Jazz - Learning

advertisement
Definition of jazz:
Jazz is music that has improvisation as its root; it is characterized by syncopated rhythm and a
steady beat as well as distinctive tone colours and techniques of performance.
Origins of Jazz:
Jazz was developed in America in the late 1800s / early 1900s. (This was happening while
Stravinsky and Schoenberg were composing new styles of Classical music in Europe)
It was created by musicians who performed in streets, bars, brothels and dance halls of New
Orleans and other cities. Originally jazz was music to dance to, but it developed into music for to
listen to as well.
 Main roots were:
 Slave worker songs
 Call and response type singing in church services
 American band tradition (every village had a band that would play at
picnics,parades,dances and carnivals etc)
 Dance tunes
 Blues and Ragtime
 Rhythms were influenced by complex West African rhythms
 Harmony was taken from the European tradition
 Many aspects of melody and harmony were adapted from 19 th Century American folk music,
especially black folk music.
The most outstanding jazz musicans of the time were: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny
Goodman, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane.
Main Characteristics / Elements of Jazz
Jazz is a very diverse and complex style, so one can’t really pin down distinct elements, but there
are some commonalities with Jazz before 1950.
1. Tone Colour / Timbre

Jazz is generally played by:
 Small group combo (3 – 8 players) found in night clubs and smaller venues
 Big Band (10 – 15 players, sometimes up to 25!) found in dance halls and bigger
venues

Every jazz band has a rhythm section which is made up of percussion, bass (guitar or
double bass) and at least one instrument that can play chords, such as piano, guitar or
Hammond organ.
 The standard rhythm section consists of piano, bass and drums.
 The rhythm section:
 Maintains the beat
 Supports the harmonies
 Adds rhythmic interest

Small combo band is made up of:
 Rhythm section – piano, bass and percussion (sometimes banjo or guitar)
 Solo section – can include cornet, trumpet, sax, trombone, clarinet, vibraphone, piano

Big band consists of:
 Alto, tenor and baritone saxophones
 Trumpets
Called the horn section
 Trombones
 Rhythm section – piano, bass, drums and guitar



A jazz performance will combine solo and ensemble sections.
Although jazz is mainly instrumental, players try to match the quality of singing.
The jazz sound is made up of the way notes are played using different pitch inflections such
as bent, smear, scoop, falloffs and shakes.
Interesting point:
Classical musicians strive for an ‘ideal sound’ – i.e. what is ideal for the particular Style Period;
Jazz musicians aim for more individuality of sound and expression.
Big Band
2. Improvisation




This is one of the main components of jazz – it keeps it fresh and spontaneous
Improvisation sometimes similar to the original melody / theme, other times not – a player will
change the pitches and rhythms, and add embellishments
Improv. often based on a harmonic pattern or chord series
A jazz performance will usually include improvisations by one or more members of the group.
3. Rhythm




Syncopation –accented notes between beats
Swing rhythm – playing notes slightly unevenly
The beat is provided by the percussionist (drums) – usually 4 beats in a bar with an accent on
weak beats
Accents on 2nd and 4th beats are called backbeats
4. Melody


Uses major scale with flattened 3rd, 5th, 7th – called bent or blue notes
Melodies can be written out (in most big band pieces) or improvised after playing the head –
main melody
5. Harmony


