BLUES

“Of all the Afro-American idioms in the background of jazz, by far the most important and influential is the Blues”

Martin Williams

1. Grew out of African spirituals and work songs.

2. History:

-Southern America – songs were passed orally.

-These songs collided with American folk and country from the Appalachians.

-New hybrids appeared by each region. All the recorded blues from the early 1900’s are distinguished by simple, rural acoustic guitars and pianos.

Characteristics:

-Most blues feature simple structures, usually three-chord progressions and are open to endless improvisations, both lyrical and musical.

Three categories (B38,39):

1. Country, Southern or Folk Blues

.Rural folk expression usually performed by a male singer. If it is accompanied, the singer usually plays the accompaniment himself on a simple folk instrument (fiddle, banjo, or guitar.)

Blind Lemon Jefferson – “Black Snake Moan”

Huddie Ledbetter (“Leadbelly”)

Robert Johnson

2. Classic Blues

.Often sung by women, bridged the gap between folk music and the entertainment world.

.An art that was developed in minstrel shows and Black theaters.

.These city Blues gave voice to the more callous aspects of ghetto life and attitudes.

“Ma” Gertrude Rainey – “Misery Blues”

W.C. Handy

Bessie Smith – “Lost Your Head Blues” (1926)

3. Urban & Instrumental Blues

.Urban-Jimmy Rushing, Joe Turner, Blues vocalist with Southwestern territory bands

-Instrumental blues was void of lyrics or vocal lines

-Generally 12 bar blues bases around three chords I, IV, and V which served for countless instrumental compositions and improvisations in Jazz

-The 12-bar Blues became standard with instrumental ensemble musicians during the 1920’s.

Joe “King” Oliver “Dippermouth Blues” (1923)

Louis Armstrong

W.C. Handy

.Published the first blues composition (“The Memphis Blues” 1912)

.His most famous composition “St. Louis Blues” 1914

Ragtime

.Most famous ragtime composer – Scott Joplin

-“The Maple Leaf Rag” (published in 1899)

-To rag – add syncopation (i.e. row your boat)

-Becomes available to the public and popularized through piano music.

Rag was so popular and in such high demand that brass bands would often perform rags to make dancers happy

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Early Jazz

New Orleans

. Birthplace of JAZZ

History – The Creoles of Color of New Orleans by James Haskins (Crowell, 1975)

1718- France began building New Orleans

1719- 147 black slaves were brought

1722- Free blacks began to appear

1763- France gave the territory of Louisiana back to Spain

1801-Spain gave Louisiana back to France. But Spain continued to rule the territory until the United Stated bought it in 1803

Spanish rule – Sociological history

. Marriage between the different ethnic groups in Louisiana

occurred frequently

. The Spanish freed many slaves

. The number of free blacks increased to 1, 147 by 1789

. Under Spanish rule, free people of color began to be regarded as a class that was separate from the Whites and Slaves. Their status was closer to that of whites

. Many light skinned women of color became mistresses to white men and were set up as second families to the men in separate houses. The children from some of these unions were called Creoles of Color (part African and part French). This distinguished them from the White Creoles whose background was Spanish and French

. Creoles of Color were never referred to as Negro. The term Negro was reserved for blacks that had little or no white ancestry.

1810 - Free people of color living in New Orleans had increased to 5,000.

- The small American white population reacted with fear.

- Laws were enacted that eroded the favored status of Creoles of color

- Eventually Creoles of color were forced into the same social strata as that of the oppressed Negroes.

1897- Storyville

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A sharp separation existed between the two groups of New Orleans residents who had African ancestry.

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Creoles Of Color/White Creoles Negroes or nonwhite ancestry

DOWNTOWN UPTOWN

French Quarter

-well educated worked primarily as house servants

-successful-businessman unskilled laborers

-doctors, landowners, skilled craftsmen, some retained aspects of African

spoke French, owned slaves musical practices

-received high quality musical training Generally less refined than Creoles

-some even traveled to Paris for conservatory may have included improvisation

study

-maintained a resident symphony orchestra vocal music contained new blends of

European and African traditions

-supported an opera house

-wholeheartedly favored European music

NEW ORLEANS- a city that had three opera houses, far more than any other American city of comparable size

New Orleans was a center for black culture in North America.

