View source for Straight-ahead jazz

{{Short description|Genre of jazz}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Straight-ahead jazz
| image             = File:Ryan-Kisor Wynton-Marsalis DSC07546.jpg
| caption           = [[Wynton Marsalis]] (left) and [[Ryan Kisor]] in 2020
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Swing music]]|[[bebop]]|[[hard bop]]}}
| cultural_origins  = 1960s in the [[United States]]
| subgenres         = {{hlist|[[Neo-bop]]}}
}}
'''Straight-ahead jazz''' is a genre of [[jazz]] that developed in the 1960s, with roots in the prior two decades. It omits the [[rock music]] and [[free jazz]] influences that began to appear in jazz during this period, instead preferring acoustic instruments, conventional piano comping, [[Bassline#Walking bass|walking bass]] patterns, and swing- and bop-based drum rhythms.<ref name=":2">
{{cite thesis |last=Belfiglio |first=Anthony |date=2008 |title=Fundamental rhythmic characteristics of improvised straight-ahead jazz |type=PhD |chapter=Chapter One: Introduction |publisher=[[The University of Texas at Austin]] |page=12 |hdl=2152/18313 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
== Musical style ==
A study conducted by Anthony Belfiglio at the [[University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas, Austin]] analyzed the music of [[Oscar Peterson]], [[Wynton Kelly]], [[Wynton Marsalis]], and [[Marcus Roberts]] in order to determine key features of straight-ahead jazz that distinguish it from other genres. Belfiglio concluded that the walking bass, a 4/4 bass pattern in which a bassist plays one note to each beat, synchronized with a ride-based drum pattern was a defining component of straight-ahead jazz.<ref name=":2" />
== Background ==
Often called "America's classical music", the subgenres of [[mainstream jazz]] have been less "subject to the whims of fashion", according to Scott DeVeaux, than other genres, with jazz reaching its modern form across "a long process of maturation". During the 1960s, however, two opposing subgenres emerged, the [[Avant-garde jazz|avant-garde]] and [[Jazz fusion|fusion]], with neoclassicists emerging in the 1980s to oppose both of these factions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=DeVeaux |first=Scott |date=1991 |title=Constructing the Jazz Tradition: Jazz Historiography |journal=Black American Literature Forum |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=525–560 |doi=10.2307/3041812 |jstor=3041812 }}</ref> Free jazz largely questioned the traditional understanding of jazz harmony and played "outside" chord structures, and jazz, which had already become organic following the development of bebop, became increasingly chaotic as the former structures within bebop evolved into free improvisation and, according to some critics, "functional anarchy."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zack |first=Michael H. |date=2000 |title=Jazz Improvisation and Organizing: Once More from the Top |journal=Organization Science |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=227–234 |doi=10.1287/orsc.11.2.227.12507 |jstor=2640286 }}</ref> Meanwhile, a strain of jazz musicians who were more focused on commercial success drew from pop influences to develop [[jazz fusion]] and the first seeds of what later became [[smooth jazz]]. One of the founders of this camp was producer [[Creed Taylor]], who turned obscure jazz musicians such as [[George Benson]] and [[Grover Washington Jr.]] into popular stars by incorporating pop music influences into jazz melodies and improvisation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carson |first=Charles D. |date=2008 |title="Bridging the Gap": Creed Taylor, Grover Washington Jr., and the Crossover Roots of Smooth Jazz |journal=Black Music Research Journal |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=1–15 |jstor=25433792 }}</ref>
Purists of the era did not see the new [[jazz fusion]] subgenre as jazz due to its heavy pop music influences. Hence, the term "straight-ahead" jazz was formulated by critics and academics to describe music that did not employ fusion's innovations, such as rock beats and [[electric instrument]]s.<ref name="allmusic">
{{Cite web |title=Straight-Ahead Jazz |url=https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/straight-ahead-jazz-ma0000012256?1585545706526 |access-date=30 March 2020 |work=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> For example, Tanner, Gerow and Megill trace the straight-ahead aesthetic back to the [[hard bop]] era, after which some musicians would continue to be guided by jazz tradition when faced with boundary-pushing innovations.<ref name="tanner">
{{cite book |last=Tanner |first=Paul O. W. |title=Jazz |author2=Maurice Gerow |author3=David W. Megill |publisher=William C. Brown, College Division |year=1988 |isbn=0-697-03663-4 |edition=6th |location=Dubuque, IA |pages=119–120 |chapter=Hard Bop—Funky (circa 1954- ) |author-link=Paul Tanner |orig-year=1964}}</ref>
