Jazz History Midterm
Paul Whiteman
(1890 - 1967) •pop superstar, called the "King of Jazz" during 1920s. •From Denver, background in symphonic music, ragtime, and •Symphonic Jazz in 1920s •1926 - hired Bix Beiderbecke, used Fletcher Henderson arrangements •First to use "star vocalist" - Bing Crosby (there ain't no sweet man..) •"Changes" 1927 Swing and the Swing Era Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 - December 29, 1967) was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director and violinist. Leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, Whiteman produced recordings that were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz". Using a large ensemble and exploring many styles of music, Whiteman is perhaps best known for his blending of symphonic music and jazz, as typified by his 1924 commissioning and debut of George Gershwin's jazz-influenced "Rhapsody in Blue". Later, Whiteman's work on Symphonic Jazz influenced many jazz musicians either way - directly or indirectly - as diverse as Miles Davis, Gil Evans, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Wynton Marsalis and other modern artists.[1] Whiteman recorded many jazz and pop standards during his career, including "Wang Wang Blues", "Mississippi Mud", "Rhapsody in Blue", "Wonderful One", "Hot Lips (He's Got Hot Lips When He Plays Jazz)", "Mississippi Suite", and "Grand Canyon Suite". His popularity faded in the swing music era of the middle 1930s, and by the 1940s Whiteman was semi-retired from music. Whiteman's place in the history of early jazz is somewhat controversial.[2] Detractors suggest that Whiteman's ornately-orchestrated music was jazz in name only (lacking the genre's improvisational and emotional depth), and co-opted the innovations of black musicians.[2] Defenders note that Whiteman's fondness for jazz was genuine (he worked with black musicians as much as was feasible during an era of racial segregation),[2] that his bands included many of the era's most esteemed white jazz musicians, and argue that Whiteman's groups handled jazz admirably as part of a larger repertoire.[3] In his autobiography, Duke Ellington[4] declared, "Paul Whiteman was known as the King of Jazz, and no one as yet has come near carrying that title with more certainty and dignity."
Coleman Hawkins
(1904-1969) •in Fletcher Henderson's band from 1923-1934 •1934 - went to England on tour with Jack Hylton -ended up living in Europe for 5 years •1939 - using the 9 piece band he played w at Kelly's Stables (NYC), Hawkins in studio. •at end of session, records impromptu "Body and Soul" •commercial success (6 weeks on the pop charts) -Vertical, harmonic style, heavy vibrato, heavy timbre •See numerous later tenor and other versions (esp Coltrane) soloists of the swing era •Tenor saxophone in the 1930s -Coleman Hawkins -Lester Young •Also B. Webster
Art Tatum
(1909 - 1956) •born in Toledo, Ohio •partially blind all of his life •Came to to NY in 1932 while working with singer Adeliade Hall •instantly recognized as the ultimate virtuoso by the Harlem stride pianists -"God is in the House" - Fats Waller -One of the greatest piano techniques recorded •Respected by classical elite (Horowitz etc) •Harmonically super-advanced, deeply influential to every later generation of pianists, including today •Post-stride piano •Art Tatum •Teddy Wilson
Lester Young
(1909 - 1959) •Born in Mississippi, grew up on New Orleans -musical family, played a variety of instruments growing up -admirer of Frank Trumbauer •in the Midwest from 1927 -worked with King Oliver, Benny Moten, the Blue Devils -1933 - settled in Kansas City •Young was Basie's star soloist •Young's Style -melodic based, articulated or floated over chord changes at will (kept form) -very forward-looking time feel, much less tied to the beat than Hawkins (and many others) -introduced the cool, soft vibe that would be powerful in the 50s soloists of the swing era •Tenor saxophone in the 1930s -Coleman Hawkins -Lester Young •Also B. Webster
Billie Holiday
(1915-1959) •Born Eleanora Fagan •Very hard early (and late) life •1929 - moved to NY •1933- began singing, John Hammond invites her to sing in Benny Goodman's band •1935 - John Hammond arranged series of recording sessions around Billie that were directed by Teddy Wilson •drew from Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, and Louis Armstrong •did not scat, not too much blues, limited range (esp compared with Ella or later Sarah V.) •re-composed melodies brilliantly, improvising with the words and harmonies of the pieces, •her phrasing/rhythmic feel is so behind and independent of the beat -very hard to imitate!!!!!! •deeply emotional performer, unique and memorable Billie Holiday recorded Lewis Allen's "Strange Fruit," a vivid description of a lynching and the first widely noted song about racism in American popular music, for the small Commodore label after Columbia Records refused. The band included Jimmy McGlin, guitar; John Williams, bass; and Eddie Dougherty, drums. New York, April 1939. •Jazz Voice in the 1930s soloists of the swing era
Ella Fitzgerald
(1917 - 1996) •"Ella Fitzgerald is the irrepressible spirit of musical joy" (G. Giddins) •born in Virginia, raised in Yonkers, NY •sang in church as a child •sent to live w/ aunt in Harlem after her mother died -by 1934 - dropped out of school and living on streets •Nov. of 1934 - won Apollo amateur night •Chick Webb (1909 - 1939) hired her Benny Carter's recommendation, became her legal guardian, bought her clothes, etc. -"A Tisket a Tasket," "When I get low I get high" •Throughout career, recorded many ballads, novelties, many complete 'songbooks' - "Blue Skies," "A Fine Romance," "Cottontail." Ella Fitzgerald, the voice of exuberant joy and vivacious swing, made an effortless transition from swing to bop to mainstream pop, maintaining top echelon stardom until her death. She is pictured here at the peak of the Swing Era with drummer Bill Beason at the Savoy Ballroom, 1940. •Jazz Voice in the 1930s soloists of the swing era
5) Compare and contrast 1920s jazz with 1930s swing, including the multiple geographic locations, technologies, economic infrastructures, important figures and bands, and musical style and structures.
