The History of Jazz

1. The History of Jazz A Truly “American” Art

2. 1900-1950 Jazz Styles

3. Roots of jazz • Jazz embodies the notion of America because, like America, it is a melding pot of many styles, cultures, arts, etc. • Early Jazz blended elements from many musical cultures (west Africa, America, Europe)

4. American Slavery • A majority of America’s slaves originally came from west Africa • An are that today includes Ghana, Nigeria, and several other countries

5. West African Music Many west African musical traits are prevalent in jazz Such elements include; Improvisation Drumming Percussive sounds Complex Rhythms http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3VAkeWvKBE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41F9jpWmS4U

6. The “Call and Response” technique is a crucial part of west African music as well as early jazz Call and response occurs when a leader states a musical idea and that idea is then echoed by the group This can also occur between two groups Or between vocalists and instruments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpUkS9-ObDM&list=PL8FE4BA8BE60BCF13

7. The Spiritual • When the peoples of west Africa were brought to the Americas as slaves, they were often separated from their families and tribes. • In most cases they were forced to work in extremely difficult conditions on southern plantations • Music was often used as a means of entertainment or diversion from the rigors of the day

8. The Spiritual • Like most early African-American music, spirituals were shared through oral tradition and passed along by word of mouth

9. Double entendre • All spirituals, on the surface, reference some sacred idea. • The river Jordan • Battle of Jericho • Elijah’s Chariot • Etc. • However, these spirituals often contained underlying messages of freedom. • It has been speculated that they were used to communicate covertly amongst one another even when guards were present • Often these messages were about escape attempts/opportunities, the “underground railroad,” etc.

10. Two spirituals • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg_8L96E3eU • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlHZbCxUEt • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPZuWzZvoYQ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks7fLAwzVxY Wade in the Water Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljup8cIRzIk • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVyBjqY3r0k Swing Low Sweet Chariot

12. Caucasian influences • Early Jazz was also influenced by music of “white” America. These influences included; • Hymns • Popular Songs • Folk Tunes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZgOKLFuDOU&list=PLC4D46DBF90A1D35A • Dances • Marches • Piano Music

13. The American Band tradition • The American band tradition played a HUGE role in the development of early jazz • Bands – both black and white – played important roles in American life • Virtually every town and village had a band to perform at fairs, picnics, parades, political rallies, dances, and carnivals • Most of the instruments used in these village bands were marching band instruments • Trumpet • Trombone • Clarinet • Tuba • Drums • These same instruments were the foundation of early jazz bands

14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNhC2Bd-ML8 Philadelphia German Brass Band Olympia Brass Band New Orleans

15. Elements of Jazz • Like other music of the 20th century, jazz is too diverse and complex to be defined by any single formula. We’ll now consider some of the common elements in jazz prior to 1950. • Tone Color • Improvisation • Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony

16. Tone Color • Jazz is generally played by a small group (combo) of 3-8 players • Or by a “big band” of 10-15 • The heart of any jazz ensemble is the Rhythm Section. • The rhythm section always contains a piano, and a plucked bass. • It may also contain drums and sometimes guitar

17. Tone Color • Jazz puts musical emphasis on woodwind and brass instruments rather than the bowed strings of the symphonic orchestra. • Compared with classical musicians, who strive for an “Ideal” sound, jazz performers aim for more individuality of sound and tone color • For example it is usually easier to distinguish between two jazz trumpet players than between two “classical” trumpeters

18. Tone Color • Although jazz is instrumental at its core, players try to match the personal quality of singing • It is hard to classify these distinct sounds but they often have to do with how notes are attacked or released and with how the vibrato is used. • Many of these inflections might be described as “smears,” “scoops,” “falloffs,” and “shakes”

19. Improvisation • Improvisation is the very heart of jazz music • The idea that the musician is creating new music live and on-the-spot is electrifying • Of course, not all jazz is improvised. Most songs alternate between pre-composed and improvised sections • Most jazz improvisation is based off of the “Theme and Variation” idea • A musical theme or melody is presented then the player will proceed to make his own improvised variation

20. Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony • Syncopation and rhythmicswingare the two most distinctive features of jazz • Syncopation = results when accented notes come between beats • Swing = notes that are normally even or equal are played in an uneven manner • Also, in jazz, there are usually 4 beats per measure with stress applied to beats 2 & 4 • 1-2-3-4

21. Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony • Jazz melodies are flexible in pitch as well as rhythm • A performer must deviate from the notated rhythms to get a true jazz feel • They use a major scale but often lower of flatten the 3rd, 5th, and/or 7th notes • These “bent” or “blue” notes came from the blues genre • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noBvKz0YQm0

22. Ragtime

23. Ragtime • Ragtime is a style of composed piano music that flourished from the 1890s to about 1915. • It was developed primarily by African-American pianists who traveled in the midwest and south playing in saloons and dance halls. • It became nationally popular and reached millions shortly after its creation because of sheet music sales, player, pianos, ragtime songs, and arrangements for dance and marching bands

24. Player Pianos

25. Ragtime • Ragtime piano music is usually in a duple meter (2 beats per measure) and performed at a moderate march tempo • The player’s right hand plays a highly syncopated melody • The left hand steadily maintains the beat with an “oom-pah” style accompaniment • Ragtime combines the forms of European marches and dances with the rhythms of African American folk music • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPmruHc4S9Q

26. Scott Joplin (1868-1917) • The “King of Ragtime” • Joplin was a classically trained pianist and composer whose father had been a slave • Along with countless rags, he also wrote a ballet and 2 operas • His most famous works are The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag • Maple Leaf Rag was named after the saloon in Sedalia, Missouri, where he worked • After it was published in 1899, it sold hundreds of thousands of copies • This allowed Joplin to quit his saloon job and move to St. Louis, where he taught piano and composed full-time

27. Scott Joplin • In 1909, Joplin settled in New York for the last years of his life • This was a bleak period for him • His health was failing and he was unsuccessful in desperate attempts to get a professional production of his opera Treemonisha(1911) • Finally, in 1915, he produced the opera himself in Harlem without scenery, costumes, or orchestra • The failure of this endeavour led to a mental and physical breakdown • He was confined to a hospital in 1916 and died the following year

28. Maple Leaf Rag • A classic example of ragtime, and one of Joplin’s most famous • It is in the standard ragtime form • AA BB A CC DD • Each section is 16 measures in length • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9uR9IPBX8I

29. The blues

30. Blues • The blues is a style that predominately grew out of the rural south and has its roots in spirituals and work songs • The blues is a musical form as well as a poetic form • Lyrics almost always consist of several three-line stanzas AAB • a: I’m going to leave baby, ain’t going to say goodbye • a: I’m going to leave baby, ain’t going to say goodbye • b: But I’ll write you and tell you the reason why

31. Blues • Blues singers have a special style of performance involving “bent” notes, microtonal shadings, and vocal scoops and slides • Jazz musicians would imitate this style with their instruments • Blues tends to utilize intensely personal lyrics • They often contain sexual references and deal with pain, betrayal, desertion, and unrequited love

32. Lost your head blues (1926) by Bessie Smith • Bessie Smith (1894-1937) was known as the “Empress of Blues” • She was the most famous blues singer of the 20s and her “Lost your head blues” typifies the genre • The lyrics express the feelings of a woman who plans to leave her man because she’s “been treated wrong” • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1oKhVaKBRE • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fk2prKnYnI • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTVUvHiuaGw

33. Dixieland New Orleans Style

34. New Orleans Style • From 1900-1917, jazz was rapidly developing in a number of US cities, but the major center was New Orleans • The home of such important jazz musicians as Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton, Joseph “King” Oliver, and Louis Armstrong aka “Satchmo”

35. New Orleans • The city was a major port and trade hub. Therefor, it thrived both culturally and commercially • It had an extremely diverse population which included people many ancestries • African, French, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Italian, and Cuban.

