History of Jazz (notes from Dick Wright's Introduction to Jazz class at the University of Kansas)

The Swing Era (1935-1945)

·       Bands are huge (17-18 pieces)
·       Three Types: Jazz, Dance, Corn
·       Ended because:
      WWII draft, rationing, curfews
      Cabaret Tax- on meat, records, and sugar products
      Musicians Strike
      Singers belonged to a diff union
      Dissatisfaction of young players
·       Monroe’s and Minton’s were all-night clubs where players could experiment with Bebop

Charlie Barnet- Sax

Bunny Berigan- Trumpet

Cab Calloway- Singer

Dizzy Gillespie- Trumpet (TP)

Benny Carter- alto sax, trumpet

Jimmy Dorsey- Clarinet, alto sax

Tommy Dorsey- Trombone

Duke Ellington- piano, composer, arranger

Jimmy Blanton- Bass (TP)

Benny Goodman- clarinet

          Charlie Christian- Guitar (TP)
          Lionel Hampton- Vibes
          Gene Krupa- Drums
          Harry James- Trumpet

Lionel Hampton- Vibes

Fletcher Henderson- Piano, composer, arranger

Woody Herman- Clarinet, alto sax, blues singer

Earl “Fatha” Hines- Piano

Harry James- Trumpet

Andy Kirk (and His Clouds of Joy)- ?

Gene Krupa- Drums

          Roy Eldridge- Trumpet (TP)
          Anita O’Day- Singer

Jimmie Lunceford- Band leader (all black- rare)

Jay McShayan’s Band- KC

          Charlie Parker- alto sax (TP)

Glenn Miller- Trombone, arranger “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”

Artie Shaw- Clarinet

          Billie Holliday- Singer

Chick Webb- drummer @ the Savoy

          Ella Fitzgerald- Singer

Art Tatum- Piano

Transitional Players from Swing to Bebop

Stan Kenton- piano, composer, arranger

          Invented the melotron

Billy Eckstine- black singer

          Charlie Parker
          Dizzy Gillespie
          Sarah Vaughn- singer

Boyd Raeburn- saxes, double reeds

          Dizzy- Music director

Gene Krupa- drums

Claude Thornhill- piano

          Gil Evans- arranger

Woody Herman- clarinet, forms the “Four Brother’s Band”

          Stan Getz- tenor sax
          Zoot Simms- tenor sax
          Serge Challof- Baritone Sax
          Jimmy Giuffre- tenor sax, composer

Benny Goodman- clarinet

          Tried Bebop for about 6 months

Dizzy Gillespie- Trumpet

          He named the Bebop period

Bebop Period (1945-1950)

·       Smaller bands (about 7 pieces)
·       Solos are very important
·       expanded chords
·       stretched out harmonies
·       new melodies have large intervals
·       speedy solos
·       piano players “comping”- no more stride or boogie woogie
·       beat kept by bass and cymbals
·       fast tempo
·       horns play in unison
·       ballads are rare

Jerry Neuman- recorded the great players in Minton’s, and Monroe’s

Coleman Hawkins- makes 1st commercial bob record

Alto Sax- Charlie Parker

Drums- Max Roach, Art Blakey, Tiny Kahn

Bass- Curley Russel

Vibes- Milt Jackson

Tenor Sax- Sonny Stitt

Piano- Bud Powell, Al Hague, Thelonius Monk

Trumpet- Fats Navarro, Dizzy Gillespie, Red Rodney

Baritone Sax- Serge Challof

Trombone- J.J. Johnson

Clarinet- Buddy Defranco

Guitar- Jimmy Raney

Bass- Oscar Pettiford

Singers- Joe Carroll, Annie Ross, King Pleasure, Eddie Jefferson

Cool Period (1950-1954/1955)

·       arrangements are used
·       emphasis on ensemble playing and dynamics
·       West coast, primarily
·       bands are bigger (6-9 pieces)
·       Slower tempos than Bebop
·       Mostly white players

Miles Davis- Trumpet

          1950- Records “Birth of the Cool”
          Gerry Mulligan- baritone sax

Stan Getz- tenor sax

Gerry Mulligan- Baritone Sax, composer, arranger

Shorty Rogers-Trumpet, flugel horn, composer, arranger

          Art Pepper- alto sax
          Shelly Manne- drums
          Hampton Hawes- piano

Chico Hamilton- Drummer--- “Chamber Jazz” with a cello player

          Buddy Collette- Woodwind player, very versatile
          Jim Hall- guitar

Jimmy Giuffre- tenor sax

Lenny Tristano- piano, blind

          Lee Konite- alto sax
          Warne Marsh- tenor sax

George Shearing- piano, blind

          Marge Hyams- woman vibes player

Red Norvo- vibes

          Tal Farlow (the octopus)- guitar
          Charles Mingus- Bass

Modern Jazz Quartet

          Milt Jackson- vibes
          John Lewis- piano
          Ray Brown- bass
          Kenny Clarke- drums

Bobby Troup- singer

June Christy- singer

The Lighthouse- place at Vermosa beach where people would hang out to play

          Bud Shank- flute, alto sax
          Bob Cooper- tenor sax, oboe, and English horn

Funky/ Hard Bob Period (1954, 1955- ?)

·       Funky- blues with a Gospel tinge
·       Hard Bop- continuation of Bop period, but more emphasis on rhythm section
·       very strong backbeat (on 2 and 4)
·       16 Bar Blues, or 12 bars plus a bridge
·       Organ becomes widely used
·       Primarily a black East coast movement against the white, West Coast Cool period

Funky Players/ Bands:

The Jazz Messengers

          Art Blakey- drums
          Horace Silver- piano, composer

Les McCann- piano

          Joe Pass- guitar

Jazz Crusaders

“Cannonball” Adderly- alto sax

          Successor to Charlie Parker (comes on scene same year he dies- 1955)

Jimmy Smith- organ

Richard “Groove” Holmes- organ, no bass player

Ramsey Lewis- piano

Hampton Hawes- piano

George Benson- guitar- sells out to popular music

Hard BopPlayers/ Bands:

Jazz Messengers

Max Roach- drums

          Clifford Brown- trumpet

Sonny Rollins- tenor sax

John Coltrane- tenor sax

Miles Davis Quintet

          John Coltrane- tenor sax
          One of the best ever small groups
          Greatest group of Hard Bop period

Jazz is...

...what I consider to be one of the best and most intellectual forms of music that have been created to date.  Classical music (especially both the Baroque and Classical genre) are others of high praise.  However, I feel that there are enough "classic" music broadcasts on the net.  On the other hand, after looking around the net at various broadcasts (Shoutcast, Live365.com, Radiomoi, etc), I had not been able to find a suitable "classic" jazz broadcast. 

"What do you mean by "classic" jazz?" you might ask.  Well, defining this genre of jazz is difficult, but I like to consider it what it is not: smooth, fusion, free, dixie, or swing.  I'm sure I left out a few classifications of jazz, but this process is a bit futile, since most "classic" jazz might exhibit a bit of one or more of the styles listed above anyway.  While I usually consider "classic" jazz to have been recorded between 1948 and 1970, there have been some contemporary artists recently record in the style of interest (Christian McBride, Diana Krall, Laverne Butler, and Tom Harrell to name a few).