jazz music appreciation

Jazz was developed in

United States (America)

Main characteristic of jazz

Rooted in improvisation

Year when very little jazz was recorded before

1923

New Orleans style jazz was typically played by small groups of

5–8 performers

New Orleans jazz was usually based on

March, church melody, ragtime piece, popular song, or 12-bar blues

Louis Armstrong’s main instruments

Trumpet and voice (singer)

Who encouraged Louis Armstrong’s musical ambitions

King Oliver

1922 – Louis Armstrong moved to Chicago to join

King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band

The Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings established Louis Armstrong as

A leading jazz trumpeter

Louis Armstrong is regarded as one of the greatest

Jazz improvisers

Swing style combines

Steady beat and precision with a lilt, relaxation, and vitality

Swing was mainly played by

Big bands

Famous swing-era singers

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra

Big bands were most important during the

1930s and 1940s

Swing era dates

1935–1945

Typical size of a swing big band

14–15 musicians

Three sections of a swing big band

Saxophones, brass instruments, rhythm section

What made each swing band sound unique

Its arrangers and players

In swing, the arranger became

An important figure (music was composed/arranged rather than fully improvised)

In swing bands, melodies were often performed by

Entire sections in unison or harmony

Most important solo instrument during the swing era

Saxophone

During the swing era, percussionists (drummers) had

A more prominent role

Hi-hat in swing allowed players to stress beats

Second and fourth beats

Duke Ellington’s role

One of the most important swing-band composers, arrangers, and conductors

Duke Ellington quote about his band

“My band is my instrument”

Duke Ellington was among the first to break the 3-minute limit with

“Black, Brown, and Beige” (1943)

“Black, Brown, and Beige” is a suite in three movements representing

Periods in African-American history

“Black, Brown, and Beige” famous movement that became a civil-rights anthem

“Come Sunday”

Duke Ellington often collaborated with

Billy Strayhorn

Bebop (Bop) is characterized by

Complex style, usually for small groups of 4–6 players

Bebop was a rebellion against

Commercialism and written arrangements of swing

Typical bebop instrumentation

Saxophone + trumpet + rhythm section (piano, bass, drums)

Bebop drummers used

Irregular accents (“bombs”)

Bebop rhythms in melodies were

More varied and unpredictable than earlier jazz

Bebop musicians’ stereotypical look

Goatees, berets, “hip” language

Jazz-rock (fusion) combines

Jazz improvisation with rock rhythms and tone colors

Typical instruments in a jazz-rock group

Acoustic winds/brass + synthesizers, electric piano, electric guitar, electric bass

In jazz-rock, the emphasis is on

Group sound rather than individual soloists

Swing performances were usually based on

12-bar blues or 32-bar popular song form

Duke Ellington composed for (beyond 3-minute records)

Ballet, theater, church, and television