Soul Jazz

Soul Jazz came partly from the funky subcategory of hard bop. Its earthy, bluesy melodic concept and the repetitive, dance-like rhythmic aspects stood as higher priorities than the invention of complex harmonies and intricate solo improvisations jazz swing feeling was foremost. Considerably simplified-often only a hint of bebop harmony or rhythmic complexity remained--soul-jazz became the form of hard bop known to the largest audience, particularly in the music of Jimmy Smith, Shirley Scott, Jack McDuff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Jimmy McGriff, Ramsey Lewis, Les McCann, Hank Crawford, Stanley Turrentine and Houston Person. Soul Jazz combined the urban, electrified Chicago harp style with that of California swing bands and added a touch of Philadelphia tenor sax jazz from the 1960s.

Note that some listeners make no distinction between soul-jazz, and funky hard bop, and many musicians don't consider soul-jazz to be continuous with hard bop They consider it more an extension of the jazz-influenced popular music called rhythm and blues (as exemplified by Earl Bostic, King Curtis, Clifford Scott, Junior Walker, Bill Doggett). Also remember that many bebop musicians chose to play simply and with bluesy vocabularies for selected contexts: for instance, Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine, J.J. Johnson, Grant Green, David "Fathead" Newman, Gene Ammons, and Ray Bryant. Their overall output is not funky, though a few pieces on isolated recordings meet all the above criteria for soul-jazz. The term, Soul Jazz, has also been linked to the soul singing sound that brought Motown to prominence in the 1960s. When these vocals were added to jazz it often took on the flavor of popular soul music and funk. Artists such as Nina Simon and Lou Rawls added to the vocal expressions of this jazz form, which gave newer audiences an appreciation for jazz. Oleh:meltingpot.fortunecity