Jazz In America
Lesson Plan 8:
Jazz Today, Jazz Tomorrow
Jazz Today
1990-Today
Basically two camps
No Labels – no particularly preconceived style,
just music containing improvisation; anything
goes
Includes elements of Swing, Hard Bop, Cool,
Avant Garde, Fusion, classical music, 20th C.
techniques, & elements of world music
Jazz Today
Mainstream Jazz (aka straight-ahead jazz)
Comes directly from the “jazz” tradition; most
resembles the Hard Bop sensibility
Seeks to identify the jazz masters of the past;
focusing on blues, swing, and bebop
Led by trumpet player Wynton Marsalis
Jazz Today
New Offshoots
M-Based – macro-based, i.e. broad based jazz
Harmonic and structural elements of the late 1960s
avant garde combined with rhythms and grooves of
funk and hip-hop; “free funk”
Acid Jazz
Based on jazz-funk recordings of the 1960’s and
early ’70s, classic R&B, and hip-hop
Jazz Today
Acid Jazz
Much of acid jazz depends on electronic re-use of
old recordings
Often performed and recorded w/ rap vocals
Long improvs over sampled vamps
Live performances feature musicians (usually horn
players) along with DJs
Jazz Today
Women in Jazz
In the past, women in jazz were mostly vocal
Instrumental jazz was male dominated
Past female contributors were pioneers for
today’s female musicians
Today, more and more female musicians are
involved in jazz, both vocal and instrumental
Jazz Tomorrow
World Music
The future of jazz in
unknown, but is believed
to most likely see the
inclusion of more World
Music
Where jazz ends and
improvised world music
begins will eventually
blur to
indistinguishability
Jazz Tomorrow
Straight Ahead
Mainstream jazz will
most likely continue to
grow as young players
study the genius of past
masters
Technical mastery of
acoustic instruments will
continue to increase
Jazz Tomorrow
Technology
Advancements in
computers and recording
technology will influence
jazz
Jazz will be created by
computer technicians as
well as musicians
Jazz Tomorrow
Jazz Education
Respect for jazz will
continue to increase
Will become a mainstay
of public education
Jazz education in post-
HS education will
continue to increase
Cultural Implications
Jazz has reflected the profound and rapid
changes in the American lifestyle in the 20th C.
Jazz will continue to give people a collective
picture of cultural conditions and changes in
America
Jazz has and will continue to remain a symbol of
modernization, city life, and interracial activity
Cultural Implications
Jazz will continue to epitomize the American
ideal of individual expression
A symbol of democracy
Provides insight into the intangibles of
responsibility, ethnic diversity, teamwork, and
goal accomplishment
Provides better understanding of this country’s
diverse cultural heritage
Cultural Implications
Jazz will continue to
reflect young people’s
desire to express their
differences from and pay
homage to earlier
generations
Jazz reflects how young
Americans have, in part,
led the way for their
elders