Music: An Appreciation8th Editionby Roger Kamien

Unit VIII

Jazz

Presentation Development: Robert Elliott

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Jazz

• Developed in the United States• Began around 1900 in New Orleans• Originally music for bars and brothels• Early practitioners primarily African-American

• Main characteristics• Improvisation• Syncopated rhythm• Steady beat• Call and response

• Originally performance music—not notated

• Tremendous impact on pop & art music

• Geographical center has moved aroundJazz in Society

• Originally music for dancing• Listening forms later developed

• No longer associated with unfashionable lifestyle• Colleges now offer bachelor & graduate degrees in jazz

Chpt 1: Jazz Styles: 1900-1950

Roots of Jazz Blend elements of several cultures

West African emphasis on improvisation, percussion & call-and-response techniques

American brass band influence on instrumentation European harmonic & structural practice

Blues & ragtime were immediate sources

Tone Color

Elements of JazzChpt. 1-Jazz Styles: 1900-1950

• Usually performed by combo of 3-8 players

• Created & performed simultaneouslyImprovisation

• Similar to Baroque basso continuo

• Main solo instruments trumpet, trombone, saxophone, clarinet, vibraphone, piano

• Most commonly 32-bar structure: A A B A format

• Backbone is rhythm section

• “Bends,” “smears,” “shakes,” “scoops,” “falls”

• Usually in theme and variations form• Each performance is different

Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony

Elements of JazzChpt. 1-Jazz Styles: 1900-1950

• Syncopation & rhythmic swing are features

• Chord progressions similar to tonal system

• Syncopation often occurs when performer accents note between the regular rhythmic accents

• Rhythmic accent on beats 2 and 4

• Melodies flexible in pitch

• As jazz evolved, harmony grew more complex

• “Swing” result of uneven 8th notes (triplet feel)

• 3rd, 5th, & 7th scale steps often lowered (flatted)• Called “blue” notes, these pitches come from vocal blues

• Dance hall and saloon musicChpt 2: Ragtime

• Piano music w/ left hand “oom-pah” part

• Vocal and instrumental formBlues

• Usually in duple meter at moderate march tempo• Right hand part highly syncopated• Left hand keeps steady beat

• “King of ragtime” was Scott Joplin (1868-1917)Listening Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag Basic set CD 8:42

• 12 measure (bar) musical structure1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12I IV I V I

• 3 part vocal structure: a a’ b• Statement/repeat of statement/counterstatement

Chpt 3: Blues

ListeningLost Your Head Blues (1926)

Performed by Bessie Smith(Smith known as “Empress of the Blues”)

Listening Guide: p. 526Brief Set, CD 4:55

Note: Strophic 12 bar blues form 3 part (a a’ b) vocal structure Trumpet answers vocalist

Call and response

Chpt 4: New Orleans Style

• Also called Dixieland

• Front line of horns supported by rhythm section

• New Orleans was center of jazz 1900-1917

• Characteristics

• Songs frequently based on march or church melody, ragtime piece, pop song, or blues

• Improvised arrangements

• Many notable performers

• Multiple instruments improvising simultaneously• Scat singing• Theme and variation form predominates

• Most famous was trumpeter Louis Armstrong

Listening

Hotter Than That (1927)by Louis Armstrong and His Hot FiveBased on tune by Lillian Hardin Armstrong, his wife and pianist

Listening Guide: p. 530

Basic Set, CD 8:48

Note: Interplay of front line instruments Call and response Scat singing

Also: Dippermouth Blues Basic Set, CD 8:47

Chpt. 4-New Orleans Style

Chpt 5: Swing• Popular 1935-45 (Swing era)

• Written music

• Large bands (usually 15-20 players)

• Primarily for dancing• The popular music of the time

• The music of WWII

• Saxophones, trumpets, trombones, rhythm section

• Melody usually performed by groups of instruments rather than by soloists• Other instruments accompany w/ background riffs

• Theme and variations form common• Usually included improvisation by soloists (singly)

Listening

C-Jam Blues (1942)by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra

Listening Guide: p. 533

Brief set, CD 1:5

Listen for: 12-bar blues format

Contrast

Repetition

Improvisation

Muted brass instruments

Chpt. 5-Swing

Bebop Style

Chpt 6: Bebop

• 1940’s and early 1950’s• Meant for listening—not dancing• Combo was preferred ensemble

• Role of each instrument changed from earlier jazz

• Theme and variations form still dominant• Melodies derived from pop songs or 12-bar blues• Initial melody by soloist or 2 soloists in unison

• Melodic phrases varied in length• Chords built w/ 6 or 7 notes, not earlier 4 or 5

• Many notable performers including• Trumpet Dizzy Gillespie, piano Thelonious Monk• Most famous/influential alto sax Charlie Parker

Listening

Bloomdido (1950)by Charlie Parker

Performed by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Curly Russell, Thelonious Monk, and Buddy Rich

Listening Guide: p. 537 Basic Set, CD 8:54

Note: Based on 12-bar blues format

Fast tempo

Lots of notes

Extended improvisation

Chpt. 6-Bebop

Cool JazzChpt 7: Jazz Styles Since 1950

• 1950’s• More calm and relaxed than Bebop• Relied more upon arrangements

• 1960’sFree Jazz

• Similar to Chance Music• Solos sections of indeterminate length• Improvisation by multiple players at once

• In late 1960’s, rock became potent influenceJazz Rock (Fusion)

• Style combined improvisation w/ rock rhythms• Combined acoustic & electric instruments

Listening

Miles Runs the Voodoo Downfrom Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew (1969)

Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Bennie Maupin, Lenny White, Jack De Johnette, Charles Alias, Jim Riley, Chick Corea, Larry Young, Harvey Brooks, Dave Holland, John McLaughlin

Listening Guide: p. 540

Basic Set, CD 8:55

Note: Electric and acoustic instruments

Mixture of jazz and rock elements