Europäische Jazz-Avantgarde
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The history of Jazz in Europe, up to the mid-sixties, can be characterized as a continuous effort to imitate the results of creative processes which took place in the United States. Around 1965, a fundamental change began to evolve in that situation: European musicians set out to develop their own principles of creation and their own means of expression.
This article examines the most important reasons for this unexpected emancipation and analyzes their musical consequences in the recorded works of German, British and Dutch musicians.
Although there is an abundance of individual and group styles, some generalizations can be made when comparing European to Afro-American Free Jazz:
- American Free Jazz still stresses melodic improvisation to some degree while there is a strong tendency towards consequent sound improvisation without any melodic implications in Europe. The manipulation of sound for sound's sake is reflected in the development of numerous, new, instrumental sound producing techniques.
- In Europe, free rhythm generally inclines less towards continuity and more towards contrast, it is more nervous than relaxed and more hectic than driving.
- The traditional dualism of soloists and accompanists was more radically disregarded by European musicians in favour of collective improvisation, than in the United States. Furthermore, most European ensembles prefer organizing as cooperative groups, rather than adhering to the star-and-sidemen formula.