Chapter 9
Jazz
The Roots of Jazz
• Jazz began through the spirituals and work
songs of enslaved African Americans.
• These songs were not frivolous
entertainment.
• They were a representation of honest, real
human expression.
The Roots of Jazz
• Jazz as it is recognized today, started in and
around New Orleans, Louisiana.
• This kind of music started around the second
half of the nineteenth century.
• Brass bands are responsible for the roots of
jazz.
The Roots of Jazz- Brass Bands
• Brass bands- bands made up of African
Americans that played in New Orleans during
the War of 1812.
• These bands had a unique way of “cutting
loose” with rhythm.
The Roots of Jazz-Brass Bands
• The Brass Bands used classical instruments
but in nontraditional ways.
• Instruments featured in the brass bands were:
trumpets, trombones, clarinets, saxophones
and drums.
What is Jazz?
• Jazz- a musical form distinguished by its reliance
on improvisation and its rhythmic urgency.
• In its beginning, Jazz was referred to as a
novelty- meaning that it was not taken seriously.
• Jazz music was not even printed until 1917.
What is Jazz?
• In Jazz, the skill and inventiveness of
individual performers is key to the success of
the music.
• The rhythm of Jazz is often polyrhythmicjuxtaposing two or more different rhythms.
• This polyrhythm is what gives jazz its energy.
Stride Piano
• One of the distinctive traits of early Jazz was
the stride piano style.
• This style was made popular by Jazz legends
Eubie Blake, James P. Johnson and Earl Hines.
Characteristics of the Stride Piano
Style
• Built on a steady, oom-pah, time-keeping left
hand bass.
• This was layered against the right hand part
which shifted the accents as it embellished
the tune.
Stride Piano
• These early stride pianists (Eubie Blake,
James P. Johnson, Earl Hines) helped preserve
a permanent spot for the piano in Jazz music.
• Their work influence future jazz pianists such
as Thomas “Fats” Waller, Art Tatum, and
Thelonius Monk.
“Jelly Roll” Morton
• Great Legend of the early Jazz movement
• He was a pianist and band leader
• Perfected the New Orleans Dixieland jazz style.
• Perfect example of this style is Black Bottom Stomp.
• Personal Tidbit- Jelly Roll was not shy about selfpromotion. What do I mean by self-promotion?
Mississippi-The River, Not the
State
• Jazz spread from New Orleans to the North up
the Mississippi River.
• Primarily Dixieland Jazz at first.
• This music was shocking to new listeners as
teens shocked their parents with their new dance
moves (the Charleston and the Black Bottom)
Dixieland Jazz
• Distinguishing Features:
– Small bands- little duplication of instruments
– March-like feeling, reliance on duple meter
– Front line of wind instruments, back line of string
instruments
– Embellish melodies of existing songs
– Use of riffs in a call and response format
Scat Singing
• Form of vocal improvisation on nonsense
syllables
• Brought to the forefront by Jazz legends like
Louis Armstrong
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbL9vr4Q
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Sectional Organization
• 1920s- Jazz began its evolution into a sectional
form, solo parts alternating with the ensemble.
• Usually segmented into 12 or 16-bar sections
• Improvised chorus usually lasted 32 bars
• “Hotter Than That” (Page 202-Section Map)
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAlrpx40UnE
Swing
• Swing refers to the special rhythmic character
that jazz musicians add to the music. Basically
this means the musicians would change the feel
of a traditional duple jazz tune to a triple feel.
• While Dixieland Jazz was still popular, around
1935, Swing became all the rage with teens.
Swing
• Fletcher Henderson- considered responsible
for the development of the swing band.
– Enlarged the jazz band with many duplications of
instruments in each section.
– Emphasis on solo playing
– Trading fours- trademark of swing bands.
The Big Band Era
• Swing was primarily dance music.
• It gave birth to swing bands, or big bands.
• They were more dance orchestras than pure
jazz bands.
The Big Band Era-Legend
• Benny Goodman- “The King of Swing”
• Was able to play the classics as well as jazz.
• His big band was highly successful
• What was Goodman’s main instrument
The Rise of the Saxophone
• Clarinet eventually gave way to saxophone as
the most popular solo jazz instrument
• This instrument raised many musicians to
stardom such as Lester Young, Count Basie,
and Charlie Parker.
Duke Ellington
• Most prominent big band innovator
• Made jazz a sophisticated art, giving it form
and substance
• His melodies are often chromaticincorporating tones from a musical scale
consisting entirely of half steps
Mary Lou Williams
• One of the few women able to break into the big band.
• Pianist, composer and arranger
• Joined a swing band (Twelve Clouds of Joy) where she
gained recognition and respect
• Wrote more than 350 compositions
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8I1Eq7-zfY
Bebop
• Bebop- a complex and sophisticated type of
improvised jazz- music for listening rather
than dancing
• Divided the jazz world into two separate
factions- swing vs. bebop
Bebop- Pioneers
• Dizzy Gillespie
• Charlie Parker
• They made melodies more chromatic and far
more complex.
• They helped declare jazz an art.
New Directions
• Fusion- combination of jazz and rock- now
includes electronic keyboards
• Not popular with Jazz purists because it
obscures two fundamental pillars of jazz:
basic forms and improvisation.
The Future of Jazz
• Like most forms of music- Jazz continues to
reinvent itself and adapt.
• This creates an enormous diversity of style
A Short History of Jazz
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whN5PXsr
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