-swing was:§The features of swing include: Played by big bands made of instrumental sections of reeds, brass (trumpets/trombones), and rhythm (uno, drms, guitar, bass) Horn sections often in dialogue - interlocking or call and response •Derived from music of the 1920s •Retained basic rhythmic feel, bluesy phrasing, combination of improvisation and composition •Highly Commercial, much more pervasive in media and mainstream culture than 20s jazz •Close relation to dance, popular song, and mass media. •super high degree of professionalization and skill level •Basic components of modern jazz found in swing music •swing era bounded by stock market crash October 1929 (beginning of great depression) and end of WWII in 1945 •ruined banking system, millions unemployed, FDR elected in 1932,, New Deal Dust Bowl in mid 1930s (esp. 1934-36) displaced millions of families on American prairies. see Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men •like movies (Fred/Ginger etc), swing a counterstatement to reality, a distraction •Swing first American teenagers music •swing provided infrastructure for the production of many high level professional musicians - a skilled craft •WWII (1939-1945) -Many African American Heroes - "Double V" campaign •Symbol and product of African American Culture •Arrangements show strong influence of Afro-Amer. folk traditions and church music •Millions of Euro-Americans dancing and Afro-American dance to Afro-American music •Some Afro- American musicians became rich and famous (Ellington, Armstrong, Lunceford, C. Webb) •But country and system still highly unequal -Many Euro-Americans indifferent to creators of music/dance -Racially mixed bands not tolerated by sponsors, etc. -profits went unequally to Euro-Americans •Record industry nearly destroyed in depression •radio made music 'free' over the airways •Media concentration (including record companies) •wages declined, unemployment among musicians rose, large bands could be hired for relatively little - hence the big band (excess workers made labor intensive jobs possible) •Rise of cinema (remember no television yet) •popular songs at their peak - seemingly endless stream of new great songs by Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Ellington •Rise of the star singer near the end of the swing era
head
... Head: The first (and last) chorus of a tune, in which the song or melody is stated without improvisation or with minimal improvisation. In its broadest sense, the head of a piece of music is its main theme, particularly in jazz, where the term takes on a more specific set of connotations. In other types of music, "head" may refer to the first or most prominent section of a song. The term may, though obtusely, be applied to classical music, insofar as classical pieces generally bear similar thematic elements, but the preferred term in this instance is (main) theme or subject. The term "head" is most often used in jazz and may refer to the thematic melody, an instance of it in a performance of the song, or a more abstract compilation of ideas as to what the song is. It may also, though uncommonly, refer to the first section of the melody, or the theme riff in the melody. There is a slightly related musical direction, D.C. or da capo (Italian, from head), which means to go back to the very beginning of the sheet music and play to the end, typically ignoring all repeat signs.
Bubber Miley
...James Wesley "Bubber" Miley (April 3, 1903 - May 20, 1932) was an American early jazz trumpet and cornet player, specializing in the use of the plunger mute.[1]
Johnny Hodges
...John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1906 - May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932 and 1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946, when he was given the lead chair.[1] He is considered one of the definitive alto saxophones players of the big band era (alongside Benny Carter).[2] Hodges started playing with Lloyd Scott, Sidney Bechet, Lucky Roberts and Chick Webb. When Ellington wanted to expand his band in 1928, Ellington's clarinet player Barney Bigard recommended Hodges. His playing became one of the identifying voices of the Ellington orchestra. From 1951 to 1955, Hodges left the Duke to lead his own band, but returned shortly before Ellington's triumphant return to prominence - the orchestra's performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival.
