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THE INSTRUMENTS, THE SOUNDS, THE PERFORMERS |
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harmonic element; Mulligan dispensed with both, leaving the harmony implicit in the horns* solo patterns, and in the ear of the listener. Mulligan's successful use of bass and drums as a complete rhythm section seemed incredible; here was a man who had drunk his soup with a fork. In its first incarnation the Mulligan Quartet employed a simple and economic instrumental policy in which the "front line" comprised his own baritone saxophone and one other instrument (Chet Baker's trumpet; later Bob Brookmeyer's valve trombone). What seemed an empty, slightly hollow sound soon came to be accepted as a new and challenging combo timbre. Crisis conferences may have been called at Stein-way Hall since then, for Mulligan s initiative led many other combo leaders to demonstrate further the expendability of the piano.
Of the many other jazz combos that have enjoyed some degree of commercial success since the boom in small night clubs opened up many avenues of employment, the best received has been the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Brubeck and his soloist, the alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, were discussed in the instrumental CHAPTERs; the bassist and drummer, and the combo qua combo, have had no vital effect on jazz.
A novel combo that lasted for two years (1954-6) was that of Kai Winding and Jay Jay Johnson, the two principal pioneers of bop trombone style, who illustrated through the use of many mutes and of simple but ingenious arrangements that their instrumental alignment—two trombones, piano, bass and drums-did not necessarily lead to monotony. Nevertheless, after two years both agreed that the novelty had worn thin and each formed a group of his own, Winding with three other trombonists and Johnson with tenor sax and rhythm.
Chico Hamilton, a drummer who had been a member of the original Mulligan Quartet, plowed a new path of his own in 1955-7 with a remarkable quintet. In addition to dispensing with a piano, Hamilton added as solo voices two instruments never before integrally incorporated into a jazz combo, the 'cello (played by Fred Katz) and the flute (originally Buddy Collette). Every member of the group contributed arrangements (the others in the basic personnel were Jim Hall, guitar; Carson Smith, |
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