Genre of the Day - Chamber Jazz
Album of the Day - The Colours of Chloƫ by Eberhard Weber (1974)
Far fewer genres are the triumph of individual labor than there are genres powered by a collective of musical minds working in harmony and synergy. Sure, Iāve covered the work of singer-songwriters and wandering bards like in Vietnamās xįŗ©m and Ethiopiaās azmari, but the bulk of genres are the synthesis of communal effort, like yesterdayās gondang or the Cayman Islandsā kitchen dance or simply rock. Even when an individual produces their own music, music is one of the most fluid forms of artistic transmission; all musical creation is indebted relatively directly to an artistās influences and the pre-existing melodic and harmonic possibilities in their mind, which Iām not sure is an argument in support of or against copyright lawsuits as in the recent case that might shift the course of Latin music history. Iām leaning against them: whoās to say the claimants possess proprietary ownership over a rhythm that can be traced through centuries?
Thatās all to say that chamber jazz deals with the question of the optimal nature of group musical expression, as jazz has always been a collective form made possible by the summative inventiveness of a few instrumentalists, though itās been equally defined in terms of individual visionariesāas all genres are, really. Chamber jazz developed in the ā70s, a decade that was as much of a wild west in jazz as the global economic systemās constant financial crises. Those phenomena have little correlation other than my mind mostly being geared towards midterms at present, but just as countries and their economic bureaucracies, jazz was shifting to new ideological modes in the aim of maintaining a creativity surplus.Ā
Chamber jazz developed in parallel to Third Stream, which began flowing in the late ā50s as a synthesis of the greatest musical innovation classical music and jazz music could contribute. Though the two are often diametrically portrayed, scouring musical history reveals they had long been in kahoots. Chamber jazz, like classical chamber music thatād been developing since the 19th century, posited that a small, insular group of masterful musicians in a small space could play off each othersā genius and allow room for unrestrained improvisation. Chamber jazz leans towards the cooler end of the spectrum compared to modern creativeās freewheeling fervor, though it presaged the peak of interest in so-called āglobalā music by a decade or so in engaging with classical and folk music across the globe and utilizing atypical instrumentation in the jazz setting like the tabla or cimbalom.
A Brazilian iteration of chamber jazz.
Between the fashion house and ChloĆ« Sevigny, it makes sense that the iconically chic name would lend itself to such a musically jetsetting genreās most renowned exploration of tonal color in bassist Eberhard Weberās 1976 The Colours of ChloĆ«. āMore Coloursā sets out to extend the listenerās auditory color spectrum in flush yet looming strings that surrender to Weberās bass that moves with its own sitar-esque whimsy, flashing closer and floating away, previewing vignettes of new textures with juxtaposed piano pirouettes. āThe Colours of ChloĆ«ā makes a nest for the bird-like whistling ocarina flute with exuberant drums and increasing synchronization within free expression. āNo Motion Pictureā does play out a bit like a feature film, oscillating through emotional tones as each instrumental character takes center stage. After a chilling stillness ushered by ethereal choirs and downcast strings, a musical motif that is recurring throughout the album weaves its way back in, speaking to the cyclical nature of musical expression that still manages to expand by virtue of time and the limitless tonal abilities of human instruments and their manipulation.
I'm not generally a jazz fan but I liked the previews of The Colours Of Chloe, was impressed with the instrumentation, and am going to check it out. Thanks!