Jazz

Discussion

Jazz has its organic roots deep in the African-American work songs and spirituals all the way back to the days after the end of slavery. As Lamont Pearly Sr. writes in Black Perspectives, blues as a musical form does not arise from the slavery itself, but from the freedom African-Americans had after slavery. From the 1860s on through the 1910s, the style and form of these songs morphed with the addition of new instruments, such as the saxophone, into blues and then into jazz. Fascinatingly, while blues has an etymology of feeling down, or sick, or depressed, jazz is originally a slang for pep or energy. Female artists also contributed quite a lot more to jazz and blues, in comparison to classical. I try to highlight female composers in classical, but for a lot of the repertoire, it is very male dominated. However, in jazz and blues, African American women were fairly equal to the men in their contributions and their acceptance. The Wikipedia entry for Jazz provides a lot more detail about this topic, and we'll cover much more in class. One of the other important aspects of jazz from early on is its use of improvisation, either all throughout the piece or individual performers improvising at various parts. 

Blues Scale

One of the most important aspects of jazz and blues is the blues scale. Basically it is a pentatonic scale with an added b5 in the middle. For example:

Highly Worthy Music for Your Listening and Research Pleasure

Ma Rainey: Bo-Weavil Blues - Ma Rainey is considered the Mother of the Blues. 

Bix Beiderbecke - Singin' the Blues - among the first recorded blues.

Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers: Jelly Roll Blues - another of the first recorded blues.

Joe King: Working Man Blues - another of the first recorded blues.

Bile them cabbage down - a modern rendition of one of the African American women work songs from the late 1800s.

Blow Gabriel Blow - performed recently by the McIntosh County Shouters. A really good example of the call and response style.

Bessie Brown: Song from a Cotton Field - 1920s recording of an African American women work song from the late 1800s.

Corn shucking song - a recent rendition of one of the African American work songs, highlighting the call and response very prominently. 

Swing Low Sweet Chariot - a modern rendition of one of the most famous spirituals, written some time after 1865. 

Ernest Hogan: La Pas Ma La - the first recorded ragtime song, from 1895.

Ben Harney: You've Been a Good Old Wagon but You Done Broke Down - one of the first ragtime pieces, from 1896.

Scott Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag - published in 1899, this made Joplin famous, performed here by Vinheterio on a 1915 piano.

Scott Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag - this recording is from 1906 by the US Marine Band playing Maple Leaf Rag.

Scott Joplin: The Entertainer - a recording of Joplin playing from 1902.

Louis Armstrong: Dinah - from the 1930s.

Louis Armstrong: La vie en rose - Armstrong's famous song.

Louis Armstrong: What a wonderful world - another of his famous songs.

Louis Armstrong: When the Saints Go Marching In - giving his rendition of the classic.

Duke Ellington: East Saint Louis Toodle-Oo - Duke Ellington's first single from 1927.

Duke Ellington: It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing - performed here in 1965 with Ella Fitzgerald, but composed in 1931.

Duke Ellington: Sophisticated Lady - another of Duke Ellington's jazz standards from 1933.

Count Basie: Basie Boogie - performing live, here one of Count Basie's big hits.

Django Reinhardt: Minor Swing - one of the greatest guitarists of all time. 

Django Reinhardt: Nuages - another of his famous pieces.

Django Reinhardt: Not Sure the Title - this clip doesn't provide the title of the piece, but you can see Django's technique on the guitar. 

Discussion

From the 1920s on through the 1950s, jazz became extremely popular. Jazz forms such as AABA, ABAC, and twelve bar blues became standard for compositions and performance. Typical structure for jazz standards would be to start with the main theme with its variants in, for instance, the AABA form. AABA typically covered about 32 bars of music, or about a minute or so of music. After that, it was left open for improvisation. Songs could go for a long time in live performances, depending on how many soloists took turns. The reason most of these recorded songs from that era are so short are due to the limitations of the vinyl records. The 78 rpm records were 3 minutes in total length. Duke Ellington was a master of the 78s, churning out hundreds in those early years. Many other jazz artists succeeded in this time as well, such as Art Tatum. The examples below are from the 1940s through the 1960s. 

Bebop

In the 1940s, a new style of jazz emerged, called bebop with its own unique scale. The bebop scale is essentially the normal scale, but adding the #5. The great thing about the bebop scale is it works with all the scales. Just add in the raised fifth. Bebop is far faster music, with more complex chord changes and key changes. Its intent is not as a dance, but more classical, for listening. Some of the masters of bebop are Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Mary Lou Williams, among many others. 

