Jazz Midterm Prep

Chorus

One complete progression of accompaniment chords

Comping

pianist or guitarist playing syncopated commentary on the solo

Fills

Typically played by the drummer, refers to a brief musical passage or combination of sounds played to fill in a gap or pause left by the lead soloist or vocalist

Field Hollers

Slaves trying to communicate by singing in the field

Congo Square

First place that the whites allowed for slaves to go dance on Sundays

Pitch Bend

Purposeful raising or lowering of the tone pitch

Creoles of Color

One with mixed French & African ancestry who was born in the New World

The 6 Jazz-Creating Conditions in NOLA

Loose cultural boundaries, active Afro-Caribbean culture, vital music life, good times atmosphere, numerous brass bands, strong dance tradition

Blues

1-4-5 Chord Progression, black folk music that began before outsiders noticed, field hollers

Ragtime

Written piano music that was put together by using a rag, created conflict, dancers loved it, parents hated it

W.C. Handy

“Father of the Blues”, Memphis bandleader who was inspired by folk music & composed the song Memphis Blues & St. Louis Blues

Collective Improvisation

Simultaneous improvisation by all members of a group together

Rhythm Section

Guitar, Piano, Bass, & Drums

Scott Joplin

Piano/Composer, foremost composer of ragtime, popularized syncopated rhythms and march-form structures that provided repertory and rhythmic models for early jazz

Buddy Bolden

First musician celebrated for playing jazz

Freddi Keppert

Asked to make first jazz recording but refused

Livery Stable Blues

1st Jazz Recording in 1917 by Nick LaRocca & The Original Dixieland Jazz Band

Nick LaRocca

Cornet/Bandleader, leader of the all-white Original Dixieland Jazz Band, recorded first instrumental jazz disc in 1917, FALSELY CLAIMED TO BE THE INVENTOR OF JAZZ

Front Line Instruments

Trumpet, Saxophone, Clarinet, etc.

Jelly Roll & Nick LaRocca

Falsely claimed to have invented jazz

Jelly Roll Morton

First jazz musician to notate music on manuscript paper, first musician to have a written jazz piano composition, one of the first musicians to balance composition with improvisation while retaining the excitement of collectively improvised jazz, stop timing

King Joe Oliver

Cornet/bandleader, master of mutes, led the Creole Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong’s chief mentor

James P Johnson

“Father of Stride Piano”, left-hand style, bass notes played on 1 & 3 and mid-range chords on 2 & 4, influenced Duke Ellington & Fats Waller

Fats Waller “Fats”

Amazing jazz pianist, composer, entertainer, & pool hustler, as much an entertainer as pianist, made demanding stride piano sound light graceful, and springy with a warm tone

Earl Hines

“Fatha”, pianist & bandleader, lived a long time, developed “trumpet-style” (horn-like) piano playing, struck keys with physical force, doubled right-hand lines in octaves, and phrased like a horn player breathing, paved way for modern jazz piano solo conception

Louis Armstrong

“Pops, Father of Jazz, Dippermouth, Satchmo”, huge, warm, brassy tone, dramatic architectural solo pacing, refined swing eighth notes and rhythmic displacement, transformed jazz from collective polyphony into a soloist’s art, popularized scat singing, THE BEST

Richmond Indiana

Home of the Gannett Records, where Louis Armstrong recorded for the first time

Chicago

One of the first places jazz migrated to from NOLA, more edgy rhythm, this is where Louis Armstrong went to play with King Oliver

Bix Beiderbecke

Cool sound, opposite of Armstrong & Oliver’s big & powerful sound, composed impressionistic piano pieces blending Debussy/Ravel harmonies with ragtime rhythms

Mamie Smith

Sang the very 1st blues album/song, vocal blues

Doubler

Woodwind specialist in a big band

Riffs

Short, simple, musical phrase that is repeated again & again to serve as a theme statement or background accompaniments

Swing

Most popular style in jazz history, utilized big bands

Chick Webb

One of the most exciting bandleaders & drummers of the swing era

Benny Goodman

“King of Swing”, first musician to integrate his band, led the best known jazz oriented big band in 30s & 40s, band was hard-driving & showcased his highly agile clarinet playing

Paraphrase Improvisation

Improvisation style in which the soloist utilizes the melody as a basis for further development

