History of Jazz

History of Jazz Unit 1 Study Guide

“Livery Stable Blues”

Artists: Dixie Land Jazz Band

Style: New Orleans

Form: Blues

Technique: Polyphonic texture, breaks (animal noise), tailgate trombone

Fun Facts: First Jazz Recording

“West End Blues”

Artist: Louis Armstrong

Style: New Orleans

Form: Blues

Fun Facts: Harlem Stride Solo (piano), Scatting by Armstrong, Cadenza at the beginning

“Maple Leaf Ragtime”

Artist: Scott Joplin

Style: Ragtime

Form: March

“Black Bottom Stomp”

Artists: Jelly Roll Morton

Style: New Orleans

Form: March

“Shout For Joy”

Artist: Albert Ammons

Style: Boogie Woogie

Form: Blues

“Semper Fidelis”

Artist: John Philip Sousa

Style: March

Form: March

“Alexander’s Ragtime Band”

Artist: Irving Berlin

Style: Popular Song

Form: Song (ABAC)

“Down The Dirt Road Blues”

Artist: Charley Patton

Style: Country Blues

Form: Blues

Fun Facts: 1 male singer with guitar

“Dippermouth Blues”

Artist: King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band

Style: New Orleans

Form: Blues

Fun Fact: Armstrong was in this band

“Singin’ The Blues”

Artist: Bix Beiderbecke

Style: Chicago

Form: Song (ABAC")

Fun Fact: more “cool” sounding

“Handful of Keys”

Artist: Fats Waller

Style: Harlem Stride

Form: March with mini song form in each letter

Fun Fact: Was a “test” piece for other Harlem Stride pianists

“Tiger Rag”

Artist: Art Tatum

Style: Harlem Stride

Form: March

What are all the Styles?

• March

• Ragtime

• Country Blues

• Popular Song

• Mew Orleans

• Chicago

• Harlem Stride

• Boogie Woogie

• Classic Blues

Features/facts about Ragtime

Features:

• Composed

• Two-beat meter

• March form

• “ragged time” = lots of syncopation

• Straight 8th notes

Origin: Missouri

Instrumentation: Piano

Form: March

Elements of Country Blues

Features:

• Fluid pitch spectrum

• Mix of work songs and European poetry to songs

• Plaintive vocalisms (moans, cries, growls, etc")

• Story-telling

• Lyrics about personal troubles (sex, relationships, traveling")

• Blue notes

  • Uniquely “American”

  • Flatted Bluesy notes, give the blues the flavor and texture

Origin: Mississippi Delta or Alluvia Plain, by Share-croppers

Instrumentation: 1 man and his guitar

Form: Blues

Elements of Popular Songs

Broadway, vaudeville, minstrelsy

Form: Song (ABAC or ABBA)

Intro, verse, repeat

Elements of Marches

Features:

• Two-beat meter

• Several repeating sections (AABBCCDD)

• Polyphonic arrangements

  • cornets on melody

  • high winds playing obbligatos

  • low brass on countermelodies

Instrumentation: Concert Bands

Form: March

Elements of New Orleans Style

Features:

• Polyphonic texture

• Instrument Roles

• Ensemble Oriented

• Two-beat feel (except on blueses)

• March form, blues form, or song form

• Breaks

  • Everyone stops and a soloists plays, then everyone comes back in

• Stop-time Accompaniment

  • Solo with set repeating accompaniment

Origin: New Orleans

Congo Square

Brass Bands

Elements of Chicago Style

Features:

• Restless energy through competitive counterpoint

• Solos generally mores subdued and not as hard swinging

• Arranged w/ written introductions and interludes

• Uncommon harmonies from contemporary classical music

  • Debussy

Form: Popular Song (32-bar form)

Instrumentation: Clarinets play linear and melodic lines, Trombones are less tailgate-y or replaced with tenor sax

Elements of Harlem Stride

Features:

• Mores spontaneous/improvised than ragtime

• More virtuosic right-hand part

  • Harder/more technical

• Chromaticism, blue notes, and dissonance

• Quick tempo

• Swing feel

• Very competitive and showy

Origin: Harlem

Instrumentation: Piano

Grew out of Ragtime

Elements of Boogie-Woogie

Features:

• Blues Form

• Ostinato (repeating) left hand bass figure

• Riggs in the right hand

• Swing feel

Instrumentation: Piano

Grew out of Blues Tradition

Elements of Classic Blues

Features:

• Female singer accompanied with piano or small band

• 12-16 bar structures

Helped merge blues with popular song

Popular in the north

Scott Joplin - ragtime - piano - “King of Ragtime”

ragtime - piano - “King of Ragtime”

Charley Patton

Country blues - voice and guitar - “Father of the Delta Blues”

Irving Berlin

Popular Songs - “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”

John Philip Sousa

March - “March King” - “Semper Fidelis”

Fisk Jubilee Singers

Fisk University - spirituals - 1871

Siney Bechet

makes clarinet solo voice - clarinet and soprano sax

Louis Armstrong

Learned from Joe King Oliver - Coronet & Trumpet - sang - very famous - spread Jazz Worldwide - “Ambassador of Jazz”

Buddy Bolden

New Orleans - Coronet - King of Coronet - “The first Jazz Musician” - “King Bolden”

Freddie Keppard

New Orleans - Coronet - King of Coronet - could be first recorded but refused

Joe “King” Oliver

New Orleans - Coronet - Muted Techniques - Creole Jazz Band

Jelly Roll Morton

March Form - “First great composer of Jazz” - Piano

Kid Ory

Trombone - Tailgate-y trombone - Hot Five

Bessie Smith

Classic Blues - “empress of the blues” - merged blues with popular music

Earl “Fatha” Hines

piano in “trumpet style”

Johnny Dodds

clarinet - in Hot Five

Bix Beiderbecke

warm sound - altered tones - “cool” style

Franke Trumbauer

Technical master of Saxophone

Art Tatum

blind, prodigy - Piano - Harlem Stride

Albert Ammons

Boogie Woogie - Piano - blues form

Fats Waller

Piano - “The Clown Prince of Jazz” - piano - Harlem Stride

Earl Hines

Harlem stride - piano

Willie “The Lion” Smith

Harlem Stride - piano

James P. Johnson

Harlem Stride - piano - “Father of stride piano”