Week Seven – Swing continued

Benny Goodman (clarinet) (D, 69) (G, 76)

-During the 1930’s and 40s led the best-known jazz-oriented big band

-1935 His band performed on a three-hour dance program on NBC “Lets Dance”. Later in the same year (August) he performed at the gigantic Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles.

-Practically by himself, he revolutionized the dance-band business.

-One of the most popular figures in the music industry as a whole (1890-1954)

-Swinging and highly agile clarinet playing, improvised with unfailing grace, dexterity and imagination

-His big band was modeled after Fletcher Henderson band (owned dozens of Henderson arrangements)

-Influenced the course of jazz by providing exposure for other outstanding improvisers (Began breaking racial taboos that separated white from black even among jazz musicians)

i.e Teddy Wilson – piano

Charlie Christian – guitar

Vibraharp (D,97) – Lionel Hampton

“I found a New Baby” SCCJ volume 2

Billie Holiday (vocalist) (G, 69)

-Most influential singer associated with jazz since the early 1930s, nicknamed “Lady Day”

-Characteristics:

1. Original and fresh

2. The depth and sincerity of emotion that she communicated are unparalleled.

-She made lyrics come alive

-She conveyed a song’s meaning as though speaking directly to you.

-The agony she portrayed in sad songs could tear your heart out.

3. Unique interpretation of pop and show tunes.

-She regularly varied her delivery creatively (song lyrics)

-Engaging syncopation and swing feeling (ala “Pops”)

-Bluesy inflections and jazzy accents

-Toured and recorded with the top jazz musicians of the time (Artie Shaw, B. Goodman, Count Basie)

-1937 recording of “Carelessly” reached #1 on the pop charts. By 1945 she had thirty-five other recordings reach the top twenty

“She’s Funny That Way”/”God Bless the child”/”Gloomy Sunday”

“Back in Your Own Back Yard” – (Jazz Classics CD)

Ella Fitzgerald (vocalist) (G, 73)

-Considered by many to be the most outstanding non-operatic singer of the twentieth century.

Characteristics:

1. She had near-flawless technique

2. Grace and lilt

3. Mastery of swing eighth notes and perfect timing of syncopation

4. Her tone was pure and supple

5. Her vocal range spanned an unusual three octaves

6. Her pitch was extremely accurate no matter the register or tempo

7. Her remarkable agility conveyed and effortless feeling

8. She was scat singing’s best known practitioner

1938 #1 hit “A-Ticket-A-Tasket” with the Chick Webb Band

By 1955 thirty-four of her other records has risen to the top twenty.

1960’s and 1980’s high positions on the popularity charts.

“You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” SCCJ volume 2

Count Basie (Pianist/band leader) (G, 62-66) (B,91-95)

-Band leader from 1937-84 until his death

Piano characteristics:

-Originally a stride pianist with a very light touch with precision/accuracy

-Succinct and compact musical statements are his hallmarks

-Solos – He artfully used silence to pace his lines, “Less is more”

His big band:

-He led the first rhythm section in jazz history that consistently swung in a smooth, relaxed way.

Rhythm section:

Bass – Walter Page

Supple walking bass sound. One of the first masters of walking style

Strong, even, articulated sound (drive)

Freddie Green – Guitar

Rhythm chords on each beat adding a propulsive swing feeling. (D,88)

Jo Jones – Drummer

Precise without being stiff

Selective use of bass drum (off-beat accents bombs)

Quiet use of wire brushes on high-hat (D,2)

Timekeeping pattern on cymbals are sustained as smooth (ride cymbal) -2-

Count Basie- pianist

-His comping was very sharp and lively.

-Comping was not about generating a rhythmic pulse. (Bass, drums, guitar did that) but about listening carefully and playing interactively.

-His comping was soon to be the style of choice by modern pianist.

(No stride, no playing on each beat, no flowery countermelodies/embellishments).

Basie Rhythm section (Nut shell)

-Excellent sense of tempo

-Consistent time keeping approach

-Relaxed, conveying a feeling of ease/buoyancy

-Stress on each beat instead of every other beat

Basie big band arrangements:

Kansas City Style – History (Kansas City style jazz)

Characteristics:

Riffs – short musical phrases

Functioned as theme statements and backgrounds for improvised solos.

Head arrangements – An arrangement made up of riffs “off the top of someone’s head”, learned by ear, and kept in the heads of the players.

Count Basie’s “Taxi War Dance” – (Jazz Classics CD)

Duke Ellington (pianist/composer/big band leader) (G, 77-83) (B, 96-102)

Ellington at a glance:

1. One of the most outstanding figures in jazz history! The single most creative and prolific composer and arranger in jazz history
2. As a pianist, he initially reflected the James P. Johnson stride tradition, though he also developed original methods for setting the pace and mood of his pieces and ornamenting the solos of the band members. (“A single pedal of a rose”)
3. As a bandleader, Ellington maintained a large ensemble continuously from the early 1920s to his death in 1974, with many musicians remaining for ten to thirty years at a stretch. (most stable and longest-lived ensemble in jazz history)
4. As a composer he wrote over 2000 compositions, as well as many arrangements and re-arrangements of them. Many pieces were eventually turned into popular songs such as “Satin Doll”, “Mood Indigo,” “Do Nothin’ till you hear from Me,” and “Don’t get Around Much Anymore.”

-3-

5. As an arranger, Ellington was known for
1. Including a diversity of themes within a single piece
2. Drawing instruments from different sections of the band to play a part together, a technique called voicing across sections (“Mood Indigo”)
3. Assigning a part to female voice as though it were an instrument, also known as wordless vocal. “Creole Love Call”

6. He pioneered the use of lengthy composition in jazz, in such works as “Black, Brown and Beige” (50 minute tone poem parallel to the history of the American Negro) and others
7. He showcased his improvisers in pieces tailored to their unique musical personalities, i.e. “Concerto for Cootie”
8. Other paint musical pictures of places (“Harlem Airshaft”- Jazz Classics CD) or experiences (“Daybreak Express”) (“Half the Fun”)
9. Ellington’s writing capitalized on the strengths and weaknesses of each player, thereby orchestrating for particular musicians’ sounds instead of just for anonymous instruments.
10. Ellington’s most famous sideman was alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges whose romantic style was widely imitated. “I’ve Got it Bad, and That Ain’t Good” – (Jazz Classics CD)
11. Bassist Jimmy Blanton “Jack the Bear” was showcased in the band from 1939 to 1941. His great imagination and unprecedented instrumental command revolutionized jazz bass conception by making the bass a horn-like solo instrument.
12. A distinctive feature in the Ellington sound was the plunger-muted growl style of brass playing, as perfected by trumpeters Bubber Miley (“East St. Louis Toodle-O”) and Cootie Williams and by trombonists Joe “Trick Sam” Nanton.
13. Ellington’s main soloist during the 1950s and 60s was tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, who had a unique style, diffuse tone, and intense delivery.
14. Ellington is historically significant for achieving a successful integration of improvised lines and prewritten parts.
15. Billy Strayhorn was Ellington’s coauthor from 1939 to 1967, having contributed several originals, including the band’s theme, “Take the ‘A” Train”.

-4-