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77 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Significance of Palomar Ballroom
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Benny Goodman Orchestra's final stop on a disastrous cross country tour. They started out slow to avoid confrontation and then he pulled out a Fletcher Henderson chart which was 'hot' music. the crowd went wild with excitement
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cultural aspects of swing (clothing style, lingo, magazines, critical ingredient)
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Clothing style: bobby sox, white buck shoes, sweaters, pleated dresses, zoot suits. Lingo: "cutting a rug" "belly warmer" "Dish" "Fine dinner". Magazines: Down Beat, metronome, Swing Out. Critical Ingredient: Dancing (jitterbug, suzie Q, lindy hop, etc.)
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Elvis of the swing era generation
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Benny Goodman. First star of the swing era, although he did NOT create it. he was the lightning rod.
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how fireside chats played an important role
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brought americans together in troubling times. prejudices among different ethnicities were abandoned becuase people saw a need to come together. this was all due to WWII.
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Swing was the sound that changed america
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the orchestras replaced the spontaneous individual improvisations of New Orleans jazz ensemble. They had a specific role and had to play as a team.
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Swing became a commercial product that had to be produced, marketed and sold. This meant adhering to the following standards:
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instrumentation: 5 brass, 4 reeds, and 1 man rhythm section. Appearance: matching suits, coordinated movements; fronts with logos. vocalists: girl (looks mattered as much as voice). Theme songs. Danceable music and entertaining audience.
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Fronts
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paneled cardboard structures designed to hide music stands and make the visual display of the sax section more attractive
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Sweet bands
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cut in the mold of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, playing stock arrangements of overly commercial dance music. Some of the most popular bands of the era were sweet bands, including Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians and the Sammy kaye Orchestra
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Stock Arrangements
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easy to play dance band arrangements of popular songs, sold by publishing companies
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Commercial bands
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straddled the fence and played a mix of hot and sweet music. most common. commanded good money and played some jazz tunes, often contained several excellent jazz players.
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Hot Bands
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true jazz bands. most exciting and jazz oriented arrangements as well as the best jazz soloists. Duke Ellington, Count basie, etc.
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Benny Goodmans career path
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born in chicago's jewish ghetto. father instilled intense drive to get ahead. when he was 10 his dad signed him up to play in the Kehelah Jacob Synagogue. Assigned clarinet since he was small. 16 took job w/ traveling Ben Pollack orchestra. got big break and met jazz impresario John Hammond
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John Hammond's influence on Benny Goodman
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organized goodman's first recording sessions. he helped goodman start own orchestra. his management put together the cross-country tour that was to begin in mid summer and conclude at Los Angeles' Palomar Ballroom. He made history at the congress hotel by tearing down one of the walls of racial segregation
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Let's Dance
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radio program nationally broadcasted on NBC which was sponsored by Nabisco to introduce their new Ritz Cracker. Goodman played the last hour and once the show was cancelled goodman's fortune changed.
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Teddy Wilson and why it was significant that he was included in Goodmans trio
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he was a black pianist and it was inappropriate and rare for a racial mixing on stage. The racially mixed group appeared on stage with the music press in attendance. there was no public backlash so goodman continued to hire more black musicians.
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King of Swing
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Goodman became known as this. headlined the first ever-jazz concert at Carnegie Hall. Some of the greatest musicians of the era passed through the band. at 76 he appeared at the Kool Jazz Festival, brought a young crowd to its feet. died the next year of a heart attack.
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Carnegie Hall
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Goodman's orchestra headlined the first ever-jazz concert to a standing room only crowd.
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Duke Ellington shows
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clubs and hotels were sold out; reporters and critics were enthusiastic. traveled in three Pullman railroad cars, so they wouldn't have to worry about being hassled at gas stations/restaurants or finding the 'black' hotel in each town they played.
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Duke Ellington: Importance of "Creole Rhapsody"
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it was the first recording to break the three-minute barrier of the 78 rpm disc. It filled both sides of the disc.
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Ellington had became the...
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first important composer in jazz, if not all American music
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Ellington's compositions were categorized into four distinct styles. Jungle was significant in that it was...
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written for the cotton club floorshows
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Ellington's compositions were categorized into four distinct styles. Concertos were...
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written to feature the unique talents of his many fine and versatile soloists
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Ellington's compositions were categorized into four distinct styles. Impressionistic was a term that...
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extended works written mainly in his middle and later career that evoked images or memories of people, places or history
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Ellington's compositions were categorized into four distinct styles. Popular tunes were ones that were...
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huge catalogue of popular and dance tunes written throughout his career, often using the 32-bar standard song form or the 12-bar blues form.
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Some examples of impressionistic were...
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Musical portraits: of famous personalities like "portrait of the lion". Musical Pictures: places including "Harlem", etc. Historical Pieces: including black, brown and beige, 50 minute tone parallel to the history of the negro in america. Religious: sacred concerts in 1965, 68, & 73 performed by his orchestra were full chorus in cathedrals & churches
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Cross-sectional voicing. What is it and whos characteristic was it?
