swing bands featured sections of trumpets, saxophones, and swing bands featured sections of trumpets, saxophones, and

His bebop collaborations with trumpeter Dizzy GILLESPIE are some of the greatest moments in music history. Swing did not always swing but rather involved jazz performers doing a jazz interpretation of pretty ballads. And they played dance music. Hawkins made his first recording with Fletcher Henderson and he would go on to perform throughout England and Europe. Big bands of today are not all from an earlier era. During the 1920s, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, and Dallas were vital crossroads resulting in a mix of musical styles and cultures. Jazz is America's And this is where the term head comes from, meaning the original melody of the song that is, its all in your head, not written down on paper. - trombones The invention of ______ helped the record industry to recover in the mid-1930s. This also contributed to the loose and spontaneous feel of KC Jazz. DoZjyk]Z^0])*6`pje?NG.s#n1[Mgv,3/W5k'(?_pq,JZ7jaF:m(YTm7RhoQ>luNRjY%- I) the jukebox The popular appeal of Benny Goodman's Trio and Quartet had a good deal to do with the extroverted energy of Lionel Hampton and Gene Krupa And they played dance music. Most swing was performed by Big Bands, which were literally big bands, divided into trumpets, saxophones, trombones, and a rhythm section consisting mostly of drums, bass, guitar, and piano. As jazz was expanded during the 1950s through the 1970s, the Basie and Ellington bands were still around, as were bands led by Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Earl Hines, Les Brown, Clark Terry, and Doc Severinsen. Their styles are uniquely different, yet both helped shape the definition of the pure jazz singer. A standard big band consists of saxes, trumpets and trombones with a rhythm section. more traditional instruments such as horn, cello, flute and oboe. Sweet Swing (people like Glenn Miller) had less improvisation, was a bit slower, restrained with a slight swing feel, and was for the white upper class dinner parties. bWkwf>JW'wJj_]6/?NxP]-0_wg"2;WjbuY5sujr7g/sueG>trp~ZBV7]M(//m!o/f[^fb]x>f]aX?UnAW|ng)]s? [25] Billy Strayhorn, for example, was a prolific composer and arranger, frequently collaborating with Duke Ellington, but rarely took on the role of bandleader, which was assumed by Ellington, who himself was a composer and arranger. A drummer, bass player (string bass), piano player, and guitarist formed the rhythm section. 1U^ p(s XA@H:@!+H30q:pYL4#9 S Duke Ellington wrote a song in 1931 titled It Dont Mean a Thing (If It Aint Got That Swing), and for a generation of music lovers those were words to live by. Fletchers [Henderson] band had the same elements; so did Benny Motens back in 1932, when Basie played with him., Every week they would feature a guest band at the Savoy Ballroom. Swing as popular music usually had vocals, such as Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," and was intended for dancing. initiated by a 4-measure lead-in improvised over a "C" chord Jazz orchestras were necessary for the shows and musicals, and well-trained musicians were highly valued. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_band&oldid=1142698476, This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 22:19. ,r,el1)PrPer{mN,cq+W!yJn?@}gU-+GACIuyrPgnpQCZ76il9%0A9b vr, Q&L Sc3oX *{{toV 1930s, jazz expanded into a "Big Band" phenomenon with Duke Ellington Byron Almen, Dorothy Payne, Stefan Kostka. This is where one section (say, the brass section, i.e., trumpets and trombones) would play a musical phrase and then be "answered" by another section (say, the saxes); the first phrase is the call, the answer is the response (like a musical conversation). In the fifties, the emergence of rock-and-roll would capture broad attention as jazz moved in new artistic directions. The swing era was the one time that jazz was a truly popular style. The Dorsey Brothers started with a large-band version of Dixieland featuring singer Bob Crosby who later developed his own band. - techniques (from native African musical tradition in which a leader does a have emerged: "Free jazz" (a "random" loosely-structured There was a quality to her voice that fascinated me, and Id sing along with her, trying to catch the subtle ways she shaded her voice, the casual yet clean way she sang the words., A lot of singers think all they have to do is exercise their tonsils to get ahead. [30], Some big ensembles, like King Oliver's, played music that was half-arranged, half-improvised, often relying on head arrangements. Nostalgia for the Big Band style has kept it alive today. Big Bands began to appear in movies in the 1930s through the 1960s, though cameos by bandleaders were often stiff and incidental to the plot.Shep Fields appeared with his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra in a playful and integrated animated performance of "This Little Ripple Had Rhythm" in the musical extravaganza The Big Broadcast of 1938. While each instrument in a swing band can be compared to an ingredient in Gumbo, none of them have been equated with the seasoning so far. It is usually played by big band ensembles that use a rhythm section with drums, bass, sometimes a guitar, and almost always a piano, a brass section of trumpets and trombones, and a reed section of saxophones and clarinets. Until the political climate changes in Chile, Allende will write from her current home in is America's Count Basies music contains lively rhythms, economic piano style, and a relaxed swing sound. Among all the jazz vocalists that followed, most cite her as having the most influence on their scatting style. The Great Depression, which started with the stock market crash in 1929, and WWII which ended in 1945. basic chord progression of a 12-bar blues in the key of "C". 