Early New Orleans Bands (B,56-57)

Street or Marching Bands
Small Jazz Bands of Storyville
Society Bands
Dance Bands (or organized bands)

.Early leaders Buddy Bolden, King Oliver, Bunk Johnson and Kid Ory

.Both black and white groups

.Usually led by cornet

Early Jazz Characteristics contrasting from ragtime, blues and brass band roots (G,31):

1. Each performance was highly improvised.

2. Rhythmic feeling was looser and more relaxed.

3. It generated much of its own repertory of compositions.

4. Collective improvisation created a more complex musical product than was typical in ragtime, blues, or marching band music.

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Collective improvisation – All group members improvising at the same time. It was a common feature of New Orleans Jazz.

Combo jazz began in New Orleans. The city contributed several very important musicians. The best known were trumpeter Louis Armstrong and composer-arranger Jelly Roll Morton.

ODJB (Original Dixieland Jazz Band) – “Dixie Jazz Band One-Step (1917) track 1-4

-All white ensemble and the first ensemble to record New Orleans Jazz.

-Poor improvisers but tried to imitate the sounds of the black New Orleans bands.

-Important, because it gives historians an idea how early New Orleans bands sounded, primary instrumentation etc.

-Worldwide sales of the record are said to have reached about a million copies by the late 1930s.

Early drums – Often had drum sections as one might see in a marching band.

1925 – Drum-set kit invented.

Significant Piano Players(G,38-43):

Jelly Roll Morton

.He bridged the gap between the piano styles of ragtime and jazz by loosening ragtime’s rhythmic feeling and decreasing its embellishments.

(“Maple Leaf Rag” comparison)

James P. Johnson

Considered the father of stride piano.

“Carolina Shout”

Fats Waller

Some of his tunes remain among the most enduring in American music.

Ain’t Misbehavin’, Honeysuckle Rose, Jitterbug Waltz

Earl Hines

Because his right-hand lines sometimes sounded like jazz trumpet playing, the Hines approach earned the title of trumpet style or horn-like.

Hines’ “trumpet-style” approach is historically significant because, by playing more as a horn and less in the standard piano styles, Hines paved the way for modern jazz pianists who solo with essentially the same conception that is used by jazz trumpeters and saxophonists.

“West End Blues” track 9

The trumpet was the leading jazz instrument of this era primarily due to Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke.

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Blues Artists

1910’s W.C. Handy

1920’s Blind Lemon Jefferson (20’s-40’s)

Blind Willie Johnson

Bessie Smith (20’s-30’s)

Ma Rainey

Alberta Hunter (20’s-80’s)

1930’s Robert Johnson

1940’s Blind Willie Johnson

1950’s John Lee Hooker (50’s-90’s)

Big Joe Williams (50’s-80’s)

B.B. King (50’s-?)

Rhythm and Blues progenitor of rock ‘n’ roll

1960’s Big Mama Thornton (60’s-70’s)

1970’s Ronnie Earl

Jimmy Johnson (70’s-90’s)

1980’s Robert Cray

BLUES TODAY

Chicago Blues

Howlin’ Wolf

Jimmy Reed

Country Blues

Tommy McClennan

Henry Thomas

East Coast Blues

Sammy Price

Jay McShann

Harmonica Blues

John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson

Charlie Musselwhite’s Southside Band

Louisiana Blues

Lightnin’ Slim

Lazy Lester

Champion Jack Dupree

Modern Electric Blues

Robert Cray

Steve Miller Band

Fenton Robinson

Texas Blues

Bobby “Blue” Bland

Lightnin’ Hopkins

Juke Boy Bonner

Electric Blues

Jon Lee Hooker

Muddy Waters

Doyle Bramhall

Jump Blues/Piano Blues

Cripple Clarence Lofton

Walterr Roland

Mose Vinson & Booker T. Laury