Früher Jazzrock in Großbritannien
– die Canterbury-Strömung
Towards the end of the 1960's, a musical style developed in Great Britain that reflected a uniquely European combination of jazz and rock elements. Certain characteristics of this musical style can still be found in the rock and music played today. At the beginning, the music played by the groups "Soft Machine" and "Caravan" was not considered jazzrock at all, but was rather put into the category of "psychedelic rock music". In the early seventies, however, these two bands provided the foundations for the music of the "Canterbury Scene", named after their home town. By this time, the groups, which had had their origins in the same band, had undergone some changes. It was Robert Wyatt, drummer with "Soft Machine", who, above all, furthered the development of a sound which showed evidence of both jazz and rock in his activities with other bands and his solo projects. Other bands took Wyatt's musical ideas and developed them further into a truly separate musical style. In the middle of the seventies, this development cumulated in a number of records by groups like "Matching Mole", "Hatfield and the North", "Henry Cow", "Egg" and "National Health".
This paper will first delineate the concept of jazzrock and then briefly discuss the beginnings of the European version of this music. Primary emphasis will be on the music of the Canterbury Groups "Soft Machine" and "Caravan". The second part of the paper will focus on the role Robert Wyatt – composer, drummer and singer – played in the development of this music. A few rough transcriptions are included.
The conclusion of the paper deals with the question of whether jazzrock is a truly distinct musical style or whether it only copies elements of other styles. In addition, the influence of the Canterbury Scene on today's jazz is examined and several outstanding musicians are portrayed. Finally, suggestions for a basic study of the entire jazzrock genre are outlined.