THE
HISTORY OF INSTRUMENTALJAZZ
I.RAGTIME
A.end of 1800’s to beginning of 1900’s (roughly 1896-1917)
B.the first African American music ever to achieve much commercial
Success and widespread popularity
C.primarily written for piano, also played by some Dixieland bands
-even the Sousa and Gilmore concert bands performed some Ragtime
music!
D.“Rag” music came to mean a piece of music with a distinctly syncopated
Feeling.
E. IMPORTANT RAGTIME COMPOSERS:
-Scott Joplin
see separate article about Joplin
-James Scott
F.Representative Ragtime pieces:
Maple Leaf Rag and Entertainer by Scott Joplin (listening example)
(This piece was created on a piano roll!)
- Elements of African-American music used in Ragtime are:
- The Sting movie (1972) used the Entertainer as the theme song!
I.Ragtime has very little improvisation.
In spite of his overwhelming success as a ragtime composer, Joplin had greater ambitions. He wanted to write ballets, operas, and serious works.
In 1903, Joplin’s first opera, A Guest of Honor, was produced in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was living at the time. The opera wasn’t a hit, so he continued composing piano marches and rags in order to earn a living.
Finally, in 1907, Joplin moved to New York City, where he spent the rest of his life. But these last years were not a happy period for him. Joplin had composed an opera called Treemonisha, and his burning ambition was to see it produced on stage. He gave up teaching and all other musical activities in order to make that happen. He spent every penny he had and, in 1915, was able to mount a simple “run through” without scenery and costumes and with himself at the piano.
By that time, he had ruined his health and had a breakdown. In late 1916, he ended up in a mental hospital. He died a few months later, on April 1, 1917.
For a long time, Joplin’s name was all but forgotten by the general public. But in 1972, there came the realization of his longed-for dream. His opera was produced in Atlanta, Georgia, and received good reviews. The title of the opera deals with a baby girl found under a tree by a woman named Monisha.
Joplin’s fame was really restored in 1974 with the film The Sting, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman. His music was adapted as the background score. One rag, “The Entertainer,” was used as the theme song and rose to the top of the pop charts. In 1974, Joplin rags accounted for three-quarters of the year’s best-selling classical albums! With new recordings of his music being issued, the name of Scott Joplin rose once again from obscurity. Today, he is regarded as one of America’s most gifted and original native composers.
II.DIXIELAND (early Jazz)
(youtube.com New Orleans Jazz Funeral for Kerwin James))
A.played 1900-mid 1920’s
B.very exciting to listen to-lots of fast notes, especially for clarinet!
C.roots in New Orleans
-plenty of employment opportunities in New Orleans for musicians
-e.g. river boats, funeral parades, dances, picnics, black fraternal
functions, parties, and nightclubs
D.New Orleans was unique in its opportunity for people of different
ethnic and racial backgrounds including French, Spanish, German,
Irish, and African to meet and communicate.
E..Instrumentalists performed a “collective style” of improvisation within
an ensemble.
-i.e. they improvised or “jammed” at the same time
-Each musician played a specific role in the ensemble
-the trumpet player might play the main melody/theme
-the clarinetist might play an array of notes above and below the
melody
-the trombonist might playchord progressions of the tune
F. IMPORTANT DIXIELAND MUSICIANS:
-Louis Armstrong(trumpet) , Joe”King” Oliver,
“Jelly Roll” Morton (piano)
Bix Beiderbecke(trumpet/cornet)
IMPORTANT DIXIELAND BANDS:
-King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, The Excelsior Brass Band,
The Onward Brass Band, The Original Dixieland Jazz Band,
Louis Armstrong’s “Hot Five” and “Hot Seven” Bands
G.Representative Dixieland pieces:
(1923)Dippermouth Blues-King Oliver, featuring Louis Armstrong
Dixie Jazz Band One-Step-Original Dixieland Jazz Band
IIISWING/BIG BAND
A.early 1930’s to 1945, especially 1935-1945
B.Jazz bands traveled throughout the U.S. and abroad
-entertained people in dance halls, ballrooms, nightclubs, concert venues
-live broadcasts from radio stations-very new!!
