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Jazz History Final Study Guide
Jazz History Final Study Guide
Jazz History Final Study Guide
- Moves to Chicago around 1920 and forms The Red Hot Peppers
- Music very influential on big band arranging - blends improvisation and written out parts seamlessly
- Records Wolverine Blues in 1927
- Records The Chant in 1926
- Left Chicago in 1928 for New York and produced considerably fewer recordings
- Moves to D.C. in 1935 and managed a bar
- By 1910 was playing with many of the big names of New Orleans
- By 1916 had left New Orleans to travel abandoning his family
- Would continue to visit until the closing of Storyville, then on to Chicago
- Band he was in went to London where he got his first soprano saxophone in 1919, deported in 1922 for
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assaulting a woman
- Records Wild Cat Blues in 1923
Moved to Paris in 1925 and traveled Europe
1928 Deported again but detoured through Germany before returning to the USA in 1930
- Starts The New Orleans Feet Warmers during this time who would record off and on until 1941
- Records Ive found a New Baby in 1932
1939 Blue Note records starts and Bechet makes their first hit recording with Gershwins Summertime
1950 Relocated to Paris permanently
- Records Petite Fleur in 1952
- Shortly drops out of school to start playing with bands around Chicago - Joins The Wolverines.
- Records Jazz Me Blues in 1924
- 1927 Begins working with Frank Tram Trumbauer in 1927
- Records Trumbology in 1927
- Records Clarinet Marmalade in 1927
- Also played piano
- Records In a Mist in 1929
- 1929 Worked in Paul Whitemans orchestra
- Records Reachin for Someone in 1929
Dropped out school and was playing for parties, resorts, etc. at 16
1924 Moved to Harlem
Influenced by James P Johnson and had a few informal lessons with Fats Waller
Part of territory bands through the 1960s
- Bands made up of generally good musicians who toured somewhat locally but declined in the 1940s
1928 joins Walter Big Un Pages Blue Devils based out of Oklahoma City
- Records Blue Devil Blues in 1929
1929 Joins Bennie Motens Kansas City Orchestra, Page follows him
- Records Rumba Negro in 1929
- Records Moten Swing in 1932
After Motens death in 1935, Basie forms The Barons of Rhythm with some members of Motens
band
- Band noted for dueling saxophonists (one of whom was Lester Young) and innovative rhythm
section
Records One OClock Jump in 1936 while riffing on a blues in a record station.
1926 Band moves to Chicago Grand Terrace Ballroom
The All American Rhythm Section - relaxed feeling, subtle emphasis on 2 and 4
Basies band relied heavily on improv until around the 1950s when the combo approach diminished in
favor of more tight ensemble playing.
!!
Fats Waller (1904-43)
- Wrote many of the tunes still played today i.e. Aint misbehavin, Honeysuckle Rose
- Playful personality which got him a lot of screen time even if it was a bit demeaning.
- Contained Otto Hardwick and Arthur Whetsol who would become part of his first big band
- 1923 moved to New York to join Wilbur Sweatmans band
- Abandoned the band after having difficulty finding work, back to D.C., only to return to NYC again
shortly after.
- Relocating to Harlem was perfect for Ellington as his personality meshed very well with the Harlem
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- Billies upbringing was tragic with her being molested and raped in Philly before being arrested with
her mother, Sadie, for prostitution in New York City in 1929
- 1933 Billie was discovered by John Hammond and got to sing on a Benny Goodman recording date
- 1930s Billie sang with many big bands of the day including Artie Shaw, Fletcher Henderson and
Jimmie Lunceford
- After a racially charged incident with Shaws all white band, she began headlining at Caf Society a
club for serious music without humor or flash in NYC
- At Caf Society she recorded Strange Fruit
- Holiday recorded frequently with Columbia and Commodore with the exception of during the
recording ban
- Ella had a rough childhood as well with her mother dying in a car accident in 1932
- 1934 Enters audition night at The Apollo where Benny Carter saw her and introduced her to Chick
Webb.
- Records A Tisket, A Tasket in 1938 with Chick Webb
- Norman Granz became her manager and she became huge
- Records From This Moment On in 1956
- Died in 1959 after complications from double bypass surgery
- His star began to fade due to copy cats and more modern musicians during which time he drank
heavily.
