Dictionary
cool' jazz'
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. Also called
West Coast jazz. Cf.
bop1,
hard bop, modern jazz, progressive jazz. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.