(This exposure made swing the MOST popular style in the history of jazz.)
C.Swing Era = Big Band Era (larger than Dixieland bands)
-9 or more musicians performed in Swing Ensembles
-musicians were added in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s
-5 saxophone players/2-5 trumpet players, 3-5 trombone players/
rhythm section: piano, bass, drums
also possibly: tuba, banjo, or guitar
D.More musicians = more WRITTEN parts(much less “improv.”
(too difficult to improvise with 12 or more musicians
E.Swing/Big Bands-played for lots of dances which made $$$.
F. IMPORTANT SWING/BIG BAND ERA BANDS:
-Duke Ellington Band, Fletcher Henderson Band, Benny Goodman
Band, Count Basie band, Gene Krupa Band, Lionel Hampton band,
Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey Bros. bands, Glenn Miller Band
G.Representative Swing/Big Band Era Pieces:
-One O’clock Jump – Count Basie Orchestra
-East St. Louis Toodle-O - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
-Wrappin’ It Up-Fletcher Henderson
IV.BEBOP 1945 - 1955
A.much smaller jazz “combos” –about 5 players/combo.
B.A group of musicians (i.e. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie,
Thelonious Monk, et. Al felt a need for more personal, creative
expression and music to LISTEN to rather than DANCE to
-The Big Bands had been limited in improvisation/personalization because of numbers of players
C.New York City-nurtured BeBop
-Clubs including Birdland, and Monroe’s Uptown House were the
right environment for BeBop
-here, musicians could experiment in “Jam sessions” with new harmonies, rhythms, melodies, and “lightning fast tempos” in improvisation
D. BeBop Characteristics:
-Music performed in UNISON on trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass, & drums (Note: much smaller group than the Big Band!)
-Music was comprised of “riffs and improvisation”
-the tempo was much FASTER than Big Band Swing music
-More dissonance (“sour” notes) was used in BeBop than in Swing
-Scat singing (singing on nonsence syllables) was used in BeBop
Ella Fitzgerald-most famous scat singer
E. IMPORTANT BEBOP ERA MUSICIANS:
-Saxophone: Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon
-Trumpet-Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Red Rodney
-Trombone-J.J. Johnson, Frank Rosolino
-Piano-Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson
-Guitar-tal Farlow,
-Bass-Ray Brown
-Drums-Max Roach, Kenny Clark
F.Representative BeBop Era Pieces:
-Ko-Ko- Charlie Parker
-Shaw ‘Nuff- Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker
VCOOL JAZZ(1949- mid 1950’s)
A.West Coast, esp. Los Angeles-primary location of Cool Jazz
B.Performed usually by white jazz artists living on the West Coast
(many East coast jazz artists were African American)
C. “Cool Jazz” was a much lighter, laid-back, jazzy sound than Bebop
-highly organized
-sophisticated arrangements in a classical approach
(inspired by Classical music-especially Bach, Handel and Vivaldi)
-balance of solos that were much shorter in length than in BeBop
D. Miles Davis’s 1949 ’Birth of the Cool” recording session
started “Cool Jazz”
-Instrumentation at this recording session was unusual:
1 trumpet, 1 trombone, 1 Fr. Horn, 1 tuba, 1 Alto Saxophone,
1 Baritone Saxophone, NO Tenor Saxophone, Piano,
Bass, and Drums (NO Guitar) (very small band)
(youtube.com “Miles Davis cool jazz”
E. IMPORTANT “COOL JAZZ” ERA MUSICIANS:
-Saxophone: Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz
-Trumpet-Miles Davis, Chet Baker
-Valve Trombone-Bob Brookmeyer
-Vibraphone-Milt Jackson
-Piano-Dave Brubeck
-Guitar-Jim Hall
-Bass-Red Mitchell
-Drums-Mel Lewis, Shelly Manne
F.Representative “Cool Jazz” Era Pieces:
-Bobplicity- Miles Davis
-Bernie’s Tune- Gerry Mulligan Quartet
VI.HARD BOP
A.1956- to the early 1960’s
-performed largely by players on the EAST coast
B.Grew out of the BeBop era around 1956, shortly after the death
of Charlie Parker
C.Hard Bop and Cool Jazz-
dominated Jazz music in the U.S. during the1950’s
D.Hard Bop musicians wrote original tunes that were arranged exactly
for their own groups.
