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1960s jazz | Expanding musical possibilities
Modal playing, free improvisation and encounters with bossa nova: hear jazz branching in several directions at once rather than following a single path.
Recordings to explore this era
1969In a Silent Way
Miles Davis
A bold use of electric instruments and Teo Macero’s editing techniques marked the opening of Miles Davis’s jazz-rock period.
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1960Giant Steps
John Coltrane
A defining Coltrane album whose rapidly moving harmonies, known as Coltrane changes, had a decisive influence on jazz theory and improvisation.
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1961My Favorite Things
John Coltrane
A celebrated showcase for Coltrane’s soprano saxophone, transforming a familiar musical-theater song into an extended modal improvisation.
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1965A Love Supreme
John Coltrane
A suite expressing Coltrane’s gratitude and faith. This landmark of spiritual jazz brought a profound spiritual dimension to later jazz.
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1960Portrait in Jazz
Bill Evans
The first studio album by Bill Evans’s celebrated trio with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. Its treatment of the bass as an equal voice helped establish a model for the modern jazz trio.
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1961Sunday at the Village Vanguard
Bill Evans
A live recording at the Village Vanguard with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. Listen to the conversation between piano, bass and drums.
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1962Waltz for Debby
Bill Evans
A live recording at the Village Vanguard with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian. Listen to the conversation between piano, bass and drums.
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1961Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation
Ornette Coleman
An experimental double-quartet recording built around collective improvisation. A landmark of free jazz, its title gave the movement a lasting name.
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1965Maiden Voyage
Herbie Hancock
A landmark of modal jazz, evoking seascapes through sound. Its open harmonies and use of space profoundly influenced later jazz piano.
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Years follow the Atlas catalogue. Recording dates, original release dates and digital reissue dates may differ.