Although bop "never died" during the 1970s, it had "a much lower profile" and "was overshadowed by other trends" as fusion's popularity skyrocketed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=hardbopz |url=http://www.scottyanow.com/hardbopz.html |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=www.scottyanow.com}}</ref> By the time Chuck Mangione joined the Jazz Messengers, there had taken place a "breakdown in the cultural consensus about the elements of authentic jazz."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Art Blakey - Abdullah Ibn Buhaina |url=https://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Art_Blakey.html |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=www.drummerworld.com}}</ref> The few musicians who were determined to maintain the acoustic jazz tradition went to small independent labels like [[Concord Records|Concord]] and [[Chiaroscuro Records|Chiaroscuro]], with the latter label producing both swing music and bop,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jazzweekly.com/2021/06/acoustic-jazz-of-the-1970skenny-davern-flip-phillips-john-joe-gil-golstein-pure-as-rain/ |title=Acoustic Jazz of the 1970s... Kenny Davern & Flip Phillips: John & Joe, Gil Golstein: Pure As Rain|access-date=2022-07-16 |website=www.jazzweekly.com}}</ref> two genres once at odds with each other over bop's modernism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What bebop meant to jazz history |url=https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1998/05/bop-m22.html |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=World Socialist Web Site |date=22 May 1998 |language=en}}</ref>
The impact of the diverging styles was that, rather than "a succession of stylistic periods", jazz was now "an international language" and "it became difficult to describe the direction [of] jazz", making the primary branch of the genre difficult to identify.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jazz In Brussels - History Of Jazz In Belgium 1970s |url=https://jazzinbrussels.com/1970s |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=jazzinbrussels.com |language=en-gb}}</ref>
== History ==
=== 1960s: Roots in bop ===
{{Main|Hard bop}}
Critic [[Scott Yanow]] in his "Hard Bop" essay noted that the decade witnessed the evolution of soul jazz and the merging of modal jazz, soul jazz, hard bop, and avant-garde into the broader hard bop identity.<ref name=":0" /> However, as the decade progressed, experimentation with the mainstream notion of modern jazz became popular, first with the avant-garde styles developed by [[Ornette Coleman]] and [[Don Cherry (trumpeter)|Don Cherry]], and later with experiments by leading mainstream musicians [[John Coltrane]] and [[Miles Davis]]. As rock gained popularity and swing maintained its audience, Coltrane's simultaneous death severely impacted innovation in the jazz world, with Coltrane's album releases maintaining utmost significance in the jazz world long after his death.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-26 |title=John Coltrane and the End of Jazz |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/john-coltrane-and-the-end-of-jazz |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=Washington Examiner |language=en}}</ref> In fact, in the mid- to late-20th century, there were so many young deaths among jazz musicians that a study conducted at the University Hospital of [[London, Ontario]] concluded that "jazz musicians ... have lost a combined 461 years of jazz productivity as a consequence of cirrhosis" alone.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adams |first=Paul |date=June 2009 |title=The lost years: The impact of cirrhosis on the history of jazz |journal=[[Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology]] |volume=23 |issue=6 |pages=405–406 |doi=10.1155/2009/584591 |pmid=19543568 |pmc=2721805 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The shifts in the jazz world and the rise of free jazz correlated to the Black power and spiritual movements, along with the ideas of freedom of expression associated with the 1960s movement more broadly. But the new genre struggled to gain prevalence throughout the jazz genre, having been "ultimately ambushed by its naiveté."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-08-08 |title=Free Jazz: The Jazz Revolution of the '60s article |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/free-jazz-the-jazz-revolution-of-the-60s-by-robert-levin/ |access-date=2022-10-19 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}</ref>
=== 1970s: Jazz fusion era ===
[[File:Dexter Gordon 1980.jpg|left|thumb|Dexter Gordon in 1980]]
Following the rise of jazz fusion, a number of hard bop or "straight-ahead" jazz musicians died or retired: [[Lee Morgan]] was shot<ref>{{Cite web |title=The life and tragic death of Lee Morgan: "He was a young man, already older than his years, thrilled with his talent and the wonders of the world around him" |url=https://www.jazzwise.com/features/article/the-life-and-tragic-death-of-lee-morgan-he-was-a-young-man-already-older-than-his-years-thrilled-with-his-talent-and-the-wonders-of-the-world-around-him |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=Jazzwise |language=en}}</ref> and [[Kenny Dorham]] died<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kenny Dorham {{!}} Biography, Music, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kenny-Dorham |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> in 1972, [[Hank Mobley]] retired due to lung disease following ''Breakthrough'' (1972),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shea |first=Andrew L. |title=Hank Mobley, the greatest sax player you never heard {{!}} The Spectator |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/hank-mobley-the-greatest-sax-player-you-never-heard |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=www.spectator.co.uk |date=7 September 2018 |language=en}}</ref> [[Cannonball Adderley]] died in 1975,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=John S. |date=1975-08-09 |title=Cannonball Adderley, Jazzman, Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/09/archives/cannonball-adderley-jazzman-dead.html |access-date=2022-07-16 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and [[Charles Mingus]] died of [[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis|ALS]] in 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Mingus Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/charles-mingus-mn0000009680/biography |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>
Jazz pianist [[McCoy Tyner]] was one of the few remaining jazz musicians to reject the electric style of jazz fusion, with the former young star at one point contemplating a part-time job as a taxi driver to make ends meet. His album ''[[Sahara (McCoy Tyner album)|Sahara]]'' (1972) received two Grammy nominations, reviving his career and critical acclaim and encouraging Blue Note to release his old material.<ref>{{Cite web   |date=1993-10-05 |title=A Jazzman's Contemporary 'Journey' : Pop music: McCoy Tyner helped revolutionize jazz. Now, he's looking at rap music as a possible element for a future big-band album. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-05-ca-42585-story.html |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> In the mid-1970s fellow jazz pianist [[Cedar Walton]] founded Eastern Rebellion, an ensemble with the traditional saxophone/piano/bass/drums format, with primarily acoustic instrumentalists ranging from [[George Coleman]] to [[Curtis Fuller]] and [[Billy Higgins]] joining the band on rotation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cedar Walton |url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/cedar-walton |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=www.arts.gov |language=en}}</ref> In contrast to Walton's hard-bop style, introspective pianist Bill Evans maintained piano trios throughout the 1970s, and after some experimentation in the fusion and electric subgenres starting in 1969,<ref>{{Cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2020-02-08 |title=Bill Evans |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/bill-evans/ |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=uDiscover Music |language=en-US}}</ref> Evans returned to the acoustic trio format with [[Marc Johnson (musician)|Marc Johnson]] and [[Joe LaBarbera|Joe La Barbera]] during the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bill Evans Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-evans-mn0000764702/biography |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:PatMetheny.jpeg|thumb|The mixed acoustic and electric influences of Pat Metheny]]
Many jazz musicians of the fusion era explored the pop-influenced trend while remaining attached to traditional roots. Members of the Charles Lloyd Quartet, including drummer [[Jack DeJohnette]], believed in "the flame of creativity and exploration" in avant-garde and fusion experiments through the decade. Guitarist [[Pat Metheny]]'s ''[[Bright Size Life]]'' (1976) with [[Jaco Pastorius]] is a further example of the blending of fusion with the music of a relatively straight-ahead musician. These explorations coincided with the rise of the [[ECM Records|ECM]] jazz label.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stern |first=Chip |title=Thirty Years of Our JazzTimes: The 1970s |url=https://jazztimes.com/features/columns/thirty-years-of-our-jazztimes-the-1970s/ |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=JazzTimes |date=31 December 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> With the rise of ECM and political tension in the United States, an increased number of jazz musicians moved from the U.S. to Europe, with Scandinavia and France moving the "centre of gravity" of jazz toward the continent.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-16 |title=Jazz at 100 Hour 87: Jazz From Europe on ECM (1972 - 1976) |url=https://www.wtju.net/jazz-100-hour-87-jazz-europe-ecm/ |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=WTJU |language=en-US}}</ref> This shifted once again, however, in 1976, when [[Dexter Gordon]], an important figure in bebop since the 1940s, returned to New York from Europe. His "homecoming" generated a great deal of enthusiasm, reviving interest in musical forms he and others had kept alive in Europe while they had fallen out of prominence in North America.<ref>{{Citation |title=Dexter Gordon - Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/homecoming-live-at-the-village-vanguard-mw0000310112 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-16}}</ref> Gordon released a series of live and studio recordings through the late 1970s<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dexter Gordon Albums and Discography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dexter-gordon-mn0000208404/discography |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> and the Savoy and Blue Note labels re-released recordings from their Gordon catalogs.
