MU275 Midterm
Comping
A pianist's accompaniment for a soloist. --the pianist improvises chords in a pitch range this is easy to hear --when a pianist comps for himself, he uses his left hand to comp and his right hand to play melodic lines
Billy Strayhorn
A pianist/composer/arranger that collaborated with Duke Ellington.
Earl Hines
- A pianist in Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s. -He recorded with Louis Armstrong (he is partially popular by association). -He gained popularity in the 1930s through radio broadcasts and tours with a big band. -He played with great physical forceness, frequently breaking keys: 'brassy roughness' -He is best associated with trumpet-style piano playing (Hines approach), although Jelly Roll Morton did this, too. -He introduces jarring ideas mid-solo, like stride style, horn-like lines, flowery embellishments, solo breaks for the right hand, and double-timing.
Boogie Woogie
A style of piano playing in which there are eight pulses to a measure in the left-hand figures (aka "eight to the bar"). -This was popular from the 1910s to the 1940s. -Pianists that play in this style include Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, Cow Cow Davenport, and Meade Lux Lewis.
Percussionist
a drummer whose purpose is to play coloristically, rather than to keep time.
melody
a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity
Wordless Vocal
aka Instrumentalized Voice --A vocalization that is just sound, not speech. --Apparent in Transbluency by Duke Ellington
harmony
the use of simultaneous notes, or chords. the way different sounds blends at one time.
Benny Goodman
-A white jazz clarinetist and bandleader -The self-proclaimed King of Swing
History of New Orleans
-The city was built by France in 1718. -In 1719, 147 black slaves were brought to New Orleans. By 1722, free blacks were present in the city. -Louisiana was given to Spain in 1722. Spain continued to rule even thought they ceded the land back to France in 1801. In 1803, the United States bought Louisiana from France. -It was under Spanish rule that free blacks became their own class. -But, after a slave revolt in Haiti led to a massive influx of free blacks, making free blacks the majority in the city, the whites set up "black codes" which eliminated the favored status of free blacks. Free blacks were then seen as Negros.
Bix Beiderbecke
-White cornet player. -1st recorded in 1924 with the Wolverine Orchestra in 1927. -Became a featured soloist or the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1927. -Often worked with saxophonist Frankie Trambauer (such as on "Singin' the Blues").
Duke Ellington
-Wrote musical compositions specifically for musicians in his band. -For the first three decades of his musical career, Ellington played piano in the stride style of James P. Johnson. Afterwards, he developed his own style. -He wrote short instrumentals, which often served as musical portraits (portraits of famous people, of places, and of sensations [transbluency]). -wrote longer pieces and, thus, is credited with introducing "extended works" to jazz -composed in the "growl style" because New York City clubs wanted an exotic "jungle sound" and because he was influenced by New Orleans jazz.
Louis Armstrong
-a trumpeter that first played in Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. -his most significant recordings date from 1927 and 1928, when he played with his Hot Fives and Hot Sevens. --these bands included trombonist Kid Ory and clarinetist Johnny Dodds. -He was one of the first to stress solo improvisation rather than collective improvisation. -He abandoned the stiffness of ragtime. He employed swinging eighth notes and played behind the beat. -He was the first to break away from the melody while improvising. -He popularized scat singing.
stride style
-a type of piano playing with its roots in ragtime, in which the musician plays percussive figures with his left hand and melodic embellishments with his right -popularized by Fats Waller and James P. Johnson (The Father of Stride)
Characteristics of Early Forms of Jazz
-featured collective improvisation with all musicians playing at the same time. -musicians had set roles: --the trumpet played melody --the clarinet decorated the trumpet's melody. this is called obbligato. --the trombone outlined chord pitches by filling in low-pitched harmony notes
Jelly Roll Morton
-pianist and composer from New Orleans who played both ragtime and jazz -associated with the development of swinging eighth notes -his piano-playing often fulfilled the roles of a trumpet, a clarinet, and a trombone. his piano solos featured horn-like lines. -the best known band he led was the Red Hot Peppers -he was the most important jazz composer; other bands covered his compositions -he claims to have invented jazz -his arranging practices with his small group were frequently implemented during the Big Band Era
improvise
-to compose and perform simultaneously --aka ad lib, ride, jam -most jazz is guided by musicians agreeing beforehand to maintain a given tempo, key, and progression of accompaniment chords. the improvised parts are intended to be compatible with these set factors -improvised lines are not a variation of the introductory melody -musicians began to improvise to fill out the sound when small bands performed music written for large bands
Factors that Contributed to the Birth of Jazz
-work songs -African American religious music -expressive variations in pitch and voice quality used in New Orleans street vendors -the blues, a genre marked by simple chord progressions and repetitive lyrics -European music -the popularity of live music, which was sponsored by churches, social clubs, fire departments, and plantation owners -military bands -ragtime-- music arranged similar to military marches with rhythms borrowed from African American banjo music --ragtime features syncopation. it is 1890s written piano music, often associated with Scott Joplin. there is limited improvisation and no swing feeling. -New Orleans party atmosphere
How Jazz Differed from Ragtime, Blues, and Brass Band Music
1.) Much of each performance was improvised. 2.) The music was looser, as it had a more relaxed rhythmic, or "swing," feeling. 3.) The music was increasingly complex, as a result of improvisation.
Three Essential Musical Practices that Caused the Birth of Jazz
1.) The practice of taking liberties with the melodies and accompaniments of tunes as they are being performed (now known as improvisation). 2.) The practice of taking liberties with tone qualities, adding rough and raspy sounds (dirty tone). 3.) New African-American genres: ragtime, blues.
