3. JAZZ
1. INTRODUCTION
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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2. 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
Ndidi O - "This May Be The Last Time I Don't Know"
3. 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. Drums, bass (double bass or electric bass), piano, banjo (later replaced by the guitar).
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Melody section: It includes brass and woodwind instruments that provide the melody. Trumpets, trombones, saxophones. Sometimes it also includes vocalists or strings such as violin or cello.​​
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
4. EVOLUTION
Blues
Early 20th-century music style developed 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
Ragtime
Early 20th-century piano style characterized by a syncopated or "ragged" melody over an accompaniment that maintains a steady 2/4 beat. It was written down rather than improvised.
E.g. Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton.
Scott Joplin - "The Entertainer" (1902)
Boogie Woogie
Early 20th-century piano style characterized by virtuoso riffs and tremolos over a "walking bass" accompaniment called "eight to the bar" consisting of eight notes per measure. It is based on the 12-bar blues structure.
E.g. Albert Ammons, Sugar Chile Robinson.
Sugar Chile Robinson - "Caldonia" (1946)
Vocal jazz
Early 20th-century jazz style centered on the vocalist that ranges from traditional standards to experimental pieces. Louis Armstrong popularized scat singing, a technique in which the singer improvises melodies using nonsense syllables.
E.g. Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone.
New Orleans
Early 20th-century jazz style developed in New Orleans, characterized by a 2/4 rhythm and collective improvisation where a trumpet or cornet plays a melody while other instruments provide counter-melodies. It is a direct descendant of New Orleans marching brass bands.
E.g. King Oliver, Louis Armstrong.
King Oliver & Louis Armstrong - "New Orleans Stomp" (1923)
Dixieland
1910s jazz style that is 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
1920s jazz style developed in Chicago, characterized by a 4/4 rhythm and a shift toward individual solos, with the saxophone as the main soloist. It emerged when the Storyville district in New Orleans was closed down and musicians moved north to Chicago.
E.g. Bix Beiderbecke, Bud Freeman.
Bud Freeman - "Craze-ology" (1928)
Swing
1930s jazz style developed in Harlem (New York), characterized by a 4/4 rhythm, a steady walking bass and less improvisation, that was performed by big bands and danced to the lindy hop. It was the most popular period in jazz history.
E.g. Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller.
Benny Goodman - "Sing, Sing, Sing" (1936)
Glenn Miller - "In The Mood" (1939)
Lindy hop
Bebop
1940s jazz style developed in Harlem (New York), characterized by fast and furious tempos, complex melodies, dissonant harmonies, improvisational sections and small bands. It was intended for listening rather than dancing.
E.g. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk.
Dizzy Gillespie - "A Night In Tunisia" (1942)
Cool jazz
1950s jazz style characterized by relaxed tempos, moderate timbre contrasts and small bands. Brass performers often used mutes and drummers used brushes to get softer sounds or varied timbres. It emerged as a direct contrast to bebop.
E.g. Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck.
Dave Brubeck - "Take Five" (1959)
Free jazz
1960s jazz style characterized by free collective improvisation, polyrhythms, atonal harmonies and the use of noise as a musical element. It broke away from all traditional rules of rhythm, melody and harmony.
E.g. Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Charlie Mingus.
The Sound of Music. "My Favourite Things" (1959)
John Coltrane - "My Favourite Things" (1961)
Jazz fusion
1970s jazz style that combined jazz with other genres such as Latin music, rock or funk, resulting in various subgenres.
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Latin jazz: 1970s style that combined jazz with Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms and percussion.
E.g. Tito Puente, Chucho Valdés. -
Jazz rock: 1970s style that combined jazz with rock rhythms and electric instruments.
E.g. Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea. -
Acid jazz: 1980s/90s style that combined elements of jazz, funk, soul and hip hop.
E.g. Us3.
Chick Corea - "Dance of Chance" (1982)
(Jazz rock)
Us3 - "Cantaloop" (1993)
(Acid jazz)