Jazz

• A group of well-to-do white teen musicians (Including Krupa and Goodman)
• Formed a jazz band in 1923
• Based in Chicago

• Austin High Gang formed the Chicago style, which incorporated New Orleans Jazz.
• Characteristics: Rhythmically agressive (due to Krupa's drums) and more emphasis on solo playing

• Typically large ensembles ("big bands'')
• Commercial elements- simpler texture, simple clearly defined melodies, often making use of riffs.
• Teenagers made the new Jazz style a national craze, picking up it's slang, dance patterns, and short skirts. Critics considered the music orchestrated sex.
• Improvisation is curtailed because of the larger bands, which increased reliance on notation and arranging.

Goodman wasn't confident in his work so he purchased Henderson's set of arrangements. Henderson also wrote new works for Goodman's band.

An informal gathering of jazz (or rock) musicians, who play for their own pleasure.

• A competition between either bands or soloist of of the same instrument.
• Used to determine who has superior skill/virtuosity, stamina, expressivity, etc.

• An African-American drummer and bandleader who "ruled" the Savoy in 1927-1939.
• His band was considered one of the outstanding bands of the swing era.

Females performed their own bands, they were paid less then all-male bands, and they were criticized more harshly in the press.

• Vocalist were often paid less the instrumentalists regardless of sex.
• Women were often vocalist, as a concession to popular taste.

• White: Goodman, Shaw Miller
• Black: Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Webb, Basie, Lunceford, Waller, Calloway

• A style of piano playing.
• Characteristics- Use of chords and chord progression. Use of forceful vamps in the left hand.

Touring bands that worked geographically no more than a days drive from their headquarters.

• Pianist, arranger, and composer
• Role in Kirk's band- She was hired into Kirk's band after sitting in for a "Cloud of Joy's" pianist who didn't show up for a performance. The success of the band was due largely to Williams quality of compositions, arrangements, and solos.

• Kansas City flourished due to a political corruption led by Tom Pendergast.
• Brothels, speakeasies, and gambling joints flourished due to the corruption.
• Resulted in the creation of Kansas City Jazz.

• Musical Characteristics- Emphasis on saxophone, call and response between reeds and brass, lots of syncopation, reliance on head arrangements, which facilitated soloistic improvisation, rhythmic drive, extensive use of riffs, and cultivation of walking bass lines.
• Association with Count Basie- He is the figure most associated with this style.

Ellington purposely sought musicians with unique and quirky sounds. He purposely exploited the individual and idiosyncratic timbres and personalities of his musicians.

He was a co-composer to Duke Ellington.

Nazi's disliked jazz because it's historically aligned with blacks.

• He altered the typical approach to improv by switching the emphasis on melodic embellishment.
• This was accomplished by using arpeggios, triads played successively instead of simultaneously.

• Swing lost its popularity and bebop arose.
• The music was intended for listening not dancing so the style was performed in smaller venues.
• Musical Characteristics- fast tempos and quick rhythms, technically difficult, increased usage of both dissonance and extended harmonies, focus on harmonic improv rather than melodic paraphrase.

Attracted dissatisfied adventurous musicians, even professional jazz musicians played there because, it represented free, true-artistic expression rather than commercial stuff.

• He played the alto sax.
• Parker improvised based on chord changes rather then on varying melody.
• He added increased dissonance and separation of phrasing from chord changes.