Modal

Modal jazz spread from the growth of bebop. While bebop was very fast paced, modal jazz took it slower. George Russell wrote a book on jazz music theory and harmony that greatly influenced performers such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock and many others. Modal jazz takes the church modes upon which the modern scales were created and has performers use modes for transitions rather than keys. 

Highly Worthy Music for Your Listening and Research Pleasure

Art Tatum: Yesterdays - free flowing modal jazz from Art Tatum.

Art Tatum: Tiger Rag - another fast paced piece from Art Tatum.

Art Tatum: Art's Blues - from the film Fabulous Dorseys from 1947.

Oscar Peterson: C Jam Blues - amazing jam session.

Count Basie: April in Paris - jazz standard from Count Basie.

Billie Holiday and Count Basie: God Bless the Child - Billie Holiday is another of the jazz greats.

Dizzy Gillespie: Groovin' High - Dizzy teaming up with Charlie Parker.

Dizzy Gillespie: A Night in Tunisia - he performs live in 1981. Dizzy is famous for puffing his cheeks when playing the trumpet (something you're not supposed to do--but don't tell him that!).

Dizzy Gillespie: Manteca - mixing Cuban jazz flavors.

Charlie Parker: Bird of Paradise - one of his classics.

Charlie Parker: Yardbird Suite - one of his classics.

Charlie Parker: Ornithology - one of his classics.

Duke Ellington: Ebony Rhapsody - Duke Ellington was influenced a lot by classical styles, and as he continued progressing, more classical styles seeped into his compositions.

Sonny Rollins: St. Thomas - a jazz standard, and one of the hardest tenor sax solos.

Duke Ellington: Take the A Train - big band Ellington.

Duke Ellington: Satin Doll - another of his classics.

Duke Ellington: Afro-Eurasian Eclipse: Tang - the Afro-Eurasian Eclipse is my favorite Duke Ellington. He composed this near the end of his life, mixing in all sorts of styles, with classical forms, and sounds from around the world. But at its heart is the beating sound of African American music. 

Miles Davis: So What - the epitome of cool modal jazz from the most successful, best selling jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue. John Coltrane plays the tenor sax solo.

Miles Davis: Ascenseur pour l'Echafaud - he "composed" this for the film live, watching the movie for the first time while playing.

John Coltrane: My Favorite Things - Obviously John Coltrane did not compose the original, but what he did with Richard Rodgers' song is so unique that it really is his own. This is one of my favorite compositions for soprano saxophone. 

John Coltrane: Giant Steps - Coltrane again, this time on the tenor saxophone. This one is also unique because of atonality and modality, as he shifts so easily and quickly through a ton of modes and keys. 

Bill Evans: Waltz for Debbie - Evans' popular, modal jazz standard.

Bill Evans: My Foolish Heart - another of his big hits.

Dave Brubeck Quartet: Take Five - composed by Paul Desmond, the alto sax player, one of the biggest hits in jazz.

Charles Mingus: Mingus Ah Um - Mingus's influential album.

Discussion

After modal jazz, Ornette Coleman and others came along with the notion of free jazz, meaning any one of the members of the band could play freely, whatever had come to them to inspire them. This site provides a good short reference to how jazz transformed from the early 20th century to today, shifting away from the vertical focus on chords and progressions, to the horizontal, concerned more about scales and melodies.

Jazz today is a mix of all these disparate genres. Jazz Fuel has some good artists from today performing and creating modern jazz.

Highly Worthy Music for Your Listening and Research Pleasure

Ornette Coleman: Lonely Woman - the beginnings of free jazz.

Ornette Coleman: Free Jazz - Ornette Coleman's more explicit free jazz, where players can play what they like. If you listen closely, they're borrowing from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

Miles Davis: Live in Stockholm 1973 - part of Davis's dive into free jazz.

Chick Corea: La Fiesta - more free flowing jazz from Chick Corea.

Chick Corea: Spain - more free flowing jazz, played here with guitarist Al di Meola.

Chick Corea: Windows - more free flowing jazz from Chick Corea.

Dave Sanborn: Bang Bang - keeping up traditional chord based jazz mixed with Cuban, great for the cha-cha dance.

Dave Sanborn: Hey - mixing jazz and funk, from 1992.

Esperanza Spalding: Black Gold - modern jazz.

Vijay Iyer Trio: Concert with NPR - freestyle modern jazz.

Jason Moran: Ringing my Phone - free modern jazz.

The Bad Plus: Never Stop - modern jazz.

Kenny G: The Moment - part of the smooth jazz genre, mixing jazz with a strong influence of pop forms.

Kenny G: Forever in Love - his big smooth jazz hit from the 80s.

Adam Neely on The Girl from Ipanema - this is a good analysis.