Third Stream Movement essays

Third Stream Movement essays While jazz has sometimes been seen in a negative light, it has recently experienced a more positive appreciation. In addition, the different aspects of jazz have gained a greater appreciation. According to Gunther Schuller, jazz is worth much more. He says jazz has evolved from: humble beginnings that were hardly more than sociological manifestations of a particular American melee, has developed as an art form that not only possesses a unique capacity for individual and collective expression, but in the process of maturing, has gradually acquired certain intellectual properties . . . Its strength has been such that it has attracted interests in all strata of intellectual and creative activity. (Gunther qtd. in Gennari). From this perspective, we can begin to appreciate the Third Stream movement. This movement finds its roots in the 1950s and it came about as the result of a conflict of desires and ambitions. According to Gennari, the 1950s were a critical time for jazz because the "music itself was in the process of assimilating and transforming the momentous aesthetic advancements of bebop; not only because the cool, Third Stream, and free experiments were taking jazz to places it had never been before" (Gennari 478). Understanding how this movement came to be lies in America's changing cultural landscape. During this time, jazz was beginning to earn fame not only nationally but abroad as well. Jazz was also being perceived as an art form to be studied. As a result, many sub genres of jazz emerged and although they may have been reflected as art forms in and of themselves, all of jazz has Gennari explains the divide that existed between swing and bebop as a "a dispute between groups that were simply looking for different things from the music. The established audience was looking for familiar rhythms and melodies ...