Impressionism

• Characterization of Impressionism
• 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 Impressionism

A number of musicians have chosen to make harmonically free music that is focused less on individual solo displays and more concerned with the overall sound that is achieved through collective improvisation. I refer to this style as impressionism, although this usage is not common. Some musicians in this style seek to incorporate elements of European classical music as well. Such music is sometimes referred to as chamber jazz.

In impressionism, the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms are still recognizable as jazz, although the time may be even more loosely implied than in freebop. The music is allowed to develop more freely, and textures within a given piece may vary from minute to minute. Improvisation takes place "in the moment", in response to the needs of the situation. While a composed head may be used as a basis for improvisation, the improvisation is more a collective effort than a succession of solos, although there may well be solos. Each musician is conscious of the sound his instrument produces and how it interacts with the sounds the other musicians are creating, and he takes this into account when improvising his own part, but he does not limit himself to a particular role such as "soloist" or "accompanist". Each musician contributes what he feels will best complement what the other musicians are doing at any given moment. Thus, pianists need not necessarily play chord voicings, bassists need not necessarily play walking lines, and drummers need not necessarily keep time. As the improvisation progresses, different voices may become dominant, but it is not the rigid succession of solos found in other styles of jazz. The music is more a conversation than a series of soliloquies.

One of the first examples of impressionistic free improvisation was the music of the group led by pianist Lennie Tristano that recorded the performances "Intuition" and "Disgression" in 1949:

The heyday of this style was reached with series of recordings released on the Blue Note label during the mid-1960's, such as Spring, by drummer Tony Williams:

In solo performance, impressionism is usually seen as an especially reflective form of free improvisation, as in this example by pianist Art Lande:

While the term impressionism normally connotes a quiet music, the important concept underlying impressionism is not the specific texture achieved, but the desire to achieve a specific texture. Impressionistic music may have the intensity of expressionism, but will accomplish this without the emphasis on individual solo statements. In impressionistic music, one might expect these intense moments to be more short lived and to be balanced by other textures, as in this example from one of my own compositions:

Musicians

Some musicians known for playing in an impressionistic style include:

Tenor Saxophone

• Sam Rivers (also flute)

Clarinet

• Jimmy Giuffre

Trumpet

• Bill Dixon

Vibraphone

• Bobby Hutcherson

Piano

• Andrew Hill
• Paul Bley
• Art Lande
• Lennie Tristano
• Herbie Hancock

Bass

• Scott LaFaro
• Richard Davis
• Gary Peacock
• Steve Swallow

Drums

• Paul Motian
• Milford Graves
• Barry Altschul
• Tony Williams

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Impressionism