WAYNE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
MUS 112-40 Introduction to Jazz
Fall, 2015-2016
Tuesday/Thursday 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
SJAFB Library Bldg.
Instructor Information
Instructor: Dr. Joseph Hodges
Telephone Numbers: (252) 523-9093 (H) (252) 527-8591 Ext 2379 (O)
Office Hours: 8-9:30 a.m.
E-Mail Address: jmhodges@waynecc.edu
jhodges@lenoir.k12.nc.us
FAX Number:
(252) 527-9014
Dr. Hodges’ Playlist
• https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVilO
s2j2UbIxOcAxOUPzqfMniAaHM3db
PART 3. THE SWING ERA
Fletcher Henderson, “Blue Lou”
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1897-1952
Looked to Whitman for inspiration
Studied classical music with his mother
Traveled to New York in 1920 for post graduate
study in chemistry
• Recorded with Ethel Waters and Bnessie Smioth
• Black musician working in midtown for exclusively
white clienteles offering polished and
conventional dance music
• Upset by new man on the scene – Duke Ellington
Benny Goodman, “Dinah”
• Benny Goodman, "The King of Swing", was the clarinetist composer
responsible for multiple hit singles as a band leader before World
War II. Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman was born
Benjamin David Goodman on May 30, 1909, in Chicago, Illinois. As
an extraordinary clarinetist and bandleader, Goodman helped usher
in the swing era in the 1930s—earning him the nickname "the King
of Swing." The son of Russian immigrants, he was the ninth child
born into the family and eventually he would have a total of 11
siblings. His father worked as a tailor to try to provide for the large
family, but money was always tight for the Goodmans. Two years
later, Goodman moved to Los Angeles to join Ben Pollack's band. He
stayed with the band for several years, eventually becoming one of
its leading soloists. In 1928, Goodman released his first album, A
Jazz Holiday. He then left the band and moved to New York City the
following year.
Artie Shaw, “Star Dust”
• Artie Shaw was known for his role as a 1930's and 1940's
jazz bandleader and clarinetist, known as the "King of the
Clarinet". Shaw was one of the first bandleaders to
integrate, hiring Billie Holiday as his vocalist. Although Shaw
was notorious for his dislike of his fans, he continued to
produce hits rivaling his main competitor, Benny Goodman.
Bandleader, clarinetist, composer, writer. Born Arthur Jacob
Arshawsky on May 23, 1910, in New York, New York.
Sometimes referred to as the King of the Clarinet, Artie
Shaw was one of the leading jazz performers and
bandleaders of the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s. Born
on New York’s Lower East Side, he was the only child of
Jewish immigrants from Russia and Austria.
Jimmie Lunceford, “Annie Laurie”
Jimmie Lunceford, in full James Melvin Lunceford (born June 6, 1902, Fulton, Miss., U.S.—died July 12, 1947, Seaside, Ore.), American
big band leader whose rhythmically appealing, well-disciplined orchestra was one of the most influential of the swing era. He earned a degree
from Fisk University (Nashville, Tenn.) and pursued graduate studies at the City College of New York, after which he taught music and athletics
at a high school in Memphis, Tenn. There he formed a student band in 1927 that featured several talented young players who stayed with the
band when it turned professional in 1929. Lunceford’s band (which was sometimes called “Jimmie Lunceford’s HarlemExpress”) was
characterized by a two-beat rhythm that came to be known as the “Lunceford beat” and was celebrated for the remarkable precision of its
playing. Lunceford insisted on long rehearsals to achieve such proficiency, as well as to polish the band’s humorous and highly visual stage act.
“A band that looks good, goes in for a better class of showmanship, and seems to be enjoying its work will always be sure of a return visit
wherever it plays,” Lunceford once said. During its peak period (1934–42), the band had 22 hit recordings, more than any other black band
except Duke Ellington’s and Cab Calloway’s. These included “Tain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It),” “Organ Grinder’s Swing,” “My
Blue Heaven,” and the band’s two best-known numbers, “Rhythm Is Our Business,” its theme song, and “For Dancers Only,” its most
celebrated recording.
8. Count Basie and Duke Ellington
Pete Johnson / Big Joe Turner, “It’s All Right, Baby”
Andy Kirk / Mary Lou Williams, “Walkin’ and
Swingin’”
Count Basie, “One O’Clock Jump”
• Count Basie was born on August 21, 1904, in Red
Bank, New Jersey. A pianist, he played vaudeville
before eventually forming his own big band and
helping to define the era of swing with hits like
"One O'Clock Jump" and "Blue Skies." In 1958,
Basie became the first African-American male
recipient of a Grammy Award. One of jazz music's
all-time greats, he won many other Grammys
throughout his career and worked with a plethora
of artists, including Joe Williams and Ella
Fitzgerald. Basie died in Florida on April 26, 1984.
Duke Ellington
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“Conga Brava”
“Blood Count”
Simply put, Ellington transcends boundaries and fills the world with a treasure
trove of music that renews itself through every generation of fans and musiclovers. His legacy continues to live onand will endure for generations to come.
Winton Marsalis said it best when he said "His music sounds like
America." Because of the unmatched artistic heights to which he soared, no one
deserved the phrase “beyond category” more than Ellington, for it aptly describes
his life as well. He was most certainly one of a kind that maintained a lifestyle with
universal appeal which transcended countless boundaries.
Duke Ellington is best remembered for the over 3000 songs that he composed
during his lifetime. His best known titles include; "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't
Got That Swing", "Sophisticated Lady", "Mood Indigo", “Solitude", "In a
Mellotone",and "Satin Doll". The most amazing part about Ellington was the most
creative while he was on the road. It was during this time when he wrote his most
famous piece, "Mood Indigo"which brought him world wide fame.
Test #1