Pre-Jazz Influences On African American Music

11st Class: 01/16/13

Pre-Jazz Influences
African Elements in American Music [The Jazz DNA]

-Syncopated rhythm – playing rhythms in between or against the stead beat

-Improvisation – art of spontaneous composition in music

-Call and Response – echo style (copy), question and answer style of musical conversation

-Individuality – human voice as instrumental model

Use of bends, slides and timbr (tone manipulation) to sound like no one else.

-Beat – steady pulse

-Rhythm – sound organized in time, lines up with pulse

Class: 01/23/13

Pre-Jazz Influences
19th Century Music Forms

-Social Dance – Congo Square (New Orleans) -Earliest documentation of African America Music, aka.
-Ring Shout (common name) Circle,
Christian Hymns, Religious celebration.
Musical outlet for slaves.
1st true documented musical concept for African American culture.

-Work Songs, Folk Hymns -Simple song structures (verse/chorus) using call and response, improvisation and individuality -Both Work Songs and Folk Hymns are the grandparent’s of American Jazz music. -Work songs: using song to distract your mind from your work; sets pace of work -dates back to Roman Empire and Egyptian Pyramids -Music was not allowed anywhere but church and working in the fields. -Coded language and communication, clues of underground railroad and other information under the owner’s noses. Family members sold to different plantations. Spoke in metaphors and clues.
-F0lk Hymns: ways of teaching Biblical principals -Common theme: repentance

-Minstrel shows -No musical influence on jazz, but important in the relationship between jazz and the entertainment industry. -Variety show, Birth of the Entertainment Industry -Started in Buffalo, New York -“Black Face” characters -Jim Crowe, famous black face character -Why did the Chicken cross the road jokes originated with Minstrel Shows -Steven Foster, famous composer – American Composer of Folk Songs -Used banjo. Invented by slaves -Minstrel show transitioned this instrument into an American folk instrument. -Show would cater to specific populations in certain cities -Most jazz musicians got their start touring on the road with Minstrel shows; spreading Jazz music out of New Orleans and introducing jazz to the entertainment industry.

The Blues
Basic 12 bar form, lyric structure (aab) Bar – grouping or organizing notes in line and time A & B notes rhyme. Repeat A to get 12 bar No Verse in blues, only Chorus A: [Lyric][Lyric][Lyric][Fill] A: [Lyric][Lyric][Lyric][Fill] B: [Lyric][Lyric][Lyric][Fill]

The Country Blues
-Style characteristics -Male singer with guitar -Use of slide on guitar -Autobiographical themes including sorrow, traveling, gambling, drinking, drug use, womanizing -Performed in gambling dens, juke joints in the south, specifically Mississippi Delta area. -Charlie Patton -(May 1, 1891-April 28, 1934) -He is considered by many to be the “Father of the Delta Blues” and therefore one of th oldest known figures of American popular music.

-Robert Johnson -(May 8, 1911-August 16, 1938) -His landmark recordings from 1936-37 display a remarkable combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generations of musicians. Johnson’s shadowy, poorly documented life and violent death at the age of 27 have given rise to much legend.

Class: 01/28/13

Chopin” Mazurka in B-Flat minor, Op.14, No.4 -imoact on jazz -composed, not improve

Ragtime (1899-1917)
Style Characteristics -Originally solo piano, completely composed,
-Very syncopated (left hand-bass notes steady, right hand fast syncopated melodies),
-America’s Early fist pop culture dance craze music.
-Originated in the black community and crossed over to the white
-Youth driven
-Popular dance music, sped up rhythm
-Music publishing began

Scott Joplin -Born between June 1867 – January 1868 died April 1, 1917 -American musician and composed of ragtime music
-He remains the best-known ragtime figure and is regarded as one of the most important composers of classic ragtime -Born post-Civil War, 1st Generation, Free African Americans

Brass bands/society Orchestras -Ensemble style ragtime for ballroom dancing, helped make ratime the most popular music of the nineteen teens. -Reading music was a sign of class. -Blacks memorized music

James Reese Europe -22 February 1881 – 9 May 1919 -was an American ragtime bandleader, arranger and composer
-He was the leading figure on the African American music scene of New York City in the 1910s

The Birth of Jazz -Born around the year 1900. -Was not called jazz but “hot music” at the time -We don’t know who made it happen. -Blues and Ragtime made contract with each other in New Orleans:
-Cotton, brought down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. Went to New England to be processed into fabrics. Jobs. Money. Power. Culture.

