often known as Smack Henderson (apparently due to his college baseball hitting skills) .Fletcher is ranked along with Duke Elington as one of the most influential arrangers and band leaders in jazz history, and helped bridge the gap between the dixieland and swing era. Fletcher Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia in 1897. He grew up in a middle-class African-American family. His father, Fletcher H. Henderson Sr. (1857–1943), was the…
Shorty” Andrews prefer a different beat of the drum, or in this case blow of the horn. Some art historians say that jazz had its start with Buddy Bolden and his first band in 1895. Others think it was the more well-known Nick LaRocca with his Dixieland Jazz band, and their premier record Lively Stable Blues. Either way jazz started near the 20th century and has been an influential stylistic form of music ever since. Jazz really began flaring up in the early or roaring twenties. Some of the…
was named the Wonderland theatre which was at 422 E. Pettigrew in Durham. It was also a black owned business, and was owned by Frank K. Watkins. An interesting fact about Watson is he also owned the Wonderland and Rex Theatre’s in Durham and the Dixieland Theatre in High Point. In other words Watkins was responsible for many of the Black theatres in…
equality between different skin colors. The Jazz Age did not officially begin until 1917. During this year, two events had transpired. These upcoming events involved a five-piece combo from New Orleans which had become known as the famous Original Dixieland Jazz Band, or ODJB. The band consisted of black musicians, who had the first “on-sale” disks of new music. The band’s record sold in…
Armstrong was one of the most influential artists in the history of music. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 4, 1901, he began playing the cornet at the age of 13. Armstrong perfected the improvised jazz solo as we know it. Before Armstrong, Dixieland was the style of jazz that everyone was playing. This was a style that featured collective improvisation where everyone soloed at once.…
Jazz didn’t start out as Jazz, it was once called Ragtime. This was a composed piano style and was the first major black music style. Jazz was an innovation from Ragtime, they had similar music in them like the piano, but Jazz added sole and also added more brass instruments. Ragtime started in Sedalia Missouri where artist like Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton got their taste of fame in the music world. Scott Joplin was an African-American pianist and composer. He was born into a musical…
Century, characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and usually a regular or forceful rhythm. Brass and woodwind instruments and piano are particularly associated with jazz, although guitar and occasionally violin are also used; styles include Dixieland, swing, bebop, and free jazz (Jazz | Definition of Jazz in English by Oxford Dictionaries).” Jazz music was different because it did not require a formal music education, like classical music did. Most jazz musicians were self taught and could…
The Jazz Age: Prevailing Opportunities for African Americans During the Jazz Age, jazz music, primarily dominated by African Americans before 1920, began to gain popularity among whites and transformed into an important aspect of American culture. The increased popularity of jazz music led to a growing acceptance of African American culture and presented African Americans with the opportunity to gain social status. Music has always played an essential part in African American life and its…
Despite rising to significance nearly twenty years apart, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong share a common accomplishment: single-handedly changing the musical genre of jazz forever. With his trumpet in hand, Louis Armstrong took the jazz world, and even the entire world of music by storm with his famous gravelly voice and his focus on solo performances in jazz, a change of pace from the prominent collective improv focused jazz of the time. While making these groundbreaking changes to jazz,…
Theory and harmony In order to play your music, jazz performer needs to have a series of theoretical and harmonic knowledge that is often the result of a long period of self-whether training in schools is a jazz or practical experience in jam sessions. The basic theory in jazz theory begins with the formation of intervals and triads that derives from it, and their inputs. The major scale and its seven modes-the Ionic, Doric, Phrygian, Lydian , Mixolydian, wind and locrio- are also part of the…