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47 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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comparing early jazz with swing era jazz
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1) preferred instrumentation was big band rather than combo; greater use of written arrangements in swing
2) saxophones more common in swing 3) upright string bass appeared more often in swing 4) high-hat cymbals were used more 5) collective improv was rare 6) overall rhythmic feeling was smoother 7) swing musicians usually had a higher level of instrumental proficiency (in terms of speed, agility, tone control, and paying in tune) |
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role of rhythm section
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hold down the beat for everyone else; piano occasionally played melody but often just played chords (comping wasn't extremely common in the 30s but Basie did use it) and embellishments
bass was assigned "timekeeping duties"; soloed infrequently; Jimmy Blanton (Duke's bassist) was one of the first bassists to perform melodically conceived pizzicato solos drums usually were there to make the beat obvious for dancers and lend swing feeling to the band through the use of ride rhythm |
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two-beat bass vs walking bass
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two-beat = played on 1 and 3;
walking = play on every beat |
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important big band leaders
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duke ellington, count basie, fletcher henderson, benny goodman, jimmie lunceford
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influential saxophonists
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coleman hawkins, lester young, benny carter, johnny hodges
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influential pianists
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art tatum, teddy wilson, erroll garner
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basie's rhythm section
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first one to consistently swing in a smooth, relaxed way. Walter Page (bassist); Freddie Green (guitar); Jo Jones (drums); Basie on piano
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two functions of riffs
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1) serve as theme statements OR
2) serve as backgrounds for improvised solos |
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form: taxi war dance (basie big band)
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8m intro - first 4m boogie-woogie figure left hand piano; ride rhythm on the high hat; next 4m trumpets in unison w/piano and "walking" trombones
32m AABA tenor solo (lester young) 2m intro to second chorus 32m AABA trombone solo 32m AABA call and response 32m AABA call and response 10m broken up into 2-measure stop time solos, ends with a tie-up figure in the horns followed by the high-hat cymbals "clicking" the piece shut |
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lester young vs coleman hawkins
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hawkins = heavy tone, fast vibrato, complicated style
young = smooth, easy tone subtle accenting, more cool and less dense - used a lot of chromatic notes to add color |
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form: lester leaps in
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4m piano intro
32m AABA - riff band theme statement AA: muted trumpet, trombone, and tenor play a 4m melodic figure four times w/rhythm section accomp. B: Basie piano solo; lots of space to hear bass and drums A: horns state the riff two more times 32m AABA lester young tenor solo -ride rhythm on opening and closing high-hat - basie comping - walking bass 32m AABA A: young and basie improvise around each other A2: stop-time solo breaks for Young first 6m, then rhythm comes back in B: young continues solo A: more stop-times for young 32 AABA: basie and young trade 4s 32 AABA: call and response A: ensemble calls "bop bop bop-bop bah!"; young responds w/improv A: same as A1 but basie responds B: basie continues improv A: bop bop bop-bop bah; young responds 32m AABA call and response A: bop bop bop-bop bah; basie responds A: bop bop bop-bop bah; basie responds B: basie continues A: bop bop bop-bop bah; band members collectively improvise a closing by simultaneously playing diff lines in Dixieland style |
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West African call-and-response versus European call-and response
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W. African: call is still in the air when response begins: the two parts overlap; causes rhythmic conflict and has a provocative effect (W. African call and response is overlapping call and response)
European call-and-response is nonoverlapping c&r. found in taxi war dance! |
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wilkinson
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"The Influence of West African Pedagogy upon the Education of New Orleans Jazz Musicians"
Wilkinson’s main argument is that West African pedagogy greatly influenced the jazz style that developed in early 20th-century New Orleans. He compares European and West African pedagogy and admits that formal European pedagogy still has a place in the education of New Orleans jazz musicians. However, he provides evidence suggesting that the most important aspects of jazz (indeed, what makes jazz jazz) - including improvisation, syncopation, and timbre (“tonation”) - have roots in West African music education. |
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ogren
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"Prudes and Primitives: White Americans Debate Jazz"
jazz = post-WWI identity struggle for Americans; industrialization, urbanization, machination - speed jazz was not only affected by change; it CONVEYED change whites trying to "dignify and legitimize jazz" some saw jazz as primitive, and this "primitivism" would serve as a "positive counterpoise to the discontents of civilization" alternative: pluralist approach - appreciate each genre on its own terms |
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wilson
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"Black Music as an Art Form"
six main characteristics of black music, which include the concepts of a syncopated approach to rhythm; a percussive approach to instruments (including the voice); a tendency toward call-and-response form; a tendency to “fill up all of the musical space” with lots of instruments and sounds; a tendency toward a “kaleidoscopic range” of timbre; and a tendency to “incorporate physical body motion as an integral part of the music making process” Western versus African def'ns of art - African art has a "functional efficacy" where W. art does not blending of European and W. African ideas of art produces a new kind of art that can only be understood in its particular ideological and historical perspective |
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swing as
1) genre 2) rhythmic sense 3) social phenomenon |
1) as a genre, swing was America's pop music in the 1930s. music of the youth - teen music; very danceable. also appealing to musicians because it was a creative exciting art and they could make a living with it.
