Year 10 Jazz

What are the historical roots of jazz music?

Jazz originated in the early 20th century, drawing from musical forms developed by African slaves in North America, such as work songs and blues.

What is the standard instrumental line-up in jazz?

A rhythm section (piano, guitar/banjo, bass, drums) and a front-line group (horns/woodwinds).

What are the 'blues notes' used in jazz intonation?

The flat 3rd, 5th, and 7th notes of the scale.

What is 'syncopation' in a musical context?

When a note, word, or syllable is heard before or after the beat on which it would normally be expected to occur.

What is 'collective improvisation'?

A style where all members of a jazz group improvise simultaneously.

What is a 'walking bass' line?

A bass line consisting of notes played on every beat of the bar, creating an effect of continuous forward motion.

What are the primary characteristics of the 12-bar blues form?

It follows an AAB lyrical structure, uses a specific blues chord progression, and utilizes the blues scale.

What historical event led to the availability of instruments for early jazz bands?

The end of the American Civil War in 1865, when brass band instruments were left behind by soldiers.

Where did the 'Dixieland' jazz style originate?

In the Storyville district of New Orleans, where marching band musicians played in bars and clubs.

What is the texture of Dixieland jazz?

Polyphonic, characterized by collective improvisation among the front-line instruments (cornet/trumpet, trombone, clarinet).

What is 'Bebop'?

A complex, 'hot' style of jazz that emerged in the 1940s as a reaction against large swing bands, focusing on listening rather than dancing.

Who were three key pioneers of the Bebop movement?

Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie.

What are the musical characteristics of Bebop?

Fast tempos, virtuoso solo playing, angular melodies, irregular phrase lengths, and highly syncopated rhythms.

Why did collective improvisation decline in the Swing era?

Because jazz bands grew significantly in size, necessitating written arrangements and placing a greater emphasis on individual solo improvisation.

What role did the 'composer-arranger' play in Swing music?

They became a central figure because the music had to be formally arranged and written down for large ensembles.

Name four important figures in the Swing era.

Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Glenn Miller.

What is the 'call-and-response?'

Interaction from one solo/group to another

What is 'Cool Jazz'?

A style that developed in the late 1940s on the West Coast as a restrained, subdued reaction to the complexity of Bebop.

Who are three important performers associated with Cool Jazz?

Miles Davis, Stan Getz, and Dave Brubeck.

What are the rhythmic characteristics of Cool Jazz?

It often utilizes complex meters such as 5/4 and 7/8, alongside moderate tempos.

How does the instrumentation of Cool Jazz differ from 'hot' jazz?

It uses 'mellow' timbres such as muted trumpet, flute, French horn, strings, and brushes on cymbals.

What is the 'Chorus form' in jazz?

A structural framework where the main melody is played, followed by a series of improvisations over the underlying chord progression.

What is the meaning of the term 'swing' as a musical style?

A big-band jazz style that dominated popular music from 1930 to 1945.

What are 'jazz quavers' (or jazz eights)?

A characteristic underlying swing rhythm used in jazz music.

What are the chords in a 12-bar blues using roman numerals?

I I I I

IV IV I I

V IV I I

What is the formula for a blues scale?

1 , b3 , 4 , b5 , 5 , b7

What are the Blues Characteristics?

1. 12-bar blues form (AAB)

2. Blues chord progression

3. Blues scale

4. The use of jazz quavers

5. Expressive vocal effects such as slides, bends and moans

6. Lyrics that are often intensely personal or that deal with suffering

What are the Dixieland characteristics?

1. A small band consisting of a front-line group (cornet/trumpet, trombone and clarinet) and a rhythm section (piano, banjo/guitar, string bass/tuba and drums)

2. Collective Improvisation (everyone improvises at once)

3. Chorus Form

4. Polyphonic Texture

5. Frequent use of the 12-bar blues progression

What are the Bebop characteristics

1. A small group, usually a quintet with 2 soloists and a rhythm section

2. Virtuoso solo playing

3. Fast tempos

4. Angular Melodies

5. Irregular phrase lengths

6. Chromatic and jazz chords added to standard chord progressions

7. Streams of short notes

8. Complex, highly syncopated rhythms

9. Chorus form, with the front-line instruments frequently playing the original melody in unison at the beginning and at the end

What are the swing characteristics?

1. A large group, make up of seperate saxophone, brass and rhythm sections

2. Sections often used alternately, as in call-and-response

3. Frequent use of mutes on brass instruments

4. Thick four and five note chords within sections

5. The characteristic swing rhythm on cymbal

6. Sections of solo improvisation to provide contrast

7. Walking bass

8. The use of chorus form

What are the cool jazz characteristics?

1. Emotionally subdued unemotional playing with little vibrato

2. 'Cool' mellow-timbred instruments, including muted trumpet, flute, french horn, strings and brushes on cymbals

Breathy phrasing, especially on saxophone

3. Complex metres (5/4 and 7/8)

4. Moderate tempos

5. Complex jazz harmonies

6. Limited dynamic range

7. Renewed intrest in collective improvisation, resulting in polyphonic textures

What are 2 examples of Dixieland songs and their composer?

Original Dixieland Onestep - Sidney Bechet

When The Saints Go Marching In - Jimmy La Rocca

What are 2 examples of Bebop songs and their composer?

Salt Peanuts - Dizzy Gillespie

A Night in Tunisia - Dizzy Gillespie feat. Charlie Parker

What are 2 examples of Swing songs and their composer?

Doggin' Around - Jackie Wilson

Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Duke Ellington

What are 2 examples of Cool Jazz songs and their composer?

Someday My Prince Will Come - Miles Davies

Take Five - Dave Brubeck