1. The Earliest Jazz Artists MUH 271 JAZZ HISTORY

2. Buddy Bolden  "Sometime around 1897, the Charles "Buddy" Bolden band began filling the dance halls and streets of New Orleans with a new kind of music. Instead of following the notes on sheet music like they were a railroad track, Buddy made his cornet an extension of his emotions. To this rough Negro barber, popular melodies were only points of embarkation for funky, hip-swinging improvisation. Some twenty years later this new music would be called jazz." (Buerkle and Barker, p. vii)

3. 1 st Jazz Artist  Probably first to embellish melodies in the jazz style  first "King of Jazz" in New Orleans  remembered by musicians of the time as “one of the finest horn players they had ever heard”  became known around 1895 playing in New Orleans parades and dances  his band eventually rose to become one of the most popular in the city  his health deteriorated by 1907 and he was committed to a mental institution

4. Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe)  first jazz composer  an important transitional figure between ragtime and jazz piano  born into Creole society and studied classical piano  In 1912, briefly settled in Chicago's South Side; published "The Jelly Roll Blues.“  recorded for the Gennett label in 1923 and 1924  formed the Red Hot Peppers and recorded for Victor  Morton died just before the Dixieland revival

5. Joe “King” Oliver  Born in or near New Orleans in 1885.  Began playing with brass bands in New Orleans around 1908.  First called “the King” by Kid Ory in 1917, although possibly already “past his prime.”  Moved to Chicago in 1919 to play with Bill Johnson’s Original Creole Orchestra.

6. King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band  formed in 1922.  1923 recordings introduced Louis Armstrong to the world.  group fell apart in 1924.

7. Poor Business Decisions  Rejected offer to open Cotton Club as house band.  Eventual move to New York probably too late; by 1925 his style had been superseded by Armstrong’s.  (problems with teeth and gums interfered with ability to perform).  final "mistake" was an extended tour of the South beginning in 1931. By 1936 he had ended up in Savannah selling fruit and vegetables and sweeping out a pool parlor. He died there in April 1938.

8. Contributions  he "had a repertory of expressive deviations of rhythm and pitch, some verging on theatrical novelty effects and others derived from blues vocal style...”  “He frequently used timbre modifiers of various sorts and was especially renowned for his wa- wa effects, as in his famous three-chorus solo on ‘Dipper Mouth Blues’.“  “Oliver was a good band leader, and his cornet playing was well integrated into the ensemble. By 1925 his performance style had been superseded by Louis Armstrong, but he had a significant impact on Bubber Miley as well as on Armstrong himself.”

9. Louis Armstrong  “Louis Armstrong is the single most important figure in the development of jazz.”  1 st virtuoso jazz soloist (arguably with Sidney Bechet).  Influential as both vocalist and instrumentalist.

10. Innovations  Blues – established the blues scale (pitches) and blues feeling as jazz’s harmonic foundation  Improvisation – established jazz as a soloist’s art form  Singing – introduced a true vocal jazz style (pitch, time, imagination); “scat singing”  Repertory – showed that Tin Pan Alley/pop music could be performed in a jazz style

11. Early Years  Although Armstrong apparently believed that he was born on July 4, 1900, a birth certificate shows the date as August 4, 1901.  sent to reform school at age 12, where he learned to play cornet.  took lessons from King Oliver and took Oliver’s place in Kid Ory’s band when Oliver moved to Chicago.  played with Fate Marable's band from 1919 to 1921 on riverboats.

12. Chicago and New York  Armstrong moved to Chicago in 1922 to play with Oliver's Creole Jazz Band.  made the first of his famous Gennet recordings with Oliver in April 1923.  moved to New York to play with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra in September 1924; also recorded with several blues singers including Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith and with Sidney Bechet.

13. Return to Chicago  made first Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings.  “Weather Bird” released in 1930.  Briefly moved to Los Angeles in 1930 to form Louis Armstrong and his Sebastian New Cotton Club Orchestra, but he returned to Chicago in 1931.  By the 1940s Armstrong's style of jazz was losing popularity, and Armstrong had no interest in the newer styles. He traveled extensively with an All-Star band during the revival of interest in New Orleans and Dixieland.  recorded "Hello Dolly“ in 1963, "What A Wonderful World“ in 1968.  On July 6th 1971, Armstrong died in his sleep.

14. Original Dixieland Jazz Band  led by Nck LaRocca (cornet)  LaRocca claimed that he and the ODJB had played an important role In the formation of jazz (typically discounted)  1 st jazz group to record (1917)  residency at Reisenweber's Restaurant from January 1917  Helped popularize the New Orleans style in the US and Europe