w w w. p e r f o r m a n c e s .

o r g

All about

Connie Kay

Percy Heath Milt Jackson

John Lewis

Modern Jazz Quartet

Front Cover:

Art Blakey
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Jazz music began

about 100 years ago in the southern part of the United States. It started in New Orleans, Louisiana, where people from many different cultures traveled,
The first jazz was dance music. It was not written down but was passed on by ear because the musicians often did not read music. Today, jazz remains an oral tradition, comparable to storytelling. Most jazz musicians start with a basic tune or melody and then change and recreate it as they go along. This is called improvisation, and it makes jazz different from classical and popular music. In many ways, Dizzy Gillespie

The Jazz Age

In 1918, the Original Dixieland Jazz Band released a recording, now considered to be the first jazz record. (Although the record player had been invented around 1890, jazz was still emerging as a distinct musical form at that time.) By 1918 most middle class Americans could afford family record players, and the demand for recordings was high. The radical new sound of the Original Dixieland Jazz Bands release created such a sensation that by the mid-1920s, the young, hip generation

and settled. Each culture brought its own musical traditions, and in New Orleans, they all came together.

called

Bessie Smith

their era the jazz age.

As Dixieland music spread throughout the country to New York, Chicago and Kansas City, the music and its audience began to grow and change. Dance halls sprang up in every city as people clamored to dance to jazz. In order to fill these venues with sound, jazz bands grew from a dozen members to the size of whole orchestras. As the bands got bigger, the dancing grew freer and t h e b e a t p i c k e d

jazz is a musical language.

mixed African Through improvisation, musiAmerican musicians cians talk to each other while in New Orleans creplaying music. Early jazz bands played at dances, festiated jazz by combinvals and even funerals. Dixieland jazz, as ing African rhythms it came to be known, flourished in and and harmonies with elements around New Orleans during the first part of blues music, European of the 20th century. These bands included orchestral and band music, a bass section, several brass instruments, popular songs, and African banjos, and an occasional piano. Ragtime American spirituals and work music, which was written for the piano songs. The hybrid culture of and developed concurrently with jazz, New Orleans was essential was very popular throughout the United to the development of jazz. States, and the two emerging musical European musical structures genres influenced each other. were combined with an African approach to performance, which included more flexible rhythm and the use of the blues scale.

up

and began to s w i n g .

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band

A playing style known as bop evolved

Sw i ng

Tommy Poter

Clockwise from top: Tommy Dorsey Duke Ellington Benny Goodman Cab Calloway

Swing music continued to grow in popularity during the 1930s. While the economic hardships of the Great Depression caused a drop in record sales, radios became household objects and families could listen to new swing music all the time just by tuning in. The 1930s and 40s were the age of Big Band music, and musicians such as singer Cab Calloway, pianist and composer Duke Ellington, trombonist Tommy Dorsey, and clarinetist Benny Goodman were the leading artists of the Big Band era.

B and Bo Bop Bo p op p
As the popularity
Sonny Rollins

out of swing and big band music.

Bop developed a new format involvMax Roach

ing smaller ensembles and whole group improvisation. Songs were designed to showcase solos, and everyone in the band took a turn showing off as many notes, chord changes and fast rhythms as possible. These musicians told stories in their music, but they were so fast and hard that they were sometimes difficult to hear.

of swing began to wane during the mid 1940s,

s ome players from the big bands began to stand out and play solos that were faster, l o u d e r

Charlie Parker

Dizzy Gillespies big band

HARDER

and

than anything that had been heard before. They filled their solos with as many notes and as much feeling as they could. Some of these upstarts included saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and drummer Max Roach, among many others.

