JAZZ FROM 1920 TO 1960 AN INTRODUCTION

Rockin in Rhythm Duke Ellington and his Orchestra (1931) Move Miles Davis Nonet (1949) Straight No Chaser Gil Evans Orchestra (1959)
Like many folk forms, jazz is an oral tradition in which simple structures and shared conventions are used to give shape to performances, but within which there is a great deal of scope for spontaneity and self-expression through improvisation. The three prescribed pieces come from three different styles of jazz (Swing, Bebop and Modern), and derive their structure and performance techniques from either the blues (Straight No Chaser) or the 24- or 32-bar popular song (Rockin in Rhythm and Move). Jazz Styles

The period 1920-1960 saw a rapid change in the music and also in the experience of African-Americans in the USA Jazz began in the southern city of New Orleans and its earliest recordings are in New Orleans style The music travelled through Chicago to New York (as the black Americans sought better economic conditions) Rapid technological advances contribute to wide dissemination by 78 rpm gramophone record (3 minute per side) and radio broadcast

1920s became known as the Jazz Age

In 1930s and 1940s jazz was the dominant dance style and the big bands, playing swing were very popular In this commercial field, interesting musicians such as Duke Ellington were passed over in favour of those bandleaders oriented to show business big band music became too rigid and clichd. New York jazz musicians reacted by formulating complex new style that became bebop important in establishing jazz as music for listening rather than for dancing This led to emergence of cool jazz in the early 1950s Emergence in 1950s of LP record, allowing 20 minutes per side, meant players could record extensive improvisations and for the first time capture the music as it was playing in live performance

Instrumentation Although different combinations of instruments are used, they are always divided into two main sections:

Frontline instruments which take a melodic role, usually wind instruments such as saxophone, trumpet, trombone, in a big band they are divided into trumpet, trombone and reeds (reeds includes flute as this would be played by a saxophonist if needed at all)

Rhythm Section provides a rhythmic

and harmonic background to the frontline. Nearly always includes a chordal instrument such as piano, guitar or banjo, a bass instrument such as tuba or double bass; and a drum kit in the 1920s the kit was not as full as it would be today. These players usually play all the time, whereas the frontline players dip in and out of the music. Composed or Improvised? Jazz music not usually notated. Transcriptions are only a guide Not usually possible to think in terms of one composer as whole ban might be involved or there might be an arranger. Many jazz compositions based on existing chord sequences (e.g. Move). Most common structure is variation form Initial exposition of a pre-determine theme (the Head) over a chord pattern (the Changes) followed by group improvisation with a focus on an individual player in each repeat (the Chorus) of the chord pattern. Theme then usually repeated (the Out Chorus). Might also include introduction and coda). Soloist may: o Base improvised melodic line on the original theme (e.g. Steve Lacys soprano saxophone solo in Straight No Chaser) o Work with the underlying chord sequence (e.g. Clootie Williams trumpet in Rockin in Rhythm o Use the underlying harmony as the main organising principle (e.g. Jonny Coles in Straight No Chaser o Establish a new thematic line early on as the basis for improvisation Sometimes the harmony is ignored and one set of pitches is used over all the chords

Often use paraphrase improvisation where melody is altered by decoration, changing phrasing/rhythm

Blues 12-bar chord sequence permeated many

styles of popular music Use of certain tonal inflections and melodic devices (e.g. use of blue notes where minor 3rd in melody appears against major chord) Common feature is that I is treated as dominant i.e. with a flattened 7th, thus making IV sound temporarily like the tonic of the sub-dominant key Sometimes includes two bar break at the end of section where, after an accented, abrupt chord, one player has a short unaccompanied solo Vocal style in which singers routinely bend notes outside of tempered pitch for the dramatic highlighting of lyrics: o When approaching major 3rd of the home key, the singer will hit the minor 3rd and then slide up to the major 3rd o Also when approaching the 5th by way of the flattened 5th o This gives a piquant dissonance when the accompanying chord has the major 3rd and the melody line has the minor These vocal inflections are widespread in instrumental jazz present in all three pieces, particularly in the trombone solos where the use of the slide enables microtonal shifts in imitation of a voice Style requires virtuosos playing transformed instrumental sounds and extended playing techniques.

Harmony and Chords Chord qualities depend on style and era

o Harmony in Rockin in Rhythm is predominantly triadic, with occasional use of dominant 7ths o Move uses existing chord sequences which are adapted to suit o Straight No Chaser has flatted 7ths added to all chords to give them a restless dominant quality, and has more harmonic movement in the last four bars to add momentum to the end of each chorus Chords are not played exactly the same in each chorus, but are open to interpretation by the players within certain stylistic parameters, and depending on what is happening at that precise moment in the performance. This is called chord substitution Certain chord patterns are constant in most blues and appear here in Straight No Chaser: o Begin with 4 bars of chord I o Movement to chord IV in the 5th bar o Return to chord I in the 7th bar o Movement to chord V in the ninth bar here delayed for a bar by IIm7 o Return to Chord I in the 11th bar

