1950's

1950's
The first new style during this time persiod is called Mainstream and came at the end of the Big Band era (1930's-1940's). The large ensembles broke into smaller groups even though the other older styles, such as the Swing, were still popular and being played. As a matter of fact, some of the finest players of Swing could be heard during this time period except the change would be that there would be chrodal improvistions instead of following strictly to the melody during solos.
The next is called Cool Style and is evolved directly from Bebop from the late 1940's. Cool Jazz is a smoothed out mixture of Bop (Bebop) and Swing, where the tones are harmonic and dynamics are softended. Nicknamed "West Coast Jazz" because of its orgin in the the Los Angelos area, Cool Jazz became nationwide by the end of the 1950's with significant contributions from numerous musicians from Los Angelos and also the East Coast.
Another style of Jazz that originated in the 1950's is called Hard Bop. It is an extension of Bebop but includes the style of Cool Jazz from the West. The melodies are more "soulful" and borrows the style of Ryhthm and Blues and even a sound of the Gospel themes. The ryhthm is more sofisticated than before and also more diverse. A pianist famous for playing with this style is Horace Silver. Hard Bop survived until the 1960's when it then split into Post Bop, Modal Jazz and Soul Jazz which will be discussed later. A revival of Hard Bop came in the early 1990's but soon died out once again.
The last major jazz style in the 1950's is called Bossa Nova. Bossa Nova is a mix of West Coast Cool, European classical harmonies, and Brazilian samba ryhthms. Another name which is more commonly known for Bossa Nova is Brazilian Jazz and was founded in the 1950's but came to the United States in 1962 and was either sung in Portuguese or English (or both). This style of acoustic guitar rhythms and simple melodies was pioneered by Brazilians Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim. This style became popularized in the West Coast by musicians like guitarist Charlie Byrd and saxiphonist Stan Getz.