Horn in jazz Horn in jazz While the horn (also known as the French Horn) is primarily used in classical music pieces, in the mid-20th century the French horn broke into the jazz world. While the instrument remains relatively rare, the role of the horn in jazz has developed from its beginnings in the 1940s through to the 2010s. Note that the expression "horns" in jazz is often used colloquially to refer to all brass instruments used in jazz (e.g., trumpet, sax, trombone, etc.). This article focuses on the use of the French horn. The Claude Thornhill Orchestra was the first group to
Jazz guitar who had absorbed the language of bebop, the guitar began to be seen as a “serious” jazz instrument. Improved electric guitars such as Gibson’s ES-175 (released in 1949), gave players a larger variety of tonal options. In the 1940s through the 1960s, players such as Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, and Jim Hall laid the foundation of what is now known as "jazz guitar" playing. As jazz-rock fusion emerged in the early 1970s, many players switched to the more rock-oriented solid body guitars. Other jazz guitarists, like Grant Green and Wes Montgomery, turned to applying their skills to pop-oriented styles that