History & Appreciation of Performing Arts
J. Howard

• Blues
• Band
• Bar
• Brass
• Call and response
• Ensemble
• Expression
• Improvise
• Instrumental
• Jazz
• March
• Ragtime
• Rhythm
• Solo
• Style
• Syncopation

• Solo work—even in an ensemble where individuals support one another in close musical communion, every player also gets an opportunity to solo
• Improvisation—Jazz players “riff” off whatever melodic structure is being played, often taking the music to exciting heights in the process, but always coming back to the basic structure eventually
• Experimentation—From Dixieland to swing, be-bop, fusion, and every other phase jazz has experienced, innovators have never shied away from experimenting with new possibilities in their art form
• Adventurous rhythms—Syncopation is one of many hallmarks of jazz music
• Urban sense—jazz was born and evolved almost entirely in America’s larger cities

• Jazz music emerges in New Orleans. Grew out of a combination of field/work songs (the 1 st
African American musical form)
• From New Orleans, delta blues and gospel music in the rural South, ragtime piano music, and military marching music from European troops stationed in New Orleans
• Jazz was spelled jass

• Jazz developed into Dixieland style
• Louis Armstrong (1 st great jazz soloist) was born in New Orleans in 1901; around 1912 (in reform school after getting in trouble with the law) he learned to play the coronet, the instrument which much later made him famous

• First jazz recording is made “Livery Stable
Blues” by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in
1917.
• Storyville entertainment district of New
Orleans closed, and jazz musicians migrated to northern cities.
• Dixieland is still dominant style.

• Jazz spread across the country and the world.
• 1920s era of prohibition (no legal alcohol sales), flappers, and author F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby).
• A famous American social dance was the Charleston— invented to accompany jazz music.
• Jazz became a hit in Paris; gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and singer Josephine Baker became jazz stars in Europe.
• Harlem Renaissance began in New York, and the Cotton
Club opened with Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and Duke
Ellington performing (black performers/white only audience).
• George Gershwin wrote jazz related music for Broadway shows.
• Bessie Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong recorded hit records.

• Benny Goodman broke the color barrier by integrating his quartet; toured his big band nationwide; and played Carnegie Hall in New York
City, establishing jazz as a legitimate art form.
• Great vocalists were Ella Fitzgerald (helped to develop scat singing), Frank Sinatra, and Billie
Holliday.
• Kansas City (with its political corruption and criminal syndicate-owned nightclubs provided plenty of work for musicians) became a major “experimental jazz” city through its late-night jam sessions.
• Count Bessie Orchestra began in Kansas City.

• Big Band swing music dominated WWII era
• Jazz spread in Europe because of recordings by
American military personnel and because of popularity of Glenn Miller (big band leader, Air Force orchestra director
• 33 1/3 LPs—”long playing” wax/vinyl recordings invented
• France invented jazz festivals
• Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie started be-bop style
(because of the jazz clubs 52 nd Street in NYC known as
“Bebop Street”
• Combos replaced big bands
• R & B developed—Ray Charles & James Brown were popular R&B artists, starting another musical trend

• The “beat” generation dominated popular music
• Newport Jazz Festival originated in U.S.
• Museums integrated jazz music to complement their abstract visual art
• Racial integration was a major topic of the day, and black jazz musicians began using jazz as a means of expressing anger at racial, political, and social injustice
• Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis originated “cool jazz”
• Because West Coast jazz had become softer and lighter than traditional style, East coast jazz artists (Miles
Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins) returned to an edgier style
• Vocal jazz continued to remain popular

• Time of great social change
• Era of rock music, Vietnam War protests, the
American Civil Rights Movement with Dr.
Marin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X
• Radical new “free jazz” was informal
• John Coltrane became an important composer
• Miles Davis first performed jazz in huge arenas and introduced electric instruments and rock rhythms

• Jazz fusion (jazz + rock) was developed
• “Loft jazz” was performed for free in empty factory buildings
• Spectacle, stage makeup, costumes, dance, and world music were introduced in more formal, theatrical jazz performances

• The CD (compact disc) was invented replacing vinyl records
• The recording industry transferred historical jazz recordings to CDs as a way to preserve
American music history

• New trends in African-American and popular music (rap, hip-hop) grew out of jazz
• Electronic rhythms important
• Jazz artists in this era include diverse instrumentalists and vocalists such as Ellis,
Wynton & Branford Marsalis, Diana Krall, Keith
Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, Harry
Connick Jr., Madeleine Peyroux, and Norah Jones
• “Smooth jazz” increased in popularity.
• Jazz continued to reflect the contemporary world and the urban human condition