1570 0 obj <>stream clarinetist, In the late 1940s, progressive This would go back and forth a number of times. Basie, Count. Swing bands featured orchestras with sections of trumpets, saxophones, and _________________. Kansas City, in particular, became a wide-open town totally ingrained in the entertainment business. Performers played, sang, danced, and presented shows and stand-up comedy in these large entertainment venues. But there were a few instrumental popular hits, such as Count Basie's "One O'Clock Jump" and Miller's "In the Mood." 3. rapidly with both black and white audiences. such works incorporate certain elements of the jazz tradition, there is not even Cool Jazz YouTube clip with basic piano chords). The major "black" bands of the 1930s included, apart from Ellington's, Hines's and Calloway's, those of Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, and Count Basie. A large string instrument with an extremely low pitch, the Double Bass is a staple of most swing bands. Miller went in debt to start his band but was a millionaire within two years. Important New York figures of this time include Chick Webb, Jimmie Lunceford, and Duke Ellington. The better jazz musicians of swing bands would form swing combos within most large bands. During the next decades, ballrooms filled with people doing the jitterbug and Lindy Hop. The project is also supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. [24] In many cases, however, the distinction between these roles can become blurred. collectively . With no market for small-group recordings (made worse by a Depression-era industry reluctant to take risks), musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines led their own bands, while others, like Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, lapsed into obscurity. attractive to general listeners. Check them out, though Im sure you would already recognise many of them. 1920s as a blending of blues, ragtime, and civic brass band traditions, then this The embellishments gradually became more adventurous, but they were generally always played with the melody in mind. By the 1930s, these and other cities became major centers for the development of the swing style. . Swing bands featured a large ensemble of Asthe name of that sound suggests, Count Basie played in Kansas City. intricate fast rhythms and tremendous Jazz played an important role in changing the socio-political landscape harmony, structure and instrumentation. The "Modern Popular Music" chart below, (As told to Albert Murray). Henderson was a pianist and excellent arranger who wrote most of the musical arrangements that helped launch the success of Benny Goodmans orchestra. to jazz, The first chorus of an arrangement introduces the melody and is followed by choruses of development. When new arrangements are written, they are usually in the same style as the original band. [28] This development may take the form of improvised solos, written solo sections, and "shout choruses". and His Mother Called Him Bill, featured "Blood Count" and "Lotus Blossom," was a tribute album to . violin--Ray Nance), (3) trumpet--Rex Stewart, (4) tenor saxBen Webster, Glenn Miller used a clarinet over his saxophone for identification. Special thanks to Dr. Portia K. Maultsby and to the Advisory Scholars for their commitment and thought-provoking contributions to this resource. Rewrite each sentence following the instructions in parentheses. At these venues, which themselves gained notoriety, bandleaders and arrangers played a greater role than they had before. The Timeline of African American Music by Portia K. Maultsby, Ph.D. presents the remarkable diversity of African American music, revealing the unique characteristics of each genre and style, from the earliest folk traditions to present-day popular music. The Henderson band is considerably larger than most syncopated dance bands of the 1920s (eight or nine musicians). Hickman's arranger, Ferde Grof, wrote arrangements in which he divided the jazz orchestra into sections that combined in various ways. trumpeter Miles DAVIS, and baritone They danced to recordings and the radio and attended live concerts. In Harlem, the creative and literary arts, Black musicals, and big band entertainment flourished within the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, in which music played as great or possibly a greater role than literature. A general format emerged from the creation of a swing jazz arrangement. * The Big Bands of swing were only able to acquire one-night stand performances and consequently suffered financially. orchestral jazz crossover movement that had an enormous impact on getting white the late 1950s led to the more daring experiments of "free jazz" by [4] While most big bands dropped the previously common jazz clarinet from their arrangements (other than the clarinet-led orchestras of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman), many Duke Ellington songs had clarinet parts,[5] often replacing or doubling one of the tenor saxophone parts; more rarely, Ellington would substitute baritone sax for bass clarinet, such as in "Ase's Death" from Swinging Suites. This expansive eclecticism characterized much of jazz after World War II. endstream endobj startxref She led her Swingphony while playing marimba. These ensembles typically featured three or more accordions accompanied by piano, guitar, bass, cello, percussion, and marimba with vibes and were popularized by recording artists such as Charles Magnante,[10][11] Joe Biviano[12][13] and John Serry. 