Jazz, Big Bands and the Swing Years

1. Jazz, Big Bands and the Swing Years Chapter 7/8

2. Ragtime vs African Americanized Marches • John Philip Sousa (white) – popularized marches Stars and Stripes Forever, march http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4v9Da5DpYo • Scott Joplin – (black) – popularized ragtime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57DCa6cboHA

3. Similarities – steady pulse Differences - Ragtime had more syncopation, more blue notes, and more swing

4. New Orleans • Mixed African American / White population • Blacks, and creoles(light skinned) were mostly formally trained musicians • Professional musicians were typically looked down upon and considered lower class • Jazz was orginially a street form with negative connotations • The spread of Jazz can be associated with Prohibition in the 1920s.

5. Dixieland Jazz Band • First Jazz recording 1917 in NYC • All white group of musicians • Helped bring jazz to a larger white audience • Musicians began moving out of New Orleans to other cities, especially Chicago

6. Chicago • Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and Bix Beiderbecke – best known musicians

7. Jelly Roll Morton • 1890-1941 • Creole pianist and composer from New Orleans • 1926 – formed a studio band called the Red Hot Peppers • Grandpa’s Spells http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSv-EqtHtEE

8. Louis Armstrong • From New Orleans, moved to Chicago • Known for technical prowess • Bright tone – bugle, cornet, trumpet • Stonger emphasis on improvised solos • Notable practitioner of scatting – the practice of using nonsense syllables instead of words to indicate an instrument • , scat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3fGrQYHHBI

9. Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke • 1903-1931 • 1923-came to Chicago and formed a band of young white musicians called the Wolverines • Cool School strain of jazz – a warm mellow sound opposite of Armstrong’s bright tone • Pioneered a ballad style in jazz – a slower number • Remember, fast numbers weren’t really fast and slow numbers weren’t really slow. • One of the first modernists in Jazz. Used the whole-tone scale which gave listeners an exotic sound. • Singin the Blues http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ue9igC7flI

10. The Swing Era • 1935-1945 – most popular period for Jazz • Ensembles are referred to as “big bands” • New York – musicians were accompanists for classic blues singers during recording sessions, and formed dance orchestras to play at clubs in Manhattan and Harlem

11. Fletcher Henderson • 1897-1952 • Fletcher Henderson Orchestra let by Fletcher Henderson – pianist • Much arranging was left to lead saxophonist Don Redman • Evolved with influence from Louis Armstrong – innovative, hot swinging style with relaxed rhythm, and from the Paul Whiteman Orchestra – dance band that identified itself with jazz. • Drums used sparingly at first – rhythm section was tuba and banjo • Band went bankrupt by 1934 and disbanded

12. Fletcher Henderson Sugar Foot Stomp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjEiyhESlh4

13. NY VS New Orleans • NY –3 (later 4-5) saxophones, 2(later 3-4) trumpets, 1 (later 2-4) trombones • Homophonic • ********************************************* • New Orleans – frontline horn section – clarinet, trumpet, and trombone • Polyphonic

14. Kansas City Style • Musicians generally had less formal training unlike musicians from New Orleans and Chicago • More emphasis was placed on individual solo • Arrangements made up on the spot • One member would dictate a short melodic figure (RIFF) and the band would play it back in unison or with improvied harmonies ( RIFF CHARTS)

15. William “Count” Basie • 1904-1984 • Born in Red Bank, NJ – moved to Kansas City • Pianist • Possessed the finest rhythm section of the swing era • His musicians were not formally trained

16. Count Basie – Doggin’ Around – AABA form http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z5MOyL1cco Count Basie - April In Paris http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU1yg6_l0_4

17. Benny Goodman • 1909-1986 Born in Chicago, a white clarinetist • Swing was a fully formed style by the 1930s, but was not accepted into mainstream popular music – Benny Goodman’s orchestra was most responsible for that acceptance • Goodman purchased Fletcher Henderson’s library and it became a basis for the band’s style • In The Mood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR3K5uB-wMA

