No One Had Ever Heard a Guitar Played Like That Before: the Assimilation of Jazz Aesthetics in the Work of Post 1970'S Electri

1 No one had ever heard a guitar played like that before: The redefinition of the jazz aesthetic in the work of post 1970’s electric guitarist composers Paul Carr, University of Glamorgan This article addresses the often underrated role jazz guitarist composers have played in redefining the jazz aesthetic, specifically through fusing jazz with other music forms. Most publications and broadcasts on jazz history have a tendency to overlook this issue, Ken Burns’ most recent TV series being an indicative example, omitting arguably four of the most influential and experimental jazz musicians of the last 40 years – Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Larry Coryell and John McLaughlin. Additionally, although there have been numerous ‘non academic’ texts written about the technical proficiencies of many electric jazz guitarists, there is no academic material examining their compositional impact on the jazz canon. During the late 1960s – early 1970’s, it will be suggested that the guitarists’ assimilation of jazz with the emerging rock genre was more an expression of cultural and social paradigms than an overt attempt to fuse the two styles. In direct contrast to the pervasively quoted pioneer of fusion, Miles Davis, who incorporated the rock aesthetic into his music to ‘reach the people’, or ‘Third Steam’ musicians such as George Russell and John Lewis who fused classical and jazz musics for intellectual reasons, the post 1970’s guitarist/composers were often natural embodiments of both styles, simply being products of their generation. A good example of this paradigm can be seen in the work of Jazz-Rock pioneers John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell, who could both be considered authentic practitioners of both Jazz and Rock traditions during their work prior to the fusion movement. Echard (2005) describes two aspects of tradition that can have a profound impact on the 2 perceived originality of an artist He describes clichés as “strongly and exclusively correlated to their tradition in the sense that, even if the feature appears elsewhere, surrounded by elements coded as belonging to other traditions, it will still function as a reference to it’s own tradition” (p.46)1. Typical Features on the other hand “are an integral part of a tradition but are not unique to that tradition” (p.46)2. He goes on to elaborate the effect of these paradigms on the originality of an artist, commenting that “clichés make it more difficult to elaborate a singular and unique persona since they come with so many specific prior associations” (p.46). This argument is important when outlining the contribution and originality of artists such as Coryell and McLaughlin. When closely examining the inaugural Mahavishnu Orchestra album, The Inner Mountain Flame (1971), or many of Larry Coryell’s early recordings such as Coryell (1969), it is noticeable how few clichés or typical features one would readily associate with Jazz at the time. It is also apparent how the stylistic paradigms of both albums became more pervasive in jazz in the years that followed. Gestures on the recordings such as distorted guitar, rock based grooves, modern production techniques, in addition to visual factors such as specific dress codes and stage behaviours could indeed have been regarded as clichés of Rock, but today can be conceptualised as typical features of the jazz canon. It is recognised that musicological factors alone are not enough to classify the qualities of any musical work, and when discussing the stylistic ambiguity of Frank Zappa’s portfolio, Gracyk comments When Frank Zappa puts an instrumental track on his albums, it’s rock music even if we recognise its jazz or classical influences. But when Pierre Boulez records an album of Zappa music, it’s classical music (Gracyk, 1996, p. 5). 1 For example the use of ‘swing’, walking bass, ‘comping’ chords, compositional practices, specific dress codes and behaviors, etc. 2 For example use of double bass , acoustic piano, semi acoustic guitars, and notation 3 Gracyk goes on to argue that “when Brandford Marsalis releases an album, it is jazz. But when he appears on a Grateful Dead album (Without a Net, 1991) he is playing rock, even if he is playing exactly the same horn part that he might play on one of his own albums”( p.5). The musical tradition of an artist unquestionably has a profound impact on how their music is interpreted and accepted, and this essay proposes that the dual tradition, commercial popularity, and perceived authenticity of guitarists such as Coryell and in particular McLaughlin, had a considerable impact on redefining the jazz genre. After briefly summarising the electric guitars’ key practitioners and early composers pre-1970, this article proceeds to discuss the increased compositional activity of guitarists’ post 1970, in particular using McLaughlin and Coryell’s contribution and influence as primary case studies. 