!Benny Goodman
- Developed an integrated band in which he hired many black arrangers including Benny Carter
- Established himself as the King of Swing
- Majored in Chemistry but started a dance band after college which employed musicians like Louis
Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins
- Don Redman was the bands primary arranger who pioneered or refined many techniques we use today
- Records Copenhagen in 1924 with Louis Armstrong
- 1928 Put an electric pickup on his acoustic guitar and was soon hire by Benny Goodman
- Played at Mintons
- Records Seven Come Eleven in 1939
- Records Stompin at the Savoy in 1941
!Mintons Playhouse
- Led the first truly bebop big band which would later become the core of Dizzy Gillespies repertoire
- Records Blowin the Blues Away in 1944
- Combined Jimmy Blantons technique with the modern language of the bebop era
- Records Caravan in 1955
- Moved to New York at an early age where he was influenced by the West Indian musicians of his
neighborhood
come back
1940 becomes part of the house band at Mintons Playhouse
1941 copyrights his first two tunes, one of which was Epistrophy
Monk claimed that he stopped playing like Art Tatum deliberately in the early 1940s
Monk, Bud Powell, and Elmo Hope were the early faces of bebop piano
- Monks promotion of Powell was so successful that Bud got work when Monk couldnt
1943 writes Round Midnight for his childhood friends sister whom he was in love with.
- Records Round Midnight in 1944
Began to play with Coleman Hawkins around this time
- Records On the Bean in 1944
1947 began to record for Blue Note although the whole thing had very little commercial success
although they were solid recordings
- Records Misterioso in 1948
1948 had his cabaret card revoked although he got it reinstated
1951 After a rough streak with drugs and Nellies diagnosis with an advanced ulcer, Alfred Lion of
Blue Note set up another recording date
- Records Criss Cross in 1951
Monk spent some time in jail shortly after this and got his cabaret card revoked again
1950s Monk was able to finally break down the wall of critics
- Records Brilliant Corners in 1956
1957 Monk got a gig at Five Spot Caf and hired John Coltrane for the six month engagement.
- Records Evidence in 1957
1958 He loses his cabaret card again
1960s were best Monks best recordings partially because of the steady band he had
- Records Body and Soul in 1962
1975 Carnegie Hall Concert ends his career
1976-1982 Lived with The Baroness prior to his death
!Cool Jazz
- Made up of John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibes), Percy Heath (bass), and Connie Kay (drums)
- Original drummer was Kenny Clarke
- Group stayed together until 1993 and began out of the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespies big band
- Records Concorde in 1955
- Records Pulcinella in 1962
- Co-led one of the most important groups along with Gerry Mulligan
- Group had no piano which opened a lot of room for Baker and Mulligan to interact
- Fell apart when Mulligan was incarcerated on drug charges and Baker achieved success through
singing.
- Big band was an incubator for the 1950s cool jazz musicians including
- Gil Evans (arranging), Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz
- Jackie McLean
- Records Swing, Swang, Swingin in 1959
- Jimmy Smith
- Records Back at the Chicken Shack in 1960
- Quickly found work in bands of his heroes upon leaving high school and recorded prolifically as a
sideman.
- Similarly to Sonny Rollins, he became a leader after the death of Clifford Brown
- Becomes highly political in the 1960s recording the landmark work We Insist, Freedom Now Suite.
- Records Tears for Johannesburg in 1960
- During his childhood, several bandleaders tried to hire Miles and take him on the road, but his mother
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- 1964-1968 Miles Second Quintet was formed after his previous rhythm section left
- The new players were Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter (b) , and Tony Williams (d)
- 1964 Miles was able to lure Wayne Shorter away from Art Blakeys Jazz Messengers
- This new quintet was more exploratory and influenced by the music of Ornette Coleman and John
Coltrane
- Their studio output was almost entirely originals while their concert repertoire was mostly music
from 1956-1963 that Miles had been playing.
- Records Walkin in 1964
- Records E.S.P. in 1965
- Records Masquarelo in 1967
Miles last all acoustic studio album was Nefertiti in 1967
- Records Fall in 1967
Miles begins experimenting with fusion with the album Filles de Kilimanjaro
- Records Tout de suite in 1968
- During this time Miles also began experimenting with substituting or supplementing Herbie
Hancock with Chick Corea and replacing Ron Carter with Dave Holland
The bands compositional identity changed with more tunes leaning toward rock, funk, and vamps.