Young straight-ahead tenor saxophonist [[Scott Hamilton (musician)|Scott Hamilton]] recorded his first album in 1977, with the album's title, ''Scott Hamilton Is a Good Wind Who Is Blowing Us No Ill'', coming from a [[Leonard Feather]] quote.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scott Hamilton musician |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/scott-hamilton |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}}</ref> Sidemen on the album included trumpeter [[Bill Berry (trumpeter)|Bill Berry]], pianist [[Nat Pierce]], bassist [[Monty Budwig]], and drummer [[Jake Hanna]]. Scott Yanow noted that Hamilton's neo-straight-ahead effort predated the Young Lions Movement despite its similar musical approach.<ref>{{Citation |title=Scott Hamilton - Scott Hamilton Is a Good Wind Who Is Blowing Us No Ill Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/scott-hamilton-is-a-good-wind-who-is-blowing-us-no-ill-mw0000076119 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-25}}</ref>
=== 1980s: Revival ===
With the rising star of trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Blakey's hard-bop style once again became a major force in the jazz world, and during the 1980s, this led to the popularization of straight-ahead jazz in jazz circles.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Art Blakey Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/art-blakey-mn0000928942/biography |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> Blakey released a number of albums, including ''[[Album of the Year (Art Blakey album)|Album of the Year]]'' (1981) and ''[[Blue Night (Art Blakey album)|Blue Night]]'' (1985)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Art Blakey Albums and Discography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/art-blakey-mn0000928942/discography |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> with his Jazz Messengers band before he died in 1990.<ref name=":1" /> Jazz Messengers alumnus [[Woody Shaw]], however, died at age 44 in 1989 following complications from a subway accident, following collaborations with a range of bop-oriented jazz musicians for over two decades.<ref>{{Cite web   |date=1989-05-12 |title=Woody Shaw, 44; Jazz Trumpeter |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-12-mn-3108-story.html |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Before his death, Shaw had recorded albums such as ''[[Solid (Woody Shaw album)|Solid]]'' (1987) with progressive but bop-rooted saxophonist [[Kenny Garrett]], pianist [[Kenny Barron]], [[George Shearing|Shearing]] alumnus [[Neil Swainson]] on bass, and Victor Jones on drums.<ref>{{Citation |title=Woody Shaw - Solid Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/solid-mw0000197126 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-25}}</ref> He would follow this album with ''[[Bemsha Swing (album)|Bemsha Swing]]'' (1997), recorded live on Detroit with pianist [[Geri Allen]], bassist [[Robert Hurst (musician)|Robert Hurst]], and drummer [[Roy Brooks]]; and a couple more albums prior to his death, with Yanow noting his high standard of playing despite declining eyesight and other health problems.<ref>{{Citation |title=Woody Shaw - Bemsha Swing Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bemsha-swing-mw0000026476 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-25}}</ref>
[[File:Вуди Шоу.jpg|thumb|Woody Shaw in the late-1970s]]
In the mid-1980s, a film about jazz in the 1950s and 1960s, ''[[Round Midnight (film)|Round Midnight]]'', was made based upon the life of [[Bud Powell]], with the score being nominated the "Best Original Score" in 1986. It starred Dexter Gordon, who was nominated for "Best Actor," as an aging jazz musician.<ref>{{Cite web  |date=1986-01-01 |title=Film Review: 'Round Midnight' |url=https://variety.com/1985/film/reviews/round-midnight-1200427005/ |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
In the mid-1980s, saxophonist [[Stan Getz]] led a quartet including pianist [[Kenny Barron]], bassist [[George Mraz]], and drummer [[Al Foster]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=John S. |date=1986-07-03 |title=Jazz: Trio Backs Up Stan Getz |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/03/arts/jazz-trio-backs-up-stan-getz.html |access-date=2022-07-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1987, Getz was diagnosed with cancer, dying a few years later. Preceding his death he had continued to play with a number of albums, including ''[[Anniversary!]]'', with these 1980s albums receiving critical acclaim.