MUS 122 - Final Exam

Blues

Originated in the American South in the late 1800s

Based upon three chords, 12-bar form

Incorporation of blue notes (flatted 3rd and 5th), scoops and growls

Important artists: Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, Ma’ Rainey

Subgenre 1 - Country Blues (male performer, solo, loose form)

Subgenre 2 - Classic Blues (female performer, strict 12 bar form, band)

Ragtime

Highly syncopated melodies over a consistent ¼ note bass line

Most associated with solo piano performance

Scott Joplin - most famous composer

Associated with dancers Frank and Irene Castle and bandleader James Reese Europe

New Orleans

Earliest form of Jazz, originated in early 1900s New Orleans

First jazz record in 1917 by Original Dixieland Jazz Band

Characterized by polyphony and collective improv

Ensemble organized into front line (trombone, clarinet/sax, trumpet/cornet) and rhythm section (bass/tuba, guitar/banjo, piano, drums)

Swing

1930s

Primarily performed by big bands

High energy dance music - lindy hop dance

Savoy Ballroom and Chick Webb Orchestra

Quarter note pulse from bass (walking bass line), guitar and bass drum

Notable artists: Count Basie Orchestra, Chick Webb Orchestra, Duke Ellington Orchestra

Bebop

Mid 1940s

Performed by smaller groups

Minton’s Playhouse - prominent venue where bebop was developed through jam sessions

Notable artists: Charlie Parker (sax), Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Thelonious Monk (piano)

Cool Jazz

Late 1940s/early 1950s

Instruments mainly stay in mid ranges, more subdued rhythmic accents

Harmonic Complexity
Balance of improv and compostion

Relaxed feel even at fast tempos

Hard Bop

Original song forms and chord progressions (as opposed to contrafacts)

Simpler, often blues based melodies and chord progressions, emphasis on groove

Some compositions incorporate straight 1/8 note feel and bass ostinatos (as opposed to swing feel and walking bass line)

Notable artists: Miles Davis Quintet, Jazz Messengers, John Coltrane 

Avant-Garde

Experimental style which developed in the 1960s

Challenged traditional rules of harmony, melody, and instrument roles, incorporated extended techniques

Some of the music was overtly political

Associated with the Civil Rights and anti-war Movements

Notable Artists: Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy

Post-Bop

developed in the mid 1960s, incorporates elements of bebop, hard bop, modal jazz, and the avant-garde

Fusion

Developed in 1960s and 1970s

Blend of jazz and rock, incorporation of electronic instruments and effects

Notable Artists: Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, Return to Forever, Weather Report

Neoclassical Jazz

1980s, largely a reaction to avant-garde and fusion, the neoclassical movement (in the jazz world) was a return to strictly acoustic instruments and more traditional jazz styles (basically everything up until 1960s avant-garde)

Associated with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who is one of the founders of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Bossa Nova

Relaxed straight 1/8th note groove, features a clave rhythm

Developed from Brazilian samba in the 1950s

Associated with composer Antonio Carlos Jobim and guitarist Joao Gilberto

Afro-Cuban Jazz

Mid 1940s, combined Afro-Cuban clave based rhythms with improv and jazz harmonies

ECM Records

prominent German record label founded by Manfred Eicher

Miles Davis

Trumpet player and bandleader

Significant role in the development of cool jazz, hard bop, post bop, and fusion

Charlie Parker

alto sax, bebop innovator

Dizzy Gillespie

trumpet player, bebop innovator

Wynton Marsalis

neo-classical trumpet player, founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Cecil Taylor

avante-garde pianist

Chick Corea

pianist/keyboardist

founder of fusion group Return to Forever

John McLaughlin

fusion guitarist

found of the Mahavishnu Orchestra

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

New Orleans Jazz group

recorded the first jazz album in 1917

Jazz Messengers

one of the most famous hard bop groups

co-founded by drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver

Jaco Pastorius

first famous fretless bass player

bassist for fusion group Weather Report

Return to Forever

fusion group, founded by pianist/keyboardist Chick Corea

Weather Report

fusion group, founded by sax player Wayner Shorter and keyboardist Joe Zawinul