Baby Dodds

Thelonius Monk

During the 1950s a new group of musicians decided to slow things down and mellow the sound of jazz. These artists preferred even smaller ensembles of 4 to 6 musicians, and

The

C oo l

School

they approached jazz at a slower pace, with a laid back, cool feeling.
Known as cool jazz, these compositions were longer in duration than those of previous jazz eras. The long playing record became popular during the 50s, and this coincided nicely with the development of a longer, more straightforward jazz style.
Gerry Mulligan

Baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and trumpeter Chet Baker were the major proponents of this mellow style, along with the early work of trumpeter Miles Davis. Another style of jazz, known as Third Stream, emerged in the early 1960s. Finding inspiration from European classical music for form and structure, Third Stream composers and musicians, such as the Modern Jazz Quartet, explored elements of classical music and jazz and then combined them to create a new music.
Billie Holliday

Sarah Vaughan

Chet Baker

Miles Davis

The Current Scene

, e e r F unk F n o i s fu
and
Charles Mingus

other usly, an z back o e n a lt Simu ok jaz n ment to g Africa develop in s nse oots, u o r p s s e it r o t nd n call a America nd slow, dirge yle t s in s a e m s e g n h n r t a e t g h pat ivin e the c place in jazz s and g r edge. e lu ic Despit b s n e a e k li de d tak any b ted, har that ha the 1950s, m the an upda ers, such as d h e g in u lay thro rema Funk p Mingus ts had hythm Charles Blakey t elemen rmony and r ny is s s a b rt a Ha mmer A olitical tant in p playsame. p and dru a d cons o e d b e in d h a inclu rem houg ith n e lt w a ft music. o d d ir e n e a e in th oncern e g c piece, a e s r s e o m som re m ers we han melody, ne u t 60s t y ic g s r ene e mid 19 th f a ba ir y o e b e h y, t c ll n peter Fina sembla l be traced in h as trum c u s s il n t s ia rge music could an to me g nces. e a b m is r v o a f per Miles D s of jazz he
in t hange an to c g e b group is th t garde n All of a v a n sh s, as a d to pu late 50 decide s n nal ia io ic nvent of mus ic e of co id s t e u m lod o music ic and ed hythm n r r , e c ic n n e co harmo ey wer res. Th ication n u structu ist t comm c e ir e. Pian d with d alon n u o s r h il Taylo throug ser Cec o p m e t o net and c nist Or xopho rtant o and sa p were im n a , m Cole ement is mov h t in s artist Jazz. as Free known

Today, jazz is more diverse than ever. Musicians play varia-

tions of dixieland, swing, bop, cool, funk, free and fusion, or they bring elements from several Uri Crane Regina Carter of these eras together T h e r h y t h m s e c t i o n i s l i k e in new compositions. t h e e n g i n e o f a j a z z e n s e m b l e .
Artists such as trumpeter Wynton Marsalis (who came from a jazz and classical music background) are largely responsible for the revived popularity of jazz in its many forms. The first jazz bands usually had six members. Today, jazz groups can be made up of many different numbers and combinations of instruments. One person can play jazz equally as well as a big band of 18 players. Most often each group or line-up usually has two parts: the rhythm section, usually a piano, drums and bass; and the front-line.
The instruments in this group collectively keep time and move the music forward. Front-line instruments have traditionally been the main soloists in a group. Standard front-line instruments have included woodwind and brass instruments, such as the clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. However, a variety of instruments, including violin, cello, guitar, flute and other percussion instruments have also found their way into the line-up throughout the evolution of jazz. Like classical music, jazz has developed many styles over its short history. While new styles have emerged, they have not replaced older ones. All are still played today, and all are equally important to the future of jazz as it continues to evolve.

ra from all e elements usic into f o rms m fo r e th o and sion. wn as Fu o n k d ri b and a hy jazz, rock to n io it sical In add from clas ts n e m le blues, e ican n and Afr ia s A , ic s ce mu to influen n a g e b ic mus al jazz -tradition jazz. Non ing sitars nts includ instrume d instrun stringe ia d In n (a and s, organs te u fl , t) n ed to me were add rs e iz s e synth mble mix ard ense the stand e, piano, saxophon , s s ra b f o drums. bass and

