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The Big Band Era -Swing was primarily dance music. -By the mid-1930’s, it had given rise to a new phenomenon, the big band. -These music ensembles were more dance orchestras than pure jazz bands. -Teenagers abandoned the fox trots and waltzes of their parents, and traded them for the jitterbug and the Lindy Hop. -The two-beat meter of early jazz gradually gave way to a solid four. -Beats were now evenly accented and of equal value. Legends of the Big Band Era -As with straight jazz before it, the big band era produced some musical legends -Benny Goodman was a virtuoso clarinetist whose broad musical education enabled him to play the classics as well as jazz. -born into a poor Russian –Jewish family in Chicago -took clarinet lessons at the local synagogue and played in a band. -At age 25 (1934) he made his own band (The Goodman Orchestra) and hired Fletcher Henderson as the chief arranger. -Appeared as a soloist for major orchestras and commissioned works from Aaron Copland and Paul Hindemith. -In 1949 when he disbanded The Goodman Orchestra, it marked the end of the swing era. -Later known as the “King of Swing” Swing, Swing, Swing – Benny Goodman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2S1I_ien6A The Rise of the Saxophone -The clarinet eventually gave way for the saxophone as the reed instrument of choice for solo jazz work. -many exceptional saxophone soloists set a new standard for tonal beauty, technical wizardry, and improvisational creativity. - one such saxophonist was Lester Young (1909 – 1959) who was a member of the Count Basie Band. -showing lyrical richness on the instrument, he set a high standard for other saxophone players Two to Tango – Lester Young and the Oscar Peterson Trio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2S1I_ien6A -William “Count” Basie (1904-1984) led a famous nine piece band with a powerful band with a powerful rhythms section. -band included Basie on piano and Young on tenor sax -Other famous saxophonists included Charlie Parker. 32-Bar Song Form -Improvisation in jazz usually occurs within a certain structure. -This practice can be traced to the early instances of jazz, when musicians spontaneously adapted melodies from popular songs -a large number of these became the 32-bar form which became the standard. -The most common of the 32-bar form is the A A B A form. -A and B sections are each 8 bars. -This familiar structure lends both unity and variety in a simple but elegant way. -The B sections function as a bridge. -Bridge – a connective part of a composition “Cherokee” – Clifford Brown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hApaUd7ILyw Legendary Duke Ellington -One of America’s most prominent big band innovators was Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington (1899-1974). -One of the most original and prolific composers. -Credited with having written more music than any other composer – living or dead. -He made jazz a sophisticated art – gave it form, substance, and timbres. -When he composed he kept his musicians in mind and gave them a showcase so they could shine on their instruments. “It Don’t Mean a Thing” -Ellington’s songs had a richness and elegance born of imaginative and colorful harmonies. -melodies of these songs were often generated by their harmonies, not the other way around. -his melodies are often chromatic. -They contain wide leaps and have angular contours that are difficult to sing and demanding to listen to. -Chromatic – incorporating tones from a musical scale consisting entirely of half steps. -”It Don’t Mean a Thing” (1932) – summarized the entire swing era. -Ellington was the first person to use the word swing in a song. -The song tells what swing is all about ”It Don’t Mean a Thing” – Duke Ellington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg “Cotton Tail” -Unlike some of the songs of his contemporaries, Ellington’s creations were not composed as tunes for Broadway shows. -because of this, many of his songs were not as popular. -”Cotton Tail” (1940) was a song of Ellington’s that was very popular and was a collaborative effort between him and his arranger Billy Strayhorn. -it established chord changes in a startling new way -dropped the introduction/went straight into the melody (would become common later on) -Trumpets and saxes are an octave part -walking bass line “Cotton Tail” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbOseBw-fnU Mary Lou Williams -Other than singing in swing bands, women found it difficult to gain acceptance as jazz musicians during the big band era. -Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981) – had versatile talents and was a great jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. -her career spanned into all the different eras of jazz. -she had an ability to adapt to and influence changes in music style (distinguishes her from most jazz artists). -historians cite her as the most important female jazz musician to emerge in the early decades of jazz. -started playing professionally at age 6! -by her teens she became a professional travelling musician -Joined the swing band Twelve Chords of Joy in 1931 and started to gain recognition and respect for being a pianist and her arranging skills. -At a time when there were virtually no female composers/arrangers, Williams achievements were considerable. -She also composed and arranged for the top swing orchestras -Included the orchestras of Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman -Ellington has said of Williams: “Her writing and performing have always been a little ahead throughout her career. Her music retains, and maintains, a standard of quality that is timeless”. -During her career she wrote more than 350 compositions. -constantly explored new styles and made some of her own -compositions always had an underlying blues feeling -wrote sacred music -Zodiac Suite – contains 12 compositions, all related to the zodiac Zodiac Suite, “Gemini” – Mary Lou Williams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8I1Eq7-zfY