Chords for The History of Atlantic Records Jazz #InternationalJazzDay 🎷🎶

[F#] _ [G#] To a whole generation of [F#] listeners, the name Atlantic [G#] means [F#] jazz.
[C] _ [C#] _ _ _ _
Atlantic Records was founded in 1948 by the [A] Turkish ambassador's son, [E] Ahmet Erdogan,
[A] and his friend Herb Abramson, [D] an A&R [G] man for National [E] Records,
with a loan by [Bm] Ahmet's family dentist.
_ [G] _ _ [G#m] Ahmet and his brother [G] Nesuhi had, over time, collected around 15,000 jazz and blues records.
_ [Dm] The label struggled at [G#] first, and it took [A#] 22 [C] unsuccessful records before they [F] got a hit
with Stick McGee's Drinking Wine, Speedy O.D. in _ 1949, to arrest his history. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Gm] In [D#] 1955, [C] Ahmet persuaded his [Gm] brother Nesuhi to join the label.
[F] _
[C] He signed [B] John Coltrane, [Fm] Charles [B] Mingus, and Ornette [G#] Coleman,
[A#m] and went on to release some of the [Dm] most groundbreaking albums in [G#] jazz history.
_ _ [D] _ _ [F] _ _ _ [A#] _
[D] _ _ [E] _ _ It was at [Bm] Atlantic Records [Em] that John Coltrane built his reputation once and for all. _
[F#] _ _ [Em] _ _ [F#] _ _ _ [Em]
Arriving in [B] 1959, [Bm] fresh from the Miles [F] Davis kind of blues sessions,
[C] he'd cut enough [Em] material in [F#] two [Em] years for [F#] eight [D#] albums,
_ [E] leading to classics [A] like Giant _ [Em] Steps, [C#m] Olay Coltrane, [Bm] and My Favorite [A] Things,
whose [Bm] title track became a radio [C#m] hit, as [Em] well as a perfect [B] collaboration with [Em]
vibraphonist Milt Jackson.
_ _ It was during his time with the label that he began to focus more on the melody-driven influence
of the [B] avant-garde jazz [Em] of the time, [F] inspired by the music of [Em] label mate Ornette Coleman.
[F#] _ _ _ _ [B] _ [Dm] _
_ Texas-born saxophonist Ornette Coleman turned the jazz [G] world on its ear
when he arrived in New York City in 1959. _
Pianist John Lewis from the Modern Jazz Quartet was so [D] impressed with Coleman's new approach
that he immediately secured him a recording [Dm] contract with Atlantic through Nesuhi Erdogan.
[D] _ _ _
His alto playing, unbound by chord [B] changes, relied on melodic [A] improvisation,
_ [D] a style and philosophy he called harmelodics,
[G] _ _ _ _
_ [F#] _ _ [G] _ _ _ fueled by the power of the blues and multi-rhythms, defining the shape of [D] jazz to come. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [B] _ [E] _ _ _ _ [Am] _
The Modern Jazz [F] Quartet signed to Atlantic Records in [Am] 1956 [D] for an association that would [B] last their [E] lifetimes. _
_ _ [G#] _ [A] _ With their cool improvisations on blues and [C#] classical chamber music,
they bridged the gap between [A#] smoky jazz clubs [A] and prestigious concert halls.
[D] _
_ _ Their early [F#m] arrangements proved so intricate that shortly after joining [D] the group,
[Gm] bassist Percy Heath studied under the bass titan [C] Charles Mingus to improve his [F] intonation. _ _
[A] _ _ [A#] _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _
[D#] _ [C#] [G#] It was with [C#] Atlantic [G] Records that Charles Mingus, the [A#] greatest bass player [C] jazz has ever known,
[D#] finally set into motion a career [G] that would lead him to international fame
[F] and [N] create a musical identity that set him apart from his peers. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ [C] _
His compositions took [C#] inspiration from jazz's New [D#] Orleans origins, [C] the blues and the church,
[C#] to advance not only musical [D#] expression but [F] also political and spiritual [D#] ideas.
[C#] _
_ [D#] _ [G] _ [Cm] _ _ [G] _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ [C#] _ _ _ [F#] _ _ [C#] _
Ray Charles' fusion of gospel, jazz, and blues changed the face of popular [C] music.
[C#] _ _ _ _
_ [F#] _ From 1952, when he signed [G#m] to Atlantic Records,
he [C] was soon [C#] riding high in the [C] charts with a [C#] string of rhythm and [F] blues singles.
_ But he [F#] used [C#] full-length albums to explore modern [C] jazz [C#] like The Great Ray [Bm] Charles, [Em] Soul [C#] Brothers, and [F#] The Genius of Ray [C#] Charles.
With this, he clearly made a statement,
I can play jazz too. _