Jazz History Vocabulary Flashcards

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the history of jazz, emphasizing significant figures, styles, and cultural developments related to the genre.

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

The first band to record jazz music in 1917, influencing jazz's spread worldwide.

Dixie Jass Band One-Step Blues

A foundational musical form that heavily influenced jazz development, featuring a 12-bar structure.

Ragtime

An important precursor to jazz, recognized for syncopated rhythms and lively piano.

Scott Joplin

Known as the 'King of Ragtime,' he influenced jazz rhythms with compositions like 'Maple Leaf Rag.'

Bix Beiderbecke

A pioneering cornet player known for his smooth, lyrical style in early jazz.

Creoles of color

People of mixed African and European ancestry in New Orleans who shaped early jazz.

Rent parties

Social gatherings in African American communities for raising money through music and dance.

Stride

A jazz piano style featuring a steady left-hand bass pattern and fast right-hand chords.

The Cotton Club

A famous Harlem nightclub where many jazz musicians performed but was segregated.

Count Basie

A legendary jazz pianist known for his smooth, swinging band sound.

Head Arrangements

Informal, unwritten musical plans allowing for improvisation in jazz bands.

Joe 'King' Oliver

Pioneering cornet player and bandleader in early jazz, mentor to Louis Armstrong.

Louis Armstrong

A legendary trumpeter and singer who transformed jazz with his innovative style.

Frank Trumbauer

A jazz saxophonist known for his smooth, lyrical style and, in the 1930s, the 'cool' sound.

Jelly Roll Morton

A jazz pianist who bridged ragtime and jazz with innovative compositions.

Swing Dance

A lively dance style that emerged alongside swing music in the 1930s.

Swing Era

A period during the 1930s and 1940s marked by the popularity of big bands and swing music.

Fletcher Henderson

A jazz band leader who shaped the big band sound of the Swing Era.

Duke Ellington

A prominent pianist and composer in jazz, known for sophisticated compositions.

James P. Johnson

A pioneering jazz pianist credited with developing the stride piano style.

Willie 'The Lion' Smith

Known for his powerful stride piano style, an influential figure in Harlem Jazz.

Fats Waller

A key figure in early jazz, known for his piano skills and comedic performances.

Johnny Hodges

An influential alto saxophonist who shaped the sound of big band jazz.

Charlie Christian

A guitarist credited with popularizing the electric guitar in jazz.

Bubber Miley

A pioneering trumpet player known for his 'growling' technique in early jazz.

Cootie Williams

A talented trumpet player known for his contributions to Duke Ellington's orchestra.

Benny Goodman

A clarinetist and bandleader known as the 'King of Swing' who integrated African American musicians.

Lester Young

A pioneering tenor saxophonist influential in the cool jazz movement.

'Papa' Jo Jones

A groundbreaking drummer known for his innovative style with the Count Basie Orchestra.

Billy Strayhorn

A talented composer who worked with Duke Ellington, creating many signature pieces.

Coleman Hawkins

A pioneering tenor saxophonist known for establishing the saxophone in jazz.

Billie Holiday

A legendary jazz singer celebrated for her emotional depth and unique voice.

Ella Fitzgerald

An iconic jazz singer known for her vocal range and improvisational skill.

Teddy Wilson

A pioneering jazz pianist known for his elegant style and work with jazz legends.

Art Tatum

A virtuoso pianist known for his technical skill and groundbreaking jazz piano techniques.

Blues

A genre shaped by African American experiences, characterized by a 12-bar structure.

Brass band music

A genre that influenced the development of jazz, prominent in New Orleans.

Chicago jazz

A style that showcased individual virtuosity, influencing the transition to the swing era.

Big band

A large ensemble that plays swing music, popular during the Swing Era.

New Orleans Jazz

The original style of jazz characterized by collective improvisation.

Swing music

A style of jazz characterized by a strong rhythm section and arrangements that prioritize swing.

Cool jazz

A style that emerged in the late 1940s, known for its relaxed tempos and lighter tones.

New York jazz

characterized by its energetic rhythms, sophisticated harmonies, and a blend of various musical influences, including blues, swing, and bebop

Bebop

A complex, fast-paced style of jazz that emerged in the 1940s, focusing on improvisation.

Progressive jazz

A style incorporating elements of classical music into jazz.

Jazz fusion

A genre mixing jazz harmonies and improvisation with elements of rock, funk, and R&B.

