Blend of Jazz & Classic ( Cool Jazz )

Both jazz and classical music originated in simple dance forms and both have developed these forms into large sophisticated structures. Both musical streams have influenced each other greatly. Third stream represents a formal merger of classical music and jazz. The term was coined to describe music that channeled together jazz and classical elements. Third stream combines jazz and classical composition procedures. Some modern classical composition is melodically angular and harmonically dissonant. This atonal style first appeared when jazz bands turned to classically trained arrangers. Serial or 12 tone techniques invaded jazz compositions in the 1950's and 1960's. It used orchestral instruments such as cellos, oboes, bassoons and French horns and imitates classical music. Avant-garde assimilated the tonal qualities of classical composers such as Wagner, Debussy, Schoenberg and others. Cool jazz composers borrowed the large extended forms of the Baroque and Classical periods.

Although Miles Davis first appeared on the bebop recordings of Charlie Parker, his first important session as a leader was called The Birth Of The Cool. The cool jazz style has been described as a reaction against the fast tempos and the complex melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ideas of bebop. These ideas were picked up by many west coast musicians, and this style is also called West Coast jazz. This music is generally more relaxed than bebop. Other musicians in this style include saxophonists Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan, and trumpet player Chet Baker. Stan Getz is also credited with the popularization of Brazilian styles such as the bossa nova and samba. These and a few other Latin American styles are sometimes collectively known as Latin jazz.

Many groups in the cool style do not use a piano, and instead rely on counterpoint and harmonization among the horns, usually saxophone and trumpet, to outline chord progressions. Pianist-led groups that developed from this school include those of Dave Brubeck (with Paul Desmond on saxophone), Lennie Tristano (with Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh on saxophones), and the Modern Jazz Quartet or MJQ (featuring John Lewis on piano and Milt Jackson on vibraphone), which also infuses elements of classical music.
History of Jazz.