Jazz

A Very Brief Introduction to

Jazz

• The word Jazz did not become a common phrase until 1920s

• The roots are less certain, many maintain that Jazz was a natural evolution of Ragtime and Blues. Others state that Jazz was exported from New Orleans.

• Jazz has taken many different forms over the last 100 years, but the most well known are– Dixieland– Big Band/Swing– Bebop– Cool Jazz– Modal Jazz– Free Jazz– Latin Jazz

• Like blues, Jazz music is a mix of African and European musical traditions

• African influences in Jazz include:– Improvisation– Blue Notes– Polyrhythms– Syncopation– Swung Rhythms

Before Jazz…

• …There was Ragtime.• Video

• Ragtime was most popular from 1898 until 1917• It developed from a combination of the

Cakewalk, and the Jigs and marches played by the many Marching Bands

• Composers tried to write reduced versions of popular tunes for the piano

• By trying to cram all the different instrumental parts in they ended up creating the syncopated feel of Ragtime

Dixieland• Dixieland developed in New Orleans at the beginning of the

20th century• Dixieland is a combination of Marching bands, Ragtime,

Blues and French Dances (Quadrilles)• Dixieland groups include many instruments found in

Marching Bands• They have a rhythm section that may include Piano, Guitar,

Banjo, Double Bass, Tuba and Drums• Over the top the frontline players, usually Trumpet/Cornet,

Trombone and Clarinet all improvise at the same time!• This creates a distinctive polyphonic texture

Dukes of Dixieland – When The Saints Go Marching In

• Video

Glenn Miller – In The Mood

• Video

Big Band / Swing

• Swing or Big Band Jazz developed in the 1920’s and was most popular in the 1930’s and 40’s

• Ensembles varied from 10 to 25 players who usually sat behind stands with the band’s logo

• There was a rhythm section plus Trumpets, Saxophones, Clarinets and Trombones

• Some groups also had vocalists• Big Bands had a Band Leader. These were usually

well known arrangers and soloists

• Unlike Dixieland, Big Band arrangements were written down and very organised

• There were strong, catchy melodies contrasted with clear spaces for the soloists to show off

• The catchy tunes and fast tempo meant Swing Music became popular for dancing, especially with the younger generations

• It was played a lot on the radio which helped spread it’s appeal

Benny Goodman – Sing Sing Sing

• Video

Bebop

• Bebop developed in the mid 1940’s as musicians broke down the organised and controlled nature of Swing

• Ensembles were still made from a rhythm section and a front line of soloists, but each group was much smaller

• Bebop was generally fast and very virtuosic• Solos, Harmony and Phrasing were much less regular

than those found in swing• Bass players became very important in holding the

complex harmonies and rhythms together

Cool Jazz

• Cool Jazz came about in the early 1950’s• It was smoother, slower and calmer than Bebop• Whereas Bebop mainly focused on solos, Cool

Jazz was more organised and song like in its structure

• Melodies were recognisable and catchier, like Swing

• However, structures and melodies were still deliberately irregular – you couldn’t dance to it!

Modal Jazz• A Mode is a scale that only uses the white notes of the

piano• In Bebop the soloists played over a repeating chord

sequence• The chord sequence and chord changes would

determine the notes of the rhythm section and the improvised parts

• Using a Mode, rather than a chord sequence, freed up all the parts to choose different and more interesting combinations of notes

• This made Melody more important than Harmony