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7

Avant Garde/Free Jazz; Fusion (1959 - 1990)

Overview

I.

Avant Garde/Free Jazz (1959-1970)

II.

Fusion (1969-1990)

III.

Cultural Implications

IV.

Jazz Education

Jazz Timeline

Student Handout

Test Bank

Answer Key

footnotes

1. all styles of jazz from Dixieland to contemporary are still being performed and recorded today; all style dates given are approximations of when each respective style came to the forefront of jazz and experienced its most concentrated development; of course, styles and dates overlap

2. National Center for History in the Schools, UCLA

3. NAfME: The National Association for Music Education

4. Student handouts may be downloaded from the Jazz in America website, printed, and photocopied.

5. Any material from the Jazz in America website may be downloaded, printed, and/or made into PowerPoint slide as the instructor sees fit.

6. IHJ = selection is found on Willie Hill's The Instrumental History of Jazz; JIA = selection is found on the Jazz in America website (www.jazzinamerica.org)

TOPICS:

  1. Avant Garde/Free Jazz (1959-1970)1
  2. Fusion (1969-1990)
  3. Important Figures
  4. Cultural Implications
HISTORY STANDARDS
National Standards for United States History2

Historical Thinking
Students should be able to:
  1. Draw upon the visual, literary, and musical sources, including: (a) photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural drawings; (b) novels, poetry, and plays; and (c) folk, popular and classical music, to clarify, illustrate, or elaborate upon information presented in the historical narrative (Historical Comprehension Standard 2i).
  2. Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions by identifying likenesses and differences (Historical Analysis and Interpretation Standard 3a).
  3. Consider multiple perspectives of various peoples in the past by demonstrating their differing motives, beliefs, interests, hopes, and fears (Historical Analysis and Interpretation Standard 3b).
  4. Hypothesize the influence of the past, including both the limitations and opportunities made possible by past decision (Historical Analysis and Interpretation Standard 3j).
  5. Obtain historical data from a variety of sources, including: library and museum collections, historic sites, historical photos, journals, diaries, eyewitness accounts, newspapers, and the like; documentary films, oral testimony from living witnesses, censuses, tax records, city directories, statistical compilations, and economic indicators (Historical Research Capabilities Standard 4b).
Historical Content
Students should:
  1. Understand the “Second Reconstruction” and its advancement of civil rights period ((Postwar United States 1945 to Early 1970s Standard 4A) and understand economic patterns since 1968 (Contemporary United States 1968 to the Present Standard 2A). Therefore, the student should be able to:
  2. Analyze the leadership and ideology of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X in the civil rights movement and evaluate their legacies.
  3. Evaluate how scientific advances and technological changes such as robotics and the computer revolution affect the economy and the nature of work.
ARTS STANDARDS
National Standards for Music Education3

Artistic Process - Responding: Select, Analyze, Interpret, and Evaluate Music
Students:
  1. Choose music appropriate for specific purposes and contexts. – Identify reasons for selecting music based on characteristics found in the music, connection to interest, and purpose or context (MU:Re7.1.E.5a); Apply criteria to select music for a variety of purposes, justifying choices citing knowledge of the music and the specified purpose and context (MU:Re7.1.E.IIa).
  2. Analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works inform the response. – Compare how the elements of music and expressive qualities relate to the structure within programs of music (MU:Re7.2.8a); Identify and compare the context of programs of music from a variety of genres, cultures, and historical periods (MU:Re7.2.8b).
  3. Support an interpretation of a musical work that reflects the creators’/performers’ expressive intent. – Support personal interpretation of contrasting programs of music and explain how creators or performers apply the elements of music and expressive qualities, within genres, cultures, and historical periods to convey expressive intent (MU:Re8.1.7a).
  4. Support personal evaluation of musical works and performance(s) based on analysis, interpretation, and established criteria. – Apply appropriate personally developed criteria to evaluate musical works or performances (MU:Re9.1.8a).
  5. Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to deepen understanding. – Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life (MU:Cn11.0.T.5a).
Artistic Process - Connecting: Select, Analyze, Interpret, and Evaluate Music
Students:
  1. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make music. – Demonstrate how interests, knowledge, and skills relate to personal choices and intent when creating, performing, and responding to music (MU:Cn10.0.H.5a); Identify reasons for selecting music based on characteristics found in the music, connection to interest, and purpose or context (MU:Re7.1E.5a).
  2. Relate musical ideas and works with varied context to deepen understanding. – Demonstrate understanding of relationships between music and the other arts, other disciplines, varied contexts, and daily life (MU:Cn11.0.T.5a); Evaluate works and performances based on research as well as personally- and collaboratively-developed criteria, including analysis and interpretation of the structure and context (MU:Re9.1.E.IIa).
SESSION OBJECTIVES:
The student will
  1. gain a fundamental understanding of Avant Garde/Free Jazz
  2. gain a fundamental understanding of Fusion
  3. gain a fundamental understanding of Pop/Contemporary Jazz (AKA Smooth Jazz)
  4. learn the basic definition of several terms associated with jazz
    1. avant garde
    2. fusion
    3. pop/contemporary, aka "smooth jazz"
    4. tonal
    5. atonal
    6. intonation
  5. listen to Avant Garde/Free Jazz, Fusion, and Pop/Contemporary ("Smooth Jazz") recordings
  6. become acquainted with Ornette Coleman and Herbie Hancock
  7. participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of American culture in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s
EQUIPMENT:
  1. computer logged onto www.jazzinamerica.org
  2. LCD projector and screen
  3. CD player (optional)
MATERIALS:
  1. The Instrumental History of Jazz (IHJ) – optional
    1. two CDs
    2. accompanying booklet
  2. Student Handouts (one per student)4
    1. chapter glossary5
    2. one American History (AH) handout: The 1960s: A Tumultuous Decade
    3. Avant Garde/Free Jazz Characteristics
    4. Fusion Characteristics
    5. time line (1960s)
    6. Jazz Biographies (JB) handout (Ornette Coleman and Herbie Hancock)
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
The instructor will
  1. distribute student handouts
  2. have students read and discuss The 1960s - A Tumultuous Decade
  3. discuss Avant Garde/Free Jazz
  4. discuss Fusion
  5. discuss Pop/Contemporary Jazz ("Smooth Jazz")
  6. examine the biographical sketches of Ornette Coleman and Herbie Hancock
  7. play significant Avant Garde/Free Jazz recordings: Enter Evening, Cecil Taylor (IHJ), and/or Full Force, Art Ensemble of Chicago (IHJ), and/or Lonely Woman, Ornette Coleman (JIA)6
  8. play significant Fusion recordings: Birdland Weather Report (IHJ), and/or The Spin, Yellow Jackets (IHJ), and/or Chameleon, Herbie Hancock (JIA)
  9. play significant Pop/Contemporary ("Smooth Jazz") recordings: Morning Dance, Spyro Gyra (IHJ), and/or Breezin', George Benson (IHJ), and/orMountain Dance, Dave Grusin (IHJ), and/or Mister Magic, Grover Washington (IHJ), and/or Change of Heart, David Sanborn (JIA)
  10. lead a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of American culture during the Free Jazz and Fusion Eras
  11. inform students that if they happen to own a favorite jazz CD that they would like to share with the class, they should bring it to the final jazz class
ASSESSMENT:
Test Bank
  1. Multiple Choice
  2. Fill in the Blank
  3. True-False
  4. Matching
  5. Essay

the Herbie Hancock institute of jazz
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