- The first album in this style was In a Silent Way
- This album saw the addition of Joe Zawinul and John McLaughlin.
The album Bitches Brew confirmed Miles commitment to his new style
- The album was groundbreaking in its music, cover art, and post-production editing
- Also came to define the genre of jazz/rock fusion
- Records Pharaohs Dance in 1969
The music of Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way came to make up the majority of Miles concert
repertoire after 1970
1976 Miles retired with no intention of returning
- Hard bop very similar to bebop although with slightly more emphasis on blues and increased
of the rhythm section.
!Artinteractivity
Blakey (1919-1990)
- He played early with Mary Lou Williams, Fletcher Henderson, and Billy Eckstines bebop big band.
- In the late 1940s he assembled the messengers which was a 17 piece big band
- 1954 The first small band edition of The Jazz Messengers was recorded on Blue Note
- Records Quicksilver in 1954
- Blakeys groups had a focus on employing young up and coming musicians
- Although Horace Silvers band had a similar focus in this way, Blakeys had a heavy emphasis on
featuring the compositions of the bands young members
- The next generation of jazz messengers contained 4 musicians who would become big time band
- Very personal compositional style and probably the most important composer after Ellington and Monk
- Records Speak No Evil in 1964
- 1960s anchored several bands through his technique, harmonic ideas, and thoughtful composing.
- Also was an anchoring force in Miles Davis Second Quintet
- Records Dolphin Dance in 1965
- Green (guitar) and Young (organ) were two of Blue Notes most prolific sideman/bandleaders of the
1960s
- Greens sparse comping and simple soloing style made him a good foil for Blue Notes more
exploratory musicians
- Youngs modern approach to jazz organ playing was a stark contrast to the other organists of the era.
- Records Talkin about J.C. in 1964
- 1954 played with Johnny Hodges showing influence of Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Gene
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!Billrecording.
Evans (1929-1980)
- First big gig was with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
- Next group was with The Charles Lloyd Quartet where he met the powerful drummer Jack
DeJohnette who would be by his musical side for the rest of his life.
- 1967 first recordings as a leader with Paul Motian and Charlie Haden on the album Life Between
the Exit Signs.
- After the breakup of the Charles Lloyd group, Miles asked Keith Jarrett to join him.
- Miles band had two keyboard players until 1970
- 1971-1977 The American Quartet made up of Dewey Redman, Haden, Motian. Jarrett played
saxophone frequently with Dewey on these tracks.
- Early playing with Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton eventually joining the bebop players in NY
- Compositions reflected his diverse life: gospel, classical, New Orleans, swing era, bebop, and Duke
- Records Moanin in 1959
- Records Better Get Hit In Yo Soul in 1959
- Records Fables of Faubus in 1959
- Like Ellington, experimented with long form composition
- Records The shoes of the Fishermans Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers in 1971
!Sun Ra (1915-1993)
Learned about music from the big band recordings of the early 40s
At 14 he received his first saxophone
At 15 he first heard bebop in Dizzy Gillespies big band
At 19, in Baton Rouge, he was beaten after a gig
1953 relocates to LA
- formed a group with Don Cherry
Other musicians were cold towards him
1957 His first studio album, Something Else!!!! was released but did not do well
- Records Jayne in 1958
Contemporary recorded him again with Don Cherry but added Shelly Manne on drums and MJQ
bassist Percy Heath on bass which got the attention of John Lewis who became his first real
champion
- It was through Lewis that Ornette got signed by Atlantic
- Records Tomorrow is the Question in 1959
Atlantic came to record the regular band which included Charlie Haden in place of Percy Heath
- Album was called The Shape of Jazz to Come, and contrasted sharply with John Lewis liner
notes.
- Records Lonely Woman in 1959
- Records Congeniality in 1959
Band relocates to NYC and plays the Five Spot Caf for what ended up being 2 months instead of 2
weeks.
Album Change of the Century, is a perfect example of simple Texas blues and bebop
- Records Ramblin in 1959