“Avante Garde” or “Hard Bop” Part Two: Oliver Nelson, Thad Jones and Freddie Hubbard

Avante Garde? I’m truly not sure. Since I am learning as I listen, I bump into and read about different “Eras” of Jazz. There is much consistently in the early years but when you reach the “Hard Bop Era” which comes right after “Be Bop” one, there are different interpretations as to the naming of this Era itself and the existence of Jazz musicians branching out to different parts of the United States. Mostly to two meccas where “Hard Bop” existed and thrived. California and New York, East and West. You also had the “Cool Jazz” Era which was popularized by Miles Davis and occurred at the same time. Right before the Hard Bop officially ended (1965) there was the emergence of “Free Jazz” and “Avante Garde.” So there were many things going on especially in the United States, that changed the sound of Jazz and different experimental approaches. This was a combination of mostly Civil Rights movements and the simple fact that all the greats were aging and there was a considerable generation gap. Anyhow, I have placed some links below along with information about the three sets I recorded so can understand the confusion....Read More