The Birth of Jazz – New Orleans

Brass band tradition and the Creole
-Mix ensembles (Black and Creole players) fuse blues (improve, individuality, call and response) with ragtime (syncopation, technique, form).

Storyville -Solo piano in brothels fuses blues and rag elements

Buddy Bolden -September 6, 1877 – November 4, 1931
-was a cornetist and the first New Orleans jazz musician to come to prominence and also credited as the founder of jazz -N.O. (Dixieland) style characteristics
-Front line (horns: trumpet, clarinet, trombone)- play melodies
-Back line (piano, percussion, Banjo, tuba) – keep beat and harmony -banjo instead of upright bass -Gumboo yay a – collection improvisation, slang term (for conversation)
-Complex arrangements and strong structure including solos, and stop-time (rhythmic breaks for solo features)

Class: 01/30/13

Classic Blues
Style Characteristics
Female Singers with small band, autobiographical themes of relationships, range of emotions (ex. Types of Love), performed in tent shows, vaudeville, clubs

Ma Rainey -April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939
-was one of the earliest known professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. -Billed as the Mother of the Blues -Ran a minstrel show with her husband and started singing during one of the sketches. -Dropped the show and began only singing due to it’s popularity

Bessie Smith -July, 1892 or April, 1994 – September 26, 1937 -was the most popular and successful female blues singer of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
-strong influence on subsequent generations of female performers, including Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson, and Nina Simone.

Blues singers would hire jazz musicians in their bands.

Early Jazz Spreads Across US.

Jazz and Society at the Turn of the Century
The Great Migration (1916-1919)
-1/2 million African Americans move from South to Northern Cities looking for better work and to escape segregation -Jazz immorality and youth culture – origin of word: supposedly a slang term for sex -Jazz is the new dance music for rebellious youth culture -Term first used in print 1913.

The Great Recording Controversy
Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1917)
-a New Orleans band which was the first ever to make a jazz recording and the first jazz band to achieve widespread prominence. -“Livery Stable Blues” -All white band, did not improvise, but introduced “jazz-like” sounds to pop culture. -considered first jazz recording, although did not improvise

Early Jazz Pioneers

Jelly Roll Morton -September 20, 1885 or October 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941
-American virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer who some call the first true composer of jazz music. -Morton was a colorful character who liked to generate publicity for himself by bragging.
-His business card referred to im as the Originator of Jazz, and he was and is valued as a source of rare information about early jazz.
-“Jelly Roll” was a stage name.
-Carried a gun
-Performed in brothels, pimp swag.
Sidney Bechet -May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959 -Jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
-he was one of the first important soloists in jazz and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist of any sort
-Forceful delivery, well-constructed improvisations, and a distinctive wide vibrato characterized his playing.

King Oliver -December 19, 1885 – April 10, 1938 -was a bandleader and jazz cornet player. -Important on the 1920’s Chicago jazz scene, gave Louis Armstrong his “big break.”

Test: Part 1: listening, multiple choice by style – 15 question A: work-song/folk hymn (grandparents of jazz) B: Country Blues C: Classic Blues (Ma Rainey, Bettsy Smith) D: Ragtime (solo piano, marching band style violins flutes) E: Dixiland (King Olver, Jelly Roll Morton)
(LOOK AT CANVAS FOR EXAMPLES) AABB Style

Part 2: identify – short answer Identify innovators of the music Between Country Blues and Dixieland 10 or so innovators 2 facts for each innovators

Part 3: essay: bigger concepts, pop culture phenomenon -how jazz spread -process and birth of jazz: creol, blues and ragtime meet, segregation, black history.

55 point
Test

Class: 02/04/13

The Jazz Age

Dixieland Jazz -Also called Hot Jazz -Played in speakeasys

Prohibition and the entertainment industry -Countless gig opportunities in mob run speak-easies help mature the music and spread its popularity

Jazz and Race -Hot Jazz versus Sweet Jazz -Race Records, segregation in music -Sweet Jazz: orchestral style, large ensembles, played for mostly white audiences in ballrooms, little to no improvisation -Paul Whiteman: America’s most popular “jazz” dance band.

