Art and Jazz Evolving Together

The 1920s and 1930s were a time when big band swing became the mainstream. Driven largely by Duke Ellington, people were dancing to Big Band  jazz which was melody driven and metered on the straigtforward downbeat. Duke Ellingtons large orchestra was an example of how several musicians contributed within the ensemble to create big arrangements. The 1940s saw a shift away from big band jazz. Musicians started to create "musicians music" that was experimental and quite different from what people were used to. Bebop was really popularized by Miles Davis who invited improvisation and complex alterneative chord progressions.
Bebop was new and unique because of its solo improv format. Bebop was considered by many an art in itself because instead of the songs being centered around a melody line, bebop tunes were centered around a soloist who improved around complex chords played by the rhythm section. Just like the way Pollack emphasised the creation of art as a critical element to each piece, Miles Davis wrote songs based around the solo line. The creation of each solo around a theme was the basis of the song. This radical approach is parallel to what was going on in the art world at the time. Artists were using innovative techniques in thier creations. Both art and jazz at the time were  moved by artists using innovative techniques.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrisYOEpADY&feature=related






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4TbrgIdm0E&feature=related