The Metamorphosis of Contemporary Jazz Music Contemporary jazz music is a diverse, sophisticated and vibrant blend of early day jazz with the musical influences of the popularity of todays music. This blending has been a metamorphosis over the past four decades and each decade has blended the previous evolution with current styles, music and instrumentation. The rationale for this blending was to appeal to the new generation of musical listeners by modifications and improvements in every aspect of the genre. Contemporary jazz music is performed by many talented artists who each have their own unique style but still endeavor to maintain the integrity of the origins of American jazz. Contemporary jazz music focuses on the rhythms and does not incorporate the spontaneity of early day jazz performers.


The rationale for this blending was to appeal to the new generation of musical listeners by modifications and improvements in every aspect of the genre.
Contemporary jazz music is performed by many talented artists who each have their own unique style but still endeavor to maintain the integrity of the origins of American jazz. Contemporary jazz music focuses on the rhythms and does not incorporate the spontaneity of early day jazz performers.

History

Contemporary jazz music or fusion had its beginnings in the late 1960s. These were the early attempts to fuse together pop music and jazz. In an attempt to meld the two genres together, musical bands incorporated electrical instruments such as the guitar, bass guitar and electric piano. Eventually electric synthesizers were added to the mix resulting in blending the sounds of jazz with pop music.

Jazz Fusion

Beginning in the early 1970s contemporary jazz music continued to progress and further blend the different qualities found in the music of the day. This process was called fusion. Fusion was simply a merging of jazz with rock, funk, R&B, electronic music and world music. Simply put, jazz musicians married the forms and styles of jazz with electronic rock instruments and the rhythms of African-American music. Contemporary jazz music successfully processed the transformation which created a new and appealing sound that made waves with the younger generations and took on quite a following.

Soft Jazz

Contemporary jazz music sustained its metamorphosis and eventually transformed in to smooth jazz in the 1990s. Smooth jazz embodied the softer side of the saxophone, the muted expressions of the trumpet, the calm timbre of the guitar, the steady beat of the bass and the constant tempo of the drums. These hallmark features of contemporary jazz music provided the background entertainment to conversation, romance and even aided students in providing atmosphere for studies. This style of contemporary jazz music -known as smooth or soft jazz - followed closely on the heels of the New Age musical movement and was a natural progression in incorporating the modified sounds of jazz with the popular New Age genre.