Saxophone

A woodwind instrument that became a major voice in jazz music.

Cornet

A brass instrument similar to the trumpet, used prominently in early jazz.

Trumpet

A brass instrument that plays a significant role in jazz, known for its bold sound.

Piano

A key instrument in jazz, capable of playing melody and harmony together.

HOJ- Final Review

I. Bebop Revolution (1940s–1950s)

Key Figures & Contributions

Charlie Parker ("Bird")

1. Alto saxophonist; bebop pioneer.

2. Innovations: Complex harmonies, fast tempos, chromaticism.

3. Notable Tracks: "Ko-Ko," "Confirmation," "Yardbird Suite."

Dizzy Gillespie

1. Trumpeter; fused Afro-Cuban rhythms with bebop (e.g., "Manteca").

2. Collaborated with Parker; known for bent trumpet and playful stage presence.

Thelonious Monk

1. Pianist/composer; angular melodies, dissonant harmonies.

2. Key Tunes: "’Round Midnight," "Blue Monk," "Straight, No Chaser.

Bud Powell

1. Pianist; adapted Parker’s sax lines to piano ("bebop piano").

2. Classic Track: "Un Poco Loco."

Kenny Clarke

Drummer; shifted timekeeping from bass drum to ride cymbal ("dropping bombs").

Max Roach

1. Drummer: polyrhythms, melodic drumming.

2. Worked with Clifford Brown in the Brown-Roach Quintet.

Bebop characteristics

1. Small groups (quartets/quintets).

2. Fast tempos, virtuosic improvisation.

3. Complex chord changes (e.g., "Giant Steps" changes later).

cool jazz

Birth of the Cool (Miles Davis, 1949–50):

1. Arranged by Gil Evans; laid-back, orchestral bebop.

2. Key Players: Lee Konitz (alto sax), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax).

3. Dave Brubeck Quartet: "Take Five" (odd meter, Paul Desmond’s sax).

Hard bop

1. Grittier, blues/gospel-influenced reaction to cool jazz.

2. Horace Silver: Funky piano ("Song for My Father").

3. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers:

   1. Defined hard bop; "Moanin’" (Bobby Timmons).

   2. Alumni: Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard.

4. Clifford Brown: Trumpet virtuoso; died young (Brown-Roach Quintet).

Miles Davis’s Classic Groups 1

1. First Great Quintet (1955–57):

   1. John Coltrane (tenor sax), Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), "Philly" Joe Jones (drums).

   2. Album: ’Round About Midnight.

Miles Davis’s Classic Groups 2

Kind of Blue (1959)

1. Modal jazz (scales over chords); "So What," "All Blues."

2. Band: Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans (piano), Jimmy Cobb (drums).

John Coltrane

1. Giant Steps (1960): "Coltrane changes" (rapid key shifts).

2. Classic Quartet (1960–65):

   1. McCoy Tyner (piano), Elvin Jones (drums), Jimmy Garrison (bass).

   2. Albums: A Love Supreme, My Favorite Things.

Avant-Garde/Free Jazz

Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959); harmolodics (free harmony/melody/rhythm).

Charles Mingus: Bassist/composer; blending jazz with classical/folk. Mingus Ah Um (1959): "Fables of Faubus" (satire on segregationist governor).

IV. 1960s–1970s: Fusion & Funk

Miles Davis Goes Electric

Bitches Brew (1970) Fusion of jazz, rock, and funk; wah-wah trumpet, Fender Rhodes.

Band: Wayne Shorter (sax), Chick Corea/Herbie Hancock (keys), John McLaughlin (guitar).

Weather Report:

Joe Zawinul (keys), Wayne Shorter (sax); Heavy Weather ("Birdland"). Key Fusion Group

Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters:

Funk-jazz; "Chameleon" (use of synthesizers). Key Fusion Group

Mahavishnu Orchestra:

John McLaughlin’s guitar-driven fusion; The Inner Mounting Flame. key Fusion Group

Rhythm Section

Piano, bass, drums (sometimes guitar)

"’Round Midnight’”

Monk’s ballad; jazz standard.

Sonny Rollins

Tenor sax; "Saxophone Colossus" (1956).

Tony Williams

Drummer with Miles’s 1960s quintet; polyrhythms.

Scott LaFaro

Bassist with Bill Evans; melodic playing (Sunday at the Village Vanguard).