2) triplet over duple feel 3) performed in dance halls for everyone, everywhere. swing was one of the first areas of pop culture to become integrated racially/socioeconomically/age. Large immigrant pop. Had a social leveling effect. |
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big band - sections
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size of ensemble expanding. three main sections: brass (tpets and trombones); reeds (saxes, clarinets); rhythm (upright string bass, drum set, piano, rhythm guitar)
also, director! bandleaders usually played piano (duke, basie). and sometimes a vocalist, a composer/arranger |
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three functions of a walking bass
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one note/beat (four to the floor); reinforce harmony, creative note choices opened up the possibility of soloing
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riffs
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short, melodic/rhythmic phrases
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comping
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unpredictable, syncopated chording popularized by Count Basie
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through-composition
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music written through from start to finish - characteristic of Ellington's pieces, whereas Basie's were head arrangements in the style of Kansas City Bands
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what's special about Ellington's compositions?
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he wrote them for specific soloists; sometimes wrote with them
regarding timbre, there was a very wide range of colors (eerie/otherworldly; used inst in highest/lowest ranges to change the sound; experimented with mutes) |
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who was Duke's arranger?
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billy strayhorn - symbiotic relationship - blurry line sometimes
(also billie holiday and lester young) |
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Duke's instrument?
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well, piano. but his orchestra was his instrument.
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two kinds of voicing
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1) across sections (adds color)
2) within harmonies (chord voicings) (this was in the duke section of notes) |
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Billie Holiday
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Known for rhythmic displacement, that is a sort of disassociation with the ground beat - more flexible rhythmic fabric (ie her "A Sailboat in the Moonlight" versus Guy Lombardo's)
poignant quality of her timbre put own stamp on a range of material collaborations with Lester Young |
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Ella Fitzgerald
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known for her improvisational scat singing and the instrumental conception she applied to her improvs. Ella mastered the challenge of "doing something to impress the band"
joyful quality of her timbre; heavy swing chose material to suit her vocal character |
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crooning
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more of a pop phenomenon than a jazz phenomenon
made possible by electric microphone, which could pick up more vocal nuances and therefore allowed for this softer style of singing) |
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how did basie's bands play?
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Kansas City style, using riffs (simple figures which were played repeatedly atop pop tune and 12-bar blues accompaniments)
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basie rhythm section...
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...set the pace for modern methods of timekeeping and accompanying
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how was ellington special?
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-derived style from james p johnson, but also devised original style for setting pace/mood of his pieces and ornamenting solos of musicians
-maintained a large ensemble from early 1920s to death in 1974 -many musicians were extremely loyal and stayed in his band for 20+ years -composed > 2000 pieces -some pieces represent pioneering efforts in jazz for exceeding brief time limit/exploring themes (black, brown, and beige) |
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ellington pieces that became popular
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satin doll; mood indigo; i'm beginning to see the light
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ellington as arranger
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1) diversity of themes w/in single piece
2) voicing across sections 3) wordless vocals 4) writing parts for unique capabilities of musicians 5) mixing improv with written parts |
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jimmy blanton
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duke's bassist - first bassist to start playing melody lines, opened up bass to being a solo instrument
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johnny hodges & ben webster
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ellington's famous saxophonists
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cootie williams and joe "tricky sam" nanton
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trumpeter and trombonist respectively - masters of the growl
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bubber miley
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ellington's trumpeter, also known for growling
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harry carney
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ellington's bari saxist - "father of the jazz bari sax"
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"a ballad" (how deep is the ocean"
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features coleman hawkins - written by irving berlin
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"something swinging" (voodte)
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features coleman hawkins - riff style (brief phrases that frequently repeat)
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"after you've gone"
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features roy eldridge, trumpet (higher and faster than any other swing trumpeter of the 30s) - by the gene krupa big band
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walkin and swingin
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features Mary Lou Williams who also composed/arr; with Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy
also a taste of dick wilson (tenor sax) |
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seven come eleven
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composed by benny goodman and charlie christian; features benny as well as charlie (guitar) and lionel hampton on vibraphone
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perdido
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melody and chors by juan tizol. lyrics improvised by ella fitzgerald! (with charlie parker, roy eldridge, hank johnes, ray brown, buddy rich)
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ellington pieces
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cottontail (features cootie williams, ben webster, harry carney)
harlem airshaft (lots of layers - combines gritty, soulful NO combo jazz w/sophisticated NY big band style) prelude to a kiss (arr by billy strayhorn and written with johnny hodges) transblucency (composed with lawrence brown, trombonist) |
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taxi war dance
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basie; no theme, consists of improvisations and riffs over chord progressions of "willow weep for me"
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lester leaps in
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basie (features lester young) - riffs and improvs over rhythm changes
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