Free Jazz (The Roots of Jazz) (Paperback)

by Ekkehard Jost (Author) "At the end of the Fifties, Ornette Coleman made the programmatic statement, "Let's play the music and not the background" (from Williams 1970. p. 207)..." (more)
Key Phrases: rubato ballads, rhythmic groundwork, motivic improvisation, Sun Ra, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

When originally published in 1974, Ekkehard Jost's Free Jazz was the first examination of the new music of such innovators as Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Jost studied the music (not the lives) of a selection of musicians—black jazz artists who pioneered a new form of African American music—to arrive at the most in-depth look so far at the phenomenon of free jazz. Free jazz is not absolutely free, as Jost is at pains to point out. As each convention of the old music was abrogated, new conventions arose, whether they were rhythmic, melodic, tonal, or compositional, Coltrane's move into modal music was governed by different principles than Coleman's melodic excursions; Sun Ra's attention to texture and rhythm created an entirely different big bang sound then had Mingus's attention to form.In Free Jazz, Jost paints a group of ten "style portraits"—musical images of the styles and techniques of John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, the Chicago-based AACM (which included Richard Abrams, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Anthony Braxton, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago), and Sun Ra and his Arkestra. As a composite picture of some of the most compelling music of the 1960s and '70s, Free Jazz is unequalled for the depth and clarity of its analysis and its even handed approach.

About the Author

Ekkehard Jost is professor of musicology at the University of Giessen in Germany, and has written seven books. He plays baritone and bass saxophone, and bass and contrabass clarinet, and has recorded seven records as leader or co-leader. He is vice president of the Association of Jazz Musicians in Germany, and president of jazz and new music institutes in Hessen and Darmstadt.

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306805561
• ISBN-13: 978-0306805561
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #727,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and vintage technical text, February 17, 2004

By A Customer

This book covers the music of Coltrane, Mingus, Ornette, Cecil Taylor, late period Coltrane, Shepp, Ayler, Cherry, AACM, and Sun Ra. It is valuable as an historical text, since Jost gives good outlines of each musician's career (up to 1974, when the book was published). The German author Jost gives in depth descriptions of formal aspects of each musician's work, which is most interesting in the case of the composers whose work extensively involves the working out of musical structures. It is a very rational approach to a very complex subject. At times, I felt that the absence of discussion of political or spiritual aspects of the music was not a good thing, but it seems like Jost's goal was to discuss history and form for the most part. It's a view of Free Music from a Western point of view.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great analysis of a misunderstood genre, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This book serves as an excellent survey of free jazz in the 60's. Jost uses plenty of examples and a lots of objectivity to write a book that celebrates the many virtues of this multifaceted genre, while maintaining a realistic perspective. He doesn't hesitate, however, to criticize free musicians where it is due, giving his more frequent positive comments more weight. A must for any student of the avante-garde.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice, Concise, and Worth the Price, July 23, 2001

By	Nathan Robinson (Phat Bojee) - See all my reviews

This is a great book, but, thankfully, it differs from other books on the same topic. This is a fairly in-depth analysis of the musicians' MUSIC. Don't expect long anecdotes about Cecil Taylor's life or John Coltrane's spirituality or about revolutionary politics or whatever. Jost feels that this stuff is abundant in others' books and accounts of the "free" movement, and that it has distracted us from the music itself. That's what I love about this book; the author isn't afraid to dig deep into the music. Also, most of his recorded examples are easy to find (or at least available somewhere). There isn't any of that "one time in 61' I saw Ornette play the harmonica in this pub in sweden and....". This book makes this seemingly difficult music more accessible...check it out.