History of Jazz ⑤ Modal and Free Jazz (late 1950s–1960s)
Bebop raced over dense chord progressions. By the late 1950s, players began to break free of that chain of chords. The results were modal jazz, and — going even further — free jazz.
Modal jazz — fewer chords, wider freedom
Instead of constantly shifting chords, players dwell on a single mode (scale) and improvise over it, giving the soloist more space and atmosphere. In 1959 Miles Davis's Kind of Blue realized this idea perfectly and became the most beloved jazz album in history. (Pianist Bill Evans was a major influence.)
Coltrane's two faces
John Coltrane shows both extremes: on one side Giant Steps, pushing harmony to its limit; on the other A Love Supreme, reaching for spiritual calm through modal technique. He took jazz almost to the level of prayer.
Free jazz — abandoning the rules
Ornette Coleman and his peers discarded even fixed chords, meter and form, moving into pure collective improvisation. Shocking at first, it revealed the furthest edge of freedom jazz could reach. Charles Mingus was another giant who held composition and freedom, blues and fury, all in one vessel.
Essential listening
Miles Davis – "So What" (Kind of Blue, 1959)
The symbol of modal jazz. Hear the infinite ease unfolding over just two chords.
Bill Evans Trio – "Waltz for Debby" (1961)
A poem for piano trio — the height of delicacy, three instruments interweaving like conversation.
John Coltrane – "Giant Steps" (1960)
A labyrinth of breathtakingly fast harmonic changes. A legendary test of improvisation's limits.
John Coltrane – "A Love Supreme, Pt.1: Acknowledgement" (1965)
Over the famous bass chanting "a love supreme," the music becomes a prayer.
Ornette Coleman – "Lonely Woman" (1959)
The song that opened the door to free jazz — free, yet achingly beautiful, with a strange sorrow.
Charles Mingus – "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" (1959)
A deep, weighty blues elegy mourning the departed saxophonist Lester Young.
By the end of the 1960s, jazz transformed once more. This time its partner was rock, funk, and electric instruments.
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