The Cotton Club
...The Cotton Club was a New York City night club located first in the Harlem neighborhood on 142nd St & Lenox Ave from 1923 to 1935[1] and then for a brief period from 1936 to 1940 in the midtown Theater District. The club operated most notably during America's Prohibition Era. The club was a whites-only establishment even though it featured many of the most popular black entertainers of the era, including musicians Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, vocalists Adelaide Hall,[2][3] Ethel Waters, Avon Long, the Dandridge Sisters, the Will Vodery Choir, Berry Brothers, Nina Mae McKinney, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and dancers Bill Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers, Stepin Fetchit, and Earl Snakehips Tucker. During its heyday, the Cotton Club served as a hip meeting spot featuring regular "Celebrity Nights" on Sundays, which featured guests such as Jimmy Durante, George Gershwin, Sophie Tucker, Paul Robeson, Al Jolson, Mae West, Richard Rodgers, Irving Berlin, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Langston Hughes, Judy Garland, Moss Hart, and Mayor Jimmy Walker among others.
Fats Waller
...Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 - December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer, whose innovations to the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano, and whose best-known compositions, "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose", were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1984 and 1999.[1]
Willie "The Lion" Smith
...William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith (23 November 1893[1] - 18 April 1973), a.k.a. "The Lion", was an American jazz pianist and one of the masters of the stride style, usually grouped with James P. Johnson and Thomas "Fats" Waller as the three greatest practitioners of the genre from its Golden Age, c. 1920-1943. Willie "The Lion" Smith was one of the fathers of the stride piano style. During the 1920s he was a sort of underground figure, who gained a reputation as a hot piano player by providing the music for rent parties in the private homes and small clubs of Harlem. He recorded rarely during the 1920s, but was the first musical director of Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds and is the pianist on Crazy Blues, the first Blues record released in 1920. Smith was a major influence on Duke Ellington who later went on to write the songs "Portrait of the Lion"and "Second Portrait of the Lion" in honor of him. Smith didn't make any recordings under his own name until the mid-1930s, but played on several of Perry Bradford's sessions like Georgia Strutters, The Gulf Coast Seven and The Blue Rhythm Orchestra. Throughout his career he led few bands, preferring the life of a solo performer, but he remained very active in music until his death in 1973.
James P. Johnson
...ames P. Johnson (born James Price Johnson, also known as Jimmy Johnson; February 1, 1894 - November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of the stride style of jazz piano, he was one of the most important pianists who bridged the ragtime and jazz eras, and, with Jelly Roll Morton, one of the two most important catalysts in the evolution of ragtime piano into jazz. As such, he was a model for Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, and Fats Waller. Johnson composed many hit tunes including the theme song of the Roaring Twenties, "Charleston" and "If I Could be With You One Hour Tonight" and remained the acknowledged king of New York jazz pianists through most of the 1930s. Johnson's artistry, his significance in the subsequent development of jazz piano, and his large contribution to American musical theatre, are often overlooked, and as such, he has been referred to by Reed College musicologist David Schiff, as "The Invisible Pianist".
cutting contests
A cutting contest was a musical battle between various stride piano players from the 1920s to the 1940s, and to a lesser extent in improvisation contests on other jazz instruments during the swing era. Up to the present time, the expression cutting in jazz is sometimes used, sometimes facetiously, to claim a new musician's technical superiority over another. Cutting contests first had a more earnest meaning only among pianists, and later existed for their own sake. Originally, to "cut" another piano player meant to replace him at his job by outperforming him. This serious form of rivalry ended by the 1920s when pianists began acquiring more stable engagements, and basic ragtime and "fast shout" piano evolved into the more improvised stride style (a term that began to be used in the 1920s). "Cutting" came to mean victory at a pre-arranged contest. These contests were usually held at Harlem home "rent parties", where an entrance fee helped residents pay their rent. In the contests, often one pianist began a tune; then others took turns "cutting in", introducing increasingly more complex ideas, changing the key and/or tempo, and otherwise trying to outplay and out-style the previous musician(s). The great stride pianists James P. Johnson and his "rival", Willie "The Lion" Smith, often participated in cutting contests. However, they had so much respect for one another that their contests usually ended in draws, and they "cut in" only for humorous effect. Cutting contests continued into the 1940s. Art Tatum usually won the contests he engaged in, beating out such notable pianists as Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Albert Ammons, Harry Gibson, Pete Johnson, Marlowe, Clarence Profit, and Claude Hopkins.[1]
rent parties
A rent party (sometimes called a house party) is a social occasion where tenants hire a musician or band to play and pass the hat to raise money to pay their rent, originating in Harlem during the 1920s.[1] The rent party played a major role in the development of jazz and blues music. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the term skiffle means "rent party", indicating the informality of the occasion. Thus, the word became associated with informal music. However, many notable jazz musicians are associated with rent parties, including pianists Speckled Red, James P. Johnson, Willie "the Lion" Smith, and Fats Waller, although rent parties also featured bands as well. The OED also gives boogie as a term for rent party. Rent parties were often the location of so-called cutting contests, which involves jazz pianists taking turns at the piano, attempting to out-do each other.
