cool jazz
noun
a restrained, fluid modern-jazz style of the 1950s, marked by intricate harmonic structures, de-emphasized dynamics, and carefully controlled phrasing and ensemble playing, often with a slight lagging behind the beat.
Origin of cool jazz
1First recorded in 1945–50
- Also called West Coast jazz.
- Compare bop1, hard bop, modern jazz, progressive jazz.
Words Nearby cool jazz
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cool jazz in a sentence
Watts — who died in London on Tuesday at 80 — was a misfit among misfits, a gentleman lost at sea with hungry pirates, a cool jazz mind in the world’s most insatiable rock-and-roll troupe.
Charlie Watts was a gentleman in the world’s most dangerous band | Chris Richards | August 24, 2021 | Washington PostWhen I first encountered him in 1996, he was in New York, playing cool jazz with all the heart of his animated alter-ego.
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