36. New Orleans • This diversity of population mirrored in the arts as well • New Orleans had many genres of thriving music such as opera, chamber, folk, popular, and sacred music

37. Storyville • The hotbed of jazz activity in New Orleans was the “Storyville” district • This was a Red-light district of brothels, gambling joints, saloons, and dance halls. • These types of establishments often employed a piano player or small band • Not only did Storyville provide employment, it provided a place without constraints where musicians could innovate and experiment

38. Downfall of Storyville • In 1917, the Navy Department ordered that Storyville be shut down • After this the center of jazz shifted to cities like Chicago, Kansas City, and New York

39. New Orleans Style “Dixieland” • Dixieland was typically played by a small group of 5-8 performers • The melodic instruments called the “Front Line” included the • Trumpet, Clarinet, and Trombone • These players would improvise several contrasting melodies at once • This resulted in a polyphonic type of music • This collective improvisation is distinctly New Orleans Style

40. The front line instruments were supported by a rhythm section that clearly marked the beat and provided a background of chords • The section usually included drums, chordal instruments (banjo, guitar, piano), and a single low instrument (bass or tuba)

41. Dippermouth Blues (1923)by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band • Even though it is not in the blues genre it borrows the common chord progression of the blues • In this piece you will hear many instances of “Collective Improvisation” as well as solo improvisation • The trumpet solo, played by Joe “King” Oliver utilizes many “blue” or lowered tones and swinging syncopation • His solo style will be imitated by many jazz musicians to come • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwpriGltf9g

42. Louis Armstrong “Satchmo” • As both a trumpeter and singer, Armstrong (1901-1971) had a worldwide impact on jazz • He was born in the poor black section of New Orleans • He learned to play the trumpet in a reformatory (where he was sent at the age of 13 for shooting a gun into the air at New Years) • After a year of confinement he was playing the local honky-tonks at night • King Oliver took an interest in him and gave him lessons and eventually added him to his band

43. Armstrong was one of the all-time great jazz improvisers • He was able to invent extraordinary solos and transform ordinary tunes into swinging melodies • He also revealed new dimension of the trumpet • He demonstrated that it could be played even higher than ever thought possible • He would often “rip” up to extremely high notes

44. Scat Singing • Armstrong also introduced the world to Scat-Singing • Vocalization of a melody with nonsense syllables • “dah, bah, doo, bop, etc.” • His gravel throated voice was also one of the most unique voices of all time • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRjT4h7F_jw • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmfeKUNDDYs

45. Swing

46. Swing • A new jazz style that developed around the 20s and flourished from 1935-1945 • This decade was called the “Swing Era” • Swing was played mainly by big bands, whose powerful sounds could fill a large dance hall or ballroom • During the 30’s and 40’s the swing was as influential as rock became in the 50’s and 60’s

47. Swing • Swing became a truly “popular” music, reaching millions of people through live performance, tv, and radio • Benny Goodman’s band was heard weekly on a radio program called “Lets Dance” • The kind of music associated with honky-tonks and brothels had achieved a new respect • This was symbolized by Benny Goodman’s historic jazz concert at Carnegie Hall in 1936

48. Repeal of Prohibition In 1933 the 21st amendment repealed the 18th, which outlawed alcohol This renewed liberty led to an explosion of dancehalls, ballrooms, and saloons In these places, swing music and swing dancing flourished.

49. Swing Bands • Swing bands were large ensembles “big bands” of 12-15 musicians • They were often named after their leaders • Duke Ellington • Benny Goodman • Count Basie • Glenn Miller • Etc.

50. Famous Singers of the Swing Era Billie Holiday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnlTHvJBeP0 Ella Fitzgerald Frank Sinatra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLC5AGGHLz0