Bix Beiderbecke
Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931), cornet 1926 - joins Jean Goldkette's orchestra in Detroit, meets Frankie Trumbauer (an influential C medoly saxophone player) 1927 - Trumbauer and Beiderbecke move to NY to join Paul Whiteman's orchestra 1930 - left Whiteman due to declining health (alcoholism) 1931 - died in his Queens apartment, 28 years old Frank Trumbauer (1901-1956), C melody saxophone Singing-type of improv, angular playing, a strong influence on Lester Young and Benny Carter Listen to: "Singin' the Blues" (1927) and "Riverboat Shuffle" (1927) Frank Trumbauer• Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931), cornet Bix and Tram and the Chicagoans 1926 - joins Jean Goldkette's orchestra in Detroit, meets Frankie Trumbauer (an influential C medoly saxophone player) 1927 - Trumbauer and Beiderbecke move to NY to join Paul Whiteman's orchestra 1930 - left Whiteman due to declining health (alcoholism) 1931 - died in his Queens apartment, 28 years old Frank Trumbauer (1901-1956), C melody saxophone Singing-type of improv, angular playing, a strong influence on Lester Young and Benny Carter Listen to: "Singin' the Blues" (1927) and "Riverboat Shuffle" (1927)
blues (genre, form, melodic vocabulary)
Blues § 20th century, secular, African American music genre orig. from the deep south § A three-part, 12 - bar form w/ characteristic harmonic structure (though other blues forms exist) § A melodic vocabulary/modal system that can be applied to any melodic/harmonic framework Blues Form Basic 12-Bar Blues Form I - IV - I - I IV - IV - I - I V - IV- I - I Thirty-Two-Bar AABA Pop Song Form Thirty-Two-Bar AABA Pop Song Form (cont'd) Cole Porter's What Is This Thing Called Love? (AABA form, 32 bars: lyrics below) A: What is this thing called love? This funny thing called love? A: Just who can solve its mystery? Why should it make a fool of me? B: I saw you there one wonderful day You took my heart and threw it away A: That's why I ask the lord in heaven above What is this thing called love? ABAC form Sometimes called "AB" form. No "bridge" exactly, but 1st half (B) usually ends in half cadence or distant key (reaches 'dead end'). Sometimes A sections played w/ different rhythmic groove than B and C sections (On Green Dolphin St, You Stepped out of a Dream). Examples: "White Christmas" (Berlin) "If I Were a Bell" (Loesser) "How Deep is the Ocean" "On Green Dolphin Street" •African American folk cultures leading to blues (country, classic/vaudeville, Chicago etc), gospel, ragtime, and eventually jazz
Cootie Williams
Cootie Williams, brought on board in the early 1930s to replace Bubber Miley, was one of Ellington's favorite musicians, using a plunger mute over a pixie mute to create otherworldly sounds. He's seen here with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, 1940.
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington (1899 - 1974) •super prolific - composed pop songs (I got it bad, in a sentimental mood, etc.), blues, ballets, opera, music for theatre, film suites, concertos.... •Bubber Miley (tpt), Sonny Greer (dms) "Tricky" Sam Nanton (tbn), later Johnny Hodges (alto, coming out of Bechet) •Cotton Club (1927) and "Jungle Music" Duke Ellington used his wiles to convince his musicians to do exactly what he wanted, but he treated Billy Strayhorn (right), a brilliant composer who was an essential figure in the post-1930s Ellington band, with unwavering friendship and respect. This picture dates from 1960, when they were in Paris to score the film Paris Blues. Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) and Billy Strayhorn (1915-1967) •A top band of 1930s NY •Ellington the composer/bandleader -Prolific composer (over 1,000 pieces) -The band as his instrument -profound individuality among members but blending into a unique and coherent unit -Cootie Williams (after Bubber Miley), Sam Nanton, Sonny Greer, Juan Tizol, Harry Carney, Ben Webster, Barny Bigard (ts, cl) Johnny Hodges -Long, large-scale suites •Ellington the songwriter -Difficult chromatic harmony and melodies •"Sophisticated Lady," "I've Got it Bad," "Prelude to a Kiss" •Strayhorn: Duke's musical partner -Bold, unexpected harmonic movements -Composer of dark ballads (Lush Life, Chelsea Bridge, Isfahan) Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 - May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of a jazz orchestra. He led his orchestra from 1923 until his death, his career spanning over 50 years.[1] Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s onward, and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. In the 1930s, his orchestra toured in Europe. Though widely considered to have been a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, Ellington embraced the phrase "beyond category" as a liberating principle, and referred to his music as part of the more general category of American Music, rather than to a musical genre such as jazz.[2] Some of the musicians who were members of Ellington's orchestra, such as saxophonist Johnny Hodges, are considered to be among the best players in jazz. Ellington melded them into the best-known orchestral unit in the history of jazz. Some members stayed with the orchestra for several decades. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington often composed specifically to feature the style and skills of his individual musicians. Often collaborating with others, Ellington wrote more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, with many of his works having become standards. Ellington also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, for example Juan Tizol's "Caravan", and "Perdido", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. After 1941, Ellington collaborated with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion.[3] With Strayhorn, he composed many extended compositions, or suites, as well as additional short pieces. Following an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival, in July 1956, Ellington and his orchestra enjoyed a major career revival and embarked on world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in several films, scoring several, and composed stage musicals. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and charisma, Ellington is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other more traditional musical genres. His reputation continued to rise after he died, and he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for music in 1999.[4]
Fletcher Henderson
Fletcher Henderson (1897 - 1952) •Pianist/bandleader/arranger •early 1920s played w/ classic blues singers Ethel Waters and Bessie Smith •1924 - landed the Roseland Ballroom gig - Bdway and 51st st. •Highly professionalized band - slick •Coleman Hawkins in the band, in 1924 added Louis Armstrong •Arranger Don Redman (1900 - 1964) •"Copenhagen" (1924) Fletcher Henderson, whose arrangements featuring call-and-response riffs helped to launch the Swing Era, gathered some of his all-stars for a reunion performance at Café Society, 1941. Left to right: J. C. Higginbotham, Buster Bailey, Sandy Williams (behind Bailey), Henderson (at piano), "Big Sid" Catlett, John Kirby, Henry Red Allen, Benny Carter, Russell Procope. [1]James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. (December 18, 1897 - December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical arrangers and his influence was vast. He was often known as Smack Henderson (apparently due to his college baseball hitting skills).[2] Fletcher is ranked along with Duke Ellington as one of the most influential arrangers and band leaders in jazz history, and helped bridge the gap between the dixieland and swing era.
