I'm Old Fashioned

Straight-ahead jazz is a mainstream, acoustic jazz style that became clearly defined in the 1960s, drawing heavily on the swing, bebop, and hard bop language of the prior two decades. It generally avoids the rock backbeat and amplification associated with jazz-rock fusion, and it also avoids the open-ended, texture-based approaches of free jazz. Typical features include swinging ride-cymbal time, walking bass lines, conventional piano comping, head–solos–head song forms, and improvisation rooted in functional harmony (blues, rhythm changes, and standard song progressions). Ensembles are usually small groups (trio to sextet), with an emphasis on interaction, strong time feel, and clearly articulated melodic improvisation.