Freebop

In freebop, the general approach is similar to bebop, but the chord progression is not used as an organizing principle. Thus, there is freedom in harmony, which in turn loosens restrictions on other elements of the performance.

A Jazz Improvisation Almanac
Unit: Jazz Styles
Chapter: Modern Jazz

Characterization of Freebop
Musicians

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

Characterization of Freebop

Arthur Blythe (Copyright © 1998 Lester Levy)

One of the first examples of what became known as "free jazz" is very similar in form and sound to bebop, except that the chord changes are treated more freely. Either the soloists play lines that do not relate to the chord progression in any conventional way, or there is no predetermined chord progression to follow at all. Other than with respect to harmony, however, the roles of the various instruments in this music resemble those in bebop - the horn players play a melody that is usually quite straightforward, the bassist and drummer keep time, often with typical bebop patterns, and the musicians take turns soloing. This style of jazz has come to be known as freebop. One of the earliest examples was the 1956 debut recording of pianist Cecil Taylor, entitled Jazz Advance:

Taylor soon went off in an even more revolutionary direction, which will be discussed in the section on restructuralism.

The first group to consistently explore freebop was the quartet led by saxophonist Ornette Coleman in the late 1950's and early 1960's, with Don Cherry on trumpet. This group did not employ a piano, but unlike the pianoless ensembles of West coast jazz, the horns in Coleman's quartet did not engage in counterpoint to create harmony as there were no specific chords to play. Here is an example of their music:

Eric Dolphy also used adopted elements of this style, playing essentially atonal solos even over relatively conventional chord progressions, as in this example, from a composition by pianist Misha Mengelberg, where Dolphy solos on bass clarinet:

Note that Ornette's improvised melodies tended to be simple and folk-like, while Dolphy's were usually complex and angular, yet neither would be especially out of place in a bebop performance. In fact, while this music was extremely controversial at first - as bebop was in the 1940's, and jazz in general was at the turn of the century - it soon came to be incorporated into the repertoire of other musicians, even those who initially rejected "free jazz". The Miles Davis quintet in the 1960's often veered in this direction, as the chord progressions to the modal compositions would be largely ignored during solos.

Once you are free of the harmony in a composition, you are also free to improvise with the form and rhythm. Improvisation in freebop may be based on themes presented in the head, but it need not adhere to their specific structure. That is, since any chord progression used to harmonize the head can be ignored during solos, there is no need to adhere to the same chorus length, either, or to even organize a solo in terms of choruses at all. None of the examples in this section are structured in choruses.

Since there are no chord changes to play, the bassist need not keep a steady walking pattern going to provide harmonic foundation, and can instead take on a more melodic accompanying role. Also, since a steady pulse is not needed to synchronize the chord changes, the drummer is similarly liberated from playing strictly in time. The essence of mainstream jazz styles is preserved in the idea of the soloist improvising over accompaniment provided by a rhythm section, but the pulse can be more freely interpreted, as in this example from trumpeter Hugh Ragin: