1. Jazz Brief Overview

2. About Jazz  You may know jazz when you hear it  May not be able to describe what you hear  Jazz has signature traits:  Improvisation  Individual voices  Swing  syncopation

3. About Jazz  Improvisation- “when a jazz musician invents what he or she plays”  Individual voices – Combines quantity of notes, phrasing, speed, tone, and subtleties such as bending strings on a guitar or varieties of breathing on a horn  Swing – refers to Jazz relentless forward momentum, a beat that makes you want to move or dance

4. About Jazz  Syncopation (for jazz) – The way jazz musicians place notes and accents before and after the beat in ways that emphasize the beat and keep it moving.  Syncopation is what makes jazz sound so different from the more regular rhythms of classical or pop music  Those are the rules, but really in Jazz, there are no rules!

5. Jazz History  Born in New Orleans  Around turn of 20 th century  African Americans started mixing their culture with European instruments  Blues that originated from slaves and gospel from black churches were used  Adolphe Sax’s invention used in this genre  What instrument do you think he invented?

6. Lil’ bit ‘bout Jazz Theory  Jazz can be technically complex  12 measure structure of blues  32 measure structure of popular songs  A measure is a musical grouping of 2 – 4 even beats

7. Instruments used for Jazz  Basses  Upright  Electric  Drums  Trap set  Congos  bongos  Keyboards  Pianos  Organs  Horns  Trumpets  Trombones  Saxophones  Flutes  clarinets

8. Jazz Artists: Scott Joplin  Joplin introduced Ragtime for the first time at a Chicago World’s Fair in 1893  Piano ragtime  Ragtime became a popular genre of music  Scott Joplin composed “Maple Leaf Rag”  This piece eventually sold over 1 million copies

9. Jazz Artists: Scott Joplin  Scott Joplin composed other pieces like musicals and operas, but they were not very successful  He has published over 60 songs  He has earned the title “The King of Ragtime Composers”

10. Jazz Artists: Louis Armstrong  From New Orleans, LA  Known as the “Father of Modern Jazz Trumpet and Improvisation”  Improvised on trumpet and with singing  Was the first modern jazz soloist  Took a leading role  Took more solos

11. Jazz Artists: Louis Armstrong  Started out in in New Orleans, but moved to Chicago at a young age  Combined bluesy mid-range and piercing high-range abilities on trumpet  Instrumental phrasing grows from how he sings  Started his own band in 1925, The Hot Five and later Hot Seven  Popular song is “Wild Man Blues”

12. Jazz Artists: Billie Holiday  From New York  Voice had an strong influence on jazz and pop singing  She created a new way to mold phrasing and tempo in jazz performance  Nick-named “Lady Day”

13. Jazz Artists: Billie Holiday  Had a very sweet voice  Minimal range, but could be very soft with her voice or very powerful  Famous song is “Easy Living”, among others  “It is Billie Holiday who was, and still remains, the greatest single musical influence on me. Lady Day is unquestionably the most important influence on American popular singing in the last twenty years.”  -Frank Sinatra

14. Jazz Artists: Ella Fitzgerald  From Virginia  Known for swing, bebop, traditional pop, and vocal jazz  Vocal range that spanned three octaves  Known for skillful “scat singing”  Improvised jazz singing in which the voice is used in imitation of an instrument

15. Jazz Artist: Ella Fitzgerald  Often referred to as the “First Lady of Song” and the “Queen of Jazz”  Won 13 Grammy awards  Awarded National Medal  Has sold over 40 million copies  “Flying Home”  Scat recording known as one of the most influential vocal jazz records

16. Jazz Artists:Duke Ellington  Edward Kennedy Ellington  From Washington, D.C.  Ragtime, New Orleans jazz, late-1920s teerritory band, New York big band, 1940s bebop, 1950s cool jazz, and 1960s free jazz.  Very important Big Band leader  Big band- a large group of musicians playing jazz or dance music

17. Jazz Artists: Duke Ellington  One of first big band leaders to showcase a singer’s voice as an instrument  Ellington elevated the art of big band music to new levels of sophistication  He often composed with a message  Song to listen to is “Mood Indigo”

18. Jazz Artists: Miles Davis  From Alton, Illinois  Played bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, fusion, and funk  Entered Juilliard at 18 but dropped out to join bebop music scene  Known for his laid-back, slurry sound  Also known for having a whispery, minimalist sound

19. Jazz Artists: Miles Davis  Known for helping to launch the careers of now famous jazz performers  Helped invent the “cool” sound with his Birth of the Cool album  Most famous album is the 1959 Kind of Blue

20. In A Jazz Band You Will Find  Saxophones (first row)  Trombones (second row)  Trumpets Standing (back row)  Rhythm Section on the side  Piano  Bass  Electric guitar  Drums