Benny Goodman
Goodman's triumph at the Palomar Ballroom (8/21/1935) cited as birth of "swing era" -Made Goodman a blueprint for future stardom in U.S. (Elvis, etc.) •Defined essence of virtuosic jazz clarinet •established standards of technical perfection in big band jazz -Combined this performance level with the best arrangements by F. Henderson, B. Carter... •Also excelled as a classical performer, champion of new music •Led one of the first widely known interracial (small) groups featuring Gene Krupa, Teddy Wilson, and Lionel Hampton •Close association with entrepreneur John Hammond •Pianist Teddy Wilson (1912-1986) •Drummer Gene Krupa (1909-1973) •Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton (1908-2002) benny goodman quartet -The quartet led by Benny Goodman brought racial integration to the public and invaluable opportunities to its members. Within a few years, each musician—pianist Teddy Wilson, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and drummer Gene Krupa—had become a band-leader. New York's Paramount Theater, 1937. Teddy Wilson, the cool and elegant pianist with the Benny Goodman Quartet, briefly led his own big band in the late 1930s. Benny Goodman (wearing a sweater vest) converses with his bespectacled guitarist, Charlie Christian, during a 1940 recording session for Columbia Records. John Hammond is visible in profile in the left corner.
Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers (Chicago 1926) Jelly Roll Morton 1890 - 1941 •born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe (he was a Cr. of Color) •pianist, pimp, pool hustler, comedian, singer, composer, arranger •combined dances (habaneras, quadrilles) operas, military music, jazz, ragtime, convincing blues -Jazz needs the "Spanish Tinge" •traveled the country early on, hustling and performing •1922 - settled in Chicago •1923 - recorded w/white band New Orleans Rhythm Kings •The Red Hot Peppers •1926 - 7/8 member band, only recorded, did not perform, •balance btw composition and improvisation -"Dead Man Blues" - 12 bar blues but organized like marchform -"Black Bottom Stomp" - -Lomax/Morton Library of Congress recordings - 1938 (check these out!) Jelly Roll Morton, the seminal New Orleans pianist, composer, and bandleader, at a 1926 recording session. Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers (Chicago 1926) In Chicago, 1926, Jelly Roll Morton created his most enduring work and a pinnacle in the New Orleans style with a recording unit he called the Red Hot Peppers. Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (October 20, 1890 - July 10, 1941),[1] known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer who started his career in New Orleans, Louisiana. Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton is perhaps most notable as jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential spirit and characteristics when notated.[2] His composition "Jelly Roll Blues" was the first published jazz composition, in 1915. Morton is also notable for writing such standards as "King Porter Stomp", "Wolverine Blues", "Black Bottom Stomp", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", the last a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 20th century. Notorious for his arrogance and self-promotion as often as recognized in his day for his musical talents, Morton claimed to have invented jazz outright in 1902—much to the derision of later musicians and critics.[3] The jazz historian, musician, and composer Gunther Schuller says of Morton's "hyperbolic assertions" that there is "no proof to the contrary" and that Morton's "considerable accomplishments in themselves provide reasonable substantiation".[4] However, the scholar Katy Martin has argued that Morton's bragging was exaggerated by Alan Lomax in the book Mister Jelly Roll, and this portrayal has influenced public opinion and scholarship on Morton since.[5]
Joe "King" Oliver
Joe 'King' Oliver 1885-1938 •Born in Louisiana •played cornet in various brass bands •played in great orchestra led by trombonist Kid Ory -considered Bolden's heir, but Oliver known for using mutes, etc. •1918 - moved to Chicago, toured for 4 years •after touring, settled in Chicago in 1922 to play at Lincoln Gardens w. King Oliver's Creole jazz Band almost all N.O. musicians: Honore Dutery (tbn), Johnny Dodds (clarinet), Warren "Baby" Dodds (drums), Bill Johnson (banjo) •AND pianist Lil Hardin •Called Louis Armstrong up to play 2nd cornet , •1923 - recorded at Gennett studios •Listen: "Dippermouth Blues," "Snake Rag" •by 1935, gums were so bad that he couldn't play at all,
2) Which important improvising jazz soloists have we covered so far this semester? Who are important innovators form 1920s, and who are important innovators from the 1930s? What instruments do that play? What did they sound like?
