Jazz, 1960

In many ways, the transformations that swept through rock music in the mid- to late-‘60s began about five years earlier in jazz. The straight-up bebop of the 1950s was gradually shifting into the harder, more aggressive tempos of hard bop, and from there, jazz musicians would start experimenting with modal improvisation and incorporating world music influences.  It was a shift that in many ways parallels that of the evolution of  ‘50s-style rock-and-roll into a heavier, blues-rock sound and then into psychedelic rock and beyond. Indeed, many of the innovators in rock of the mid-‘60s were looking in part to jazz for their inspiration.

So jazz was on its way toward sounding psychedelic in 1960, way ahead of rock and roll. It wasn’t quite there yet, but change was in the air. Artists such as John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman and George Russell were already on the cusp of a sonic revolution. And others had civil rights issues in mind, a different kind of revolution, which also came with its own musical innovations, courtesy of Charles Mingus and Max Roach and more.

Jazz, 1960: Featured Albums

All albums are listed chronologically, according to recording date; all albums released 1960. As always, you can jump to the playlist at the bottom of each post to listen while you read.

Charles Mingus
Blues and Roots

Recorded 1959/02/04; released 1960/03

One of the greats of modern jazz, Charles Mingus has many excellent albums, one of the best of which is Blues and Roots. His music could be chaotic one minute, quiet and lyrical the next, riding the ebbs and swells of emotion like a riotous congregation at a church revival meeting. Brilliant stuff.

Listen to more Charles Mingus.

John Coltrane
Giant Steps

Recorded 1959/05/04-05, 1959/12/02; released 1960/02

The first great John Coltrane album, Giant Steps features his so-called “sheets of sound” improvisation. Without getting into such musical terminology as major thirds and such (which I shouldn’t pretend to understand on anything more than a basic level), I can say that Coltrane was pushing jazz forward though improvisation within sequences of chord changes that were unusual for the time. To my relatively untrained ears, his melodic lines just sound different, more intriguing, than the type of playing that came before. Essential listening, for even the most casual jazz fan.

Listen to more John Coltrane.

Ornette Coleman
Change of the Century

Recorded 1959/10/08-09; released 1960/05

Change of the Century, Ornette Coleman’s excellent follow-up to his groundbreaking The Shape of Jazz to Come, may not have had as memorable a tune as “Lonely Woman,” but it was just as good an album overall. The classic quartet of Coleman on alto sax, Donald Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums play their innovative “free jazz” with increased confidence and intuitive collaboration. (If I have my chronology correct, the free jazz genre would soon get its name from the Free Jazz album released by Coleman in 1961.) Opener “Ramblin’” sets the tone, strutting along like a jaunty jazz hoedown, and the band never looks back. Great stuff.

Listen to more Ornette Coleman.

George Russell
Jazz in the Space Age

Recorded 1960/05 and 1960/08; released 1960 (One source lists the recording dates as 1959/12/29 and 1960/01/27.)

Jazz composer and theorist George Russell is not so well known outside of jazz circles, but my untrained ears tell me that his work is among the best of its time.

The three-part “Chromatic Universe” features some nice, free piano interactions between Paul Bley and Bill Evans, and the spacy vibe of the pieces feels very much in line with the music that Sun Ra was recording around the same time (much of which wouldn’t see release until later in the decade). “The Lydiot” is more propulsive, allowing for more individual soloing, all of which is fresh and vibrant.

Listen to more George Russell.

Max Roach
We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite

Recorded 1960/08/31, 1960/09/06; released 1960/12

The musical counterpart to Martin Luther King’s protests and marches, Max Roach’s We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite brings jazz into openly political territory in spellbinding fashion.

Vocalist Abbey Lincoln’s powerful singing gives voice to the album’s messages, whether she takes the perspective of a slave driver on the chilling opener “Driva’man” or expressing the cautious joy of newfound freedom. And Olatunji lends African percussion to the slowly building “All Africa” and on “Tears for Johannesburg.” A powerful listen, even today.

Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus

Recorded 1960/10/20; released 1960/12

Charles Mingus continued his run of excellent albums in the live-in-the-studio Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, most notable for the Orval Faubus-baiting vocal passages of “Original Faubus Fables” that I assume Columbia Records had asked him to remove for the “Fables of Faubus” released a year earlier on Mingus Ah-Um.

Listen to more Charles Mingus.

Jazz, 1960: Other Notable Releases

One of the most acclaimed “jazz” albums of 1960 was Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain, which isn’t really much of a jazz album at all. Its longest piece is an interpretation of the second movement Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez (1939), arranged by composer Gil Evans. The piece is very good, to be sure, although in terms of (relatively) modern-day interpretations of the piece, I’d rather listen to flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia’s rendition from 1991 (not that I’ve studied either version extensively). On Sketches, I actually prefer the shorter pieces on the album, which more freely interpret other Spanish classical and folk music. Truly, Sketches of Spain is a very good album, but I don’t worship it the way some people seem to.

Fans of more straight-ahead jazz will like the excellent releases from Wes Montgomery, Thelonious Monk, Hank Mobley, and Ben Webster with Oscar Peterson. Remarkable debut albums from Bobby Timmons and Freddie Hubbard were released, as well as a notable debut from Eric Dolphy. Early efforts from Tina Brooks, Bill Evans, and Booker Little are also more than worth a listen.

Here’s the Jazz, 1960 playlist for you—two tracks per album, all albums released 1960.

Tracks are sequenced according to recording date, not release date.

Enjoy!

Cover Art:

• Blues and Roots: By Scanned by uploader., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4466354
• Giant Steps: By Derived from a digital capture of the album cover (creator of this digital version is irrelevant as the copyright in all equivalent images is still held by the same party). Copyright held by the record label or the artist. Claimed as fair use regardless., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6284591
• Change of the Century: Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3981202
• Jazz in the Space Age: By AMG, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23841902
• We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite: By The cover art can be obtained from Candid Records., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8064104
• Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus: By AMG, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19368350
• Sketches of Spain: By The cover art can be obtained from Columbia Records., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36803861