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Watrous |first=Peter |date=1991-06-07 |title=Stan Getz, 64, Saxophonist, Dies; A Melodist With His Own Sound |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/07/obituaries/stan-getz-64-saxophonist-dies-a-melodist-with-his-own-sound.html |access-date=2022-07-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Stan Getz - Anniversary Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/anniversary-mw0000203421 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-19}}</ref> Fellow [[cool jazz]] musician, trumpeter [[Chet Baker]], died in 1988 in the Netherlands, having made a successful comeback from a period out of jazz in the late 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=1988-05-14 |title=Chet Baker, Jazz Trumpeter, Dies at 59 in a Fall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/14/obituaries/chet-baker-jazz-trumpeter-dies-at-59-in-a-fall.html |access-date=2022-07-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Baker's album ''My Favourite Songs, Vols. 1-2: The Last Great Concert'' (1988) was met with praise from critic Yanow, who noted his "inspired form" at the final recording before he landed, dead, outside a window in [[Amsterdam]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Chet Baker - My Favourite Songs, Vols. 1-2: The Last Great Concert Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/my-favourite-songs-vols-1-2-the-last-great-concert-mw0000654362 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-19}}</ref>
Trumpet and flugelhorn player [[Tom Harrell]], after spending some years in the [[Horace Silver]] Quintet during the 1970s, became one of the prominent jazz trumpet players in the 1980s after recording a series of albums and collaborating extensively with alto saxophone player [[Phil Woods]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tom Harrell Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-harrell-mn0000605535/biography |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> Woods had formed his quintet/quartet following a brief foray into electronic jazz, and had expanded it to include Harrell, who was later followed by trombonist [[Hal Crook]] and trumpeter [[Brian Lynch (musician)|Brian Lynch]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Phil Woods Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phil-woods-mn0000848572/biography |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>
==== Young Lions Movement ====
{{Main articles|Neo-bop}}
By 1980, [[Wynton Marsalis]] had become widely associated with the straight-ahead concept and was one of the pioneers of [[neo-bop jazz]], a modern revival of straight ahead jazz, [[bebop]], and [[hard bop]].<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="tanner" /> A member of [[Art Blakey|Art Blakey's]] Jazz Messengers, trumpeter Marsalis appeared on the album ''[[Straight Ahead (Art Blakey album)|Straight Ahead]]'' (1981) as a member of Blakey's then-11-piece band.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-05 |title=Art Blakey {{!}} 10 Of The Jazz Drummer's Best Albums |url=https://jazzfuel.com/art-blakey-albums/ |access-date=2022-07-17 |website=Jazzfuel |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Following the rise of a number of young artists known as the "Young Lions," the neo-bop movement branched into its own subgenre based upon its "straightahead roots."<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Al Foster Quartet 02.jpg|left|thumb|Al Foster Quartet in 2016]]
=== 1990s: Hard bop and neo-bop ===
With the new decade, the influence of the Jazz Messengers reverberated throughout the hard bop world, with "wholehearted hard-bop revivalist" [[Ralph Peterson Jr.|Ralph Peterson, Jr.]], leading a quintet in the style of Art Blakey's band.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=1990-01-11 |title=Review/Jazz; From a Hard-Bop Revivalist |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/11/arts/review-jazz-from-a-hard-bop-revivalist.html |access-date=2022-07-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1990, longtime bebop and hard bop alto saxophonist [[Jackie McLean]] returned to playing after years of teaching at [[University of Hartford Hartt School]]. Fifty-eight years old at the time, he noted, "I only have so many more years left" and vowed to "full-time commitment to the instrument,"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Watrous |first=Peter |date=1990-04-25 |title=Jackie McLean Is Back With His Alto Sax After 20 Years Away |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/25/arts/jackie-mclean-is-back-with-his-alto-sax-after-20-years-away.html |access-date=2022-07-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> with his album ''The Jackie Mac Attack Live'' being released in 1991. His straight-ahead playing in his final years contrasted with his avant-garde experiments during the 1960s when he had surrounded himself with rising stars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jackie McLean {{!