CHAPTER 18 | JAZZ IN THE 1960s 441JAZZ IN THE 1960s
As artistic recognition of jazz blossomed during the 1960s, a wide range of new
styles came to the fore, existing alongside older styles like New Orleans jazz and
bebop. Some of these were oriented more toward the popular sphere, others
toward the classical. But even the more accessible jazz styles were eclipsed in the
marketplace by the overwhelming popularity of rock. With more young listeners
turning to rock, jazz’s economic base continued to decline, even as a new genera-
tion of musicians discovered untapped creative possibilities in jazz.JAZZ SINGERS
Jazz singers have always enjoyed a broader commercial appeal than have instru-
mentalists. Even jazz’s fi rst great soloist, Louis Armstrong, by 1930 was popular at
least as much for his singing as for his trumpet playing. Long after Armstrong’s
groundbreaking Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings in the 1920s (discussed in
chapter 12), he continued to win the public’s favor through the 1950s by playing
concerts with his small ensemble, the All-Stars, and recording a series of vocal
duets with Ella Fitzgerald, a singer whose virtuoso technique was matched by
her expressive authority. Then in 1964 Armstrong scored the biggest hit of his
career with a Broadway show tune, “Hello, Dolly,” which rose to number 1 on the
pop charts, temporarily displacing the Beatles.
Other jazz singers who enjoyed commercial success in the 1960s included Nat
King Cole, Nina Simone, Mel Tormé, and Nancy Wilson. Sarah Vaughan, who
had been on the scene since the 1940s, was recognized for her voice’s exceptional
range, sound, and variety, as well as her excellent control and sense of pitch.
Vaughan’s achievements may be summed up in a pair of challenges she met:
adapting her vocal technique to the demands of rhythmic swing, and captur-
ing the mood of a song and sustaining it without giving up vocal and musical
freedom.SOUL JAZZ
Among the instrumentalists who continued to attract a larger audience were
soul jazz artists such as Horace Silver, Cannonball Adderley, Jimmy Smith, and
Ramsey Lewis, whose record “The In Crowd” reached number 5 on the pop
charts in 1965. Rooted in gospel and blues on the one hand and the hard bop
sounds of such artists as Art Blakey on the other, the funky sounds of soul jazz
emphasized rhythmic groove and radiated a pride in black ethnicity in tune with
the racial politics of the era.NEW JAZZ HORIZONS
Other jazz artists explored more adventurous directions—sometimes, but not
always, alienating audiences not willing to make the effort to understand new
musical languages. Bass player Charles Mingus continued to compose free-
wheeling works for large ensembles that took the collective improvisation of
New Orleans jazz into uncharted territory while never losing the hard-driving,172028_18_440-467_r3_sd.indd 441 23/01/13 11:02 AM