Dixieland: Music, Songs & History

Dixieland - What Is It?

Dixieland is an early form of jazz that originated in New Orleans sometime around the early 1900s. It is
differentiated from Mississippi jazz by its instrumentation and size; where Mississippi and rural southern
jazz generally had just a solo performer with a guitar, Dixieland typically featured a larger group with a
soloist. Its roots are different too; rural jazz generally came from plantation songs, whereas Dixieland
was more an amalgam of brass bands, military bands, and ragtime, amongst others.

Original Dixieland Jass Band

The name comes from the first commercially successful record of the genre, the Original Dixieland Jass
Band (yes, jazz was once spelled 'jass'). Its popularity peaked in the 1920s, and it essentially fizzled
out in the 1930s when swing jazz began to take over. Like other forms of jazz, Dixieland migrated from
the south to Chicago and eventually New York (Harlem specifically).

Dixieland Music
The Dixieland sound is similar to that of a military marching band, with driving rhythms and powerful
brass sections. The melody is typically played by a solo high brass sound, the rhythm section keeps the
harmony going, and the other front line instruments improvise melodic material around the soloist.
The rhythm section generally consists of some of the following: a strummed string instrument (guitar
or banjo), a low instrument (string bass or tuba), piano, and a drum. Front line instruments are
trumpets, trombones, and clarinets.

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 Dixieland: Music, Songs & History

Dixieland Songs
Now that we know what Dixieland is, let's talk about some of its most famous songs. When you imagine
the image and sound that is commonly associated with the Dixieland, you may picture something like
'Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas.' This is more accurately a revival version of what is called old-style
jazz. Rather, perhaps the most important Dixieland song is 'When the Saints Go Marching In.' This is
the quintessential Dixieland sound.

The next most important songs are 'Basin Street Blues,' made popular by the great Louis Armstrong,
'Tiger Rag,' and 'Muskrat Ramble.' 'Tiger Rag' marked the transition from traditional Dixieland to music
incorporating swing and ragtime, which became known as the Chicago sound.

Dixieland Musicians
And what about the people behind the Dixieland sound? First there's the Louis Armstrong, the
figurehead of the genre. Armstrong was most associated with the Chicago sound, having learned it
from Joe 'King' Oliver. Eddie Condon and all the bands he led in New York City led the New York
sound, while Jim Cullum's bands led the Texas sound. By the end of its popularity peak, the Dixieland
sound was being emulated by musicians like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and George Gershwin.

After the initial wave and fade out of Dixieland, there was a revival in San Francisco started by the
Yerba Buena Jazz Band. There was also a foreign revival in the Dutch low countries, which is closer to
the rural jazz roots than the Chicago style. The genre is still going, though like most early genres it is
now more of a fusion genre.

Lesson Summary
Dixieland is an early form of jazz, originating from New Orleans and featuring larger ensembles than
other contemporary forms of jazz. Where early rural jazz featured a soloist or small ensemble with
soloist, Dixieland was closer to a military marching band in its size and instrumentation. Dixieland
standards include 'When the Saints Go Marching In,' 'Basin Street Blues,' 'Tiger Rag,' and 'Muskrat
Ramble.' Many of the big names of jazz cut their teeth in Dixieland, including Louis Armstrong, Joe
'King' Oliver, Eddie Condon, and Jim Cullum. The first commercially successful Dixieland record came
from Original Dixieland Jass Band. The genre peaked in the 1920s, and by the 1930s was nearly
completely replaced by swing jazz.

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