King Oliver's Jazz Band pro-motes its latest OKeh Record in Chicago, 1923. Oliver stands tall at the center. Louis Armstrong, with one leg over the sign, sits beside pianist Lil Hardin, soon to be his wife.
Track Possibilities: Dead Man Blues by Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers Cake Walking Babies (From Home) by Clarence Williams' Blue Five Potato Head Blues by Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven esp. Armstrong's solo starting about 1:53 Singin' The Blues by Frankie Trumbauer& His Orchestra (featuring Bix Beiderbecke) Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing) by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra Jumpin' At The Woodside by Count Basie & His Orchestra East St. Louis Toodle-Oo by Duke Ellington & His Washingtonians Take the "A" Train by Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra Body And Soul by Coleman Hawkins And His Orchestra West End Blues by Louis Armstrong And His Hot Five AND - be able to tell Billie Holiday's voice from Ella Fitzgerald's. For this last one, use Youtube, if necessary...
Listening: 1) Listen any of the following tracks and identify as much of the following as possible: a.) the lead musician(s) and any important sidemen: b.) the instrumentation (more or less) c.) the year recorded (or decade/period) (d.) any important historical details: e.) the musical characteristics and (if possible) formal structure:
Louis Armstrong-
Louis Armstrong 1901-1971 •1913 - new years day: arrested for shooting blanks in air at midnight •sent to N.O. Colored Waifs Home for Boys - 8 months -received basic musical instruction from home's bandmaster, Peter Davis •Riverboad Years - repertory, reading, •With Oliver in Chicago • 1922 - Oliver calls him to Chicago •Armstrong played 2nd trumpet •Armstrong marries Oliver's pianist - Lil Hardin •1924 -Armstrong moves to NY to work w/ Fletcher Henderson -While in NY accompanies Bessie Smith, Ma Raineym and other blues singers Continued on next slide... •1925 - back to Chicago •late in 1925, Okeh invited him to make first records as leader •Hot Five: Armstrong, Lil Hardin (pno), Johnny Dodds (cl.) , and banjoist Johnny St. Cyr •Hot Seven recordings- same band plus Tuba and drums • "Hotter Than That" (hot five 1927) •Enter Earl Hines (1903 - 1983) p147 •1926 - w/ Carroll Dickerson Orchestra at Sunset Café in Chicago, meets Earl Hines (1903 - 1983) • listen: "Weather Bird" (L. armstrong and E. Hines duet) -Hot Five/Hot Seven -from new orleans
(blackface) minstrelsy
Minstrelsy, popular music, ballroom dance genres, "Art" music leading to ragtime and jazz •2) professionalized, "inauthentic" projections of Black cultures for entertainment, especially minstrelsy and its residuals Lasted about 100 years, most popular form of entertainment from 1830s - 1900 burnt cork, exaggerated costumes Firmly established stock characters (G.W Dixon/ Zip Coon, Thomas "Daddy" Rice/ Jim Crow, eventually Tambo, Bones, Mammy, etc.) banjo & fiddle music, types of buck (leading to tap) dancing During/after Civil War (1861 - 1865) Black Troupes performing, eventually more sophisticated songwriters like S. Foster - leading to early 20th cent. American popular songwriters like Irvin Berlin and Jerome Kern This genre encouraged/solidified racist stereotypes but also popularized Afro-American culture resonated into 20th century vaudeville and early film §1820s - 30s still developing, TDR and GWD §1843 - Dan Emmit forms "Virginia Minstrels," Blackface genre solidified, Emmit composes "I wish I was in Dixie" §Stephen Foster "Old Folks at Home" (1851) "Oh! Susanna" (1847) "Beautiful Dreamer" (1864) §Dozens of minstrel songs still heard today. §Style continued into vaudeville and early film §Stereotypes, jokes, marketing images and products, entertainment roles, etc. still lingering §Agency and resistance w/in roles? §Al Jolson: §http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgNMQNKfcCc
stride
NY Stride Piano •James P. Johnson (1894 - 1955) -Drawing from ragtime, A.A. folk/religious traditions like ring shout, and blues -Swung •Willie "The Lion" Smith, Fats Waller... •LH 'oom-pah' •Super virtuosic! •Rent parties •"Carolina Shout" •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDMOkgSdy3E •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKe6yH3ZwGo Harlem Stride Piano, stride piano, commonly abbreviated to stride, is a jazz piano style that was developed in the large cities of the East Coast, mainly New York, during the 1920s and 1930s. The left hand characteristically plays a four-beat pulse with a single bass note, octave, seventh or tenth interval on the first and third beats, and a chord on the second and fourth beats. Occasionally this pattern is reversed by placing the chord on the downbeat and bass note(s) on the upbeat. Unlike performers of the ragtime popularized by Scott Joplin and unlike much early jazz, stride players' left hands often leapt greater distances on the keyboard, and they played in a wider range of tempos and with a greater emphasis on improvisation.
