Jazz

Jazz

1. New Orleans Jazz

   • Instrumentation
     • Brass band or marching band instruments - trumpet, trombone, clarinet, double bass/tuba, drums, guitar, banjo, piano; some vocals but mainly instrumental
   • Performance and Arrangment
     • lively and fast
     • strong rhythmic emphasis on beats 2 and 4 (backbeat)
     • guitar, banjo or piano often play chords.
     • harmonies less complex than later jazz
     • bass often plays two beats to the bar rather than walking lines
     • not much syncopation compared to later jazz styles
     • arrangements usually based on the main melody played once through, followed by improvisation over the same chord structure/rhythm section accompaniment
     • Improvisation often features two or more lead instruments soloing together; often playing quavers in long scalic rums with few pauses
     • some use of blue notes and chromatic movement, but not as much as later jazz styles
   • Technology and Production
     • Earliest recordings of jazz made by Victor recording company in 1917 - Original Dixieland Jass Band's 'Livery Stable Blues' and 'Dixie Jass Band One Step'
     • Used a mechanical recording process, known as acoustic recording
       • A large horn captured the sound of the band performing
     • Poor reproduction of frequency range and dynamics
     • Victor was the earliest record company, successfully marketing GRAMOPHONE records and the players it manufactured, signing popular classical and non-classical musicians to exclusive contracts
   • Influences
     • Work songs
     • Marching bands/brass bands
     • Ragtime
     • Blues
   • Key Facts and Terminology
     • Popular from around the early 190s to 1920. Enjoyed a revival in the 1950s and remains popular today.
     • Played in the bars and clubs of New Orleans' notorious red-light district, Storyville
     • The popularity of jazz spreads to other cities with black populations such as Chicago and New York, as well as the West Coast
     • The recordings of early jazz artists - released as novelty records initially - were so successful that more recordings followed, and many people who had never heard jazz began listening to it
     • Also popularised by sheet music sales
     • The music was played by white musicians as well as black - Original Dixieland Jass Band for example - reflecting the culture cross-over occurring in towns like New Orleans
     • An alternative viewpoint is that the European Americans were quick to exploit the commercial potential of an African-American artform
     • There was still segregation between black and white people in some public places, even though slavery had been abolished

2. Big Band and Swing

   • Instrumentation
   • Performance and Arrangement
   • Technology and Production
   • Influences
   • Key Facts and Terminology

3. BeBob

   • Instrumentation
   • Performance and Arrangement
   • Technology and Production
   • Influences
   • Key Facts and Terminology

4. Stride Piano

5. Cool Jazz

   • Instrumentation
   • Performance and Arrangement
   • Technology and Production
   • Influences

6. Jazz Fusion