4 Since the electric guitar's inception during the mid 1930's, the emergence of an electric guitarist who could also be considered an influential jazz composer was understandably slow. Although an increasing number of guitarists were experimenting with the instrument during the early/mid 1930's, it required a young guitarist from Oklahoma to bequeath the instrument its first true improvisational voice in jazz and dispel the 'novelty value' the instrument possessed up to this point. In just two years (1939 - 1941) the work of Charlie Christian (b.1916 - d.1942) with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and sextet established the standards for the coming generations, and heralded the gradual transformation of the guitarist's role from that of accompanist to soloist, to composer. Although the Benny Goodman Sextet only recorded four compositions co- written by Christian3, the ‘guitaristic’ nature of some of the sextet’s music clearly allude to the guitarist4. His introduction seemed to encourage Goodman’s band to experiment more with original compositions, and his advanced harmonic conception can be clearly heard on pieces such as “AC/DC Current”5. Although Goodman often played down Christan’s impact, his influence can be heard on ‘Goodman’ compositions such as “A Wholly One” and “A Smooth One”. The latter is normally attributed to Goodman, but is clearly identical to a theme Christian developed during a jam session. Later entitled “Waiting For Benny”, the argument is so obvious to be considered an infringement of Christian’s copyright. Christian’s early death resulted in an often-unappreciated perspective of his role in the stylistic transition from Swing to Bebop, and his induction into the Rock and Roll 3 “Seven Come Eleven” (With Goodman), “Shivers” (With Hampton), “AC/DC Current” (With Hampton and Goodman), and “Airmail Special” (With Goodman and Mundy). 4 For example the main theme of “Seven Come Eleven”, the introduction and breaks of “AC/DC Current”, and the whole of “Airmail Special” are all guitaristic in nature 5 A clear reference to the electric guitar. 5 Hall of Fame in 1990 certainly verifies his influence beyond the stylistic boundaries of jazz. Waksman’s (2001) hypothesis that he was the most adept swing musician to play bebop is an accurate tribute to one of the most influential figures jazz guitar has known. The popularity of the small group during the 1940's and 50’s exposed the electric instrument to a greater extent, with an abundance of guitarists such as Barney Kessel (dates), Tal Farlow (Dates), Johnny Smith (Dates), Jimmy Raney (Dates) and Kenny Burrell (dates) all further developing the credibility of the instrument, but like their predecessors not impacting on the compositional or stylistic direction of the jazz canon. Although not considered a prolific composer, Wes Montgomery is an interesting early case study of an electric guitarist who did compose, indeed many of his pieces such as “West Coast Blues”, “Road Song”, “Four on Six”, and “Bumpin’ on the Sunset” have become jazz standards, and have been recorded on numerous occasions since his death. More importantly, his later albums were commercially successful due to their fusion of jazz and ‘easy listening’ pop paradigms6, and by the time his greatest commercial success A Day In The Life peaked at number 13 in the Billboard charts in 1967, Montgomery had already began to re establish jazz once again as a commercial entity. Earlier recordings such as Tequila (1966) and California Dreaming (1967) had already established this president, and were followed by Down Here On The Ground (1968), and Road Song (1968), all achieving top 100 positions in the Billboard Pop charts, and top 5 in Billboard Jazz. Although his more commercial ventures were often criticised for their formulaic predictability, his two Grammy awards7 for ‘Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Individual or Group’, further verify his acceptance and influence on the musicological paradigms that determine the reception of jazz. 6 Indeed his 1966 release Fusion, is thought to be the inspiration behind the name of the genre (Nicholson 1998). 7 Going Out Of My Head (1966) and Willow Weep For Me (1969) 6 A classically trained composer, Jim Hall also had an early appreciation of the possibilities of the convergence of Jazz with other music forms. One of the few guitarists to be involved with the ‘Third Stream’ movement during 50’s – 60’s, his Piece for Guitar and Strings8, is the earliest recorded example discovered of an electric guitarist composer mixing jazz elements with classical orchestration. A multi sectioned piece, the composition displays both horizontal and vertical aspects of Joseph Stuessy’s (1977) ‘adjacent confluent style’, predating McLaughlin and Coryell’s work by a decade. Although the vast majority of his recorded portfolio can only be considered to be ‘pure’ jazz, later recordings such as Textures (1996), By Arrangement (1998) and Jazzpar Quartet + 4 (1999) display his considerable compositional and arranging proficiency in this area.

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