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written melody played in unison by two instruments from different sections, creating a new instrumental color; example a melody written for flue & muted trumpet. Duke Ellington
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Sweet Pea. Who was he and what is his significance?
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Billy Strayhorn. He was Ellington's callaborator. he went about studying his scores to learn what he called the "Ellington Effect" He was known as sweet pea for his size and mild manner and he stayed with Ellington until his death. he composed the bands theme song "Take the 'A' train"
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Famous Orchestra
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Ellington's orchestra became known as this. it was regarded as the best lineup of his career and the players had been with him for several years that were well rehearsed and tight.
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Events that stood out memorable in Ellington's last 20 years. & significance as to how he died.
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Appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival he performed "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" a piece he had written 20 years before. The crowd urged tenor sax Paul Gonsalves to play a 27 chorus solo that whipped the crowd to a frenzy. This revived his career. He died of cancer with an electric piano next to him since he was still composing.
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William "Count" Basie's life & how Hammond found him.
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teens he learned to play stride piano from Fats Waller and worked his way into music business playing organ in theatres and traveling vaudeville shows. He played with Walter Page, whom played the most powerful walking bass of his generation, he found his piano style evolving away from the heavy-handedness of stride. He was found by Hammond while he sat in his car listening for new talent around the country. He heard a broadcasting of his band live from Reno Club in KC. He went there to listen to them in person after that.
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All American Rhythm Section. Whos band? & details.
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"Count" Basie's band. Allowed rhythm section to "Breathe" by playing fewer notes. This was the first modern rhythm section in jazz history. Basie's band built its rep on swinging harder than anyone else, rather than with arrangements or by playing the latest pop tunes. The soloists became critically important to the sound of the band since in the early years his music was hardly written on paper.
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Basie band in 50s & 60s
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Used to have little to no written music, but now they needed it due to having to cut the big band down to a small group. His band became known as a "writers" band, with the best session musicians and arrangers in jazz.
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What are the names of the other five important swing era bandleaders?
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Chick Webb, Jimmie Lunceford, Cab Calloway, Artie Shaw, and Charlie Barnet
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who were the two great tenor sax players that emerged during the swing era?
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Coleman Hawkins aka "Bean" & Lester Young "Prez"---they were polar opposites
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Hawkins career path
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"father of the tenor sax" established a rep as a star soloist with henderson orchestra. led to europe where he spent next 5 years appearing w/ a number of orchestras. the song "Body & Soul" was recorded and forever linked with his name.
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Vertical Style: who used it & what is it?
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improvising style based on chord tones (which are stacked vertically in notated music) as opposed to a melodic style (which is notated horizontally). This was done by Coleman Hawkins.
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Lester Young: style characteristics
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light breathy sound, improvisations were rooted in blues, played with a looser rhythm often untied to the beat. Was close with Billie Holiday, they reunited later on and played "Fine and mellow" together on the TV program The Sound of Jazz.
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Wordless Vocal: who used it and what was it?
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Duke Ellington used it and it was nonsense sounds like "oohs and ahhs"
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Charlie Christian & his significance with whom?
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hired by Benny Goodman. Christian played electric guitar and goodman was iffy on hiring him since it was a relatively new concept. but Christian was hard to turn down due to his talents.
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Billie Holiday: tone of her life
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racial & sexual discrimination & oppression, tragedy, violence, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and tempestuous relationships with managers, lovers, and husbands. she was molested by 10 and a prostitute by 12.
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importance of the black and tan club in Greenwich Village called Cafe Society.
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this is where she premiered her anti-lynching song called: "Strange Fruit"
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Concerto
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written to feature talents of many soloists.
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Savoy Ballroom
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dance ballroom that integrated blacks and whites together. Lindy Hop became popular here.
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Cabaret Card
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identification card/license to work in a facility that sold alcohol. Many musicians lost this due to drugs, alcohol abuse, etc.
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Factors leading to the end of swing.
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Changing Economics: salaries, traveling costs, etc. The War: travel was costly due to gas and rubber rationing. Thousands of musicians were called to duty. Predictability: standardized conventions in name of making money caused predictability. Writers would get tired of writing the same thing over and over & quit. AF of M Recording Ban. Changing Audience. Bebop changed publics perception of jazz from dance music to listening music.
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AF of M recording ban
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stood for: American Federation of Musicians. Banned all recordings by its members. this turned the publics attention to other music styles.
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how bebop changed jazz/ The "Critical Moment"
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went from popular dance music to intellectual art music. musicians ignored it, others embraced it, other initiated nostalgic backlash against it.
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'new breed' of jazz musicians were the...
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innovations of the most progressive musicians of the 1930s. (reharmonizations, virtuosity, vertical improvisations, bluesy relaxed style, modern swing of the basie rhythm section.)
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how were beboppers appearances different from swing?
