An Overview. Video. Historical Frame of Reference. Truly American music

Transcription

1 Early Jazz

2 An Overview Video Truly American music Jazz was often called America s classical music Jazz is the most democratic music ever to evolve At the beginning jazz players did not foresee its acceptance as an art form Jazz could have developed only in the United States Historical Frame of Reference Limited information about the emergence of jazz due to the recording capabilities of the time We cannot notate the typical expressive singing style at that time

3 Understanding Jazz Requires understanding of the jazz performer HOW jazz music was played was more important than WHAT was being played To appreciate music the listener must be actively involved. Understanding and enjoyment of music go hand and hand Personal expression is more important than aesthetic conformity. Vibrato, bends, growls, slurs-imitating the vocal style Classical music vs. Jazz music idiom

4 Jazz Heritage

5 African Influences Music was by far the most vital and demonstrative form of expression in the life of Africans. Everything was done to the rhythm of their music. In Africa, music was for a whole community, and everyone from youngest to oldest participated. The drum served as one fundamental means of coordinating the movements. African slaves brought these traditions to the United States and nurtured them Slaves did not intentionally invent a new music at this point

6 African Rhythms Common misconception about the origins of jazz is that its rhythms came from Africa only the emphasis of rhythm Rhythms used by jazz performers simple, far removed from the complex pattern combinations used by the natives in Africa Call and response - performance style with a singing leader who is imitated by a chorus of followers. In jazz, a call is usually performed by a solo singer or solo instrumentalist and is followed by a response from one instrument, or an ensemble Call and response pattern can be traced directly to African tribal traditions Trading fours alternating solos between the musicians in a jazz group (usually between the group and the drummer)

7 European Influences The melodic feature of jazz is inherited directly from European music. The diatonic and chromatic scales used in jazz are the same as those used for centuries by European composers. The harmonic sonorities also derive from European sources: polkas, quadrilles, hymns and marches. Musical forms of Europe became standard in jazz works. Most jazz is constructed in a theme and variations form.

8 Creole Music Segregation movement ten years after the Civil war Creoles people with African American, French and Spanish ancestry Video Ostracized from white society and joined the ranks of the African Americans The combinations of these musical talents resulted in an early form of jazz: Conservatory-trained Creoles Spontaneous oral tradition of African Americans

9 Early Slave Music Field Hollers (Cries) - American slaves were often not allowed to talk to one another in the fields while working Singing was permitted while working American slaves established communication between themselves by field hollers (cries) Outstanding elements of the field hollers was the bending of a tone Bending of tone is an over-exaggerated use of a slide or a slur Works songs In general, a tone is bent (slurred) upward to a different tone or downward to another pitch Work songs were associated with a monotonous, regularly recurring physical task Some work songs would include grunts, groans Work songs placed emphasis on rhythm and meter

10 Other music influence Minstrels (plantation songs) Started by 4 white actors who performed in blackface and created cartoonish caricatures Later on - African Americans performed in blackface and making fun of their race to entertain the white audience Beginning in the 20 th century, traveling minstrel shows were the main form of entertainment for both races Religious Music Hymns of Scottish and English origins Spirituals Often called hymns with a beat The first original songs were created by Protestant African American slaves on American soil Excellent blend of African and European cultures Contribution to the popular song and vocal jazz Gospel Song whose lyrics recount passages from the scriptures Important that the audience actively respond to the performer

11 Marching Bands After the Civil War, African Americans were able to make some instruments and buy pawned or war surplus instruments Marching band was a big influence on African Americans Funeral bands Dixieland funeral Cornet, clarinet, trombone, tuba, banjo, drums After the burial ceremony, a couple of blocks from the cemetery, the band would break out into a jazz type of march such as: When the Saints Go Marching In

12 Blues and Beyond

13 The Origin The Roots Video Not from Africa; developed in America by American slaves and their descendants Ballads, from European traditions for songs that tell stories Unaccompanied solo singing; later guitar and banjo added Singing in unison, no determined chords, no specific form After the Civil War, the Blues began to take on a specific form: 12 bar blues (the most popular) Blues artists could create songs on the spot Blues first appeared after the Civil War as black musicians traveled widely and developed a new music that celebrated their freedom The blues was one of the building blocks of jazz, with chord structures and phrasing sharing a common lineage in the musical culture of Afro- America, but it has a rich history in its own right.

14 Styles of Blues Country Blues (Rural) (late ) Characteristics Solo male singer with guitar, harmonica accompaniment Personal pessimistic expression Regional styles-mississippi delta, Texas, East Coast Important Performers Leadbelly (Huddie Leadbetter) L Contemporary Performers Muddy Waters - influenced hundreds of musicians Beatles, Ray Charles B.B. King

15 Styles of Blues Classic (City) Blues (from 1920 to 1930) Characteristics First urban style Female singers Piano, organ, combo accompaniment (jazz musicians) popular appeal Start of race records (by and for black Americans) Race records were born when recording companies realized there was money to be made marketing music by black artists to black consumers. Important Performers Big Bill Broonzy- major influence on the Chicago scene and instrumental blues

16 Styles of Blues Important performers Ma Rainey - The Mother of the Blues - popularized the blues in America. She opened the road for other women to sing. W.C.Handy - The Father of the Blues - publisher, bandmaster, cornetist, composer, wrote St Louis Blues - the first formal blues composition. Bessie Smith - The Empress of the Blues the greatest blues singer of all time. Set up the standard for other blues singers. Her first single surpassed any of the other recordings of blues. Mammie Smith - Creazy Blues formula for classic blues - credited with taking the blues into the popular music.

17 Styles of Blues Urban Blues Kansas City (post WWII) Characteristics Accompanied by jazz musicians Robust, exuberant delivery, swing feel Important Performers Joe Turner, Joe Williams, Jimmy Rushing Urban Blues Rhythm & Blues (R & B) Characteristics Electric guitars, drums, organ, harmonica, horn section Relax vocal delivery, Slow tempos Beginning of rock & roll and soul Important Performers Louis Jordan - The Father of R&B - Caldonia B.B. King - The King of the Blues

18 Styles of Blues - Urban Blues Rhythm & Blues (R & B) Important Soul & Motown Performers Little Richard Ray Charles Marvin Gaye Important White Performers Elvis Presley Bill Haley Buddy Holly Jerry Lee Lewis

19 Blues Legacy Blues recordings sold well, the lyrics told personal stories and national catastrophe, triumphs and shared miseries of the times Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald the greatest jazz singers Elvis Presley - That s all right mama originally recorded by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and Big Mama Thornton Joe Williams One of the greatest all around singers Sara Vaughn, Aretha Franklin Woodstock Janis Joplin rendition of Ball in chain, tune performed by Big Mama Thornton, was a sensation Rolling Stones, Beatles, Michael Jackson

20 Jazz and Blues Blues and Jazz - branches of the same tree Many blues singers hired jazz musicians Most swing bands featured blues singers Blues provided the roots for Rock & Roll and R&B Jazz became more complicated, less popular