ABSTRACT
Although jazz–rock fusion music received much public attention and airplay in the 1970s and 1980s, a core of musicians continued to play and develop various aspects of acoustic jazz. With the popularity of fusion, major record labels dropped many lower-selling acoustic-jazz artists.
A number of performers from previous jazz styles were “rediscovered” in the 1990s, giving their careers a second life. The popularity of the CD format encouraged companies to reissue long-out-of-print LPs, a trend that probably helped the older players considerably.
Some view the work of the “Young Lions” as an “imitation” of mid-1960s progressive jazz, and look to the free-jazz work of Ornette Coleman and other free-jazz experimentalists as the “innovation” of 1970s and 1980s in jazz.
Looking back, the further development of jazz vocal groups and soloists in the closing decades of the 20th century is as apparent as their influences, including jazz, pop, and R&B styles.
The many “schools” and events of jazz of the 1970s and 1980s may, in some ways, reflect other events and developments of the time. Some of the great jazz legends died, and the “Young Lions” emerged on the scene to provide momentum in preserving and advancing their rich jazz heritage.
