Punk jazz is a genre of music that combines elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

, especially improvisation, with the instrumentation and performance style of punk rock. The term was first used to describe James Chance and the Contortions' 1979 album ''

Buy Buy may refer to a trade, i.e., an exchange of goods and services via bartering or a monetary purchase. The term may also refer to: Places * Buy (inhabited locality), any of several inhabited localities in Russia * Burlington-Alamance Regional A ...

''. Punk jazz is closely related to free jazz, no wave, and loft jazz, and has since significantly inspired post-hardcore and alternative hip hop. Notable proponents of the genre include John Zorn, Arto Lindsay, Elliott Sharp, and James Chance, among others.

History

1980s

The first to use this fusion of genres were The Stooges, on the Fun House album, more specifically in 2 songs, the title "Fun House" and "1970" as always, they were people ahead of their time since they did this in the year 1970, several years before the genre expanded. Late 1970s New York no wave bands broke with blues rock-influenced punk in a style that instead combined elements such as free jazz noise, experimental drone rock, and other

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

influences. Examples of this style include

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

's album '' Queen of Siam'', the work of James Chance and the Contortions, who mixed funk with free jazz and punk rock. These bands, in turn, influenced the styles of the Pop Group and the Birthday Party. In London, the Pop Group began to mix free jazz, along with dub reggae, into their brand of punk rock. The Birthday Party's sound on '' Junkyard'' (1982) was described by one journalist as a mix of "no-wave guitar, free-jazz craziness, and punk-processed Captain Beefheart angularity". The Lounge LizardsBangs, Lester. "Free Jazz / Punk Rock". ''Musician Magazine'', 1979

Access date: July 20, 2008. was the first group to call themselves punk jazz. Bill Laswell and his band

Material Material is a substance or mixture of substances that constitutes an object. Materials can be pure or impure, living or non-living matter. Materials can be classified on the basis of their physical and chemical properties, or on their geolo ...

mixed funk, jazz, and punk while his band

Massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

added improvisation to rock. James Blood Ulmer applied Coleman's harmolodic style to guitar and sought out links to no wave. Bad Brains, widely acknowledged to have established the rudiments of the hardcore style, began by attempting jazz fusion. Guitarist Joe Baiza executed his blend of punk and free jazz with

Saccharine Trust Saccharine Trust is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza. The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. However, Baiza descri ...

and in

Universal Congress Of Universal Congress Of are an American jazz ensemble from Los Angeles, formed in 1986. History The project was started by Joe Baiza and continued to develop his own fusion of free jazz and punk rock after his previous band, Saccharine Trust ...

, a group influenced by the work of Albert Ayler. Henry Rollins has praised free jazz, releasing albums by Matthew Shipp on his record label and collaborating with

Charles Gayle Charles Gayle (born February 28, 1939) is an American free jazz musician. Initially known as a saxophonist who came to prominence in the 1990s after decades of obscurity, Gayle also performs as pianist, bass clarinetist, bassist, and percussio ...

. The Minutemen were influenced by jazz, folk and funk. Mike Watt of the band has spoken about being inspired by listening to John Coltrane. Dutch anarcho-punk group the Ex incorporated elements of free jazz and particularly European free improvisation, collaborating with Han Bennink and other members of the

Instant Composers Pool Instant Composers Pool (ICP) is an independent Dutch jazz and improvised music label and orchestra. Founded in 1967, the label takes its name from the notion that improvisation is "instant composition". The ICP label has published more than ...

1990s

Free jazz was an important influence in the American post-hardcore scene of the early 90s. Drive Like Jehu took Black Flag's atonal solos a step further with their dual guitar attack.

The Nation of Ulysses The Nation of Ulysses was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply "Ulysses," the first mark of the group consisted of Ian Svenonius on vocals and trumpet, Steve Krone ...

had Ian Svenonious alternating between vocals and trumpet, and their complex song structures, odd time signatures, and frenetic live shows were as much hardcore punk as they were free jazz. They even did a brief cover of John Coltrane's '' A Love Supreme'' on their ''

Plays Pretty for Baby ''Plays Pretty for Baby'' is the second album by the American punk rock band Nation of Ulysses. Tracks 14-16 on the CD are not on the original album, and are taken from the 7" EP ''Birth of the Ulysses Aesthetic''. "The Sound of Jazz to Come" ...

'' album, though they titled it "The Sound of Jazz to Come" after Ornette Coleman's classic album '' The Shape of Jazz to Come''. Chicago's Cap'n Jazz also borrowed free jazz's odd time signatures and guitar melodies, marrying them with hardcore screams and amateur tuba playing. The Swedish band Refused was influenced by this scene and recorded an album titled '' The Shape of Punk to Come'', where they alternate between manic hardcore punk numbers and slower, jazzy songs.

2000s–2010s

Yakuza from Chicago is comparable to Candiria, combining heavy metal with free jazz and psychedelia. Although Italian band Ephel Duath was credited with the inadvertent recreation of jazzcore on their albums '' The Painter's Palette'' (2003) and ''

Pain Necessary to Know ''Pain Necessary to Know'' is the third studio album by the Italian avant-garde metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentati ...

'' (2005), the band moved away from it to pursue a more esoteric form of progressive rock similar to the music of Frank Zappa. Midori made waves around Japan in the mid-2000s for their unrelenting and chaotic blend of hardcore punk and dissonant jazz before disbanding at the end of 2010. Other punk jazz acts include

Gutbucket The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses ha ...

, and King Krule.

Jazzcore

Jazzcore is a subgenre that incorporates elements of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

and heavy metal music alongside typical jazz instrumentation and improvisation.

References