1920 – 1945 History of American Music

Swing Big Band

New Orleans – birthplace of jazz music  Meeting place for many different ethnic groups and cultures  Market for music and entertainment  Much work available since it was a port city

Big Band New Orleans had a liberal atmosphere  Strong influence of French, Spanish, West Indian and Catholic religions and attitudes  No prohibitions against drums, known in some circles as the devils instrument  Different attitude towards African Americans, pride in being a cosmopolitan city with many different races and cultures

Big Band Each instrument had an assigned role  Trumpet/Cornet – melody  Clarinet – embellishes the melody  Tuba/String Bass – Bass line  Trombone – embellishes the bass line, sometimes plays melody  Piano/Banjo – provides harmony  Drums – steady tempo

Big Band Tune Sources – where the melodies came from  Ragtime tunes  Military music  Religious music  Classical music  Popular tunes of the day  Blues tunes  Originals (written specifically to be played in jazz style)

Big Band Most popular musicians of the time  King Oliver – trumpet  Louis Armstrong – trumpet  Jelly Roll Morton – Piano  Bix Beiderbecke – trumpet

Big Band “Working Man Blues” – Louis Armstrong “Livery Stable Blues” – Original Dixieland Jazz Band “Jelly-Roll Blues” – Jelly Roll Morton Singin’ The Blues – Bix Beiderbecke

Beginning of big bands – 1920 – 1935 The Swing Era: 1935 – 1945 “Dixieland” music is what a lot of early ensemble jazz music is often referred to.

By the end of the 1920’s, jazz was developing in two complimentary directions:  Emphasis on the soloist  Emphasis on the ensemble

Now that ensembles (bands) were getting larger, the written style of jazz/big band music had to change. Since more people were now playing together, written music had to be written more clearly and legibly. Although written arrangements somewhat eliminated improvisation, they written music still allowed some room for improvisation.

Ensemble Size Although there were several well-known small jazz ensembles in the early 1920’s – the ensemble sizes grew and became more well rounded. In the 1920’s – the big bands typically had five to seven people. Towards the 1930’s and 40’s the group grew to about ensemble members.

The New Jazz Musician Many musicians were now formally education – conservatory trained, college, etc. Many came from military bands Representation from both formally and non-formally trained musicians

Geographical Movement In the early 1930’s jazz music started moving from New Orleans to Chicago and then to New York – which then became the music center of the world.  Recording Companies  “Livery Stable Blues” – Original Dixieland Jass Band  Publishing Houses  Music Businesses/Agencies

What Have We Done So Far? Covered the overall genre of Jazz – where it came from, how it got to America, how it has developed over time and influenced the music of today. Ragtime Music Dixieland Music – the Big Band Movement

Next… Thursday 10/22 we will start our unit on the Swing era. Presentations on a jazz musician are due Tuesday, October 27 th in class.

What Was Happening in America World War I – The Great Depression – 1929 – 1939 – longest lasting economic downturn in the United States – this happened after the stock market crash of World War II – 1939 – 1945

Swing Hundreds of professional big bands flourished in the 1930’s and 1940’s – there are only a handful today. After the stock market crash of 1929, swing helped the country through the great depression, creating an escape from economic realities. Swing served as a major morale booster during WWII

Swing Because of the weak economy, many recording companies went bankrupt. However, swing music was still able to be played on radio stations. There was a type of specific partner style dancing that goes along with swing music – swing dancing There were hundreds of performance venues across America: ballrooms, hotels, movies, etc.

Swing The Benny Goodman Trio – 1935 – most important interracial swing group. The invention and spread of the radio was crucial to the spread and popularity of swing music.