3) How did 1920s jazz in New Orleans compare to the 1920s music in New York City? How does Chicago fit in?
New York in the 1920s, •New media, tin pan alley, song pluggers, the professional entertainment industry, and star vocalists •Prohibition (1920-1933) and speakeasies •Blurred boundaries: super-professionalized dance bands and jazzy symphonic music •The jazz band arranger and star jazz soloists •Harlem Renaissance •Stride piano and rent parties •Duke Ellington comes to town
Scott Joplin
One of the most important Ragtime Composers if not the most important. Took black marching band style, and creating a classical like piano style. That's what we know of being like ragtime today. Rhythm sounded African because it was syncopated Scott Joplin (/ˈdʒɒplɪn/; c. 1867/1868 - April 1, 1917) was an African-American composer and pianist. Joplin achieved fame for his ragtime compositions and was dubbed the "King of Ragtime Writers".[2] During his brief career, he wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag", became ragtime's first and most influential hit, and has been recognized as the archetypal rag.[3]
creoles of color
Some Creoles of color trained as classical musicians in nineteenth-century Louisiana. They would often study with players associated with the French Opera House, and some traveled to Paris to complete their studies. Creole composers of that time are discussed in Music and Some Highly Musical People, by James Monroe Trotter, and Nos Hommes et Notre Histoire, by Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes. New Orleans-area Creoles of Color were active in defining the earliest days of jazz.[11][12] George Baquet Sidney Bechet Barney Bigard Louis Nelson Delisle Freddie Keppard Jelly Roll Morton Manuel Perez Jimmy Palao Alphonse Picou Armand J. Piron Omer Simeon Lorenzo Tio
Savoy
The Savoy was modeled after Faggen's downtown venue, Roseland Ballroom.The Roseland was a swanky, mostly white swing dance club. With swing's rise to popularity and Harlem becoming a connected Black community, The Savoy opened at a perfect time, giving the rising talented and passionate Black dancers an equally beautiful venue. The Savoy's ballroom, which was 10,000 square feet in size, was on the second floor and a block long. It could hold up to 4,000 people. The interior was painted pink and the walls were mirrored.Colored lights danced on the sprung layered wood floor. In 1926, the Savoy contained a spacious lobby framing a huge, cut-glass chandelier and marble staircase.Leon James is quoted in Jazz Dance as saying "My first impression was that I had stepped into another world. I had been to other ballrooms, but this was different - much bigger, more glamour, real class . . "[7] The Savoy was extremely popular right from the start. A headline from the New York Age March 20, 1926, reads "Savoy Turns 2,000 Away On Opening Night - Crowds Pack Ball Room All Week".[2] The ballroom did not go dark a single night of the week. The Savoy was unique in having the constant presence of a skilled elite of the best Lindy Hoppers, known as "Savoy Lindy Hoppers". Occasionally, groups of dancers such Whitey's Lindy Hoppers turned professional and performed in Broadway and Hollywood productions.[8] Whitey turned out to be quite a successful agent, and in 1937, the Marx Brothers' movie A Day at the Races featured the group. Herbert White was a bouncer at the Savoy who was made floor manager in the early 30s. He was sometimes known as Mac, but with his ambition to scout dancers at the ballroom to form his own group, he became widely known as Whitey for the white streak of hair down the center of his head. He looked for dancers who were ". . . young, stylized, and, most of all, they had to have a beat, they had to swing".[9] The Savoy held a yearly dancing festival called the Harvest Moon Ball featuring lindy dancers. The first Ball was held in 1935, and the contestants introduced the Lindy Hop to Europe the next year. Unlike many ballrooms such as the Cotton Club, the Savoy always had a no-discrimination policy. Generally, the clientele was 85% black and 15% white, although sometimes there was an even 50/50 split. Lindy hop legend Frankie Manning noted that patrons were only judged on their dancing skills and not on the color of their skin: "One night somebody came over and said, ..
