swing bands featured sections of trumpets, saxophones, and

The popularity of their bands in the mainstream reveals the extent to which jazz and blues had become the most popular dance music of the 1930s and 1940s. Since theyre built of brass, saxophones tend to produce a trumpet-like buzzing sound. Beacon, 2006. "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" - Duke Ellington & Ella Fitzgerald, It Dont Mean a Thing (If It Aint Got That Swing),, Kansas City was the swingingest sound in the world. And there were also 2 different styles of Swing music. Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman are credited with having created the formula for swing arrangements. [44], Although big bands are identified with the swing era, they continued to exist after those decades, though the music they played was often different from swing. woodwinds (saxophones, clarinets), brass (trumpets, trombones) and a back-up New York was an important geographic area for the developments leading toward the swing style of jazz. Playing multiple riffs playing at once as a kind of call and response. This type of music flourished through the early 1930s, although there was little mass audience for it until around 1936. singing" (in which he sings like an instrument on scat Swing was the predominant style of jazz music played from the late 1920s to mid-1940s. the late 1930s through the 1950s, Duke Ellington was one of the premier swing band 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. (London: Paladin) 1987. Ellington allowed individuals to retain their own identities and to expand and explore their own directions. Another interesting and important development happened with Swing improvisation. Goodmans band was the first to integrate black and white musicians. - a vocalist with piano or a small backup group. They were assisted by a band full of talent: Coleman Hawkins on tenor saxophone, Louis Armstrong on cornet, and multi-instrumentalist Benny Carter, whose career lasted into the 1990s.[1]. [3] In the 1940s, Stan Kenton's band used up to five trumpets, five trombones (three tenor and two bass trombones), five saxophones (two alto saxophones, two tenor saxophones, one baritone saxophone), and a rhythm section. . As a result, employment opportunities for jazz musicians increased and Kansas City became a jazz mecca. Gloria Parker had a radio program on which she conducted the largest all-girl orchestra led by a female. Mary Lou Williams (19101981) was the first woman in jazz history to compose and arrange for a large jazz band. of jazz L6G9MTRv&hVSOC9Y)~06CW)j#8qE#C?YOK%d\SC9IT~U {J;F\m`F># freedom vs. chaos. In a big band jazz group, at least three trumpets, two trombones, four or more saxophones, and a rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass, and drums are combined with a vocal element. The rhythm section of the Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet excluded which instrument? style known as SWING. In the 1960s, Gunther SCHULLER developed a style known as "Third Trumpet image courtesy: PJ via Wikimedia Commons, Saxophone image courtesy: via Wikimedia Commons, Keyboard image courtesy: Eurotuber via Wikimedia Commons, Double Bass image courtesy: David Price via Wikimedia Commons, Drum set image courtesy: Pbroks13 via Wikimedia Commons, Gumbo image courtesy: Amadscientist via Wikimedia Commons, For more than 10 years, The Classic Swing Band of Dallas has offered the best in live entertainment. Keyboards are the swing band equivalent of rice in Gumbo. 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. Two other musical characteristics of swing bands are a return to the use of a flat-four rhythm and the use of block chords (chords with many notes moving in parallel motion). [32] They experiment, often with one player coming up with a simple musical figure leading to development within the same section and then further expansion by other sections, with the entire band then memorizing the way they are going to perform the piece, without writing it on sheet music. Young, who also studied violin, trumpet and drums, displayed an excellent sense of melody in his lyrical soloing. They provide the base, the foundation on which the rest of the music can thrive. Thats intentional; the individual style of each swing band is what makes the music unique, much as the seasoning used in a particular Gumbo can make it one of a kind. GILLESPIE: Koko (1945). All Jazz styles have two common features: - premiered George GERSHWIN's Rhapsody in Blue and kicked off an "Fusion" in its strictest Whether your event needs a small ensemble or a full big band sound, we have the professionalism and class needed for functions requiring real live music! and His Mother Called Him Bill, featured "Blood Count" and "Lotus Blossom," was a tribute album to . Blues tradition, then became popular with white listeners during the World War on the chart below to go to that interactive webpage). Later, a fifth bass trombone was often added. Among other popular singers of the era are Sarah Vaughan and Helen Humes. Jazz orchestras were necessary for the shows and musicals, and well-trained musicians were highly valued. The saxophone features a curved reed mouthpiece and a long brass tube that gradually expands before doubling back and bellowing outwards. Alto sax player, arranger, and bandleader Jimmie Lunceford (19021947) studied music at and graduated from Fisk University in 1926. (Click In addition, Miller had a radio program and made motion pictures. [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. [51] Fictionalized biographical films of Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, and Benny Goodman were made in the 1950s. below to see YouTube performance clips), - Ellington expanded Armstrong's small And what better instrument to provide a bona fide rhythm for a swing band than a set of drums? Many bands toured the country in grueling one-night stands. Pianist and vocalist Sarah Vaughan also influenced many singers. 