01 Chapter 1 Jazz

Chapter 1

Listening to Jazz
McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

Overview
Jazz has been described as
“America’s Classical Music”
- the first musical style to have a specific American Identity.
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Jazz developed out of many diverse musical and cultural influences at the beginning of the 20th century.

19th century photo of a group of African American Minstrels

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The absence of recordings or written examples of the earliest jazz results in subjective historical accounts

New Orleans

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Jazz traces its history, in part, through uniquely personal expression.

King Oliver’s Creole Band, 1921

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Jazz is a continuously evolving genre which makes concrete definitions elusive.

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Understanding Jazz requires an understanding of the performer.

Appreciating Jazz requires active listening.

Understanding and enjoyment go hand in hand.

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Focused listening to specific elements rather than passive listening is required.

The ability to focus on specific attributes or elements also enhances understanding and enjoyment. 1-8

Since music moves through time, it cannot be perceived as a whole.

Thus memory plays an important role in perception and enjoyment.

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Sounds Associated with Jazz
• Since much of jazz music allows for personal freedom of expression, performers often strive for individuality of sound and style.
• The individual musical qualities of a particular player may be appreciated by some and not by others.

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Vocal devices that imitate human emotions:
-Growls
-Bends and Slurs
-Vibrato
Timmie Rosenkrantz, Milt Jackson, Ray Brow, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie, 1947.

Photo by

William P. Gottlieb.

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Instrumentalists can be recognized by the individuality of their:
• Sound
• Interpretation
• Stylistic devices
-Choice of Notes
-Attack
Paul Desmond

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Cultural Influences in Jazz
• Jazz combined African and European musical influences
• European - performed exactly as notated
• African - oral traditions were subject to the performer’s interpretations
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The Balance in Jazz

Improvisation & Composition
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Rhythmic Elements
• Meter - groupings of beats (pulses)
• Syncopation - accented notes between beats
• Swing - delayed, accented syncopation
(an essential feature of many jazz styles)

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Form
• Provides repetition and contrast
• Gives balance and symmetry
• Allows for discernable shifts in intensity

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Listening Guidelines
Observable blending of elements which may include:
• General style - fast, slow, agitated, subdued, swing or rock
• Instruments and their interaction
• Individual or unique abilities of the different performers
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Listening Guidelines
-continued• Interaction between the rhythm section players • Non-jazz influences
• Obvious form or structure

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Listening Guidelines
-continued• Singable or tuneful melody
• Musical focus of the performers
• Social context

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Summary
• Jazz history is more about performers than composers • Most performances contain improvisation
• Jazz is a very interpretive and vocally influenced music • Jazz performances are generally rhythmic, syncopated and contain some degree of swing
• Integrating one’s personality is central to the jazz performer 1-20