America holds a rich artistic background, expressively reflecting the circumstances and times of their place. Of these creative endeavors, the most cultural and uniquely American musical tradition is that of the art of Jazz.
Jazz musicians are able to express themselves musically and expressively by telling a story, idea, or feeling through the infusion of complex rhythm and musical interface, which often comes so effortlessly and naturally to these musicians. Their instrument provided a voice to be heard; a voice that commonly was countered by the ignorance of a young American society. This voice was born from an extreme emotional and spiritual past, where music celebrated the very essence of life.
Early jazz blended elements from many musical cultures, including west African, American, and European. Most American slaves originally came from west Africa, an area that today includes Ghana and Nigeria as well as many other countries. West African elements that influenced jazz include its emphasis on improvisation, drumming, percussive sounds, and complex rhythms. Religion and Spirit played a major role in life- the West African groups that yielded the bulk of slaves to the New World believed in spirit gods, and the goal of each believer was to be possessed by a spirit in a state of mental and physical convulsion. Soon many African- American rites and celebrations were born, playing a major role in the life of slavery.
Among these survivals are vocal styles that include great freedom of vocal color; a tradition of improvisation, call-and-response patterns, and rhythmic complexity-both syncopation of individual melodic lines and conflicting rhythms played by different members of an ensemble. Black folk music forms include field hollers, rowing chants, lullabies, spirituals and blues. Another major African influence besides style was instruments. The people of the Savannah (located in West Africa) primarily used stringed instruments. Their music was basically diatonic (meaning the notes were derived from basic major and minor scales), and to produce an emotional effect the player of the stringed instrument would “bend” a note by making it sharp or flat (Peretti 12) .
This way of playing was natural to the culture of the Savannah, and since this was the area that produced the largest number of slaves for the American South, it was brought to America along with all of the other techniques and traditions of “home”. This technique of “bending” notes evolved into what is now known as “blue notes”- notes that deliberately depart from the notes of a normal diatonic scale (Peretti 12). Another feature of jazz that was probably derived from west Africa is known as call and response. In much West African vocal music, a soloist’s phrases are repeatedly answered by a chorus.
In jazz, call and response occurs when a voice (or instrument) is answered by an instrument or group. When this reached America, work songs, spirituals, gospel hymns, and dances grew from this technique. Unfortunately, however, many slave owners forbade musical acts and rites, fearing that the dances and drumming was rebellious. Therefore, the call and response, dancing, and all other acts were either done at night in secret, in the fields of labor, or when permitted on special days.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the American band tradition played an important role in the development of early jazz. Black-influenced elements of early popular music that contributed to the beginnings of jazz include the banjo music of the minstrel shows (derived from the banjo music of slaves), syncopated rhythmic patterns of black-influenced Latin American music (heard in southern U.S. cities); the barrelhouse piano styles of tavern musicians in the Midwest; and marches and hymns as they were played by black brass bands in the late 19th century (Ogren 12). Most early jazz was played in small marching bands or by solo pianists.
The bands played this music, modified frequently by syncopations and acceleration, at picnics, weddings, parades, and funerals. Characteristically, the bands played dirges on the way to funerals and lively marches on the way back. Although blues and ragtime had arisen independently of jazz, and continued to exist alongside it, these genres influenced the style and forms of jazz and provided important vehicles for jazz improvisation. Near the end of the 19th century another influential genre emerged. This was ragtime, a composed music that combined many elements, including syncopated rhythms (from banjo music and other black sources) and the harmonic contrasts and formal patterns of European marches. Ragtime flourished from the 1890’s to about 1915. Not long after it originated, ragtime became a nationally popular style that reached millions of people- both black and white- through sheet music, player pianos, and arrangements for dance and as mentioned, the popular marching bands.
As early jazz developed, so did its popularity. Although other cities caught on, the primary region of the south that would have the most impact and a better scene was Louisiana, particularly the New Orleans. The New Orleans was known for its relaxed atmosphere and a diverse population of races- African, French, Italian, Portugese- and was home to gambling joints, dance halls, and saloons. The New Orleans jazz had developed a newer kind of sound- “Dixieland”- and brought out a new breed of talented jazz musicians such as Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton, Joseph “King” Oliver and Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. Jazz criticist Max Harrison described Louis as “The first true virtuoso soloist of jazz, Armstrong was a dazzling improviser, technically, emotionally, and intellectually. He changed the format of jazz by bringing the soloist to the forefront, and in his recording groups, the Hot Five and the Hot Seven, demonstrated that jazz improvisation could go far beyond simply ornamenting the melody he created new melodies based on the chords of the initial tune” (132).
Another city was on the rise of the evolving jazz front- Chicago. Many New Orleans musicians, including Armstrong, migrated to Chicago, influencing local musicians and stimulating the evolution of the Chicago style-derived from the New Orleans style but emphasizing soloists, often adding saxophone to the instrumentation, and usually producing tenser rhythms and more complicated textures. Instrumentalists working in Chicago or influenced by the Chicago style included the trombonist Jack Teagarden, the banjoist Eddie Condon, the drummer Gene Krupa, and the clarinetist Benny Goodman. Also active in Chicago was Bix Beiderbecke, whose lyrical approach to the cornet provided an alternative to Armstrong’s trumpet style. Many Chicago musicians eventually settled in New York City, another major center for jazz in the 1920’s.