1554 0 obj <> endobj 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. performers such Louis ARMSTRONG completed the transition from The invention of ______ helped the record industry to recover in the mid-1930s. Jazz began in New Orleans in the by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Armstrong (nicknamed endstream endobj 1558 0 obj <>stream and ingenuity. of main line "crooners" such as Bing The "white" bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Shep Fields and, later, Glenn Miller were more popular than their "black" counterparts from the middle of the decade. [28] This development may take the form of improvised solos, written solo sections, and "shout choruses". For the trumpet and trombone players, the most common configuration is 2-1-3-4, from the director's . When the tradition came back full-circle into vocal jazz with a The bands led by Helen Lewis, Ben Bernie, and Roger Wolfe Kahn's band were filmed by Lee de Forest in his Phonofilm sound-on-film process in 1925, in three short films which are in the Library of Congress film collection. saxophonist Gerry MULLIGAN (of the Gerry Mulligan Quartet 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. Figure 3: WMU's "Gold art form--a unique blending of West African and Western European/American (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
. Basie, Count. Boyd Raeburn drew from symphony orchestras by adding flute, French horn, strings, and timpani to his band. They had the Blue Devils. emerged as piano was added to the rhythm section, and a stronger driving rhythm Coleman Hawkins (19041969) was the first great saxophonist of jazz. jazz-fusion (combining elements of jazz and rock musics). ARMSTRONG took "Hot" Jazz to Chicago, where its popularity grew Later, hbbd``b`:$g@Hp,@,Fb 0 O3 [30], Some big ensembles, like King Oliver's, played music that was half-arranged, half-improvised, often relying on head arrangements. And they played a particular type of Swing in Kansas City known as: Kansas City Jazz. Other research interests include African popular music and the use of oral history and photography in the study of culture. is America's clip on the basic jazz rhythm section), - Bass [52], Schuller, Gunther. To produce memorable swing music entertainment, you need a solid base, some leading ingredients and some harmonic elements. Starting in the early 1900s, various jazz and traditions have early style of "Hot Jazz" made its way north to Chicago and east to - She arranged music for dozens of leading swing bands including those of Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman. grooves, click Ella Fitzgerald, the featured vocalist of Chick Webbs Orchestra during the late 1930s, is considered to be one of the most outstanding singers of the swing era. Billie Holiday is considered to be the most influential of the jazz singers of the century after Louis Armstrong, who influenced her style. His bebop collaborations with trumpeter Dizzy GILLESPIE are some of the greatest moments in music history. a vocalist with piano or a small backup group. Company B, was popularized through records and film by The Andrews Sisters during World War Swing music began appearing in the early 1930s and was distinguished by a more supple feel than the more literal 44 of early jazz. Whiteman increased the size of his band into nearly symphonic proportion. Swing was almost entirely commercial and part of the mass entertainment industry. Her version of the nursery rhyme A-Tisket, A-Tasket (1938) brought her international fame. Swing bands featured a large ensemble of woodwinds (saxophones, clarinets), brass (trumpets, trombones) and a back-up accompaniment (acoustic bass with piano and/or guitar). Apart from the star soloists, many musicians received low wages and would abandon the tour if bookings disappeared. A drummer, bass player (string bass), piano player, and guitarist formed the rhythm section. Carnegie Halls interactive Timeline of African American Music is dedicated to the loving memory of the late soprano and recitalist Jessye Norman. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and contains saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. From 20th-century popular music and culture. In the late 1940s, progressive The By this time the big band was such a dominant force in jazz that the older generation found they either had to adapt to it or simply retire. Kansas City, in particular, became a wide-open town totally ingrained in the entertainment business. Cool Jazz Beside her vocal timbre, her unique style delayed the placement of words and phrases compared with the musical pulse, producing a behind-the-beat effect that became her trademark. bWkwf>JW'wJj_]6/?NxP]-0_wg"2;WjbuY5sujr7g/sueG>trp~ZBV7]M(//m!o/f[^fb]x>f]aX?UnAW|ng)]s? Louis Blues, but by the late 1930s, with the migration of Cubans and Puerto Ricans to New York City, Afro-Cuban music emerged along with new dances, such as the rhumba. Goodmans clarinet playing was a combination of great wit, precise musicianship, beautiful subtleties, and never-ending swing. Drummer Chick Webb (19091939) was admired for his forceful sense of swing, accurate technique, control of dynamics, and use of breaks and fills. In the 1940s, an intensely virtuosic and : The rhythmic phenomenon of "swing" feeling is Led by an African American woman, this 16-member band gained notoriety across the United States and in Europe, despite the challenge of imposed racial and gender restrictions. (1937). projected in the way the drums and bass express the beat, how the piano [26], Typical big band arrangements from the swing era were written in strophic form with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times. Unlike the concert band, the lead players should never be seated on the end of the section. 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. Art-music composer/conductor Leonard Kansas City was busy with musical activity from the early 1920s to about 1938. Fish, Scott K. Duke Ellington vs Chick Webb: We Tore Them Up, Man. March 1, 2016. https://scottkfish.com/2016/03/01/5221/. An Autobiography: John Hammond on Record with Irvin Townsend. The focus shifted away from the arranger and toward the improvising performer. in its strictest Louis ARMSTRONG (1900-1971): Hotter Than That (1927). It began as an intensified rhythmic outgrowth of the black Rhythm & tenor saxophone. 3. In the 1960s and 1970s, big band rock became popular by integrating such musical ingredients as progressive rock experimentation, jazz fusion, and the horn choirs often used in blues and soul music, with some of the most prominent groups including Chicago; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Tower of Power; and, from Canada, Lighthouse. In 1927, he taught music at Manassas High School in Memphis and organized a student jazz band. The saxophone section included two alto saxophones, two tenor saxophones, and one baritone saxophone. After 1935, big bands rose to prominence playing swing music and held a major role in defining swing as a distinctive style. 1920s as a blending of blues, ragtime, and civic brass band traditions, then this The wind component of a big band consists of three sections: the saxophones (usually three to five players with various combinations of alto, tenor and baritone saxes and with some of the players doubling on flutes and clarinets); the trombones (typically three or four players, one of whom specializes on the bass trombone); and the trumpets . The looser compositional forms encouraged contributions from the players. Vocalists began to strike out on their own. Daniels, Douglas. www.bigfishaudio.com. In swing, the saxophone was usually featured as the leading instrumental soloist. As swing developed, the second player became responsible for most of the jazz solos. You Three bypass valves over the tube can be used to lower the pitch of the trumpet. progression and the same number of measures/beats, but it may be applied to intricate fast rhythms and tremendous The rhythm section would typically include piano, string bass, drum set, with occasional additions of guitar or other chordal/melody instruments. Packed with Ph.D.s, this scientific swing band performs a play list that leans heavily toward the heavens. In contrast to the typical jazz emphasis on improvisation, big bands relied on written compositions and arrangements. Some listeners feel that all swing bands sound alike but bandleaders wanted to be distinguished. sense means to merge styles together. Trumpets feature a hollow brass tube that is doubles back on itself twice. The manner in which theyre utilized often depends on the particular composition of the song being played. This expansive eclecticism characterized much of jazz after World War II. Social life changed and large ballrooms were needed for the thousands who wanted to dance every night and large bands seemed to be the answer to filling these dance halls with music. D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley. Some large contemporary European jazz ensembles play mostly avant-garde jazz using the instrumentation of the big bands. Swing is an outgrowth of the 1920s big band traditions in Chicago, Kansas City, and New York City. Her vocal command expanded to an unusual range of four octaves, and she is best known for her melodic approach to scatting. (Click Glenn Miller (19041944) was a brilliant arranger, an outstanding businessman, and a fine trombone player. [37] As jazz migrated from its New Orleans origin to Chicago and New York City, energetic, suggestive dances traveled with it. innovators include pianist Dave BRUBECK The project is also supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. characterized by independent instrumental lines, massive harmonic dissonance, style, boogie-woogie was born. When the trumpets and saxophones are combined in a musical accompaniment, they can lead a vibrant and multi-toned swing melody.

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swing bands featured sections of trumpets, saxophones, and