field hollers, work songs
What connects folk music in the US to Africa? •field hollers, work songs, melismatic singing styles The field holler or field call is a mostly historical type of vocal music sung by southern labourers to accompany their work, to communicate usefully or to vent feelings.[1] It differs from the collective work song in that it was sung solo, though early observers noted that a holler, or 'cry', might be echoed by other workers. Though commonly associated with cotton cultivation, the field holler was also sung by levee workers, and field hands in rice and sugar plantations. Field hollers are also known as corn-field hollers, water calls, and whoops. An early description is from 1853 and the first recordings are from the 1930s. The holler is closely related to the call and response of work songs, and arhoolies, to Afro-American and ultimately influenced strands of African American music, such as the blues, rhythm and blues, and spirituals.[2]
Original Dixieland Jazz Band
White N. Orleans players, went to NYC in January 1917 to play at Reisenweber's Restaurant The Original Dixieland Jazz Band popularized jazz (word and music) in Chicago and New York, and made the first jazz recording in 1917: Henry Ragas, Larry Shields, Eddie Edwards, Nick LaRocca, and Tony Sbarbaro. •Nick LaRocca (cornet), Eddie Edwards (tbn), Larry Shields (clarinet) Henry Ragas (pno), Tony Sbarbara (dms) •Recorded for Victor, first record sold hundreds of thousands of copies •huge popularity in US and Europe (went there in 1919) •other white bands recorded soon after •Listen: "Dixie Jass Band One-Step" •Original Dixieland Jazz Band (recorded 'jass' 1917)
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie (1904-1984) •From Redbank, NJ •Began touring with Theatrical Owners Booking Association (TOBA) •TOBA was a vaudeville circuit specializing in Afro American acts •Basie stranded in Kansas City by TOBA tour •Worked in KC territory band led by Benny Moton •1935- forms band from former Moton's Blue Devils •1937 - finally (back) to New York •Old Testament - "until 1950. Papa" Jo Jones (dms), Walter Page (bs), Freddie Green (guitar), Buck Clayton, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Lester Young, Herschel Evans (T sax) -J. Hammond involved again -"head arrangements" (layered, interlocking riffs), hard swinging rhythm section •New Testament - from 1953 on, super professionalized band, high in demand with star vocalists.... -Arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones (yes, THAT Q. Jones) -Arrangements by Thad Jones Count Basie could look suave and elegant, as in this 1939 portrait. Yet to his musicians he was "ol' Base," an unpretentious bandleader who made sure the music never traveled far from its core elements—the blues and the dance groove. The Benny Moten band, behind the Old Folks' Home in Kansas City. Moten died unexpectedly in 1935, leaving his best talent to be gathered in by Count Basie. This version of the band included Jimmy Rushing (far left), Basie (left, head on hand), Bennie's brother Bus (standing on bench), with Eddie Durham to his immediate right, and Moten (far right). Count Basie accomplished the most with the least effort. Here we see his good humor in action, at the Newport Jazz Festival, 1955. The Apollo Theater demanded the most of any band performing there, including the Count Basie band. Beneath drummer Jo Jones (on platform), Lester Young matches the exuberance of his playing by raising his tenor saxophone to its limit. William James "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 - April 26, 1984)[1] was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. His mother taught him to play the piano and he started performing in his teens. Dropping out of school, he learned to operate lights for vaudeville and to improvise accompaniment for silent films at a local movie theater in his home town of Red Bank, New Jersey. By 16 he increasingly played jazz piano at parties, resorts and other venues. In 1924 he went to Harlem, where his performing career expanded; he toured with groups to the major jazz cities of Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City. In 1929 he joined Bennie Moten's band in Kansas City, and played with them until Moten's death in 1935. That year Basie formed his own jazz orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others. Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison and singers Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams. Basie's theme songs were "One O'Clock Jump", developed in 1935 in the early days of his band, and later "April in Paris".
head arrangements
a roughly outlined musical arrangement that is played from memory and is often learned by ear.
6) Compare and contrast the styles and careers of: a. Duke Ellington Orchestra and Count Basie Orchestra
both important swing band leaders
blues
melancholic music of black American folk origin, typically in a twelve-bar sequence. It developed in the rural southern US toward the end of the 19th century, finding a wider audience in the 1940s as blacks migrated to the cities. This urban blues gave rise to rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
multi-strain (aka march form) vs. song form (AABA etc)
ragtime-• Ragtime (see The Sting) -Multi-strain form -Originally a brass music, now famous as piano genre, Scott Joplin the most known composer -Listen to J.R. Europe's band playing "Memphis Blues"
Teddy Wilson
soloists of the swing era •Post-stride piano •Art Tatum •Teddy Wilson Teddy Wilson, the cool and elegant pianist with the Benny Goodman Quartet, briefly led his own big band in the late 1930s.
"classic" blues vs. "country" blues
•country blues -Solo, male singer, guitar and maybe harmonica, see Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, etc •"classic" or vaudeville blues -Pro female singer, raunchy lyrics, professional accompanists (guitar maybe, often piano or organ, even harmonium various band settings, sometimes horn accomp) -See Mamie Smith, Bessie Smith, etc