The New Orleans jazz style came to pass, replaced by the oncoming swing era. This was carried forward by the bands of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, Artie Shaw, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and many others (this movement was further helped by the newly-invented radio and the inexpensive phonograph record). In 1928 Edward “Duke” Ellington performed his famous stand at Harlem’s Cotton Club. He quickly emerged as a major innovator in jazz, and his large ensembles of twelve to fourteen pieces foreshadowed the swing craze of the middle 1930’s (Ogren 32) .
Ellington was distinguished by his ability to compose creative pieces, such as “East St. Louis Toodle-oo,” “Black and Tan Fantasy,” and “Take the A Train,” with individual members of his orchestra in mind. Many of these compositions have become jazz standards that are performed all over the world. One major development in the emergence of the swing era was a rhythmic change that smoothed the two-beat rhythms of the New Orleans style into a more flowing four beats to the bar. Musicians also developed the use of short melodic patterns, called riffs, in call-and- response techniques. Jazz vocalists also became increasingly popular and flexible; vocalists such as Ivie Anderson, Mildred Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, and, above all, Billie Holiday were among the leading singers. The swing era continued through World War II and beyond.
In 1945, jazz once again evolved and became redefined- this time by a young alto saxophonist from Kansas City. Charlie Parker was his name, and he is said to be the founder of the newly defined jazz sound of the day- Bebop. As Gary Giddins, jazz criticist, put it:
A virtuoso alto saxophonist, Parker was the only musician after Armstrong to influence all of jazz and almost every aspect of American music- its instrumentalists and singers, composers, and arrangers. By 1955, his innovations could be heard everywhere: in jazz, of course, but also in rock and roll, country music, film and television scores, and even symphonic works. Parker altered the rhythmic and harmonic currents of music, and he produced a body of melodies- or more to the point, a way of melodic thinking- that became closely identified with the idea of jazz as a personal and intellectual modern music. (Oliphant 53)
The new generation of bebop brought forth many changes. It was no longer dance music- the tempos of bop rendered dancing impossible and therefore physically reduced jazz music to that of listening only (Oliphant 99). It even began a public culture- as critic Lester Stansfield states “the press and many musicians had established bebop… as a kind of cult, as though it were less a music than a life style, complete with flashy clothing, dark glasses, berets, beards, secret handshakes, and an extensive lingo of jive talk” (Oliphant 67). Jazz clubs became smaller, and so did the performing bands- combos and small groups dominated the scene. Bop placed a great deal of stress on the players themselves, for the style required such fast technique for the ever revolving chord changes.
The late 1940’s brought forth an explosion of experimentation in jazz. Modernized big bands led by Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Kenton flourished alongside small groups with innovative musicians. Yet another new style of jazz was to be born- “cool” jazz. Such influences to this genre are classical composers like Bach, Stravinsky, and Bartk. This also inspired a fusion of cool jazz and classical music known as third stream, pioneered by composer and French horn player Gunther Schuller and the Modern Jazz Quartet, which carved out a small following but never gained wide popularity.
Another approach began to be heard in the very late 1950’s in the groups fronted by Miles Davis (trumpet), Ornette Coleman (saxophone, trumpet, and violin), and John Coltrane (saxophone). It was known as free jazz- a style that was not based on regular forms and established chord patterns. John Coltrane was the most influential musician of that genre- his tone was “large, intense, and equally powerful in all registers… a fury of passion through ingenious improvisation” (Keepnews 178). Coltrane had a deep interest in Indian and Arabic music, and infused those learned techniques to his improvisations. He composed many songs, such as the path-breaking “Giant Steps”, which used a new type of chord pattern to soon be followed by many modern jazz musicians.
The 1960’s were also a time of embracing radical new ideas, including black nationalism and protesting American military action in Vietnam. Saxophone players Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders, and Sam Rivers were playing fierce, sometimes angry music that wailed and lamented. Instead of the predictable format of small groups (theme, solos, theme [ a-b-a pattern]), free jazz emphasized group improvisation, lengthy solos, and static harmonic development. Also associated with free jazz is that of abstract or avant-guard improvisation (Peretti 137).
Jazz is the only music of its kind. It is solely based upon the basic framework of the song, the artist’s interpretation of it, and the means of improvisation. For some, jazz can’t even be described- accomplished saxophonist Pharoh Sanders once said “I don’t like to talk about what my playing stands for; my music simply must be” (Keepnews 270). For some, that playing stands for the liberation of their people, a past revolution of change, a present drive towards a cultural progression; an unending affinity with spirituality, a constant manifestation of talent, an intense passion for expression, or even a simple idea over a simple chord. At its point in history, jazz was the voice of a growing America. It told the stories of the war, the great depression, in ways that historians could not. It documented the struggle of another race brought into America. It echos the soul’s thoughts. Jazz is forever its own music and culture, intertwined with the history of this country.
