History Of Jazz - BEAL CITY BANDS

Jump BandsTrimmed instrumentation of the swing band1 or 2 trumpetsHistory of JazzA m e r i c a ’ s C l a s s i c a lM u s i c1 trombone, if at all3 saxes (alto, tenor, baritone)rhythm section: piano, bass, guitar (and/or vibes), drumsRhythm & blues based repertoire; extensive use of riff-based tunesHard-driving rhythm section; loud drumming patterns with strong dancebeatsFocus on showmanship audience participation (dancing)Vibrant, blues-based improvisation; extensive use of riffs; lots of high registershrieks and wailsTwo dynamic levels: loud and louderListening Example: Jump Call by Benny Carter; performed by the Benny Carter and His OrchestraAfter the Swing EraJazz community splinters into three primary camps:Jump Bands: swing meets rhythm & blues (one of theroots of rock and roll); very danceable & accessible tomainstream audiencesBebop: jazz developed by and for virtuoso musicians;attracted performers with outgoing musical personalities;small, devoted audiencesLecture Four:BebopCool: jazz for the intellectual; formal compositionscombined with reflective improvisations; at first, littleaudience appeal; gradual exposure in film and televisionsoundtracks broaden aaudience appealListening Example: Ko-Ko by E.K. Ellington; performed by Charlie Parker’s Re-Boppers

A Comparison of Jazz Styles 1900-48Bebop: DevelopmentEarly JazzSwingBebopGroup SizeCombo: 5-8 playersBand: 12-15 playersCombo: 3-6 playersPrimary FocusCollective and soloimprovisationWritten compositions andarrangements with soloimprovisationSolo improvisation; “jamsession” approach;spontaneous performanceSoloShort in length; melodicparaphrasing with ragtimereferencesShort to long lengths; basedupon riff-based ideasLong solos; dense andsyncopated lines; virtuosic innaturename of an early bebop recording made by Dizzy GillespieRepertoireRagtime, marches, popularsongsPopular songs, show tunes,original compositionsOriginal melodies composedover existing song structuresDeveloped in the “after-hours” clubs in Harlem and otherNew York nightspots; Minton’s and Monroe’s Uptown HousePopularityRegional, then nationalMainstream popular musicbetween 1935-45Small, dedicated audiencesRhythmic FeelRagtime phrasing; transitionto swing; march beat patternsSwinging, dance beats; foottapping rhythmsLead d, elusive beatpatterns; difficult rhythmicideasSaxophone/trumpetNotable SoloistsLouis ArmstrongBix BiederbeckeSidney BechetEarl HinesBenny GoodmanCount BasieLester YoungColeman HawkinsCharlie ParkerDizzy GillespieThelonius MonkMax RoachNotableComposersJelly Roll MortonFats WallerDuke EllingtonFletcher HendersonCharlie ParkerDizzy GillespieNot clear how the term “bebop” evolved into the jazzvernacularscat singing syllables, usually at the end of a scat phraseFostered by cutting contests between musicians after workinghours (after dance halls and ballrooms closed)Stressed virtuosic technique; long, complicated improvisedsolos; and intentional move from constrictions of swing musicBebop: CultureBebop developed its own cultidentity:Charlie ParkerDizzy GillespieDexter GordonThelonius MonkBud PowellMax RoachZoot suitsGoateesSunglasses (Shades)String TiesBerets or TamsVerbal SlangPolitical overtonesBebop People

James ‘Dizzy’ GillespieFirst, most influential bebop trumpeter;achieved international fameCharlie Parker1939: dishwasher at chicken restaurant; wasnicknamed “Bird”; heard pianist Art Tatum;transcribed Tatum’s piano licks to saxPlaying characteristicsbig brassy tone1939-42: worked several “taxi” dance bandsoutgoing personality1940-42: attended jam sessions at Minton’sand other after-hours clubspreferred high register playingintense syncopated yet accessibleimprovised lines1942-4: worked with Earl Hines Band; metDizzy GillespiePerformed in swing bands led by EllaFitzgerald, Charlie Barnet, Earl Hines, CabCalloway and Billy Eckstine1944-5: worked with Billy Eckstine’s Band;considered first bebop bandJoined with Charlie Parker in 1945 andmade the first important bebop recordingsafter the Musicians Union recording banListening Example: Groovin’ High by J. Gillespie; performed by the Dizzy Gillespie and His OrchestraCharlie ParkerBorn and raised in theKC jazz scene; idolizedLester YoungAs a teenager, hetranscribed and learnedall of Young’s recordedsolos with Count Basie’sbandEncouraged to go toNew York; arrived in 1939Listening Example: Embraceable You by G. Gershwin; performed by the Charlie Parker Quintet1945-6: famous quintet, Charlie Parker’s ReBoppers, with Dizzy Gillespie; first significantbebop recordingsCharlie ‘Bird’ ParkerLester YounginfluencesLight, buoyant sound;little vibrato“Quoting”: uses popsong melodic fragmentsin solosUse of space in solosColeman HawkinsinfluencesLaid-back swingingquality; smooth,effortless performancesAggressive, angular solomaterialComplex, dense solosBlues-based riffsListening Example: Scrapple from the Apple by C. Parker; performed by the Charlie Parker Quintet

Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker1946: Los Angeles performances; drug bust; did time in jail and rehabnear Santa Barbara1947-8: Back to NYC; formed new quintet with Miles Davis; RoyalRoost Club exposed Parker to larger audiences (small by swing bandstandards)1949: made excellent recording with strings, appreciated classicalmusic, listened intently to contemporary symphonic music1950-5: inconsistent and rare performances due to deterioratingphysical condition from escalating substance abuseCharlie Parker died in 1955, before his 35th birthday. The coronerestimated his age at death was 55. His death was announced in theWashington Post, three days later.Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker’s LegacyBrought bebop to maturity; made saxophone the mainstreaminstrument of jazzInspired legion of followers: Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, SonnyRollins, Ornette Coleman, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderley,John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, etc.Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker:What They SaidI loved Bird. He was so good to me. He turned me on to Stravinsky, toBartok, to dance, to painters. He was a brilliant man.- Sheila Jordan, vocalistBird was the other half of my heartbeat.- Dizzy GillespieCharlie Parker was one of the few jazzmen who can be said to havegiven dignity and meaning to the abused word “genius.” It was his desireto devote his life to the translation of everything he saw and heard intoterms of musical beauty. In bringing the art of improvisation to a newpeak of maturity, Parker had an inestimable influence on jazz musiciansregardless of what instrument they played.-Leonard Feather, jazz author and criticListening Example: Just Friends by J. Klenner & S. Lewis; performed by Charlie Parker with StringsDexter GordonPremier bebop tenor saxophonistHis career was productive until hisdeath in 1990Gordon’s improvisation style similar toParkerBrought new complexity to jazz playing; solos free of clichépatternsGordon’s sound based more onColeman Hawkins; Parker based moreon Lester YoungPhrasing transcended bar lines and chord changesSuccessor to Hawkins, linking to JohnColtraneAdded expressiveness into his solos in spite of their incredibleactivityNominated for an Oscar for BestSupporting Actor in 1986 - ‘RoundMidnightRemains the model of improvisational greatnessListening Example: Tanya by D. Byrd; performed by Dexter Gordon Quartet

Thelonius MonkMonk was a giant figure outside the norm ofmainstream jazz; unorthodox solosSymbolized bebop revolution in clothing,language, art and philosophyPowerful composer who wrote pieces beyondthe boundaries of mainstream jazz and popularsongs form; used abstract melodies andunusual harmonyStood out in his own ensembles; very stark,syncopated; would play painfully straight whenrest of ensemble would be swinging hardExposed, explored and embraced dissonances1957: Monk recorded an album of hisinterpretations of well-known popular songs;hardly recognizable to casual listenersListening Example: Straight No Chaser by T. Monk; performed by Thelonius Monk QuartetBud PowellMost imitated bebop pianistDe-emphasized the left-hand, usedsporadically in support role;removed “stride” from jazz pianoRe-focused importance of righthand improvised melodies; hisimprov skills on par with CharlieParkerPerfected “locked-hands” techniquewhere both hands play in parallelmotion with complex harmonyListening Example: Get Happy by H. Arlen & T. Koehler; performed by Bud Powell TrioMax RoachMost important drummer of thebebop eraStarted by subbing in for SonnyGreer in Duke Ellington OrchestraWith Charles Mingus, co-foundedDebut Records; released Jazz atMassey Hall, widely considered “thegreatest concert ever”Interests in percussion grew intosolo performances, percussionorchestras and expanding innovativetechnique beyond jazzListening Example: I Get A Kick Out Of You by C. Porter; performed by Clifford Brown/MaxRoach QuintetBebop in ReviewOverall, bebop styles were less popular than big bandswing; fewer popular tunes and singersSmaller groups - 3-6 “soloists”Less arrangements, more originals and improvisedmelodiesSolos, accompaniments and “arrangements” morecomplicatedLess predictability in the music; predictability (often)breeds popularityListening Example: Salt Peanuts by J. Gillespie, C. Parker and K. Clarke; performed by Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra

Next Lecture:Cool JazzListening Example: Moon Dreams by C. MacGregor & J. Mercer; performed by Miles Davis NonetSourcesCollier, Tom. History of Jazz. Kendall/HuntPublishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa: 1997Gridley, Mark C. Concise Guide to Jazz, fifthedition. Pearson-Prentice Hall, Upper SaddleRiver, NJ: 2007Hasse, John Edward, ed. Jazz: The FirstCentury. William Morrow Publishers, NewYork, NY: 2000Rosengarten, Lewis. Jazz in Short Measures.Authors Choice Press, Lincoln, NE: 2001Zorn, Jay D. & August, June. Listening toMusic, fifth edition. Pearson-Prentice Hall,Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2007

Brought bebop to maturity; made saxophone the mainstream instrument of jazz Inspired legion of followers: Sonny Stitt, Phil Woods, Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Dexter Gordon, Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, etc. Brought new complexity to jazz playing; solos free of cliché patterns Phrasing transcended bar lines and chord .