Don Cherry

Ornette Coleman

Wynton Marsalis

Stefon Harris

Jazz Terms
Avant garde Describes artists whose works can be characterized as experimental or unorthodox. Blues scale A five-note scale of African origin. The relationship between the notes gives jazz and blues melodies a sound that is uniquely different from melodies based on the seven-note European scale. Blues Music which was a product of African American culture during the late 1800s. It often follows a particular form and scale and uses elements of African music such as call and response and instruments imitating the human voice. The blues is present in all styles of jazz. Blues form A form that usually consists of 12 measures with a particular pattern of chords. The measures are most often divided into three sections of four measures each and use three different chords. Call-and-response One player or section responds to another player or section. Chord A combination of three notes played together or one after another. Harmony The sound created when two or more notes are played or sung simultaneously. Improvisation To invent music while playing, usually by experimenting with the theme or form of written music. Melody A series of notes that together form a complete musical statement Polyrhythm Two or more rhythms played at the same time. Spirituals African American religious music characterized by a singing style in which the singer starts each line high and lets his or her voice fall to a lowpitched whisper. Swing A feeling of forward momentum that's essential to all jazz. It's a quality that's hard to describe and which can't be written into the music. It just happens when musicians play well together, with a lot of energy and style. Swing also refers to style of jazz which first appeared in the 30s. It's used for dancing and makes use of big bands playing complex arrangements.

LIST OF RESOURCES
Recommended Recordings
All listed recordings are available at the San Francisco Public Library. Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington Roulette Jazz p. 1990 CD 781.65 ARM Count Basie April in Paris Verve Records p. 1955 CD 781.65 BAS Sidney Bechet The Best of Sidney Bechet Blue Note p. 1994 CD 781.65 BEC John Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard MCA Impulse p. 1962 CD 781.65 COL John Coltrane My Favorite Things Atlantic p. 1961 CD 781.65 COL Miles Davis Kind of Blue Columbia p. 1984 CD 781.65 DAV Miles Davis Round About Midnight Columbia p. 1987 CD 781.65 DAV Art Blakey Sonny Rollins Roy Eldridge Little Jazz Columbia p. 1989 CD 781.65 ELD Duke Ellington The BlantonWebster Band Bluebird p. 1986 CD 781.65 ELL Ella Fitzgerald Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song Verve p. 1993 CD 781.65 FIT Coleman Hawkins Body and Soul Topaz Jazz p.1995 CD 781.65 HAW Joe Henderson The Best of Joe Henderson Blue Note p. 1991 CD 781.65 HEN Billie Holiday Love Songs Columbia/Legacy p. 1996 CD 781.65 HOL Marian McPartland Marian McPartland Plays Benny Carter Concord Jazz p. 1990 CD 781.65 MCP Modern Jazz Quartet Dedicated to Connie Atlantic Jazz p. 1995 CD 781.65 MOD Jelly Roll Morton The Pearls Bluebird p. 1998 CD 781.65 MOR Original Mambo Kings An Afro Cubop Anthology Verve p. 1993 CD 781.657 ORI Oscar Peterson Trio Night Train Verve p. 1963 CD 781.65 PET Bessie Smith The Collection Columbia Jazz Masterworks p. 1989 CD 781.65 SMI Art Tatum I Got Rhythm GRP p 1993 CD 781.65 TAT McCoy Tyner The Real McCoy Blue Note p. 1987 CD 781.65 TYN Fats Waller Turn on the Heat Bluebird p 1991 CD 781.65 WAL The World of Swing by Stanley Dance. Call number: 781.51 D195w. The World of Duke Ellington by Stanley Dance. Call number: 781.51 EL56d. What Jazz is All About by Lillian Erlich. Call number: j785.4 Er:2. Bass Line by Milt Hinton. Call number: 780.2 H597a The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz edited by Barry Kernfeld. Call number: 781.51 N42. The Eye of Jazz by Leonard Herman. Call number: 779 L552e. The Story of Jazz by Marshall W. Stearns Call number: 781.51 St31. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes edited by Arnold Rampersad. Call number: 811.52 H874c pp.35, 44, 50, 59, 60, 65, 68, 70, 72, 76, 77, 90, 91, 94, 126 contain blues and jazz-inspired poems.

Books
All listed books are available at the San Francisco Public Library.

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