JAZZ
JAZZ
Jazz is an American music originated at the beginning of the 20th century in slave communities in the United States from a mix of African and European music traditions. During the 18th and 19th centuries thousands of people were taken as slaves from Africa to America. Many died on their long journey by ship and those that survived were sold in auctions and put to work on the plantations of the Southern states of the United States. Slaves were forced to become Christians and attend church. Their life was horrible, yet the slaves sang work songs about their feelings and problems. Work songs, spirituals, gospel and blues are in the roots of jazz. This music later influenced music all over the world.
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Musical features
Jazz is a musical conversation: partly planned and partly spontaneous.
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Improvisation: spontaneous creation of new melodies while performing over a repeating chord progression.
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Call and response: conversational style in which a group of instruments or voices answers a soloist.
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Solo: passage performed by one instrumentalist or singer with or without accompaniment.
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Syncopation: rhythmic accentuation of beats that are normally unstressed.
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Swing feeling: rhythmic play over a four-beat rhythm, that is perceived when music combines a steady tempo, an off-beat accenting and a continuous rising and falling of the melodic line.
Cotton field song
This May Be The Last Time I Don't Know
Instrumentation
Instruments in jazz are grouped into two distinct sections:
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Rhythm section: It includes percussion and polyphonic instruments that provide the rhythmic and harmonic foundation.
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Drums.
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Bass: double bass or electric bass.
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Piano.
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Banjo, later replaced by the guitar.
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Melody section: It usually includes brass and woodwind instruments that provide the melody. Sometimes it also includes vocalists or strings such as violin or cello.
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Trumpets.
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Trombones.
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Saxophones.
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The size of a jazz band is related to the style of jazz it plays and the venues in which it performs. Jazz ensembles vary in size from a small trio or quartet to a big band.
Seating diagram for a typical 17 piece big band
EVOLUTION AND STYLES
Blues
Music style developed around the turn of the 20th century in the African-American communities of the southern United States. It is perhaps jazz’s greatest influence. The word blues is a synonym for feeling sad.
E.g. W. C. Handy, Bessie Smith, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson.
Musical features
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Normally sad topics about the struggle of slavery or unrequited love. The lyrics of the first two phrases usually state a problem and the third phrase resolves it in some manner.
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The tempo is usually slow and expressive.
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The structure is often the 12 bar blues, that contains 3 four-measure phrases.
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The blues scale with flatted 3rd, 5th and 7th which are the "blue notes" and provide the "blue" feeling.
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The walking bass line is used sometimes.
Leadbelly - Where Did You Sleep Last Night (1944)
(Nirvana cover)
Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago (1936)
The 12 bar blues
12 bar blues examples
Ray Charles - What'd I Say
(Rhythm & blues)
John Travolta - Greased Lightning
(Rock and roll)
Ragtime
Piano style developed in the early 1900s in which the right hand plays a syncopated or "ragged" melody while the left hand maintains the beat with an accompaniment in duple time. This music was written down rather than improvised and it influenced jazz.
E.g. Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton.
Scott Joplin - The Entertainer (1902)
Boogie Woogie
Piano style developed in the early 1900s in which the right hand plays a melody while the left hand plays a walking bass of eight notes per bar, so this style is sometimes called "eight to the bar". It was based on blues, similar to ragtime and it influenced jazz.
E.g. Albert Ammons, Sugar Chile Robinson.
Sugar Chile Robinson - Caldonia (1946)
Vocal jazz
Jazz style developed in the early 20th century, that is focused on the singer and ranges from traditional song standards to more experimental pieces. Louis Armstrong introduced scat singing in which the vocalist sings an improvised melody with nonsense syllables.
E.g. Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone.
Billie Holiday - The Blues Are Brewin' (1947)
Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me (1958)
New Orleans
Jazz style developed in the early 20th century in New Orleans featured by collective improvisation over a melody played by the cornet or trumpet. It's a direct descendant of marching brass bands of New Orleans.
E.g. King Oliver, Louis Armstrong.
King Oliver & Louis Armstrong - New Orleans Stomp (1923)
Dixieland
Jazz style developed in the 1910s as a variant of New Orleans style performed by white musicians.
E.g. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
Original Dixieland Jazz Band - Livery Stable Blues (1917)
Chicago
Jazz style developed in the 1920s in Chicago featured by clarity and focused on the soloist. Storyville district in New Orleans was closed down by the police and musicians moved to Chicago.
E.g. Bix Beiderbecke, Bud Freeman.
Original Dixieland Jazz Band - Livery Stable Blues (1917)
Swing
Jazz style developed in the 1930s in New York, that was a very successful dance accompanied by big bands that included a 4-player rhythm section, 8 brasses, 5 woodwinds and sometimes a singer.
E.g. Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller.
Benny Goodman - Sing, Sing, Sing (1936)
Glenn Miller - In The Mood (1939)
Lindy hop
Bebop
Jazz style developed in the 1940s in Harlem, that was fast and furious with complex melodies and rhythms, dissonant harmonies and improvisatory sections conceived for small bands. It was meant for listening rather than dancing.
E.g. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk.
Dizzy Gillespie - A Night In Tunisia (1942)
Cool jazz
Jazz style developed in the 1950s, that was a direct contrast to bebop with peaceful rhythms, moderate timbre contrasts and smaller bands. Players often used mutes in brass instruments to achieve soft sounds or different timbres.
E.g. Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck.
Dave Brubeck - Take Five (1959)
Free jazz
Jazz style developed in the 1960s, that broke with all preceding styles making use of polyrhythms, improvisations, atonal harmonies and noise as a musical element.
E.g. Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus.
John Coltrane - My Favourite Things (1961)
(original song)
Jazz fusion
Jazz style developed in the 1970s, that mixed jazz with different styles such as Latin music, rock, folk, classical, pop, rap, etc. resulting in many jazz subgenres.
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Latin jazz: Jazz style which combined jazz with Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms and percussion instruments.
E.g. Tito Puente, Chucho Valdés, Astor Piazzolla.
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Jazz rock: Jazz style which combined jazz with rock rhythms and electric instruments.
E.g. Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea.
Chick Corea - Dance of Chance (1982)
(Jazz rock)
US3 - Cantaloop (1993)
(Jazz rap)