-Characteristics of the music were:
-hard driving rhythms, original forms, unusual chord progressions
-black church music sounds could be heard
-heavier tone quality than lighter laid back “Cool Jazz”
-modal jazz was introduced by Miles Davis in 1958.
E.Hard Bop Instrumentation :1 Tenor Saxophone,1 Trumpet, Piano
Double Bass or electric, Drums (minimal # of musicians)
F. IMPORTANT “HARD BOP” STYLE MUSICIANS:
-Saxophone: Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane,
-Flute-Hubert Laws
-Trumpet-Miles Davis, Thad Jones, Woody Shaw
-Trombone-Chris Fuler, J.J. Johnson
-Organ-Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Shirley Scott
(1st woman jazzer mentioned!)
-Piano-Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock
-Guitar-Wes Mongomery
-Bass-Paul Chambers
-Drums-Art Blakey, Billy Higgins
G.Representative “Hard Bop” Style Pieces:
-Nica’s Dream-Horace Silver Quintet
-Moanin’ – Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
-Impressions- John Coltrane
VII.FUSION
A.Late 1960’s to the 1970’s
-represented many styles including: Funk, soul, Brazilian,
African,Cuban which were FUSED (joined) to create a new
Jazz style
-1969: Miles Davis recoreded In a Silent Wayfor Columbia records
This defined the new style of Fusion!
B.Fusion musicians experiemented with:
Electronic instruments, rock rhythms, collective improvisation,
Modal harmonies, long vamps and riffs
C.Heavily Blues Based Style
D.Miles Davis’ unusual instrumentation:
-3 electric keyboards, electric guitar, four percussionists
-distorted reverb effects
E.Important Fusion musicians who recorded with Miles Davis at the
First Fusion sessions & later formed their own jazz fusion groups:
Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, John LcLauglin
(youtube.com “HerbieHancock-JazzFusionCanteloupeIsland)
F. IMPORTANT “FUSION” STYLE MUSICIANS:
-Saxophone: Wayne Shorter, David Sanborn
-Trumpet-Miles Davis, Randy Brecker
-Vibraphone-Roy Ayers, Gary Burton
-Piano- Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea
-Guitar-Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin
-Bass-StanleyClark
-Drums-Tony Williams, Billy Cobham
G.Representative “Fusion” Style Pieces:
-Birdland- Weather Report
-The Spin- Yellowjackets
VIII.“MAINSTREAM” JAZZ (& BEYOND)
A.1980’s to the 1990’s
-represents a very diverse combination of musical styles
-BeBop and Swing revived and changed
B. WYNTON MARSALIS (b. 1961) is the leader of this movement
-remarkable young trumpet player
-equally outstanding atjazz and classical
-director of Jazz at Lincoln center in NYC.
C.“M-Base phenomenon (Motown)”
-term coined by Steve Coleman , a member of this Brooklyn-based
group who was born and raised in Chicago
-Avant-garde collective
-influenced byMotown, Rhythm and Blues, funk
D.Women instrumentalists finally a part of jazz!
e.g. Marian McPartland-NPR jazz radio show
Joanne Brackeen, Geri Allen, Renee Rosnes,
Carla Bley-All pianist/composers
E. IMPORTANT “MAINSTREAM JAZZ” MUSICIANS:
-Saxophone: Kenny “G”, Branford Marsalis
-Trumpet-Wynton Marsalis, Wallace Roney, Roy Hargrove
-Trombone-Wycliffe Gordon
-Piano- Marcus Roberts, Stephen Scott
-Guitar-Kevin Eubanks, Fareed Haque, Mark Whitfield
-Bass-Reginald Veal, Peter Washington
-Drums-Jeff “Tain” Watts, Carl Allen, Rony Reedus
F.Representative “Mainstream Jazz” Pieces:
-Dolphy’s Dance- Geri Allen