Download Chapter 4: Origins of Jazz

Chapter 4: Origins of Jazz
Jazz was born out of a reinterpretation of European melodies and harmonies
by black slaves who retained their African roots.
Ways African musical traditions were retained:
 Children’s games were highly rhythmic and physical. Some used the
player’s body as a drum. A lot of children’s songs incorporated highly
rhythmic parts.
 Black church music kept African tradition alive by modifying European
hymns with altered rhythms, pitch bends, and a sometimes rougher tone
quality. (ex: Sam Cooke’s “Just Another Day”)
 Mardi Gras “Indians” – social aid and pleasure clubs.
Ethnic Diversity in New Orleans
 France built New Orleans in 1718, and the first black slaves were brought
there a year later (there were also free blacks there as early as 1722).
France gave New Orleans to Spain in 1763, although customs remained
primarily French. Spain gave New Orleans back to France in 1801, and
it was then purchased by the United States in 1803.
 Under Spanish rule, many slaves were freed and free blacks began to be
viewed as a separate social class, between slaves and whites. Lightskinned black ladies became mistresses for white men and became
second families.
 The offspring of the white men and black women became known as
Creoles of Color (Creoles were French and Spanish, but white). The
Creoles of Color enjoyed business success, and most owned slaves.
Blacks who had little or no white ancestry were known as Negroes.
 Another important event in New Orleans was the influx of blacks from
Haiti after a slave revolt (1791-1804). In 1810, there were 5,000 free
blacks living in New Orleans, making them the largest ethnic group.
 The white population, fearful of being in the minority, seized government
positions and passed “black codes” over a number of years that gradually
eroded black status in New Orleans.
 There was a large divide between the two black groups in New Orleans.
The Negroes lived in racially mixed neighborhoods uptown, most
working as house servants. The Creoles of Color lived downtown in
what is now known as the French Quarter.
 The Creoles were well educated and successful. They spoke French and
owned slaves. Children in Creole households were often sent to Paris to
the music conservatory, and the Creoles maintained a symphony
orchestra and opera house. The Creoles of Color were responsible for
making New Orleans the music capitol of the New World.
 The Negroes were responsible for the development of the blues, while the
Creoles favored traditional European music. The blues evolved from a
combination of sources: work songs, black church music, and the music
of the street vendor.
 The blues began as a solo vocal style and eventually incorporated an
accompaniment instrument, usually guitar or banjo. The chords played
for accompaniment were often whatever the singer could play. This lack
of proficiency led to only a few chords being used in each song, which
eventually led to the modern blues progression.
 The end result of these two cultures’ musical tastes was a retention of
African traditions in Negro music and an absorption of European music
by the Creoles of Color. These two cultures were mixed as the Creoles
lost their social position at the close of the 19th century.
 Ragtime became popular in the late 1800’s. Ragtime was constructed
much like a military march, but with syncopated, or “ragged,” rhythms.
Ragtime usually refers to a specific style of piano music from the turn of
the century. Ragtime is seen as a forerunner of jazz because it does not
use the jazz swing feeling and does not contain much improvisation (if
any at all). Ragtime did introduce the practice of playing notes around
the beat rather than on it.
 The most famous ragtime composer was Scott Joplin (1868-1917).
Ex: “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag”
The Need for Entertainment at the Turn of the Century
 Live music was the only option. No radio, television, movie theaters,
recorded music, or even electric lights. There were gas lamps in the
middle of town, and people would congregate and listen to live bands.
 Two types of bands: the brass band and string band. The brass band
consisted of brass instruments and drums and was used for outdoor
events, so that the music could be heard. The band could also include
saxophone and clarinet.
Ex: The Blue Brass Project – “Lil’ Liza Jane”
Ex: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band DVD
 The string band (cornet, violin, guitar, bass, and piano) was used for
indoor performances where the loud volume was not needed.
 Military bands and jazz bands of the time combined marches and ragtime
music (military bands had been a presence since the Union occupation).
Mexican musicians also moved to New Orleans and influenced the
overall sound of the music.
 New Orleans was a trade and commerce center, and maintained a
cosmopolitan party atmosphere, including the famed prostitution district,
Storyville.
 The constant work for musicians and need for music that was new and
fresh caused musicians to experiment with mixing and stretching styles,
which ultimately formed jazz.
Dance Music
 The first jazz was intended for dancing, not just listening. This caused an
emphasis on rhythm rather than melody or improvisation.
 Often, parade musicians and dance musicians were the same, and most
played multiple instruments. These musicians took music from many
different sources and added a rhythmic vitality that made the tunes
danceable.
 Small bands tried to imitate large bands and play as many of the parts as
possible, which led them to improvise multiple lines at a time, and firmly
imbedded improvisation into the jazz idiom.
 The style that emerged is known as “Dixieland” or “New Orleans Jazz.”
Features of Jazz – African and European Influences
1) Improvisation
 could be influenced by African drumming, but there is only an
improvisatory role by the leader in African drumming, and not nearly to
the extent of jazz improvisation.
 Improvisation was also used in European music of the time, particularly
by pianists.
 It is possible that New Orleans musicians simply did not have enough
printed music to satisfy the demands of the audience, and had to put
things together quickly, necessitating improvisation.
 Improvisation eventually led to fully improvised solos, etc.
2) Syncopation
 Accents that do not occur on the beat. Syncopation is more common in
African music, and may have also been sought for rhythmic contrast.
3) Harmony
 Although harmony is found in African music, the type of harmonic
progressions found in jazz are directly descended from the European
tradition.
4) Instrumentation
 The instrumentation of early jazz bands appears to come directly from
the European brass band, which is probably out of convenience.
5) Percussion
 Although the instruments are of European descent, the rhythms are
African. Also, the playing of melodic instruments in a rhythmic way is
of African descent.
6) Rough Sounds, Buzzes, etc.
 The cultivation of non-characteristic sounds stems from the African
tradition of improvising on tone quality.
7) Repetition of Brief Patterns
 Most scholars agree that this is an African contribution to jazz.
8) Polyrhythms
 The use of polyrhythm seems to stem mainly from the inventiveness of
players, and not so much a pre-existing tradition, although it is found in
both the European and African models.
9) The Ways Tones are Decorated
 Jazz musicians acquired different practices of pitch bends, etc. from both
sources.
10) Blue Notes
 Note not in the equal temperament system that come from West African
scales. Blue notes were also present in Scotch-Irish folk music. Not
possible on piano, but common in horns and voice.
 Sometimes imitated (mocked) in minstrel shows – hokum style.
11) Call and Response
 Question and answer.
 In African call and response, the call and response overlap. In European
call and response, they do not.
 Comping, although responding to the soloist, is not call and response.
Ex: Bela Fleck and the Flecktones – Stomping Grounds