A Very Brief Introduction to

Jazz
• Jazz has taken many different forms over the
last 100 years, but the most well known are
– Dixieland
– Big Band/Swing
– Bebop
– Cool Jazz
– Modal Jazz
– Free Jazz
– Latin Jazz
• Likes Blues, Jazz music is a mix of African and
European musical traditions
• African influences in Jazz include:
– Improvisation
– Blue Notes
– Polyrhythms
– Syncopation
– Swung Rhythms
 Before Jazz…
• …There was Ragtime.
• Video
• Ragtime was most popular from 1898 until 1917
• It developed from a combination of the
Cakewalk, and the jigs and marches played by the
many Marching Bands
• Composers tried to write reduced versions of
popular tunes for the piano
• By trying to cram all the different instrumental
parts in they ended up creating the syncopated
feel of Ragtime
• Video (Useful extract from about 1 min in)
 Dixieland
• Dixieland developed in New Orleans at the beginning of the
20th century
• Dixieland is a combination of Marching bands, Ragtime, Blues
and French Dances (Quadrilles)
• Dixieland groups include many instruments found in Marching
Bands
• They have a rhythm section that may include Piano, Guitar,
Banjo, Double Bass, Tuba and Drums
• Over the top the frontline players, usually Trumpet/Cornet,
Trombone and Clarinet all improvise at the same time!
• This creates a distinctive polyphonic texture
 Louis Armstrong – When The Saints Go
Marching In
• Video
 Dukes of Dixieland – When The Saints Go
Marching In
• Video
 Big Band / Swing
• Swing or Big Band Jazz developed in the 1920’s
and was most popular in the 1930’s and 40’s
• Ensembles varied from 10 to 25 players who
usually sat behind stands with the band’s logo
• There was a rhythm section plus Trumpets,
Saxophones, Clarinets and Trombones
• Some groups also had vocalists
• Big Bands had a Band Leader. These were usually
well known arrangers and soloists
• Unlike Dixieland, Big Band arrangements were
written down and very organised
• There were strong, catchy melodies contrasted
with clear spaces for the soloists to show off
• The catchy tunes and fast tempo meant Swing
Music became popular for dancing, especially
with the younger generations
• It was played a lot on the radio which helped
spread it’s appeal
 Glenn Miller – In The Mood
• Video
 Benny Goodman – Sing Sing Sing
• Video
 Bebop
• Bebop developed in the mid 1940’s as musicians broke
down the organised and controlled nature of Swing
• Ensembles were still made from a rhythm section and a
front line of soloists, but each group was much smaller
• Bebop was generally fast and very virtuosic
• Solos, Harmony and Phrasing were much less regular
than those found in swing
• Bass players became very important in holding the
complex harmonies and rhythms together
Charlie Parker & Coleman Hawkins
• Video
 Cool Jazz
• Cool Jazz came about in the early 1950’s
• It was smoother, slower and calmer than Bebop
• Whereas Bebop mainly focused on solos, Cool Jazz
was more organised and song like in its structure
• Melodies were recognisable and catchier, like Swing
• However, structures and melodies were still
deliberately irregular – you couldn’t dance to it!
 Miles Davis - Jeru
• Video
 Miles Davis - Move
• Video
 Modal Jazz
• A Mode is a scale that only uses the white notes of the
piano
• In Bebop the soloists played over a repeating chord
sequence
• The chord sequence and chord changes would determine
the notes of the rhythm section and the improvised parts
• Using a Mode, rather than a chord sequence, freed up all
the parts to choose different and more interesting
combinations of notes
• This made Melody more important than Harmony
Miles Davis & John Coltrane – So What

• Video
 Other Styles of Jazz…
• Latin Jazz
• Jazz Fusion
• Free Jazz
• Acid Jazz