}} Biography, Music, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jackie-McLean |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Another bop veteran, [[Freddie Hubbard]], who had switched to fusion in the 1970s before joining the post-bop [[V.S.O.P. (group)|VSOP Quintet]] in 1977,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freddie Hubbard Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/freddie-hubbard-mn0000798326/biography |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> suffered a lip injury in 1992, severely impacting his career. He later joined [[David Weiss (musician)|Davis Weiss]]' New Jazz Composers Octet, switching to flugelhorn, an instrument that is easier on the lip than the trumpet.<ref>{{Cite web   |date=2008-12-30 |title=Freddie Hubbard, jazz trumpeter, dies at 70 |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-hubbard30-2008dec30-story.html |access-date=2022-07-18 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1992, bassist [[Dave Holland (bassist)|Dave Holland]] brought a pianist into his quintet, moving away from the pianoless avant-garde band model and toward hard bop. The new group was described by [[The New York Times|''The'' ''New York Times'']] as "constrained and methodical."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=1992-07-01 |title=Reviews/Jazz Festival; Concentrating on Hard-Bop |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/07/01/arts/reviews-jazz-festival-concentrating-on-hard-bop.html |access-date=2022-07-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Meanwhile, drummer [[Joe Farnsworth]] used Augue
[[Arturo Sandoval]], a Cuban-born trumpeter who could play in both Latin jazz and straight-ahead jazz settings, moved to [[Florida]] in the 1990s while on tour, enabling him to tour more freely and play with a wider range of musicians. He "attracted worldwide attention" when he emerged on the jazz scene, with his style being "blazing" and "technically flawless," according to critic Richard S. Ginell.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arturo Sandoval Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/arturo-sandoval-mn0000575122/biography |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>
In 1995, Jim Merod interviewed saxophonist Scott Hamilton for the book ''Jazz as a Cultural Archive''. Hamilton noted a wide range of influences, including pre-bebop and West Coast jazz musicians, while Merod remarked that Hamilton was among the "most contemporary links to the great heritage of the tenor saxophone...at the heart of...the jazz archive."<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Merod |first1=Jim |last2=Hamilton |first2=Scott |date=1995 |title=Wait for the Chord: An Interview with Scott Hamilton |journal=Boundary 2 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=207–234 |doi=10.2307/303827 |jstor=303827 }}</ref> Hamilton lived in the [[United Kingdom]] during the decade, although he continued to record albums as leader and sideman for Concord including AllMusic album picks ''Red Door: Remember Zoot Sims'' (1998) and ''Live at Birdland - 2'' (1999).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scott Hamilton Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/scott-hamilton-mn0000254879/biography |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Scott Hamilton Albums and Discography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/scott-hamilton-mn0000254879/discography |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>
There were a number of bop-oriented musicians who died in the 1990s, however, to offset the rise of new straight-ahead styles. These included saxophonist Stan Getz, trumpeter [[Miles Davis]], saxophonist Dexter Gordon,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dexter Gordon Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dexter-gordon-mn0000208404/biography |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> trumpeter [[Dizzy Gillespie]], and vocalist [[Sarah Vaughan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Francis |date=1996-07-01 |title=Like Young |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/07/like-young/376628/ |access-date=2022-07-19 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> In addition, all four members of the [[Modern Jazz Quartet]] died in the 1990s or 2000s: [[Connie Kay]] in 1994, [[Milt Jackson]] in 1999, [[John Lewis (pianist)|John Lewis]] in 2001, and [[Percy Heath]] in 2005. The quartet had taken influences from [[Third stream|Third Stream]] and had been rooted in bop due to the backgrounds of Jackson and Lewis.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modern Jazz Quartet {{!