Chamber jazz

Chamber jazz is a genre of jazz involving small, acoustic-based ensembles where group interplay is important. It is influenced aesthetically by the small ensembles of chamber music in musical neoclassicism and is often influenced by classical forms of Western music, non-Western music and culture, and various folk genres such as Celtic music, Central European, or Latin American music.

American bassist John Kirby (1908-1952) is arguably the first chamber jazz musician with a sextet he led in the 1930s and '40s. However, many other early exponents originated in Europe so significant neoclassical composers of Europe, like Igor Stravinsky, are important. The German ECM Records also played a role in popularizing the genre beginning in the late 1960s. It is also noted for using instruments not normally associated with jazz. For example, chamber jazz will make use of the oboe, mandolin, cymbalum, or the tabla.