1950s Jazz Music: The Best of the Decade

Discover the best 1950s Jazz Music. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for The Best of the Decade: 1950s Jazz Music – Various Artists on AllMusic.

Introduction

The 1950s were a golden age for jazz music. Many of the greatest jazz musicians of all time were active during this decade, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Ella Fitzgerald. This was also the decade that saw the birth of bebop, which would go on to become one of the most influential genres in all of jazz.

If you’re a fan of jazz music, then you need to check out these essential albums from the 1950s. These are the albums that defined the decade and set the stage for everything that came afterwards.

The Birth of Jazz

The 1950s was the decade that saw the birth of Jazz music. This new form of music emerged from the combination of blues, ragtime, and brass band music. Jazz quickly rose to popularity and became the dominant form of music in the United States. The best Jazz musicians of the 1950s include Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk.

Jazz in New Orleans

In the early 1900s, jazz was born in New Orleans out of a unique meeting of cultures. The city was a melting pot of African, Caribbean, and European influences, and this is reflected in the music. Jazz listeners can hear the African influence in the syncopated rhythms, while the European influence is evident in the use of brass instruments and improvisation.

Jazz quickly spread from New Orleans to other parts of the country, particularly Chicago and New York City. In the 1920s, jazz became hugely popular nationwide, with artists like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong becoming household names. The 1930s saw the rise of swing music, a more danceable form of jazz that became even more popular with American audiences.

By the 1950s, jazz was firmly established as one of America’s most popular musical genres. The decade saw the rise of bebop, a style that emphasized complex harmonies and fast tempo. Artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane pushed boundaries further with their innovative approach to improvisation and composition.

The 1950s were a golden age for jazz music, and this decade is widely considered to be one of the best for this genre. If you’re looking to explore jazz from this era, you can’t go wrong with any of the artists or albums on this list.

Jazz in Chicago

In the early 1900s, New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz. The city was a melting pot of cultures, and the music reflected this diversity. Jazz was a blend of African and European musical traditions, and it quickly spread to other parts of the United States.

Chicago became a major jazz center in the 1920s, and the city’s clubs were filled with talented musicians. Many of these musicians moved to New York City in the 1930s, where they continued to develop the art form.

The 1950s were a golden age for jazz. The music continued to evolve, and many new styles emerged. The decade also saw the rise of some of the most iconic figures in jazz history, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Nina Simone.

Jazz in New York

In the early 1950s, jazz was still largely defined by the work of Louis Armstrong and his contemporaries in New Orleans. But there was a growing sense that jazz’s center of gravity was shifting to New York City. This was partly due to the fact that many important jazz musicians had relocated to NYC in the 1930s and ‘40s, including Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, and Dexter Gordon. But it was also because New York was simply the most happening place in the world for music at that time. If you were a young musician with ambitions of making it big, you went to New York.

The rise of bebop in the 1940s had given birth to a new generation of young jazz musicians who were intent on pushing the music forward. These so-called “rebels” were often at odds with the older guard of musicians who clung to the more traditional sounds of Armstrong and his peers. In many ways, the story of 1950s jazz is the story of these two camps battling it out for supremacy.

On one side were musicians like Miles Davis and John Coltrane, who were experimenting with new harmonic possibilities made possible by bebop. On the other side were musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, who stuck to a more traditional approach rooted in swing. In general, critics tended to favor the rebels, while audiences still gravitated toward the more accessible sounds of the older guard.

Ultimately, it would be Davis and Coltrane who would come to define jazz in the 1950s with their game-changing album “Kind of Blue.” But there were many other great albums and artists that emerged during this decade, including Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Miles Davis Quintet, and Horace Silver Quintet.

The Spread of Jazz

It would be hard to overstate the importance of the 1950s in the history of jazz. The decade saw the rise of bebop, the birth of hard bop, and the Miles Davis-led birth of cool jazz. But more than anything, it was the decade in which jazz spread to the wider world like never before.

Jazz on the Radio

The 1950s were a time when jazz music was gaining popularity and becoming more mainstream. One of the ways that people were exposed to jazz was through the radio. There were a few different radio programs that played jazz music, and they helped to introduce the genre to new listeners.

One of the most popular radio programs was “The scope of Jazz” which aired on WBGO in New York City. This program featured interviews with well-known jazz musicians, as well as live performances. It was one of the first programs to air jazz music on a regular basis, and it helped to increase the popularity of the genre.

Another popular radio program was “Jazz at the Philharmonic.” This program featured live recordings of performances by some of the most famous jazz musicians of the time. It was originally produced by Norman Granz, and it aired on various radio stations across the country. The program helped to increase the exposure of jazz music and bring it to new audiences.

“The Sounds of Jazz” was another popular radio program that aired in the 1950s. This program was produced by Voice of America, and it featured recordings of live performances by American and European jazz musicians. The show was broadcast all over the world, and it helped to spread the popularity of jazz music to new audiences.

Jazz in Films

In the 1950s, jazz music began to appear in films more frequently. The first film to feature Jazz prominently was Young Man with a Horn, starring Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall. This film is based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke, a famous jazz trumpeter. The film featured performances by well-known jazz musicians such as Harry James and Ben Pollack. It was not well received by critics, but it did give exposure to Jazz music.