}} Members, Songs, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Modern-Jazz-Quartet |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>[[File:WDR Big Band feat. Yellowjackets - Leverkusener Jazztage 2019-0687.jpg|thumb|300x300px|WDR Big Band in 2019]]These deaths were succeeded by new names including saxophonist [[Eric Alexander (jazz saxophonist)|Eric Alexander]], who burst onto the jazz scene in the early 1990s, having studied under jazz musicians such as pianist [[Harold Mabern]], saxophonist [[Joe Lovano]], and bassist [[Rufus Reid]] the previous decade. His debut as leader came with ''Straight Up for Delmark'' (1992), and by 1998 he had formed a quartet with pianist [[John Hicks (pianist)|John Hicks]], bassist [[George Mraz]], and drummer [[Idris Muhammad]] to record the album ''[[Solid!]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eric Alexander musician |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/eric-alexander |access-date=2022-07-25 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}}</ref>
=== 2000s: Vocalists and popular influences ===
Young Canadian singer [[Michael Bublé]], heavily influenced by [[Frank Sinatra]] and jazz singers, blended "old-school jazz standards and adult contemporary pop songs" for several hit albums, including his [[Michael Bublé (album)|self-titled album]] (2003), ''[[It's Time (Michael Bublé album)|It's Time]]'' (2005), and ''[[Call Me Irresponsible (album)|Call Me Irresponsible]]'' (2007).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Bublé Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/michael-bubl%C3%A9-mn0000885569/biography |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> Critic [[Aaron Latham]] noted that "[u]nlike most young guys who gravitate towards the latest rock or rap trend, Michael Bublé chose to study the classic works of pop vocal masters like [[Ella Fitzgerald]] and Frank Sinatra while slowly developing his own technique and career as a vocal interpreter."<ref>{{Citation |title=Michael Bublé - Michael Bublé Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/michael-bubl%C3%A9-mw0000592979 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-01}}</ref>
[[File:Joan chamorro.jpg|left|thumb|Joan Chamorro (bass)]]
With the rise of social media websites such as [[YouTube]], jazz artists and bands were able to obtain popularity without conventional album releases, propelling their success. For example [[Barcelona]]-based multi-instrumentalist and teacher [[Joan Chamorro]] founded the [[Sant Andreu Jazz Band]] in 2006 and reached widespread audiences on the platform. The youth band has bred young multitalents including [[Andrea Motis]] (tp, saxes, voc) and [[Rita Payés]] (tb, g, voc) while frequently featuring renowned musicians including pianist [[Ignasi Terraza]] and saxophonist Scott Hamilton.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Berman |first=Garry |title=The Sant Andreu Jazz Band: Our Newest Jazz Stars Are From—Barcelona? – The Syncopated Times |url=https://syncopatedtimes.com/the-sant-andreu-jazz-band-our-newest-jazz-stars-are-from-barcelona/ |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=syncopatedtimes.com |date=31 October 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[Cologne]]-based [[WDR Big Band]]'s 2005 album ''[[Some Skunk Funk]]'' with the [[Brecker Brothers|Brecker brothers]] won at the 49th Grammy Awards of 2006, with the big band following this with tributes to veteran jazz musicians [[Django Reinhardt]] and [[Duke Ellington]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=WDR Big Band Biography, Songs, & Albums |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wdr-big-band-mn0000187659/biography |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>
Eric Alexander continued to record, releasing three albums that received 4.5 stars from AllMusic: ''[[The Second Milestone]]'' (2001), ''[[It's All in the Game (Eric Alexander album)|It's All in the Game]]'' (2006), and ''Gentle Ballads, Vol. 3'' (2008).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eric Alexander Albums and Discography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eric-alexander-mn0000184165/discography |access-date=2022-08-02 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> On the second of these albums he recorded with Joe Farnsworth, who had developed a circle of straight-ahead jazz musicians including Marsalis, pianist [[Cedar Walton]], and saxophonist [[Benny Golson]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joe Farnsworth musician  |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/joe-farnsworth/ |access-date=2022-08-02 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}}</ref> Farnsworth had previously used Augie's Jazz Club to play with bop musicians including [[Junior Cook]], [[Harold Mabern]], and [[Eddie Henderson (musician)|Eddie Henderson]] before the venue was reformed under its current name, [[Smoke (jazz club)|Smoke]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Joe Farnsworth musician |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/joe-farnsworth/ |access-date=2022-08-02 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}}</ref>
