Jazz In America

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Jazz In America

• Lesson 4 The Swing Era

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Transition from DixielandWritten Arrangements

• By the end of the 1920s, jazz was developing in
  two complimentary directions
• Emphasis on soloist
• Emphasis on ensemble
• Collective improv kept the structure simple
• To accommodate more sophisticated music and more
  musicians, written arrangements became more common

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Transition from DixielandWritten Arrangements

• Written arrangements became the product of one
  persons mind the arranger
• Written arrangements all but eliminated
  collective improv, but allowed for individual
  soloists to improvise

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Transition from DixielandEnsemble Size

• Several well-known small ensembles, but the Swing
  Era was characterized by the big band
• Typical Dixieland group of 5 7 members grew to
  15 18 during 1930s 1940s
• Allowed for new dimensions to be added to the
  music

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Transition from DixielandEnsemble Size

• Dixieland Band
• 1 Trumpet
• 1 Clarinet
• 1 Trombone
• 1 Bass/Tuba
• 1 Piano/Banjo
• 1 Drum Set / 2 Drummers

• Big Band
• 4 Trumpets
• 5 Saxophones
• 4 Trombones
• 1 Bass
• 1 Piano
• 1 Guitar
• 1 Drum Set
• Anything else the arranger wanted

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Transition from DixielandNew Breed of Jazz
Musicians

• Many were formally educated
• Many came from brass military bands
• Represented a cross of readers and non-readers

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Transitions from DixielandMovement of Music

• Jazz started in New Orleans, but moved to Chicago
  and then New York
• Chicago already had its own style of Dixieland
• NY was the center of the music world
• Recording companies
• Publishing houses
• All fields, all styles
• Music business activities

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Transition from Dixieland and all that Jazz

• Dates
• 1920-1935 beginning of the big bands
• 1935-1945 the Swing Era
• New song forms
• e.g., AABA, songs were capable of evolution
• Radio
• Spread of radio and recording made it popular
  throughout the U.S.
• Harmony
• Tunes were capable of greater harmonic
  sophistication
• Moved from polyphony to homophony

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Performance PracticesThe Instruments

• The Saxophone Section
• Generally 5 saxophones
• Two Altos
• Two Tenors
• One Baritone
• Usually also played the clarinet

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Performance PracticesThe Instruments

• The Trumpet Section
• Generally 4 trumpets
• The Trombone Section
• Generally 4 trombones

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Performance PracticesThe Instruments

• The Rhythm Section
• Generally 4 pieces piano, bass, drums, and guitar

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Performance PracticesTypical Arrangements

• Example 1
• Melody played by entire band in unison or in
  harmony rhythm section provides accompaniment
  throughout
• Example 2
• Melody and accompaniment parts would often be
  played in turn by various sections in the band
• Example 3
• Call and response

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Performance PracticesTypical Arrangements

• Example 4
• After melody is played, jazz improv follows
• Ex. Wrappin It Up, Fletcher Henderson
• Example 5
• Simple musical phrases played over and over
  called riffs
• Ex. One Oclock Jump, Count Basie

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Performance PracticesRhythm Section

• Drums
• Played simply, making the beat obvious for
  dancers
• Swung, emphasizing the second and fourth beet of
  each measure
• Bass
• Kept time
• Played in either two-beat style or walking bass
  style
• Outlined the chord progressions

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Performance PracticesRhythm Section

• Piano
• Played chords either stride style, on every beat,
  or on every other beat
• Comping was NOT common
• Occasionally played melodies and melodic
  embellishments
• Guitar
• Played chords, percussively on each beat

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Performance PracticesDifferences from Dixieland

• More use of written arrangements
• Wider range of compositional styles fewer
  ragtime-like tunes
• More solo improvisation, less collective
  improvisation
• More use of string bass, less use of tuba
• More use of guitar, no banjo
• SAXOPHONE is predominant instrument

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Cultural Implicationsof the Swing Era

• Jazzs most popular period
• Hundreds of professional big bands flourished in
  the 1930s early 1940s
• After the stock market crash of 1929, swing
  helped the country through the Great Depression,
  creating escape via swing dancing
• Served as a major morale booster in WWII

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Cultural Implicationsof the Swing Era

• Jazz reached new levels of sophistication in the
  Swing Era
• Weak economy lead many recording companies into
  bankruptcy
• Jazz proliferated through the radio

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Cultural Implicationsof the Swing Era

• There were hundreds of performance venues
• Ballrooms
• Movies
• Hotels
• Record Companies

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Cultural Implicationsof the Swing Era

• Race Relations
• For the first time, it didnt matter what color
  you were, just how well you played
• First interracial groups The Benny Goodman Trio,
  Quartet, Sextet, and Big Band (1935)
• Jazz increased the appreciation of the
  achievements of African Americans