Louis Armstrong
Changes to the New Orleans formula -The Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (1925-28)
-The 5 Major Innovations -Raised the bar for technical mastery of all jazz instruments -Invented jazz singing
-personal interpretation and scat singing
-Invented Swing: a joyful and flexible interpretation of rhythmic ideas over steady pulse -Phased out collective improvisation -Use of Pop Songs as Jazz Repertoire
Class: 02/11/13

White Hot Jazz

-Bix Beiderbecke -March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931 -Notable jazz cornet player and first white improviser of significance. -Beiderbecke was born in Davenport, Iowa to a middle-class family of German origins. -As a teenager he learned to play (even swing) by listening to black bands on Riverboat and in Speakeasies. -Helped to break down stereotypes of race related jazz styles -Grew up in rural America and got interested in jazz through the recordings. -Teaches America that if you understand the roots and concepts anyone can play this music. -Died at 27, alcohol related bodily organ failures

Harlem Stride Piano
Style and Origins
-Style- Solo piano (one man hot jazz band), left hand like back line, right hand like front line -improvised solos, swing (Armstrong influence) -Origins
-Rent Parties-party people threw to make the rent, charge people at the door
-Cutting Contests – party where audiences picks the winner. Showdown almost. “Artistic Gladiators” -Got it’s name from alternating rhythms in left hand and right hand of piano -Very intricate, left hand technique -

James P. Johnson -The Father of Stride -February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955 -Was an African-American pianist and composer -Johnson was one of the originators of the stride style of jazz piano playing -Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey -His family moved to NYC in 1908,
-19111, he attended Jell Roll Morton’s performance in Harlem and was inspired by the blues.

Fats Waller -The Son of Stride -born Thomas Wriht Waller on May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943 -A skilled pianists -Widely recognized as a master of stride -Waller was one of the most popular performers of his era, Waller was also a prolific songwriter, with many songs he wrote or co-wrote still know to modern audiences, such as “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Ain’t Misbehavin”

Art Tatum -The Holy Ghost of Stride -October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956 -Was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso. -Tatum was born in Toledo, Ohio -From infancy he suffered from cataracts, which left him legally blind -The most advanced of all of the Stride Players -Concert music, less dancy -People stopped in awe over his dominating skill and talent

Class: 02/13/13

The Golden Age of Jazz Swing Bands
The Birth of Big Band

-Fletcher Henderson -December 18, 1897 – December 28, 1952 -African American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer -important in the development of big band jazz.
-His band is credited with being the first “sweet” jazz big band to transform into a “hot” jazz big band.
-Hiring Louis Armstrong in 1924 was the first step in the process. Henderson’s and worked at the famous Roseland Ballroom in NYC for over a decade.
-Later in the 30’s Henderson worked as a staff arranger for the very popular Benny Goodman Big Band
-Armstrong joins band and introduces improvisation, utilizes call and response,

Duke Ellington (Cotton Club -30’s) -Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington -April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974 -Was an American Jazz composer, pianists and band leader who has been one of the most influential figures in jazz, if not in all American music. -Ellington’s musical genius and daring compositions helped turn his band into one of the most well known orchestral units in the history of jazz. -His compositions were often written specifically for the style and skills of his band members which helped him develop his unique, often dissonant style. -1927: King Oliver turned down a regular booking for his group at Harlem’s Cotton Club. -The offer passed to Ellington. -With a weekly radio broadcast and famous clientele nightly pouring in to see them, the Cotton Club gave rise to the “golden age” (from 1932 to 142.) of popularity and creativity for Ellington, his band and compositions.
-In the 1930s he toured the US and Europe, made countless classical recordings and even appeared in films.
Class: 02/20/13

Swing: America’s Most Popular Music
-The Depression and Culture
-3 main reasons Jazz was affected and ultimately becomes America’s most popular music by 1935 -Economic: depression nearly bankrupts record industry. 90% decline in sales. Few can afford to go our and see live music. Prohibition ends drastically cutting the work for jazz musicians. Econ-cultural Darwinism: only the strongest, most versatile and best bands survive. -Social: Jazz, specifically Hot Jazz starts to lose its reputation of being “sin” music. Hot Jazz gets a new name, swing, and a larger following, both black and white. Still America’s favorite dance music, swing music and the dancing inspiring by it keeps a while generation positive during the hardest years of the depressions The image of men working together on the and stand helps jazz (swing) be seen by Americans as “the People’s Music.” Swing named after Armstrong’s progression and innovation of the music. -Technological: Radio becomes the driving force in spreading culture most importantly spreading joy of hot jazz aka swing and the big band sound from coast to coast and everywhere in between.

