modern jazz
Definition
Noun: A broad category encompassing the various styles and developments in jazz music that emerged from the early 1940s onward, characterized by increased harmonic and rhythmic complexity, and a move away from the dance-oriented swing style. It is often used synonymously with "bebop" and its subsequent evolutions.
Usage
The term "modern jazz" is used to collectively describe and differentiate the progressive jazz movements post-1940 from earlier, more traditional forms like Dixieland and swing.
Examples
- Noun:
- The club is known for featuring live performances of modern jazz.
- His thesis analyzes the harmonic innovations in modern jazz of the 1950s.
- Many consider bebop to be the foundational style of modern jazz.
Advanced Usage
- As a historical period marker: The term is often used to discuss the music within its historical and cultural context.
- The transition from swing to modern jazz marked a significant shift in African American musical expression.
Variants and Related Words
- Bebop (n): A specific, complex, and fast-paced style that initiated the modern jazz era in the mid-1940s.
- Cool Jazz (n): A laid-back, more arranged style that developed as a reaction to bebop.
- Hard Bop (n): A style blending bebop with blues and gospel, emerging in the mid-1950s.
- Modal Jazz (n): A style focusing on musical modes rather than complex chord progressions.
- Free Jazz (n): An avant-garde style that emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s, emphasizing improvisation free from strict harmonic structures.
Synonyms
- Post-swing jazz
- Contemporary jazz (when used in a historical context referring to the mid-20th century)
Antonyms
- Traditional jazz
- Early jazz
- Dixieland
- Swing music (in its specific big band dance form)
Noun
-
any of various styles of jazz that appeared after 1940
