Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Jazz

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. “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?

12. 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)

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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

20. 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.

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. Bebop- Pioneers • Dizzy Gillespie • Charlie Parker • They made melodies more chromatic and far more complex. • They helped declare jazz an art.

25. 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.

26. The Future of Jazz • Like most forms of music- Jazz continues to reinvent itself and adapt. • This creates an enormous diversity of style

27. A Short History of Jazz • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whN5PXsrP6E