History of Jazz

History & Appreciation of Performing Arts

J. Howard

Jazz Vocabulary—You need to define• Blues• Band• Bar• Brass• Call and response• Ensemble• Expression• Improvise• Instrumental• Jazz• March• Ragtime• Rhythm• Solo• Style• Syncopation

Components of Jazz• Solo work—even in an ensemble where individuals

support one another in close musical communion, every player also gets an opportunity to solo

• Improvisation—Jazz players “riff” off whatever melodic structure is being played, often taking the music to exciting heights in the process, but always coming back to the basic structure eventually

• Experimentation—From Dixieland to swing, be-bop, fusion, and every other phase jazz has experienced, innovators have never shied away from experimenting with new possibilities in their art form

• Adventurous rhythms—Syncopation is one of many hallmarks of jazz music

• Urban sense—jazz was born and evolved almost entirely in America’s larger cities

Jazz—End of 1800s• Jazz music emerges in New Orleans. Grew out

of a combination of field/work songs (the 1st African American musical form)

• From New Orleans, delta blues and gospel music in the rural South, ragtime piano music, and military marching music from European troops stationed in New Orleans

• Jazz was spelled jass

Jazz—1900s• Jazz developed into Dixieland style• Louis Armstrong (1st great jazz soloist) was

born in New Orleans in 1901; around 1912 (in reform school after getting in trouble with the law) he learned to play the coronet, the instrument which much later made him famous

Jazz—1910s• First jazz recording is made “Livery Stable

Blues” by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917.

• Storyville entertainment district of New Orleans closed, and jazz musicians migrated to northern cities.

• Dixieland is still dominant style.

Jazz—1920s• Jazz spread across the country and the world.• 1920s era of prohibition (no legal alcohol sales), flappers,

and author F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby).• A famous American social dance was the Charleston—

invented to accompany jazz music.• Jazz became a hit in Paris; gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt

and singer Josephine Baker became jazz stars in Europe.• Harlem Renaissance began in New York, and the Cotton

Club opened with Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington performing (black performers/white only audience).

• George Gershwin wrote jazz related music for Broadway shows.

• Bessie Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong recorded hit records.

Jazz—1930s• Benny Goodman broke the color barrier by

integrating his quartet; toured his big band nationwide; and played Carnegie Hall in New York City, establishing jazz as a legitimate art form.

• Great vocalists were Ella Fitzgerald (helped to develop scat singing), Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holliday.

• Kansas City (with its political corruption and criminal syndicate-owned nightclubs provided plenty of work for musicians) became a major “experimental jazz” city through its late-night jam sessions.

• Count Bessie Orchestra began in Kansas City.

Jazz—1940s• Big Band swing music dominated WWII era• Jazz spread in Europe because of recordings by

American military personnel and because of popularity of Glenn Miller (big band leader, Air Force orchestra director

• 33 1/3 LPs—”long playing” wax/vinyl recordings invented

• France invented jazz festivals• Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie started be-bop style

(because of the jazz clubs 52nd Street in NYC known as “Bebop Street”

• Combos replaced big bands• R & B developed—Ray Charles & James Brown were

popular R&B artists, starting another musical trend

Jazz—1950s• The “beat” generation dominated popular music• Newport Jazz Festival originated in U.S. • Museums integrated jazz music to complement their

abstract visual art• Racial integration was a major topic of the day, and

black jazz musicians began using jazz as a means of expressing anger at racial, political, and social injustice

• Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis originated “cool jazz”• Because West Coast jazz had become softer and lighter

than traditional style, East coast jazz artists (Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins) returned to an edgier style

• Vocal jazz continued to remain popular

Jazz—1960s• Time of great social change• Era of rock music, Vietnam War protests, the

American Civil Rights Movement with Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X

• Radical new “free jazz” was informal• John Coltrane became an important composer• Miles Davis first performed jazz in huge arenas

and introduced electric instruments and rock rhythms

Jazz—1970s• Jazz fusion (jazz + rock) was developed• “Loft jazz” was performed for free in empty

factory buildings• Spectacle, stage makeup, costumes, dance,

and world music were introduced in more formal, theatrical jazz performances

Jazz—1980s• The CD (compact disc) was invented replacing

vinyl records• The recording industry transferred historical

jazz recordings to CDs as a way to preserve American music history

Jazz—1990s & 2000s• New trends in African-American and popular

music (rap, hip-hop) grew out of jazz• Electronic rhythms important• Jazz artists in this era include diverse

instrumentalists and vocalists such as Ellis, Wynton & Branford Marsalis, Diana Krall, Keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, Harry Connick Jr., Madeleine Peyroux, and Norah Jones

• “Smooth jazz” increased in popularity.• Jazz continued to reflect the contemporary world

and the urban human condition