Benny Goodman – The King Of Swing -May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986 was an American jazz musician, big nad leader and virtuoso clarinetist. -3 cultural contributions of Goodman -1. Launches Swing Era (big band hot jazz as America’s most popular music) with a tour to west coast in Aug. 1935) 2. Break the once taboo color barrier by hiring black musicians for his small ensembles and eventually his big band. 3. Proves that jazz is a serious American art form by performing in Carnegie Hall in 1938. He is the first Jazz musician to do this.
Class: 02/21/13

Kansas City Swing -New Swing Capital

Style characteristics -Use of Blues and Rhythm Changes (a simple song form) as foundation of compositions
-Use a “head charts”, simple easy to remember riffs and short melodies as building bocks for compositions.
-Band arrangements utilize call and response melodies between horn sections, multiple solo sections with backgrounds.
-Rhythm section innovations walking bass line and drums keeping the beat on cymbals instead of bass drum. Makes for a light and very danceable swinging pulse.

-William “Count” Bassie -August 21, 1904- April 26, 1984 -American Jazz pianists, bandleader, and composer. -Commonly regarded as one of the most important jazz bandleader of the Swing Era

30’s – The Decade of the Saxophone -dominates the sound of jazz -becomes primary soloist in most pieces

Stars of the Big Bands – the soloists

-Coleman Hawkins -November 21, 1904- May 19, 1969 -Nicknamed “Hawk” and sometimes “Bean” -Prominent Jazz Tenor saxophonists
-Commonly regarded as the first important and influential jazz musician to us the instruments.
-Creator of the “vertical style” of soloing, using chord runs and long running lines in his improvisations. Using full range of the Tenor sax.

-Lester Young -August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959 -Nicknamed Prez, -American jazz tenor saxophonists.
-Remembers as one of the finest, most influential players on his instruments, playing with a cool tone and sophisticated harmonies.
-Creator of the “Horizontal Style” of soloing using repeated tones and lot of space in his improvisations.
-He also became a jazz legend, inventing or establishing much of the hipster ethos, which came to be associated with the music (use of the word cool for example).

---- Midterm -only accept hard copies -due wedensday -100 point -please quickly cite sources -work citied page appreciated -paragrpah – probs worth 5 points on a 30 point question – write a few pages (each)

Duke Ellington
-song supposed to be apart of a Broadway show. Do a LINE BY LINE analysis of the lyrics, secret coded language in every single line. Lyrics.com+ Research
2. compare and contrast Bille Holiday/Ella Fitzgerald 5. 6. & 7 – turn in all three for extra credit. Earn points back from first quiz note which question is extra credit

Class: 02/25/13

5 Innovations??
“Jazz DNA”
Call and Response
Individuality
Syncopation

The Bebop Revolution

Style Characteristics
-Small Ensembles (4-7 piece groups, usually sax and trumpet with rhythm section)
-Fast Tempos and a ne level of technical virtuosity on all instruments
-New, more dissonant, jazz harmonic vocabulary. Increased knowledge of music theory, scales, complex melodies, and dissonant chords.
-More interactive Rhythm section, piano and drums specifically, a conversational style of call and response accompaniment. Time keeping on the cymbal with off beat syncopated hits on drums known as ‘dropping bombs.’

Bebop as Counterculture
History
-Born in jam sessions in Harlem (Minton’s and Monroe’s away from the limelight of mainstream swing bands
-Recording Ban (1942-44) kept Bebop out of public spotlight until it was fully matured. This made it seem all the more drastic and revolutionary.

Social and Artistic Politics of Bop
-Beboppers wanted to be seen and heard as serious musicians, music was for listening and not dancing, consciously non-commercial and anti-swing band cliché
-Beboppers had their own ‘underground’ anti-mainstream style of dress, use of languages (slang terms), social attitudes and practices, and drug of choice (heroin).
-Beboppers become counterculture goes to American Bohemians and Beatnik writers and artists like Jack Kerouac.
-Purposeful generation gap between Swing Era and Beboppers, they wanted to carve out their own culture, approach to music, the music industry and race related issues in society. Leaders of Bebop 2
John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie -October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993 -American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, singer, and composer
-Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz.
-Gillespie was a trumpet virtuoso and gifted improviser, adding layers of harmonic complexity previously unknown to jazz. In addition to his instrumental skills, Dizzy’s image (bert and horn-rimmed spectacles, his scat singing and his light-hearted personality) were essential in trying to popularize bebop.