Chapter 9

Jazz

The Roots of Jazz

• Jazz began through the spirituals and work

songs of enslaved African Americans.

• These songs were not frivolous

entertainment.

• They were a representation of honest, real

human expression.

The Roots of Jazz

• Jazz as it is recognized today, started

in and around New Orleans, Louisiana.

• This kind of music started around the

second half of the nineteenth century.

• Brass bands are responsible for the

roots of jazz.

The Roots of Jazz- Brass Bands

• Brass bands- bands made up of

African Americans that played in New

Orleans during the War of 1812.

• These bands had a unique way of

“cutting loose” with rhythm.

The Roots of Jazz-Brass Bands

• The Brass Bands used classical

instruments but in nontraditional

ways.

• Instruments featured in the brass

bands were: trumpets, trombones,

clarinets, saxophones and drums.

What is Jazz?

• Jazz- a musical form distinguished by its

reliance on improvisation and its rhythmic

urgency.

• In its beginning, Jazz was referred to as a

novelty- meaning that it was not taken

seriously.

• Jazz music was not even printed until 1917.

What is Jazz?

• In Jazz, the skill and inventiveness of

individual performers is key to the success

of the music.

• The rhythm of Jazz is often polyrhythmic-

juxtaposing two or more different rhythms.

• This polyrhythm is what gives jazz its

energy.

Stride Piano

• One of the distinctive traits of early

Jazz was the stride piano style.

• This style was made popular by Jazz

legends Eubie Blake, James P.

Johnson and Earl Hines.

Characteristics of the Stride Piano Style

• Built on a steady, oom-pah, time-

keeping left hand bass.

• This was layered against the right

hand part which shifted the accents

as it embellished the tune.

Stride Piano

• These early stride pianists (Eubie Blake,

James P. Johnson, Earl Hines) helped

preserve a permanent spot for the piano in

Jazz music.

• Their work influence future jazz pianists

such as Thomas “Fats” Waller, Art Tatum,

and Thelonius Monk.

“Jelly Roll” Morton

• Great Legend of the early Jazz movement

• He was a pianist and band leader

• Perfected the New Orleans Dixieland jazz style.

• Perfect example of this style is Black Bottom

Stomp.

• Personal Tidbit- Jelly Roll was not shy about self-

promotion. What do I mean by self-promotion?

Mississippi-The River, Not the State

• Jazz spread from New Orleans to the North

up the Mississippi River.

• Primarily Dixieland Jazz at first.

• This music was shocking to new listeners as

teens shocked their parents with their new

dance moves (the Charleston and the Black

Bottom)

Dixieland Jazz

• Distinguishing Features:

– Small bands- little duplication of instruments

– March-like feeling, reliance on duple meter

– Front line of wind instruments, back line of

string instruments

– Embellish melodies of existing songs

– Use of riffs in a call and response format

Scat Singing

• Form of vocal improvisation on

nonsense syllables

• Brought to the forefront by Jazz

legends like Louis Armstrong

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

PbL9vr4Q2LU

Sectional Organization

• 1920s- Jazz began its evolution into a sectional

form, solo parts alternating with the ensemble.

• Usually segmented into 12 or 16-bar sections

• Improvised chorus usually lasted 32 bars

• “Hotter Than That” (Page 202-Section Map)

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAlrpx40UnE

Swing

• Swing refers to the special rhythmic

character that jazz musicians add to the

music. Basically this means the musicians

would change the feel of a traditional duple

jazz tune to a triple feel.

• While Dixieland Jazz was still popular, around

1935, Swing became all the rage with teens.

Swing• Fletcher Henderson- considered

responsible for the development of

the swing band.

– Enlarged the jazz band with many

duplications of instruments in each

section.

– Emphasis on solo playing

– Trading fours- trademark of swing

bands.

The Big Band Era

• Swing was primarily dance music.

• It gave birth to swing bands, or big

bands.

• They were more dance orchestras

than pure jazz bands.

The Big Band Era-Legend• Benny Goodman- “The King of

Swing”

• Was able to play the classics as well

as jazz.

• His big band was highly successful

• What was Goodman’s main

instrument

The Rise of the Saxophone• Clarinet eventually gave way to

saxophone as the most popular solo

jazz instrument

• This instrument raised many

musicians to stardom such as Lester

Young, Count Basie, and Charlie

Parker.

Duke Ellington

• Most prominent big band innovator

• Made jazz a sophisticated art, giving

it form and substance

• His melodies are often chromatic-

incorporating tones from a musical

scale consisting entirely of half steps

Mary Lou Williams

• One of the few women able to break into the

big band.

• Pianist, composer and arranger

• Joined a swing band (Twelve Clouds of Joy)

where she gained recognition and respect

• Wrote more than 350 compositions

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8I1Eq7-zfY

Bebop

• Bebop- a complex and sophisticated

type of improvised jazz- music for

listening rather than dancing

• Divided the jazz world into two

separate factions- swing vs. bebop

Bebop- Pioneers

• Dizzy Gillespie

• Charlie Parker

• They made melodies more chromatic

and far more complex.

• They helped declare jazz an art.

New Directions

• Fusion- combination of jazz and rock-

now includes electronic keyboards

• Not popular with Jazz purists because

it obscures two fundamental pillars of

jazz: basic forms and improvisation.

The Future of Jazz

• Like most forms of music- Jazz

continues to reinvent itself and

adapt.

• This creates an enormous diversity of

style

A Short History of Jazz

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w

hN5PXsrP6E