, there's much more than this. I didn't even mention big band (artists like Duke Ellington and Count Basie) or free jazz (Ornette Coleman's stuff). But I think exploring these examples might get you started discovering the stuff you like and how to find more of it.
posted by crLLC at 6:37 AM on February 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
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https://jazzfuel.com/types-of-jazz-music-styles/
This page also has good descriptions of the various styles: https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/musicguides
Once you go into the page for each style, there are lots of examples listed.
If you have Apple Music, they have excellent playlists that cover a lot of different styles.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:28 AM on February 8, 2021