Other films that featured Jazz prominently included The Phenix City Story, Cool Cat, and Anatomy of a Murder. The Phenix City Story is a crime drama set in Alabama that features Miles Davis’ “Love for Sale” during a pivotal scene. Cool Cat is a British comedy that features jazz musician Casimir “Boots” Pofford kicking off a musical jam session at a party. Anatomy of a Murder is a court room drama that features Duke Ellington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train” throughout the film. These films helped to spread Jazz music to new audiences and increase its popularity in the 1950s.

Jazz in Clubs

In the 1950s, jazz was still mostly performed in clubs for a mostly black audience. But as the music became more popular, it began to spread to other venues and to a wider audience. One of the most important places for the spread of jazz was television. In the early days of television, there were few channels and not much programming. So, when a show like The Steve Allen Show featured jazz musicians, it exposed a whole new audience to the music.

Television also helped to make jazz musicians more famous. Some of the most popular jazz musicians of the 1950s, such as Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck, became famous thanks to their appearances on television. This increased exposure helped to make jazz more popular with white audiences.

As jazz became more popular, it also began to be performed in more public places, such as concert halls and college campuses. This gave people who might not have gone to a club to hear jazz music the opportunity to see it performed live. It also helped to bring different types of people together who might not have otherwise had the chance to meet each other.

The Stars of Jazz

The 1950s were a decade of great change, and this is especially true for jazz music. The stars of the jazz world were changing, with new faces and new styles emerging. This decade saw the rise of bebop and cool jazz, and the fall of big band jazz. But who were the stars of this decade? Let’s take a look.

Louis Armstrong

One of the most influential figures in jazz, trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans in 1901. He got his start playing in the street bands of New Orleans, and by the 1920s he was leading his own band, the Hot Five. With the Hot Five and Hot Seven, Armstrong popularized many songs including “Heebie Jeebies,” “West End Blues,” and “Hotter Than That.” He also began to experiment with scat singing, a form of jazz vocal improvisation, on songs like “Star Dust” and “Shine.” In the 1930s, Armstrong began to tour Europe, where he was rapturously received. He also became a star of American radio and film, appearing in films like Pennies from Heaven (1936) and playing on radio programs like The Jack Benny Show. In 1947, Armstrong made history by becoming the first African American musician to play at Carnegie Hall. He continued to perform and record until his death in 1971.

Billie Holiday

One of jazz’s most influential vocalists, Billie Holiday had a seminal impact on the development of the jazz style known as “crooning.” Possessing a profound understanding of the blues, Holiday transformed popular songs into emotionally charged Jazz ballads that remain some of the most enduring standards in the Jazz repertoire. Along with her classic interpretations of “Body and Soul,” “God Bless the Child,” and “Strange Fruit,” Holiday also helped to shape the sound of early Swing Jazz with her understated vocal phrasing and vibrato-laced melismatic style.

Ella Fitzgerald

One of the most popular and well-known jazz vocalists of all time, Fitzgerald got her start in the early 1930s singing in Harlem nightclubs. She rose to popularity with her interpretations of the Great American Songbook, which she recorded on a series of now-classic albums for the Verve label in the 1950s. But Fitzgerald was more than just a singer — she was an excellent scat artist, and her scatting on songs like “How High the Moon” and “Flying Home” became some of her most iconic recordings.

The Legacy of Jazz

The 1950s was a golden era for jazz music. Some of the best-known and most influential jazz musicians emerged during this time, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonious Monk. This decade saw the birth of bebop, hard bop, and cool jazz. Jazz music continued to evolve and grow in popularity throughout the 1950s, leaving a lasting legacy.

Jazz Today

Jazz has been called the purest expression of American democracy; a music built on individual and compromise, independence and cooperation. Join us for an exploration of Jazz – from its origins in the blues and ragtime, to its present day status as America’s classical music.

The Influence of Jazz

In the 1950s, jazz was the popular music of America. It was played on the radio, in clubs and bars, and at parties and dances. It was a music that people could listen to and also dance to. Jazz was also a music that was enjoyed by black and white Americans alike.

Jazz had been around for many years before the 1950s, but it was in this decade that it really came into its own. In the early years of the decade, bebop became the most popular style of jazz. This was a very challenging style of music, with fast-paced solos and complex melodies. But many people loved it, and it soon spread from its birthplace in New York City to all over America.

In the middle of the decade, a new style of jazz called cool jazz emerged. This style was more relaxed than bebop, and it featured cleaner melodies and shorter solos. It quickly became popular with radio audiences, and some of the most famous jazz musicians of all time began to emerge, such as Miles Davis and Chet Baker.

By the end of the 1950s, a third style of jazz had emerged: hard bop. This style combined elements of bebop and cool jazz, resulting in a sound that was both complex and accessible. Hard bop would go on to become one of the most popular styles of jazz in subsequent decades.

The 1950s were therefore a very important decade for jazz music. It was a time when the genre underwent tremendous changes, resulting in the three major styles that are still widely listened to today.