Formulaic Improvisation

Most common improvisation style where the musician utilizes licks, internalized musical ideas which can be seamlessly inserted into a fast-moving solo

Motivic Improvisation

Improvisation style that utilizes short & repeated motifs (small, recognizable musical cell)

Big Bands

Bands during swing era, contain 16-18 people

Jimmie Lunceford

His band emphasized ensemble playing over solos, band had a strong reputation for precision, polish, & presentation, band members wore sharp outfits, brass section would employ theatrics

Roy Eldrige

Trumpeter who was considered to be a link between the swing era (Louis Armstrong) & modern jazz (Dizzy Gillespie), fiery aggressive tone, demonstrated that sinewy sax-like lines are possible on a trumpet

Coleman Hawkins

“Bean”, father of the modern tenor saxophone, deep, husky, heavy tone, fast vibrato, forceful/supercharged delivery, harmonic improviser who outlined and substituted intricate chords

Lester Young

“Prez”, president of the saxophone, opposite of Coleman Hawkins, light/cool tone, looping phrasing that floated over the beat, melodic storyteller

William Count Basie

Stride style pianist who played very light & percise, lead one of the most swinging bands of the era (one of the best rhythm sections: All-American Rhythm Section), popularized piano comping

Mary Lou Williams

One of first women pianists in jazz, also an arranger, boogie-woogie style, pioneered cross-section voicing

Duke Ellington

Composer, pianist, arranger, & band leader, self-taught, worked at the Cotton Club in Harlem, most creative & prolific composer in jazz history, pioneered voicing across band sections, “jungle styles”, extended concert works

Art Tatum

“Invisible Man” of jazz, one of the most admired & imitated pianist in jazz history, phenomenal technical speed, cascading runs, and master of spontaneous chord substitutions

Billie Holiday

“Lady Day”, original, fresh, and was able to communicate depth & sincerity of emotion when she sang, transformed songs through rhythmic displacement

Ella Fitzgerald

“First Lady of Song”, near flawless technique, master of swinging eighth notes & had perfect timing of syncopation, took over Chick Webb’s band after he died, master of scat singing, able to improvise with her voice just as effectively as the best jazz horn players, “Take The A Train”

Bebop

No more big bands, more solo improvisation, first modern jazz style, clarinet solo was rare

Contrafacts

Original tunes using the accompaniment chord progressions of popular tunes

Bebop Drummers

Compliment the solos more, feathered the bass drum instead of pounding it, kept time primarily on the suspended cymbal rather than on the snare, high hat, or bass drum, snapped shut the high hat on every other beat

John Birks (Dizzy) Gillespie

Virtuoso trumpet player & wonderful Bebop composer, co-founder of Bebop, would quote popular songs & classical melodies in his improvisations, introduced the Afro-Cuban element to modern jazz

Quoting

Standard part of playing Bebop, where an improviser inserts a brief, recognizable snippet or phrase from another pre-existing melody into their own solo

Charlie Parker

“Bird”, the father of bebop (contributed the most), utilized double time figures which are scalier runs played at twice the tempo of the tune, built an entire system, asymmetrical accents, created a whole new harmonic/melodic language based on blues & pop chord progressions

Thelonious Monk

First bebop composer, Avant Garde: ahead of their time, unorthodox melodies, wore strange hats, true Jazz Original: could make an in-tune piano sound out-of-tune

Bud Powell

Most influential Bebop pianist, translated Parker & Gillespie’s horn-like speed of the right hand, revolutionized left-hand accompaniment by replacing stride style with sparse, sporadic 2-to-3-note chords (modern solo comping), reduced statement of the harmony to the barest minumum

Dexter Gordon

First tenor saxophone player to be recognized as a bebop player, deep dark sound & had a unique sense of phrasing, played behind the beat at times and waiting until the last second to finally catch up

Stan Getz

Light, Fluffy, delicate tone, tender phrasing with classical music influences, associated with cool jazz, well-known for delving outside of traditional bebop & was very successful at introducing the Brazilian style of Bossa Nova to the world, played slow tunes like ballads

Sarah Vaughn

“Sassy”, best-known singer from bebop, large following outside of jazz, amazing vocal control, high & low, great pitch consistency, rarely did scat improvisations, PARAPHRASER: improvisation style that utilized the melody & played around it

Bessie Smith

“Empress of the Blues”, immense vocal power, soulful, emotional delivery, master of blue notes & bent pitches