The Story of Jazz

  • Jazz started when African slaves were brought to the Caribbean and encountered European religion and culture. 
  • Jazz was viewed as a sin 
  • Jazz is known for being upbeat  
  • Western music was very different from their own 
  • Jazz music began when the Africans had to conform to European music.  
  • Cross-culture assimilation started in new Orleans, the gateway to the American slave trade from the Caribbean. 
  • Congo Square: A place in New Orleans where Black people could gather and celebrate their culture  
  • In Congo Square, people used drums, danced, triangles, jawbone, banjo  
  • People sang, danced, clapped to music performed in the Congo square  
  • Louis Moreau Gottschalk (Composer): Studied piano, Americas first concert hall artist, influenced by Congo square  
  • Banjo was used for minstrels 
  • Syncopated styles is an influence of West African Culture  
  • Before Jazz, there was Ragtime 
  • Scott Joplin: African American composer, pianist (Ragtime music). “The King of Ragtime” 
  • Ragtime started in the Midwest and then became popular in areas like new Orleans. 
  • Buddy Bolden, the first star 
  • Trumpet group included Freddy Keppard, Joe Oliver, and Louis Armstrong. 
  • Elements of Louis Armstrong in other artists music 
  • Louis Armstrong is a significant musician in Black history and music. (Trumper player and singer)  
  • Jazz trumpet sound and concept came from Louis Armstrong 
  • Consolidated the aspects of Jazz (Louis Armstrong) 
  • New Orleans was an excellent environment for new art. The ppl loved new dances, music and embraced them in parades 
  • The first opera company in America opened in New Orleans 
  • Jazz musicians mainly were self-taught  
  • Jazz Musicians shared their talents all over the United States and other parts of the world. (Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Detroit, London, France, Spain, Asia, and Germany)  
  • Freddy Keppard brought Jazz to LA In 1912 
  • Jelly Roll Morton brought Jazz to the San Francisco exposition in 1915 
  • Morton performed in Chicago and Detroit (claimed to invent Jazz, no one believed him). His music anticipated the swing era.  
  • Dixieland jazz band claimed to be creators of Jazz (white group). In 1917, they created the first jazz recording.  
  • Black people were not allowed to make jazz recordings 4-5 years later.  
  • Records were essential for Jazz.  
  • People learned how to play by listening to records by musicians  
  • In 1919, Dixieland and Will Marion cook toured England  
  • Ernest Ansermet wrote the first jazz review. New clarinetist Syndey Bechet was named a genius.  
  • Kid Ory took his New Orleans band (Creole jazz band) to Los Angeles 
  • Louis Armstrong worked with Fate Marable band in Mississippi riverboat 
  • Joe Oliver went to Chicago 
  • In Northern industrial cities, Southern Black migrants were audiences to blues and Jazz.  
  • Jazz was popular in Chicago  
  • Chicago bands had a pianist 
  • Joe Oliver hired pianist Lil Hardin   
  • Lil Hardin was one of the first notable female jazz instrumentalists  
  • In 1923 Louis Armstrong went to Chicago  
  • Louis Armstrong was great at playing high notes on the trumpet. He pioneered the trumpet solo. 
  • Louis Armstrong: “The Father of Armstrong” 
  • Louis Armstrong and Joe Oliver inspired bix, Beiderbecke. Became a big star  
  • South= Louis Armstrong. North= Bix Beiderbecke 
  • Earl Hines, one of the most significant artists in Jazz. Used Armstrong style in Jazz  
  • Paul Whiteman- White famous jazz artist in the 1920s to 1930s (“The King of Jazz”)  
  • Armstrong left Chicago for NY in 1925, joined Fletcher Henderson 
  • Jazz bands grew, so they needed written arrangements 
  • Fletcher Henderson was known for written arrangements 
  • Coleman Hawkins (Tenor saxophone player) 
  • James P. Johnson combined Ragtime with Jazz  
  • Stride: A Jazz style in piano with the influence of Ragtime. Stride requires Left- Hand technique. 
  • Dancers from Charleston, SC, inspired The Charleston dance in 1920  
  • Thomas Fats Waller: Jazz Pianist, he incorporated comedy in his performances.  
  • UB Blake (Eubie Blake), James P. Johnson, lucky Robinson: Famous Pianist  
  • Thelonious Monk:  Bebop, performed in Harlem 
  • Duke Ellington arrived in NY in 1923 with his band, The Washington’s. He became a bandleader and composer.  
  • Harlem was a cultural center for Black Americans.  
  • Harlem Cotton Club: Vibrant club and famous spot for Black people 
  • Ellington began to perform at the Harlem Cotton Club at the end of 1927 
  • Ellington kept the same band  
  • His band was strong 
  • Jazz spread to Europe and Asia  
  • Valaida Snow: African American Female Jazz musician  
  • William Basie: African American Jazz musician, played in Kansas City during the great depression. He Played Jazz and blues. 
  • Jazz became popular in Kansas City.  
  • Lestor Young- Tenor Saxophone player, Introduced a new sound  
  • Jimmy Rushin: Jazz singer  
  • Pete Johnson: Jazz pianist   
  • Mary Lou Williams: one of the first leading ladies of modern Jazz  
  • 12 Clouds of joy: Jazz Band  
  • Charlie Parker: African American jazz saxophonist. Invented bebop.   
  • Live radio = 1930s, promotional tool, celebrated swing era  
  • Some bandleaders were put in films  
  • Jazz was used in Hollywood 
  • Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, Thomas Dorsey, Betty Goodman (King of Swing)  
  • Popular Black band leaders exceeded but were not equal to the white artists   
  • The first time Jazz was celebrated by everyone was when swing became popular  
  • Swing/dance contest: People would dance for hours until they couldn’t dance anymore. Some would dance until they fell asleep or passed out.  
  • Harlem Swing 
  • Battle of the bands  
  • Musicians from the Ellington orchestra became stars.  
  • Lous Armstrong greatly inspired African American jazz artist Billie Holiday. She learned how to use her voice as an instrument.  

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