Rapp on Jazz: The 1970s jazz revival

Published December 8, 2025 at 6:18 AM EST

FILE - In this June 28, 1980 file photo, saxophonist Dexter Gordon performs at the Charlie Parker tribute at Carnegie Hall in New York. Gordon and pianists James P. Johnson and Lennie Tristano are the newest inductees into Jazz at Lincoln Center's Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame. Gordon was considered the first tenor saxophonist to adapt the new bebop style pioneered by Charlie Parker in the 1940s. JALC announced the 2015 inductees Friday, May 22, 2015. (AP Photo, File)

TRANSCRIPT:

I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.

The 1970s marked a fascinating revival in jazz. After the free jazz explorations of the ’60s, many artists returned to earlier roots while still pushing boundaries. This era gave rise to a “back to basics” movement—think of Art Blakey keeping hard bop alive, or Dexter Gordon returning from Europe to roaring acclaim.

At the same time, younger players like Wynton Marsalis began to emerge, embracing swing and tradition with a fresh energy.

Meanwhile, the jazz fusion wave—Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report—kept expanding the audience,
What unified it all was a renewed respect for jazz history combined with bold innovation, showing that jazz could honor its past while reinventing itself for a new generation.

This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and South Carolina Public Radio, made possible by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.