Three Manipulations That Might Throw Off a Listener's Counting of the Beats
1.) absence of a steady tempo, aka rubato. 2.) double-timing-- when a member of a band starts playing twice as many notes as he previously had been, which givens the illusion that the tempo has doubled. ex: switching from quarter notes to eighth notes 3.) solo break-- when the accompaniment chords stop as a player solos; may appear as though the tempo is suspended.
Factors that Contribute to Swing Feeling
1.) constant tempo-- there is always a steady beat, although musicians play around the beat by playing slightly before or slightly after. 2.) close group sound-- members attain synchronization, even if all members are not playing the same notes 3.) rhythmic lilt, aka groove 4.) spirit! 4.) syncopated rhythm-- off-beat accenting, swinging eighth notes
Blueprint for Jazz Performances
1.) horns play a memorized melody that all musicians know 2.) piano, bass, and drums (rhythm section) join in 3.) piano, bass, and drums play accompaniment while horns improvise 4.) same melody from part 1 may be played again
Ways African Tastes and Traditions Were Apparent in U.S. Culture
1.) rhythmic, physical children's games that involve playing the body as a drum; highly syncopated games. 2.) African American church songs (which may be modified versions of European hymns) 3.) idiosyncrasies of speech patterns --rhythmic aspects caused by placing emphasis on syllables that wouldn't receive emphasis if spoken by an Anglo-American. --the fusing of words together in speech 4.) public performances of African music 5.) popularity of blues singing 6.) popularity of music from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Aspects of Jazz
1.) syncopation-- provocative rhythms that contribute to swing feeling 2.) improvisation 3.) harmony 4.) choice of instruments-- brass section and guitar and bass derived from European music, banjo derived from Africa. 5.) prominent role of percussion 6.) rough sounds, buzzes, ringing: "growl style" 7.) extensive repetition of brief patterns, aka ostinato 8.) polyrhythms-- the sounding of different rhythms at the same time; rhythmic contrast 9.) decoration of tones through changes in pitch and vibrato 10.) blue note-- out-of-tune 3rd of 7th 11.) call and response
Four Levels of Reading and Writing Music
1.) the ability to read music accurately if allowed to practice or look it over ahead of time 2.) sight reading-- the ability to play a piece of music correctly the first time it is seen 3.) the ability to compose and original tune and correctly notate it 4.) the ability to listen to someone else's music and notate it
Bass-Playing Techniques
1.) walking bass-- playing the 2nd and 4th notes of each measure harder than the 1st and 3rd, which creates a rising and falling pattern. this is a timekeeping style. 2.) double stop-- plucking two strings on the bass at the same time 3.) arco-- drawing a bow across the strings of the bass 4.) pizzicato-- plucking the bass
32-bar form
A form that features four sections, which are each eight measures long. Arrangement: A, A, B, A Example: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Sidney Bechet
A clarinetist and saxophonist -Often double-timed during solos; became known as a soloist rather than an ensemble player. -Introduce long, swooping lead-ins, which were imitated by Johnny Hodges (who played with Duke Ellington) and John Coltrane.
Johnny Dodds
A clarinetist known for his vibrato and his solo style, which feature swooping pitch bends that sometimes dwelled on a single blue note.
Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (1920s)
A group of black musicians led by trumpeter Joe "King" Oliver. The band included trumpeter Louis Armstrong, clarinetist Johnny Dodds, and drummer Warren Dodds. The band played in Chicago at a venue called Lincoln Gardens.
Irving Mills
Duke Ellington's manager from 1927-37. -Mills made Ellington famous, but he also took half credit for composing all of Ellington's works and 55% of all of Ellington's earnings.
Freddie Keppard and Buddy Petit
Early jazz cornetists
portamento (aka smearing)
Guiding smoothly and gradually from note to note
syncopation
Off-beat accenting, accenting notes just after the beat. -The occurrence of stress where it is least expected. -Playing slightly after the beat lends a soulful, laidback quality.
Buddy Bolden
Often cited as the first known jazz musician, although there are no recordings of him.
Voicing Across Sections of the Band
Rather than pitting the sound of one section of the band against the sound of another section, this is the process of having musicians from different sections play the same passages simultaneously. -Commonly used by Duke Ellington
Trading Fours, Trading Eights
Soloists alternating who improvises by selections that are a certain number of measures long. Ex: One guy solos for the first eight measure, then the other guy on the next eight, then back to the 1st guy for the next eight. Ex: "Lester Leaps In"-- Count Basie, 1'47"
Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1910s)
The band that made the first jazz recording. -All white musicians from New Orleans who organized as a band in Chicago in 1916 and played in NYC in 1917. -Musicians in the band played cornet, clarinet, trombone, piano, and drums. -The band was led by cornetist Nick LaRocca.
tail-chasing
The circuitous repetition of a melody, which creates a trance-like aspect. --Example: "Straight, No Chaser"-- Thelonious Monk (1958)
Chicago Jazz Scene Musicians
There were three main categories of musicians in Chicago: 1.) transplanted New Orleans blacks 2.) transplanted New Orleans whites 3.) young, white natives, known as the Chicago School, who played in a more hurried way. --many of the young natives were also called The Austin High Gang, because they attended Austin High School in Chicago.
blues chorus
a complete 12-bar progression of chords provided by the accompaniment
swinging eighth notes
o n e AND t w o AND t h r e e AND f o u r AND Ands are played louder and shorter than the numbered pulses. Jazz line rises and falls; alternation of tension and relaxation.