New Orleans:Birthplace of Jazz

New Orleans

• Rich in culture: French, Spanish, British, African slaves, Native Americans

• Early jazz musicians Creole (French and Blacks); had benefits unlike blacks: social, economic, musical training. Able to attend concerts and the opera

• Creole: Sidney Bechet, Kid Ory, Honrey Dutry, Johnny St. Cyr

• Black: Joe “King” Oliver, buddy Bolden, Bunk Johnson

New Orleans

• Musicians: played in brass bands, brothels, saloons, traveling minstrel shows. Easier work than the docks on the river

• N.O. supported as many as 18 bands sponsored by fire department, police , armed forces and various fraternal lodges.

• Some bands were full time, others were part time.

New Orleans• Buddy Bolden (d. 1931)• Cornet player who was never recorded;

remembered in memoirs of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet. Had super clear tone; influence on creation of early jazz

• Played in various bands in Storyville District.• Committed to mental institution in 1907 and died

there in 1931.• Band “Eagle Band”, became training ground for

early jazz musicians (Sidney Bechet)

New Orleans

• Bunk Johnson: Undiscoverd until historians were piecing together history.

• Not recorded until 1942.• Like to tell interesting stories• Was an active musician in New Orleans• Freddie Keppard (1889-1933), “King” Oliver,

and Louis Armstrong were only New Orleans cornetist who were recorded

New Orleans

• Keppard led Olympia Brass Band and performed in Buddy Bolden’s “Eagle Band”

• Considered most direct musical descendant of Buddy Bolden and King Oliver

• Travel to California with Original Creole Orchestra (1912-1918) before moving to Chicago

• Keppard was made an offer to record, but turned it down because he did not want to be copied.

Dixieland • No set standard instrumentation• Front line: cornet, clarinet, sometimes violin and trombone.• Second line: Drums and Percussion• Terms come from N.O street parade band• Rhythm section: guitar or banjo, string bass or tuba, and

drums.• Banjo replace guitar eventually. Bass instrument optional,

but became standard by 1920s• Bass instrument: tuba, bass saxophone ,string bass.

Recordings show transition from tuba to string bass was slow; same for banjo to guitar

Dixieland

• Each instrument has role• Cornet: played melody very syncopated;

eventually replaced by trumpet.• Clarinet: played rhythmically active

embellishments of cornet melody.• Trombone: outline harmony by playing the

chord tones (root, 3rd , 5th)• Most trombonist prefer the “tailgate”

technique

Dixieland

• Tailgate: using the slide to smear or gliss from one pitch to another.

• Came from advertising minstrel shows; trombonist had to sit on the tailgate of the wagon

• Piano: maintain harmony or rhythm (early jazz bands didn’t use banjo, guitar or bass)

Drummers

• Emulated marching second line (more than one player)

• Mounted cymbal on a floor stand and developed a foot pedal for cymbal and bass drum

• Used percussion like temple blocks, spoons, novelty items. Used more as a gimmick. Drummers played rudimentary techniques of second line

Drummers

• Don’t know how exactly how drummers played. • Recordings weren’t able to capture natural

balances of what bands achieved until invention of microphones and amplification.

• Loud drums ruined the recording (this is why cornets and trumpets were use with mutes)

• Believe same reasoning was used for temple blocks and quieter percussion

Brass Bands

• Tradition borrowed from Europe; popular before WWI

• Early jazz musicians began careers in brass bands

Jimmy Noone, Sidney Bechet, Buddy Bolden, Bunk Johnson, Joe “king” Oliver

Most situated themselves around New Orleans

Brass Bands

• Repertoire ranged from arrangements of piano rags, blues, marches, polkas, czardaszes (Slovakian folk dance), cake walks, and coon songs

• Instrumentation included cornets, clarinets, trombones, drums, tubas and some string instruments (banjo, guitar, violin)

Brass Bands

• Bands performed for various functions (weddings ,funerals, street parades, etc..

• No recordings of early brass bands; No musicians were recording prior to 1917; technology was too new and no recording industry

• Brass bands lead to smaller groups that represent nightlife in new orleans

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