Jazz

Jazz

1. Common features

   • Originally written by African-Americans
   • Improv and solo's on lead instruments
     • trumpet
     • saxophone
   • Mostly instrumental but some styles have vocals

2. Big band and swing

   • 1930s and 1940s
   • instrumentation
     • rhythm section of: drums, upright bass, piano or guitar
     • mostly instrumental stuff, some vocals
     • top line instruments of brass and reed section: trumpet, trombone, saxophone, cornet, clarinet
   • Influences
     • ragtime
     • brass band
     • blues
     • Vaudeville
   • Main Artists
     • Duke Ellington
     • Count Basie
     • Louis Armstrong
     • Cab Calloway
     • Billie Holiday
     • Ella Fitzgerald
   • Production
     • microphone tech just started to develop - the introduction of dynamic and condenser microphones with better frequency and dynamic responses
     • gramophone players became commercially successful
     • recording was a capture of live performance only - but spot-miking techniques started to be used
     • relied on the skill of musicians to produce a balanced sound for a clear recording
   • Piano styles
     • Stride piano: alternating bass notes and chords in the left hand to create the pulse, with melodic imrov in the right hand
     • Boogie Woogie: left hand playing heavily swung quaver patterns, right hand plays melodic improv

3. Gypsy Jazz

   • 1930s
   • Instrumentation
     • Acoustic steel strung guitars
     • double bass
     • violin
     • frantic soloing between instruments
   • Influences
     • swing
     • music hall/ musical theatre
     • eastern European folk
   • Main artists
     • Django Reinhardt
     • Stephanie Grapelli

4. Bepop

   • 1940s-50s
   • Instrumentation
     • small jazz combos, instrumental
   • Influences
     • swing
     • big band
   • Main aritsts
     • Dizzy Gillespie
     • Thelonious Monk
   • It took good musicianship - was hard to play and hard to listen to as casual listening
   • 'Hard bop' developed in the 60s with R&B influences

5. Cool Jazz

   • 1940s-60s
   • Instrumentation
     • small jazz combos, instrumental
   • Influences
     • blues
     • bepop
     • swing
   • main artists
     • Miles davis
     • Gerry Mulligan
   • production
     • demonstrated clearer recordings of individual instruments due to: improved microphone tech, close and spot miking techniques

6. Free Jazz

   • 1950s-60s
   • Instrumentation
     • small jazz combos, instrumental
   • Influences
     • beopop
     • cool jazz
     • swing
   • main artists
     • John Coltrane
     • Ornette Coleman
   • hard to listen to - loads of improv, no musical boundaries, led to very varied work
   • production
     • The 50s produced finer recordings of live jazz ensembles due to: use of tape recorders, improvements in microphone tech and amplification of signal/ mixing desks, the introduction of vinyl records
     • live ensemble recording, little use of multitrack

7. Latin Jazz

   • In the 60s, American jazz players collaborated with Latin American artists
   • Percussion parts were influenced by styles like samba and salsa
     • included latin percussion instruments e.g. congas, bongos, cowbells

8. Jazz fusion

   • In the 60s, jazz musicians started to experiment with fusing new pop styles using jazz techniques e.g. improv etc.
     • jazz-funk
     • jazz-rock