Rhythm Each rhythm section player has a specific role: o Comping rhythmic playing of chords on piano, guitar or banjo in support of a theme or solo. Chord rhythms usually improvised, sometimes more than one instrument may take this role o Walking - style of bass playing developed in early 1930s where bass player plays on the beat outlining the harmony by using chord notes and passing notes o Time played by the drummer who generates the pulse of the music, often by playing loosely repeated patterns on ride cymbal and hi-hat; also colours the music by use of other drum kit sounds and interacts with soloist and other rhythm section players by playing snare drum phrases

Until 1950s nearly all jazz had either two or four beats to the bar changes in metre were very rare Focus on rhythmic cycles and subdivision of the pulse: o Swing feel division of beat into three quaver triplets, often with accent on the last clear in Rocking in Rhythm (swung quavers are usually written as even quavers for ease of notation); music propeller by anticipation/delay of main beat (syncopation) o Secondary rag rhythm can be heard where the quavers are grouped in repetitions of three during Move o use of unusual rhythmic construction and irregularly placed accents is evident in Straight No Chaser o Cross-rhythm (playing three against two) also common Duke Ellington (1899-1974)

Jazz composer, pianist and arranger most important in the whole history of jazz Worked as a musician from an early age Worked as band leader at the Cotton Club, Harlem 1927-1931 nightly entertainment for floor shows After this, toured internationally with band until his death over 40 years later Had interest in programme music and exotica distinguished his band from more functional dance music of the era Compositional style influenced by playing of his band members who stayed with him for a long while o Expertise as a band leader moulded talents of individuals into a balanced whole

o He incorporated their personality and sounds into the character of the piece o Ellington Effect thus created when the players appreciated this attention o Orchestra was said to be Ellingtons instruments Limit of 3 minutes on 10 inch 78-rpm recording brought clarity and focus to writing By 1930 the band was regarded as the most forward-looking and experimental big band in America played more adventurous music than the usual swing bands o Produced many national radio broadcasts o However, not as popular or commercially successful as many other bands o Division emerged between jazz-influenced dance music and jazz itself o Ellington ventral to this integrated composition and improvisation to move jazz into a new era o Helped by fact that jazz became accepted as an art form in Europe black American musicians received well there in 1930s Rockin in Rhythm is a mature example of jungle style developed at Cotton Club o uses progressively shorter melodic ideas to create sense of urgency o alternates sections dominated by reeds with those featuring brass solos o contrasts descending melodies with ascending bass line o varies rhythm section parts o changes tessitura of reeds to create light and dark sound o has central B section with different key and mood o soloists use mutes and extended instrumental technique for rough, vibrant sounds

o some solos worked out in advance rather than being improves on the spot Renowned for orchestral style of big band writing combining saxophones, trombones and trumpets in various groupings o Sensitive to balance of tone colour within big band format o Contrasting timbres throughout Miles Davis (1926-1991) Trumpeter and composer

Hugely influential to development of jazz established new trends which became distinct style: o Modal jazz o Jazz-rock fusion o Cool jazz

Studied at Julliard School of Music, New York, but more interested in jam sessions in clubs where the music of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk was played this style became known as bebop an was a reaction against the big band music Decided to abandon course to study with Parker and Gillespie Joined Parkers band, but later worked with Gil Evans in the Claude Thornhill Band Formed own band the Miles Davis Nonet. They recorded on 3 minute records at first, but later re-released on LPs Changed direction and style after each innovation throughout career Nonet adopted cleaner and purer approach to tone production and articulation than many contemporaries

Bebop included: o Complex harmonic patterns utilising rich chords that had many alterations and extensions o Chromatic and highly decorated melodic lines, often using wide intervals and many sudden changes of direction o Fast tempo and driving rhythms which demanded virtuosi instrumental techniques and musicianship

Move composed by Denzil Best (a drummer and composer), arranged by John Lewis (a classical and jazz pianist) o Uses rhythm changes in AABA 32-bar format of four 8 bar sections o A section based on chord sequence used in Gershwins I Got Rhythm o B section based on chord sequences used in bridge (middle-eight) of Fats Wallers Honeysuckle Rose o Light, airy sound, smooth

contours, little use of extremes of range or dynamics Gil Evans (1912-1988) Canadian, self-taught pianist and arranger First important professional work with Claude Thornhill Band in mid 1940s Collaborated with Miles Davis influential and innovative contribution to jazz Central figure to Miles Davis Nonet recordings of 1949 Later worked together again on series of albums which established Evans as leading arranger in American Jazz Influential features include:

o Use of unconventional instrumentation (including French horns and rube) learnt through work with Thornhill Band o Thornhill also played with very little vibrato o Broadened range of tone colour and texture o Avoids scoring in parallel block chords and favours a more linear approach Straight No Chaser composed as piano solo by Thelonious Monk 1952; this version arranged by Gil Evans o This version comes from album Great Jazz Standards made between projects with Miles Davis o Monks compositions characterised by: Use of dissonance and chord clusters Unusual rhythmic construction an irregularly placed accents Repetition of melodic fragments o These elements can be seen in this versions theme and in the piano solos of Gil Evans o Based on 12-bar blues