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goatees, sunglasses, & berets. Many began to use narcotics
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Minton's Playhouse. Manager /"Celebrity Night"/it became known as the...
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Teddy Hill hired by Henry Minton. "celebrity Night" was after hour jam sessions on monday nights, offering free food. it became known as the "Showplace of Harlem" THE place to be.
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Clark Monroe's Uptown House. Operated by/known as
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operated by tap dancer Clark Monroe. He was a flashy dresser & handsome. he was known as "Dark Gable"
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Why was Savoy Ballroom shut down? & where was the jazz scene moved to?
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shut down because servicemen were supposedly picking up vernereal diseases there. Moved downtown to "The Street" which was home to a cluster of clubs in narrow basements. Used to be speakeasies.
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whats the standard size of the ensemble for a bebop group?
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five pieces: trumpet, sax, piano, bass & Drums
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Arrangements for bebop
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solos became focus of the performance and gave improvisor max elbowroom to experiment & show off. the charts were merely melody.
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Tempos of bebop
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purposely undanceable: usually extremely fast, but also occasionally very slow as well.
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bebop Rhythm
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unpredictable. Dropping bombs, pianists used comping (chords in percussive & syncopated way), song would stop or start in unexpected places.
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Bebop Harmony
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Reharmonization or Chord substitution (replacing existing chords of a chord progression w/ new ones; common practice among bebop musicians and composers)
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bebop melody
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complex & challenging to play. riffs tend to repeat in unpredictable ways.
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interval commonly used in improvised solos and bebop melodies. From middle C, going up by a _______ interval would result in a G sharp. this is what?
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Flatted 5th
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Bebop Repertoire
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many original compositions were merely jazz standards with new melodies slappped onto the existing chords.
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in summary the characteristics of bebop are...
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high-spirited, positive, and joyful music. Small combo, usually five pieces (trumpet, sax, piano, bass, drums). Simple arrangements (horns play head in unison), emphasis on lengthy, improvised solos. Extreme tempos--fast or slow. Reharmonization & chord substitution common, unpredictable melodies/flatted 5th common, new repertoire created from jazz standards using new melodies.
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Reharmonization/chord substitution involves:
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replacing the existing chords of a chord progression with new ones; it was a common practice among bebop musicians & composers.
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Artist & publishing royalties
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payments collected from record companies by publishing companies for each record sold of a song written by one of their songwriter clients.
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Dropping bombs
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used by drummers. syncopated accents. Instead of the way swing was: pounding out each beat.
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comping
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pianists would play chords in percussive & syncopated way.
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Characteristics of Dizzy Gillespie's career
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played trumpet. and he was the first of the three to make an impression on the NY scene. Emulated Roy Eldridge's style and replaced him in Teddy Hill band. Became featured soloists in Cab Calloway Orchestra. Got fired because Calloway was tired of pranks etc.
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How did Gillespie's career differ from other Beboppers?
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he developed an interest in Cuban and latin rhythms. And introduced Afro-Cuban style.
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Who was Dizzy Gillespie's musical soul mate?
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Charlie Parker. They captivated the jazz world when they co-led a combo at the Three Deuces
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Dizzy Gillespie participated in what is called the first bebop recording session with Coleman Hawkins, there he recorded:
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Woody'n You
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Why did Dizzy Gillespie break out on his own?
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wanted to focus his attention on his first love, big band music. This is where he introduced the Afro-Cuban styles.
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Afro-Cuban style
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his big band was co-led by a Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo and this style incorporated Latin Rhythms and percussion. Characteristics: complex rhythms from Cuba, Latin America, & Africa intertwined w/ bebop melodies & improv. Percussion instruments such as: bongos, congas, & timbales were incorporated. Originally used in big band settings of Dizzy.
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Charlie Parker as a child
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free to roam KC during Pendergast era and began to sneak into the Reno & other clubs to hear Lester Young and other great tenor players. His father had deserted the family & mother was always working nights.
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Charlie Parker with other musicians
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Those that played with him often said he was the worst musician in the band. He played in front of Count Basie and Jo Jones. Jones was so appalled that he stopped playing and threw a cymbal across the dance floor. Determined to improve he spent all his free time "wood-shedding" and learning about harmony.
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How did Charlie Parker get his nickname 'bird'?
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on the way to a gig at the University of Nebraska the car killed a chicken in the road and he had it cooked for him when the band arrived in lincoln.
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Charlie Parker worked tirelessly to adopt innovations from whom?
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Art Tatum
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Charlie Parker was in an out of what band?
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McShann. this is where jazz world got first glimpse of his genius from first recordings and national radio broadcasts with this band.
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How was bird viewed?
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viewed as a pathetic junky by many that came to see him play in LA. depressed by this he began to drink heavily and had a breakdown after a recording session in which he could hardly play. He set his hotel bed on fire and was arrested, his six-month commitment to the state hospital cleaned up his heroin addiction.
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