Roots of Jazz

Early Jazz: Jazz arose from varied roots, including white European music (marches, hymns, dances), Creole/Caribbean (melodies, instrumentation and rhythms), African (rhythms, vocal characteristics).  There are many styles of jazz with a few characteristics in common: the styles use blue notes and improvisation to greater or lesser degrees. 

á          Blues: earliest ÒformÓ of jazz (or immediate antecedent). Originates in field holler, traceable back to Africa.

á          A field holler is a type of work song: premise is that rhythmic work is easier if accompanied by rhythmic music; therefore work songs were specialized

á          Field holler was solo song, sung by lone worker in field, river boat, or kitchen

á          Melodic contour: begins high and loud, swoops down (glissando) to softer, low murmuring; has inflected pitches, e.g. 3rd can be major or minor; also 7th; 5th and sometimes 6th can also be ambiguous

á          Lining Out or Call-and-Response: borrowed from religious songs where preacher sings psalm text with blues-inflected notes, congregation sings back

á          Blues harmonic progression: 12 bars (Ò12-Bar BluesÓ):

                           measure               1  2  3  4  5   6  7  8  9    10    11     12  

                           harmony               I               IV     I      V    IV     I

á          Texts usually about work or love gone wrong.  Each stanza has three lines, first and second lines the same, third line different

á          Distinctions between Rural, Classic, and Urban Blues

á          Rural is earliest type, closely associated with work songs and rural texts; usually performer is self-accompanied on guitar or banjo

á          Classic is more Òprofessional,Ó usually in clubs for entertainment; often accompanied by a band, e.g. Lost Your Head Blues

á          Urban is more commercially-influenced; often changed the 12-bar format to more standard 16 bars; more complex harmony e.g. St. Louis Blues by W.C. Handy. 

á          The Blues were sometimes by white performers and/or composed and written out

á          Improvisation in blues was facilitated by several things including:

á          Text only took about 2 1/2 bars of every 4, leaving 1 1/2 for improvisation; often filled with scat (vocal syllables) or instrumental improvisation

á          Melodies could be embellished with scoops, blue notes

á          New Orleans Style Jazz: arose from popularity of marches and marching bands

á          Immobile instruments were added to marching bands, e.g. piano, string bass; formed combos of five to seven players

á          New Orleans had lots of venues: gambling establishments, dance halls, bordellos; famous ÒRed-Light DistrictÓ called Storyville 

á          March rhythms were ÒraggedÓ in performance (syncopated dance/rag rhythms)

á          New Orleans style is primarily instrumental; usually a pre-composed melody played by lead cornet; clarinet and trombone improvise lines of contrapuntal accompaniment

á          Jellyroll Morton (pianist) was best known New Orleans musician, sometimes called first pure jazz composer

á          Louis Armstrong (1900-1971) also a New Orleans musician in his early career; his band was called ÒThe Hot FiveÓ

á          Chicago Jazz: in the 20Õs many Jazz musicians moved out of New Orleans and up Mississippi River, some to St. Louis, others to Chicago.  Chicago had speakeasies where they could play; also recording opportunities. 

á          White musicians imitated New Orleans style; the imitation was known as Dixieland; eventually all early jazz became known by this title. Differences between Chicago-Style and New Orleans Style Dixieland:

á          Chicago contained Sax,

á          Replaced banjo with guitar;

á          More driving tempos

á          Piano Jazz: In addition to participating in bands, pianists developed some independent styles, e.g. boogie-woogie and stride

á          Boogie-woogie: an improvised successor to Ragtime: syncopated melody in right hand with characteristic rhythmic ostinato in left. 

á          Stride: regular left hand like ragtime; LH plays low notes on 1 and 3, chords on 2 and 4. improvised melody in right hand.  

á          ÒSweetÓ Jazz: a white version of jazz; Paul Whiteman Band in New York was prototype

á          A dilution of jazz:  arrangements were written out; there was little if any improvisation, but using jazz instrumentation and idioms including syncopation. 

á          Symphonic Jazz

á          First attempts to put jazz in concert hall are by George Gershwin; in 1923 he took part in ÒAn Experiment in Modern Music,Ó a NY concert. He wrote Rhapsody in Blue for this event.  Ferde GrofŽ (a jazz arranger for the Paul Whiteman Band) did orchestration; reinforced ÒjazzinessÓ of the piece.

á          Jazz was also big in Europe, esp. Paris, for a short while: several French composers emulated the style, or incorporated elements from jazz (instrumentation, blue notes) in otherwise ÒlegitÓ pieces (MilhaudÕs Creation)

Jazz from the 30Õs forward

á          Swing (Big Band)

á          Bands had 12-18 players: brass, reeds, and rhythm

á          ÒSwingÓ refers to a style (uneven eighths), also mood

á          Much of the repertoire was Tin Pan Alley songs or Contrafacts: songs composed over the same harmonic line as another song

á          Bands were large, improvisation was too chaotic; used arrangements instead

á          Fletcher Henderson: (black) arranger of 20Õs and 30Õs whose arrangements are still used; included some room for improvisation

á          Count Basie: tighter arrangements but still with improvisation

á          Benny Goodman: (white) clarinetist; used Henderson arrangements a lot (the King of Swing)

á          Duke Ellington (1899-1974): started in New York in the early 20Õs, played New Orleans Jazz at Cotton Club in Harlem.  White clientele in a segregated age; there was some demand for Òjungle music,Ó but they also appreciated his innovations, e.g. very advanced harmony including bitonality; very chromatic melodies etc.

á          Late 30Õs and 40Õs: singers often joined swing bands; gradually ÒbandÓ instrumentation changed to more strings, less brass.  Jazzy style in vocals was preserved, and lots of scat singing (vocal improvisation on non-lexical syllables). 

á          Bebop ÒThe first truly Modern JazzÓ and a reaction against ÒrehearsedÓ swing jazz

á          Virtuosic instrumental improvisation; a return to the ideals of early jazz 

á          Combos had tpt, sax, bass, piano, drums

á          Form: usually trumpet and sax played opening together, often a known melody, then took turns improvising (competitively)

á          Main artists: Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet) and Charlie (ÒBirdÓ) Parker (alto sax)