2. The successful bands of the Swing Era featured carefully composed arrangements that held many talented players together. DAVIS was one of the first jazz artist to cross over and adopt elements of interacts with the bass and drums, and how the beat is divided up in complex Swing was hugely popular - in fact, it was the pop music of the 1930's. It was mostly performed by Big Bands, which were large orchestras divided into trumpets, saxophones, trombones, and a rhythm section (which consisted of the drums, bass, guitar and piano). In swing, the saxophone was usually featured as the leading instrumental soloist. Her version of the nursery rhyme A-Tisket, A-Tasket (1938) brought her international fame. Another interesting and important development happened with Swing improvisation. here to see a YouTube video on "swing" groove vs. other types of He toured in many parts of the world and was also commissioned to record classical compositions. She recorded with various jazz orchestras, including her own (Long Gone Blues, 1939) and those led by Benny Goodman (Your Mothers Son-in-Law, 1933) and Teddy Wilson (Sugar, 1939). clarinetist Benny GOODMAN and of American jazz. (called a "chorus"). Since the 1920s, Jazz Sometimes bandstands were too small, public address systems inadequate, pianos out of tune. They were knowledgeable and often biased toward their favorite bands and songs, and sometimes worshipful of famous soloists and vocalists. Figure 1: The Western Jazz Quartet (piano: The string bass replaced the tuba and the guitar replaced the banjo. "12 2 3 4", then start the Jazz vocalists during this era were highly influenced by horn players. Singers Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald came to the popular forefront during the swing era. Whiteman was educated in classical music, and he called his new band's music symphonic jazz. style based on a faster, danceable beat with featured improvised solos. [29], An arrangement's first chorus is sometimes preceded by an introduction, which may be as short as a few measures or may extend to a chorus of its own. The trumpet section included four trumpets; the first was responsible for the highest notes. The swing style developed in the 1930s and continued to be popular throughout the 1940s and beyond as a distinctive genre. Compared to Dixieland bands, swing bands used two or three times as many players and produced a fuller sound. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000. The lyrics kept within these traditions. Concert Among other popular singers of the era are Sarah Vaughan and Helen Humes. who specialized in less improvised tunes with more emphasis on sentimentality, featuring somewhat slower-paced, often heart-felt songs.[43]. Columbia, Victor, and Decca were the three most important, Swing bands featured sections of trumpets, saxophones, and. Big bands uplifted morale during World War II. Southwest bands offered a different solution to big band improvisational structures. Carnegie Halls interactive Timeline of African American Music is dedicated to the loving memory of the late soprano and recitalist Jessye Norman. (of the Dave Brubeck Quartet that also featured alto saxophonist Paul DESMOND), Bandleader Charlie Barnet's recording of "Cherokee" in 1942 and "The Moose" in 1943 have been called the beginning of the bop era. The Ellington orchestra succeeded in part through the expert use and contribution of consistently talented and unique players. The Henderson band is considerably larger than most syncopated dance bands of the 1920s (eight or nine musicians). Q G("CH^T)daA]yg~zN^y>.g~01D%>7dj.|K+8'9 q*U!i|O1#"v\YOGtc_GD1JL. Lester Young & Herschel Evans. They used their voices as instruments to demonstrate their command of scat singing. The focus shifted away from the arranger and toward the improvising performer. Swing is a term often used in reference to large dance bands of 15 or more musicians that played written arrangements using improvised sections alternating with arranged passages by brass and/or reeds. Then, during the Swing Era, the sax player Coleman Hawkins changed the way jazz approached improvisation from melody to harmony (horizontal to vertical). Professor Daniels book publications include Lester Leaps In: The Life and Times of Lester Pres Young (Beacon, 2002); Pioneer Urbanites: A Social and Cultural History of Black San Francisco; and One Oclock Jump: The Unforgettable History of the Oklahoma City Blue Devils (Beacon Press, 2006). Trumpets A prominent feature of swing music is a leading brass section, which is often provided by a trumpet. Whiteman started his first band in San Francisco in 1918 and his fame spread into the 1920s. The rhythm section would typically include piano, string bass, drum set, with occasional additions of guitar or other chordal/melody instruments. Click here for a FREE preview of The Classic Swing Bands newest CD Ballroom Dance Favorites.. sense means to merge styles together. progression and the same number of measures/beats, but it may be applied to ways. Some large contemporary European jazz ensembles play mostly avant-garde