15. EARLY JAZZ STYLES Maybe our forefathers couldn’t keep their language together when they were taken away from Africa, but this–the blues–was a language we invented to let people know we had something to say. And we’ve been saying it pretty strong ever since. B. B. King, guitarist/singer/songwriter (born 1925) © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Origins of Jazz ■ Origins of jazz cannot be chronicled – It was not recorded – Improvised, oral tradition – Rooted in the rural South – Storyville, New Orleans (red light district to 1897-1917) – Chicago tied to the first use of “jazz” in a musical context around 1915. – Various spellings jas, jasz © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Elements that trace back to West Africa* ■ *Note – these elements (nor the European elements) are not mutually exclusive: – Communal – Call & response – Rhythmical component including polyrhythm and unequal division of the beat – “swing” – Repetition – *improvisation is common to both traditions… © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Elements that trace back to European Music* ■ *Note – these elements (nor the African elements) are not mutually exclusive: – Tonal system – including melodic and harmonic structures – Western European instruments – sax, piano, guitar… – Western European forms - 12 bar blues, for example – Western European meters – Notation – *improvisation is common to both traditions… (Cadenzas, for example) © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening Guide “Village Celebration,” Mende tribe of Sierra Leone ■ Listen for polyrhythms ■ No structured repeating sections ■ Voices: 1 male leader; villagers respond ■ Lead vocals are improvised © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ■ North America ■ mid 1800s -1920s until jazz entered ■ Played in informal settings saloons/bars ■ African -American musicians © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ■ Instruments (no set instrumentation): – banjos, fiddles – Piano common ■ Scott Joplin – most famous composer of ragtime Scott Joplin 1868-1917 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Composed in 1899 Piano ragtime music Tempo di marcia (march tempo) AABBACCDD = SECTIONAL form Solo piano Rags were played on Mississippi riverboats and in homes and nightclubs © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Blues ■ Developed in U.S. rural south – Mississippi Delta region (northwest Mississippi) – – Field hollers/work songs Evolved from African spirituals © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Blues Performance Elements ■ Style: “Slides” between notes – In voice – In instruments ■ “Wah wah” in trumpets/brass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msh45Mruxbo ■ Bending notes in guitars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLKxcY2QsKc ■ George Harrison tribute (Prince @ 3:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Blues Performance Elements ■ “Swing” - uneven subdivisions to the beat - sounds “lazy” ■ 12 bar form ■ Text is personal – not always sad - sometimes intentionally funny – Language: informal/”incorrect”/slang ■ ■ ■ “ain’t” “gonna” etc. reflects class status Easy to improvise new lyrics BB King in jam (12 bar form): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uneA-cstZs © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Blues STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS ■ Twelve-bar blues form – 12 bars in quadruple meter – typical form ■ Usually in quadruple meter © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ■ Singing career in minstrel shows, nightclubs, & theaters ■ Active in 1920s &1930s ■ Recorded ca. 200 songs Bessie Smith 1894-1937 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening Guide: “Lost Your Head Blues” Bessie Smith ■ Recorded in 1926 ■ Five twelve-bar choruses ■ Instrumentation: voice, cornet, piano ■ Listen for blue notes & sliding between notes (African influence) ■ Call & response ■ Chordal piano accompaniment (European influence) © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. New Orleans/Dixieland Combos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7M8ZkQma3I ■ “Frontline” - Soloists who played the melody… – Collective Improvisation! Possible instruments: – Cornet(s) – Clarinet(s) – Trombone(s) © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. New Orleans/Dixieland Combos ■ “Rhythm Section” Maintained beat & harmonic accompaniment… ■ Possible instruments: – Piano – Tuba – String bass – Guitar – Banjo – Drum(s) snare/drumset © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ■ Chicago Chicago became became next next important important jazz jazz city city ■ ■ Development of Big Bands – Individual soloists featured, instead of a group/frontline group/ frontline of soloists © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ■ Mid 1930s-50s ■ Economic recovery after Great Depression ■ Moved from saloons to ballrooms/dance halls – Larger ensembles formed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9zHYkKoL4A “An Intro to the Swing Era”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE31EC3NoLs © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ■ Radio - disseminated music nationally/internationally ■ New York - next big jazz city © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Edward Kennedy Ellington Born in Washington, DC Band performed at Harlem’s (NYC) Cotton Club Called his band an “orchestra” Other “Royal” Big Band leaders: “King” Oliver, “Duke” Ellington, “Count” Basie, the “King of Swing” (Benny Goodman) © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. *Listening Guide “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” Duke Ellington *For the test – be sure to listen to recording on Blackboard under “music samples” – If I play this tune it will be that version. ■ Recorded 1932 ■ AABA song form/Quadruple Meter ■ Instrumentation: listen for sections of instruments trombones, saxes, piano, banjo, bass, drums; vocalist -Original with Duke Ellington’s band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg -Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett (start :10): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE31EC3NoLs © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ■ Count Basie ■ Benny Goodman ■ Glenn Miller ■ Artie Shaw ■ Tommy Dorsey ■ Woody Herman These names will help you find other listening samples for you to become familiar with the characteristic sound of big bands © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Big Band Swing 1930s-40s Instrumentation •SECTIONS vs. SOLOISTS: MANY on a PART •“Rhythm Section:” Piano String Bass Guitar Drum set New Orleans Jazz 1920s Instrumentation: •INDIVIDUAL (1) soloists: trumpet, clarinet, etc. Piano (guitar or banjo) tuba Drum Set © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Big Band Swing 1930s-40s General: •Faster harmonic rhythm •Individual Soloists improvising freely over harmony New Orleans Jazz 1920s General: •Slower harmonic rhythm •Frontline of soloists improvising freely over harmony © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Bebop a/k/a “Bop” ■ 1940s: Young musicians rebelled against big band swing ■ Name derived from scat syllable © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Bebop a/k/a “Bop” ■ Small combos organized – 1-3 soloists – rhythm section ■ drums, bass - sometimes guitar or piano ■ Offered more opportunity for individual expression -improvisation! © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Bebop a/k/a “Bop” cont’d ■ Demanded technical virtuosity – Uneven phrases, wide leaps, rhythmic variety – Melodies designed for instruments but vocalists sang scat – Sarah Vaughan for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZo9H_karUE – complex chords ■ dissonances/chromatics ■ Rhythm - bass more present/important (vs. drums only) © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening Guide: “Ko Ko” Charlie “The Bird” Parker (1920-1955) ■ Recorded in 1945 ■ Tempo is very fast (quadruple meter); listen for beats in bass (plays 1 note per beat) ■ Instrumentation: trumpet, muted trumpet, alto sax, piano, bass, drums ■ This is the recording also under “Music Samples” – Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rMiD8UUcd0 © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Free Jazz ■ Free Jazz, album by Ornette Coleman, 1960 – ■ 30 minutes of collective improvisation with no set organization ■ complex rhythms ■ abrasive dissonance Influenced by civil rights movement – attempt to free jazz of “Europeanisms” – Sample of Ornette Coleman Sextet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0HB8ybKJzo © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Free Jazz ■ By late 1960s rock comes on scene - new attempt to combine jazz w/rock… © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. FUSION Was most popular jazz style to emerge in the 1960s/1970s An attempt to combine jazz & rock elements Bitches Brew, 1969 album by Miles Davis = starting point © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. FUSION Rock rhythms & instruments Even beat subdivisions (vs. uneven in jazz) Solid body electric guitars/basses; electric pianos Short “riffs” (repeating patterns) © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Listening Guide “Miles Runs the Voodoo Down” from “Bitches Brew” Album Miles Davis Recorded in 1969 Rock Characteristics: Bass player plays 4-beat riff throughout Use of electric guitar & bass Even beat subdivisions (vs. uneven in jazz) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q Yky0bMUzU © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
