ABSTRACT
All of the performances examined so far have a number of things in common: (1) each features an ensemble consisting of a rhythm section plus one or more additional instruments, (2) the musicians in each performance fulfill certain predefined, standardized roles in their ensembles, (3) each performance follows the common practice of the head arrangement, and (4) each is based on a tune consisting of a melody plus harmonic progression. Taken together, these characteristics represent a sort of “standard practice” for small-group jazz performances; for lack of a better term, I would like to use the term “standard-practice jazz” to describe performances that conform to these criteria. This generic term can be applied to many jazz performances in a number of different styles, including swing, bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, and post bop. While a vast number of smallgroup jazz performances could be described as standard-practice jazz, many performances also break away from these constraints, and these performances are often described as “free jazz.”