jazz using the instrumentation of the big bands. Big Bands evolved with the times and continue to this day. [26], Typical big band arrangements from the swing era were written in strophic form with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times. The Glenn Miller band was one of the most popular bands of the Swing Era. premiered. He was also a band leader and arranger who traveled throughout Europe and Japan during the 1950s and 1960s. Keyboards are some of the most versatile instruments out there. The latter included blues, ballads, novelty songs, and Broadway tunes. Some of the Piano techniques employed during the Swing Era were: A good example of this is the Count Basie song Kansas City Keys. To learn more about the book this website supports, please visit its, You must be a registered user to view the. They can be used to produce a melody or harmony for nearly every musical style. In the mid-1930s and early 1940s, From three to five plyers on each instrument might be used. - began to emerge from the vocal blues Rhythm Section: (click here to see a YouTube When you mentioned the word Jazz to the average person, they probably think of Swing music, and for good reason. The most prominent features of big band swing were the use of written arrangements and improvised solos, repetitive horn riffs, call and response between the brass and reed sections, and a rhythmic drive derived from walking and/or boogie-woogie type bass lines. highly improvisatory style called Bebop, As a result of the military draft and transportation hardships in the U.S., the swing era ended quickly. black jazz musicians developed an. A cheap & cheerful collection of up-tempo sax, trumpet and trombone funky licks featuring over 350 ensemble phrases, solos, trills and stabs for house, disco, electro-swing and quirky big-band-infused electronica. Phil Spitalny, a native of Ukraine, led a 22-piece female orchestra known as Phil Spitalny and His Hour of Charm Orchestra, named for his radio show, The Hour of Charm, during the 1930s and 1940s. When the trumpets and saxophones are combined in a musical accompaniment, they can lead a vibrant and multi-toned swing melody. leaders in America. In the 1970s, popular fusion groups included BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS, CHICAGO, and SANTANA Swing grew out of New Orleans Jazz and the evolved into Bebop. [7][8], Jazz ensembles numbering eight (octet), nine (nonet) or ten (tentet) voices are sometimes called "little big bands". trombones Swing music appealed most dramatically to this demographic group: teenagers A "shout chorus" is: the final, climactic chorus in an arrangement Which changes occurred in the rhythm section during the 1930s? So lets quickly take a look at all three genres: Lets dive into these characteristics of Swing Music a little deeper:
Many college and university music departments offer jazz programs and feature big band courses in improvisation, composition, arranging, and studio recording, featuring performances by 18 to 20 piece big bands.[46]. Figure 3: WMU's "Gold Perhaps it started with the habanera in Mortons early compositions, and in the bridge of W. C. Handys St. [3] In the late 1930s, Shep Fields incorporated a solo accordion, temple blocks, piccolo and a viola into his Rippling Rhythm Orchestra. So the Swing Era was during the Depression and it acted as a kind of counter-statement or rebellion against the unemployment and misery that the Depression caused. By the end of the war, swing was giving way to less danceable music, such as bebop. a) Henderson's big band comprises five brass instruments (three trumpets and two trombones), four reed instruments (saxophones and clarinets), and a rhythm section consisting of piano, bass, Here are the five most common swing band instruments, and how they commonly fit into swing music. projected in the way the drums and bass express the beat, how the piano So band leaders used various arrangement techniques to keep the song interesting, such as: Tutti (all horns playing a melodic line in harmony), Soli (one section featured playing a melodic line in harmony), Shout Chorus (climatic tutti section at the end of the arrangement), Riffs (repeated short melodic and/or rhythmic pattern), Call and Response Riffs (often between the horns and the rhythm section), Solos (single person improvising usually behind a relatively simple harmonic background), Swing Music was smooth, easy-listening and simple. As the soloistic improvisations intensified, bebop players such as saxophonist Charlie "Bird" PARKER often White teenagers and young adults were the principal fans of the big bands in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Since keyboards are essentially advanced incarnations of pianos, they can be used to quietly accompany the rhythm section of a swing band or to play a quiet harmony. note-for-note. NY: Penguin Books:1977. The Lindy Hop became popular again and young people took an interest in big band styles again. As I said before, Swing music is played by Big Bands. Modern big bands can be found playing all styles of jazz music. Keyboards are the swing band equivalent of rice in Gumbo. Scat singing, along with his gravelly voice, became Armstrongs trademark sound, as heard in Lazy River (1931). art form--a unique blending of West African and Western European/American "C" Jam Blues (1942). Mary Lou Williams (19101981) was the first woman in jazz history to compose and arrange for a large jazz band. BERNSTEIN also incorporated Cool