Chords with added notes – 7th, 9th, 11th, flat 5th, sharp 9 etc
Over the years the harmony has become more and more complex.
JAZZ STYLES BETWEEN 1900 AND 1950
There are many, many different styles of jazz that have developed over the years, but the main
ones between 1900 and 1950 are:
Ragtime, Blues, Swing and Bebop
Ragtime (1890s – 1915)
It was a style of piano music that was developed by
African-American pianists who played in saloons and
dance halls.
The style became very popular and was played by
dance and marching bands as well.
It is characterised by the left hand playing a steady ‘oom
pah’ beat,jumping from one note to a chord (also known
as stride bass) with the right hand playing a syncopated melody.
Composers and pieces:
Scott Joplin – Maple Leaf Rag, The Entertainer, Alexander’s Ragtime Band
Listening:
Scott Joplin – Maple leaf rag
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reI43yUCaUI
YouYube: Scott Joplin – Dueling pianos movie scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOi9K7yZ6QA
Blues (1910 / 1920s)
Refers to a style as well as a form (12 bar blues)
Grew out of African-American folk songs: work
songs, spirituals, slaves call and response.
Vocal blues are very personal, often containing
sexual references and deal with the pain of love,
betrayal etc (think of the Romantic Period poets / Art song)
Lyrics consist of 3 line stanzas with 12 bar blues form:
The harmony is I, I, I, I,
IV, IV, I, I
V, IV, I, I/V
The melody used the Blues scale with flattened 3rd and 5th (blue note) and 7th.
Instruments used are generally vocals or instrument that will improvise and rhythm section.
Composers / artists and pieces:
Bessie Smith – Backwater Blues, Lost your Head Blues, Downhearted Blues
Listening:
Bessie Smith: Backwater Blues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRTHHkeQ8sE
Milt Jackson – Bag’s groove
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyTS7uzVM6A
Swing (1935 – 1945 = The Swing Era)
Swing was played mainly by Big Bands in dance halls and ball
rooms so the style was often called the “Big Band Era”
It became very popular, and was played on the radio once a
week.
Music was arranged, as opposed to improvised, so most parts
were written out, with improv sections added in.
The swing rhythm was used extensively. Melodies were
performed by entire sections – in unison or in harmony.
They were accompanied by short, repeated phrases called riffs
Solos were restriceted in length.
Famous swing bands:
Count Basie, Glen Miller, the Benny Goodman Band, Duke Ellington
Composers / artists and pieces:
Duke Ellington – Satin Doll, Sophisticated Lady, Take the A train
Count Basie – Jumping at the Woodside, One o clock Jump, April in Paris, Everyday (I have the
Blues)
Listening:
Glen Miller – In the Mood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR3K5uB-wMA
Duke Ellington: Take the A train
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrisYOEpADY
Bebop (1940s)
Bebop was a reaction to the popularity and commercialism of
Swing. It was a complex style usually for small jazz groups.
The music was for listening to, not dancing to.
The music had complex harmonies, unpredictable and varied
rhythms. The left hand didn’t keep the beat, but played hectic
chords at unpredicatble moments. The bass player kept the
beat. The drummer didn’t mark specific beats, as in swing, but would throw out accents at
unpredicatable moments – called ‘bombs’. There was a lot of improvisation.
Composers / artists and pieces:
Charlie Parker (Bird) – Ornithology, Parker’s mood, Anthropology
Dizzy Gillespie – Salt peanuts, A Night in Tunisia
Thelonius Monk – Round Midnight, Blue Monk
Listening:
Dizzy Gillespie: Salt Peanuts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGA4eNDgxrc
Charlie Parker: Ornithology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsAMAIaas94
African Jazz (South African jazz is often referred to as African Jazz.)
Initially, musicians imitated popular jazz artists. The first bebop group was the Jazz Epistles
which included Hugh Masekela (trumpet), Kippie Moeketsi (sax) and Abdulla Ibrahim (Dollar
Brand - piano). Their music showed influence of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonius
Monk
Early use of jazz was as an anti-apartheid tool. Mixed music groups weren’t allowed. Apartheid
government made it very difficult for non-white musicians to have a voice; many opted to
emigrate, including Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba.
Styles within African Jazz:
Marabi: Jazz piano style
Cape Jazz: Performed by instruments that could take part in a street band – brass, banjo, guitar,
percussion.
Musicians of this style of music in the 1970s were Abdullah Ibrahim (who came back to South
Africa) Basil Coetzee and Robbie Jansen.
Their song “Mannenberg” was a desire to make a new jazz sound, the sound of Cape Town.
Mannenberg was a crime-ridden township. The song became famous, and was used at antiapartheid rallies as a symbol of peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiQ0uyqySBg
“It presented coloured listeners with a sound that resonated deeply with their history and
experience and yet was utterly contemporary. Much about the song, especially its
sensibility and the very sound of the saxophones, was uniquely and recognizably
coloured. What had begun as an improvisation in a recording studio became a community
icon.”
OTHER JAZZ STYLES AFTER 1950
Cool Jazz (1940s / 1950s)
Related to bebop, but calmer and more relaxed.
Listening:
Modern Jazz Quartet: Django
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW-QCiO9_xE
Jazz Rock / Fusion (1960s / 1970s / 1980s)
A style that combined the improvisation of jazz with the tone colours and rhythms of rock.
Herbie Hancock: Chameleon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whi2fm2hzXg
Chick Corea: Spain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWBkVucVMCY
Some reading, if you’re bored, but interested in jazz!
In the late 60s, jazz began to feel the full impact of the rock revolution. Important jazz venues
shut their doors, major labels abandoned jazz to pursue rock, and many jazz artists left the
country for better opportunities abroad.
Jazz record sales plummeted as rock sales soared, and younger audiences increasingly chose
the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, or the politically-oriented folk music of Bob Dylan over jazz.
New hybrids of rock and jazz developed as a result, some fueled by jazz players interested in
rock and funk, others by rockers interested in jazz.
Smooth Jazz / Crossover jazz:
A mixture of Jazz, Fusion, R&B, Funk Pop and Soul
Artists:
Kenny G, Anita Baker, Sade, Sting, Norah Jones, George, Benson, Al Jarreau, Grover
Washington
Listening:
Al Jarreau: Mornin’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzXNdLVZs3k
Norah Jones: Don’t know why
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO4dxvguQDk
Download