Were the 1950s the greatest era of Jazz?

[Eyeball]

At first, I always would have said, "no way".

But - a friend of mine, now getting really older, was in college in the 1950s. He was a big time Jazz fan - Swing music and Hard Bop! What a combination...plus he would grab every Charlie Spivak record he could find.

Anyway - he said something interesting - he felt that the 50s were incredible for Jazz b/c, as he pointed out, every style of Jazz was still being played and was easy to access.

No matter what your Jazz tastes ran to, it was all stillthere in the 1950s - from the oldest to the newest - and most everyone was still alive.

Subplot - when I was growing up in the 60s and started to get into big bands and Swing music, alomst all the bands and leaders were still alive and playing. Almost no one was dead from the 1930s - 1940s era except for the Dorseys, Miller, Berigan and maybe a few others.

It was interesting to realize that in like maybe 1965, the whole Swing / Big Band era had only be 'gone' for 20 years! People were still asking if big bands would ever come back.

Now - 1965 - man, that is like a dream - pre-historic times - 42 years ago.

Oh, well......

[trev]

Anyway - he said something interesting - he felt that the 50s were incredible for Jazz b/c, as he pointed out, every style of Jazz was still being played and was easy to access.

That's a fair point. It may not have been the greatest quality (particularly when you look at big band/swing), but there was certainly a lot of it around, and lots of interesting new stuff happening.

Subplot - when I was growing up in the 60s and started to get into big bands and Swing music, alomst all the bands and leaders were still alive and playing. Almost no one was dead from the 1930s - 1940s era except for the Dorseys, Miller, Berigan and maybe a few others.

Actually, I'd argue that many of the most significant jazz musicians were dead! - Bennie Moten, Chick Webb, Jimmie Lunceford, Charlie Christian, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Fletcher Henderson...

[Eyeball]

Anyway - he said something interesting - he felt that the 50s were incredible for Jazz b/c, as he pointed out, every style of Jazz was still being played and was easy to access.

That's a fair point. It may not have been the greatest quality (particularly when you look at big band/swing), but there was certainly a lot of it around, and lots of interesting new stuff happening.

Subplot - when I was growing up in the 60s and started to get into big bands and Swing music, almost all the bands and leaders were still alive and playing. Almost no one was dead from the 1930s - 1940s era except for the Dorseys, Miller, Berigan and maybe a few others.

Actually, I'd argue that many of the most significant jazz musicians were dead! - Bennie Moten, Chick Webb, Jimmie Lunceford, Charlie Christian, Lester Young, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Fletcher Henderson...

Lester Young and Billie Holiday were alive and very active in the 1950s. They did not die until the end of the decade. They didn't make it to the 60s, but...close!

Lots of the great big bands were still in action.

Other than that - Yes, but that is why I clarified it as Swing era big bands and leaders who were dead. Plus, though many of the Jazz pioneers were gone, many still remained.