=== 2010s: Growth of online media ===
[[File:Samara Joy INNtöne 14.jpg|thumb|Pasquale Grasso (left) and Samara Joy (center)]]
In 2010, Joan Chamorro recorded ''Joan Chamorro Presenta Andrea Motis'' (2013) featuring pianist Terraza.<ref>{{Citation |title=Chamorro, Terraza & Friends, Joan Chamorro, Andrea Motis, Ignasi Terraza - Joan Chamorro Presenta Andrea Motis |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/8077042-Chamorro-Terraza-Friends-Joan-Chamorro-Andrea-Motis-Ignasi-Terraza-Joan-Chamorro-Presenta-Andrea-Mot |language=en |access-date=2022-08-01}}</ref> He followed this with ''Feeling Good'' (2014), an album recorded with the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, including guitarist Josep Traver and drummer Esteve Pi. ''[[All About Jazz]]'' critic Bruce Lindsay described the musicians on the latter album as demonstrating "exceptional delicacy and taste."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-17 |title=Joan Chamorro and Andrea Motis: Feeling Good album review |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/feeling-good-andrea-motis-temps-records-spain-review-by-bruce-lindsay |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=All About Jazz |language=en}}</ref> By late 2021, Chamorro had uploaded more than a thousand videos to the band's YouTube channel.<ref name=":3" />
Young jazz pianist [[Emmet Cohen]], taught by Brian Lynch, recorded with his former professor on ''Questioned Answer'' (2014); the album also included drummer [[Billy Hart]] and bassist [[Boris Kozlov]] on some tracks.<ref>{{Citation |title=Brian Lynch, Emmet Cohen - Questioned Answer Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/questioned-answer-mw0002807598 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-01}}</ref> Now-veteran jazz trumpeter [[Wynton Marsalis]] released an album recorded at Lincoln Center in 2018, ''[[Una Noche con Rubén Blades]]'', that was included by Laura Fernandez as one of 2010's jazz albums of the decade, representing the blending of straight-ahead jazz with Latin-American influences.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-27 |title=20 of the best jazz and blues albums of the 2010s |url=https://jazz.fm/best-jazz-albums-2010s-decade-in-review/ |access-date=2022-08-01 |website=JAZZ.FM91 |language=en-CA}}</ref> Trumpeter Bruce Harris, an Essentially Ellington alumnus, gained publicity in the 2010s with two Broadway show performances and his album ''Beginnings''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bruce Harris musician |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/bruce-harris |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=All About Jazz Musicians |language=en}}</ref>
=== 2020s: COVID-19 and re-opening ===
In 2020, during the spring [[COVID-19 lockdowns|coronavirus lockdown]], pianist [[Emmet Cohen]], bassist Russell Hall, and drummer Kyle Poole started a YouTube channel for "Emmet's Place," a house concert venue run out of an apartment in [[Harlem]]. The channel gained millions of viewers, and he invited a wide range of guests to his apartment to sustain the channel and to showcase straight-ahead jazz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Emmet Cohen has one foot in the tradition, and another in the future |url=https://www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story/2022-07-26/emmet-cohen-has-one-foot-in-the-tradition-and-another-in-the-future |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=WBGO |language=en}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' described the style of music he performed as an "inclusive brand of jazz, incorporating the entire tradition of the genre from the 1920s to the present day" and noted the explosive growth of his almost entirely internet-based following.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrison |first=Allen |date=2022-07-18 |title=Live From Emmet's Place: inside New York's most exclusive jazz concert |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/18/live-from-emmets-place-jazz |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Meanwhile other artists, such as Pasquale Grasso, maintained more specific brands of straight-ahead jazz, with the guitarist recording a "digital showcase series" with albums including ''Solo Standards'' and ''Be-Bop!'' featuring vocalist Samara Joy, bassist Ari Roland, and drummer Keith Balla.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pasquale Grasso returns with newest album 'Be-Bop' |url=https://www.jazz24.org/npr_story_post/pasquale-grasso-returns-with-newest-album-be-bop/ |access-date=2022-08-05 |website=Jazz24 |date=22 June 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Jazz}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Straight-Ahead Jazz}}
[[Category:Jazz genres]]