Jazz history test

Bessie Smith (1894-1937)

empress of the Blues; great interpreter of blues and was a pupil of Ma Rainey. "Sings Recklass Blues"

Billie Holiday (1915-1959)

American jazz and swing vocalist. Friends and music partners with Lester Young. Nicknamed "Lady Day." Innovative influence on Jazz and pop singing.

W.C. Handy (1873-1958)

cornet player, nicknamed "Father of the Blues;" studies, composes, and publishes Blues. St. Louis Blues (1914). Beale St. Blues (1917).

Scott Joplin (1868-1917)

United States composer who was the first creator of ragtime to write down his compositions (1868-1917) "The Entertainer (1903)," "Maple Leaf Rag (1899)."

James P. Johnson (1894-1955)

"Father of Stride Piano"; "Carolina Shout" "Charleston." Perfected style, influenced every major jazz pianist.

Buddy Bolden (1877-1931)

Cornet/trumpet player who was considered to be a major influence and innovator in jazz in the early 1900s, but there are no recordings of him that remain.

Sidney Bechet (1897-1959)

Plays soprano saxophone; first great jazz improviser. Moves to NY, then Paris; brings jazz to Europe. Influenced other sax styles.

Joe "King" Oliver (1885-1938)

Was an influential bandleader and player; King Oliver's Creole jazz band: Recordings made demonstrated the serious artistry of New Orleans. He pioneered the use of mutes, including the plumber's plunger.

Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)

Ragtime piano player; claimed to have "invented jazz." He was highly influential, as he was the first to write down arrangements; he also had a unique style: more complex musically; breaks, stop time. Arranged standard for ensemble (front line: cornet, clarinet, trombone with piano, strings, or tuba accompaniment)

Freddie Keppard (1890-1933)

A cornet player and bandleader from New Orleans in the 1910s. He was one of the first known musicians to play "jazz" music, but he chose not to document it at the time and made his first recordings in the mid-1920s.

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

Became first to record first jazz record in NY (1917). Began the arguement over the word "jazz"

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)

virtuostic soloist; was first to be open to different jazz genres. Had 5 main contribution: Blues, Improvisation, scat-singing, expanded repertoire, rhythm (swing). Got his cornet at age 7. Goes to Chicago with King Oliver and NY with Fletcher Henderson; went back to Chicago adn records with Hot 5's and Hot 7's

Earl Hines

Had a unique piano style; broke up the stride rhythm with unusual left hand accents. Wanted to be a soloist like Armstrong. Plays for 1928, Hot 5's recordings with Armstrong

Duke Ellington (1899-1974)

Demonstrated artistic potential for big band jazz, solidifies influence of stride piano, applied this to popular songs, was know as "The Duke" and was highly sophisticated in the age of racism; had no rivals in Jazz. Offered programmatic music (depicting people, places and events). Trumpet "growl" played by Bubber Miley; used drum beats to evoke mystery. Played in the Cotton Club era (1927-1932)

Paul Whiteman (1890-1967)

First American pop music star of 20th century; played a mix of jazz and classical. Contrasts jazz in its "true naked" form; opposed entirely segregated bands.

Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952)

Influential band leader in 1920s-30s. Leads the first great black orchestra in NYC; features talented soloists such as Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins. Standardized instrumentation for big bands, with arranger Don Redman, who established a pattern for arranging swing big band music. Call and response between sections or soloists; sections (saxes, brass, etc) are independent

Coleman Hawkins (1904-1969)

The first great tenor saxophonist; No model on this instrument before. Played with Fletcher Henderson for 11 years and at the same time as Louis Armstrong (1923-1934). Was a progressive musician who supported the innovators after him including Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. Hawkins influenced entire generations of saxophonist after him and presented a model for intellectual improvisers

Bix Beiderbecke (1903-1931)

Learns music from records (jazz and classical). Plays with Frank Trumbauer; involved with Chicago style. Influenced by Armstrong. Dies young at age 28. Had a more reserved "cooler" style; was not as flashy. Introduces more complex harmony; melodic and lyrical. Influences future players like Miles Davis

Frank Trumbauer (1901-1956)

Lifelong association with Bix Beiderbecke; made recordings in late 20's. Only major player in jazz of the C-melody saxophone. Influenced people like Lester Young and the "Cool Jazz" movement in the 50's and 60's.

Congo Square in New Orleans

allowed African Americans (slaves) to meet and play their music and dance. This saved African American musical styles. Mix of African, European, French, and Spanish styles.

Field Hollers

The musical roots of the blues were spoken or sung shouts between slaves working in the fields and were spititual and work songs of African Americans. Rhythmically loose vocal lines used to express emotion

Work Songs

type of folk song used during work to regulate physical activity or engage worker's attention.Secular music during manual labor.

Blues (form)

12 bars, 3 four-bar phrases, AAB form. Brought up by African Americans folk and dance culture. Acted as a relief from days work; rugged individualism. Expression of suffering; means of communication

Country Blues

the earliest form of the blues performed by solo male singers accompanying themselves on guitar. Developed in rural South; loose and improvisatory.

Vaudeville/Classic Blues

1910's-20's form that becomes more structured; standard musical form: 12-bar measure form developed on Vaudeville circuits. "Urban Blues."

Ma Rainey

Famous blues singer during the Harlem Renaissance, known as the "Mother of the Blues." Was an advocate for queer representation and fought against gender inequality. Credited with standardizing blues into modern structure

Blue Notes

"Bent" or "flattened" tones lie outside traditional European-based scale structures that reflect particular African American melodic characteristics.

Stride Piano Style

Left hand plays alternating bass note and chord (hence the striding quality) while right hand plays melody/improvises

Storyville

A part of New Orleans in the early part of the twentieth century which contained bars, nightclubs, and brothels that hired jazz musicians to provide entertainment and dance music. Considered a Red light district (laws dont apply)

Chicago Style Jazz

type of jazz developed in the 1920s that placed more emphasis on solo improvisations than the Dixieland style that preceded it