18. Benny Goodman, cont. • Goodman had racially mixed bands – a practice that was uncommon for the time. This helped bring jazz to a more diverse audience and therefore increased its popularity • He is known in the history of jazz as the benchmark of its success • He was the first jazz ensemble to perform at Carnegie Hall in 1938 – concert sold out, tickets were $2.75 • “KING OF SWING”

19. Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington • 1899-1974 • He brought his band from Washington to NY in the early 1920s • Band started as a syncopated dance orchestra, but were influenced by two things • It Don't Mean a Thing If It Aint Got That Swing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FvsgGp8rSE

20. Influence #1 • Trumpeter James “Babber” Miley from New Orleans • Babber affected Ellington the same way Armstrong affected Henderson • Miley did this freakish growl effect with his trumpet, putting a plunger over the bell and making a growling sound with his throat (ex. 1927 East St. Louis Toodle-Oo) • http://youtu.be/-_Y0cJ-aEbY

21. Influence #2 • The Cotton Club in Harlem – he was hired for a residency as a house band • Operated by mob owner Owney Madden • Sold illegal alcohol during Prohibition • Offered black entertainment to a primarily white Manhattan audience

22. Art Influence • Ellington was an artist • He brought ideas of color, texture, and mood to manuscript paper instead of canvas • This can be seen in songs such as “Mood Indigo,” “ On a Turquoise Cloud,” and “Magenta Haze.”

23. Ellington was unique because he spent so much time playing with the same musicians, the parts he wrote were written specifically for their abilities • The parts were labeled not by instrument, but with the performers name

24. A Pulitzer Prize? • Career lasted well into the 1970s • Ellington was denied the Pulitzer Prize for music, primarily because of racism • In 1999, the centennial of Ellington’s birth, he was posthumously awarded a special and belated Pulitzer award

25. Other Big Bands

26. White Orchestras • Access to major recording labels, the finest and the most prestigious ballrooms, and had the most radio exposure • Technical perfection, finest musicians, extremely conservative, leaned toward the “sweet” side of popular music

27. Black Bands • Bold and driving music whenever racial customs allowed • Leaned toward the “hot” and “sweet” side of popular music • “Sweet” and “hot” coexisted before a mass audience

28. Glen Miller Orchestra • Glen Miller 1904-1944, trombonist • Orchestra was formed in 1939 • Through his efforts as bandleader and arranger, he developed the most commercially viable style of any swing band • “Hot” – In the Mood • “Sweet” – Moonlight Serenade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQseFAcWvtE

29. Tommy Dorsey • 1905-1956 • An early colleague of Goodman, Miller, and Beiderbecke • One of the finest trombonists of any style • Instead of as a gruff instrument, Dorsey presented the trombone as a beautiful solo instrument. • His tone, phrasing, and remarkable breath control were the primary influences on Frank Sinatra.

30. Artie Shaw • 1910-2004 • The only real threat to Benny Goodman’s clarinet expertise • His sensitive personality did not fit with the pressures of musical commercialism. • His band was so unstable, they formed and disbanded 8 times between 1936 and 1955 • Formed a curious group consisting of a Dixieland band with a string quartet!

31. Though sweet and hot prevailed for a long time in the Swing Era, commercialism soon prevailed. • The music of the bands became more polite; the arrangements became more conservative and began to crowd the space previously reserved for improvising jazz soloists. • The greatest fame, money, and exposure was again given to white artists, but musicians would continue to explore their creativity and technical abilities in private jam sessions. • This eventually will lead to bebop in the 1940s.

32. World War II * Rationing of gasoline and other products Curtailed touring and record production • It became too expensive to fund big bands • Many band members were drafted

33. Crooners • Crooners – singers of popular ballads • 1942-1944 – Musician’s union imposed a ban on recording. Singers were NOT union members and so were exempt! • Because of this, public attention went to singers, particularly crooners (Like Sinatra)

34. REVIVAL • In 1998, there was an experienced swing revival with bands like the Brian Setzer Orchestra and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies • Cherry Poppin Daddies, Zoot Suit Riot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd5HqNEfaUA • Brian Setzer Orchestra Jump Jive and Wail http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHWcN5YxuYc