All that jazz

[LMNO]

So, before we even start this out, I have to tell you something – jazz is a really freaking big subject, and there's a lot out there that I probably won't get to.  I have a fairly good knowledge on the subject, but there's a high probability I'm going to get some things wrong, especially when we start getting into anecdotes, stories, and perceived motivations behind the music. 

There's also a fairly good chance that someone's going to step up and say that I'm "wrong".  Which could be true.  Let's just hope they're not a dick about it.

Anyway, jazz.  There are a few stories about how it came to be, some which are more entertaining than others.  One of my personal favorites is that by around the turn of the century (1900s), there were many blacks who had learned to play marching band instruments, as well as traditional marching band music.  Note the time signature in that piece.  It's what's called "6/8 time", where the pulse of the music is "1,2,3/4,5,6".  Apocryphally, when they were learning the marches and got to a section they didn't know, they just made stuff up that sounded good.  Now, if you mix that feel with the afro-Caribbean rhythms that developed during the slave trade, you get something like this, which is known as "Second Line", and is downright funky.  But that's a different story.  We're talking about jazz.

The other tale about the birth of jazz is that it was music that developed in various "houses of ill repute" in and around New Orleans, as the house piano player would crank out selections of ragtime.  When you listen to the rhythms on that piano, notice how it also has the same kind of "shuffle" feel as the second line, as well as a hint of the 6/8 from Sousa.  Again, when the piano players would forget the parts (or more likely, when they got bored playing the same thing over and over), they'd start making stuff up.

Roll all of this together, and you get some sort of approximation of the "birth of jazz", and a nice kid from New Orleans became it's first star in the 1920s.

Is that the complete picture?  Hell no.  There was a lot of stuff going on back then.  This is only a small part.  More to come.

[hooplala]

Jazz is probably my favorite form of music... I'd heard the house of ill-reputetheory, but not the first one - very interesting!  I look forward to reading more!

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Jazz is probably my favorite form of music...

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Please, folks...Dig DEEP.  Cough up some dough, so that underprivileged Canadians can have some real music.  Given Celine Dion, Nickleback, and Rush, is it any wonder that they're turning to Jazz in desperation?  Fuck those starving kids in Africa, this is SERIOUS.

[LMNO]

Ok, the New Orleans sound didn't last too long in the popular culture, although NOLA still keeps it alive, and that groove still finds it's way into songs to this day.  What was coming out of Chicago was something that was being called "hot jazz".  While Louis Armstrong is often remembered more often, this guy actually did a lot more to steer the sound of jazz in the 20s.  When you compare it to the NOLA sound, you can hear there's more of an "up and down" feel to it, even though you still have that swinging groove.  And if you notice, the arrangements are getting tighter.  Instead of a bunch of guys playing around a theme, or riffing on blues patterns, you've got some pretty tight songwriting going on.  Instead of three or four guys soloing at once, you've got people taking turns over strict changes, highlighting the "solo" aspect of the song.

This style found its way into some of the swankier nightclubs, and Duke Ellington started playing the Cotton Club in the 30s.  He was a pretty fantastic arranger, and his songs featured large-ensemble written parts, with a few key soloists.  This ushered in the Big Band Swing era, which was basically a dance orchestra.  This can sound pretty damn cheesy when listening with today's ears, but hey, it was pretty much the pop music of its day. 

In the mid 30s, that huge sound was getting a little tired, so some of the bandleaders started to put together smaller combos, and for some reason Kansas City was the center of the action (some have made a pretty good case it was because of the massive corruption and cronyism that allowed the clubs to stay open and stable enough to pay the musicians reasonably well).  What we're getting now are stripped down arrangements, and an emphasis on soloing over written leads.  The solos are also getting more complex, and you know where that's going to go, right?

More to come.

[LordFjord]

More to come.

If you're interested in the music theory side of jazz, check out this

http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040

Combined with Slonimskys Thesaurus of Patterns and Melodic Scales, which was used by John Coltrane and Jaco Pastorius, its pretty formidable. 

[LMNO]

I graduated from Berklee College of Music, so I'm all good.

[LordFjord]

Slonimsky's thesaurus is virtually inexhaustible though?

[Kai]

Oh, awesome! Thanks LMNO!

Can you clarify something for me? It's been about 9 years since I learned this: what separates blues from jazz?

[LMNO]

Pretension? 


Seriously though, a lot of old jazz (and the later stuff too, tbh) heavily cribbed from the blues forms, and they were trading back and forth for most of their lives.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Oh, awesome! Thanks LMNO!

Can you clarify something for me? It's been about 9 years since I learned this: what separates blues from jazz?

Basic proficiency with a musical instrument?

[Kai]

Pretension? 


Seriously though, a lot of old jazz (and the later stuff too, tbh) heavily cribbed from the blues forms, and they were trading back and forth for most of their lives.

I'm guessing that the obvious separation started when the big bands were on the way out, at the point you left off in your brief history.

[Kai]

Oh, awesome! Thanks LMNO!

Can you clarify something for me? It's been about 9 years since I learned this: what separates blues from jazz?

Basic proficiency with a musical instrument?

Says the man who plays his ass when on the toilet. 

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Oh, awesome! Thanks LMNO!

Can you clarify something for me? It's been about 9 years since I learned this: what separates blues from jazz?

Basic proficiency with a musical instrument?

Says the man who plays his ass when on the toilet. 

I've grown, musically, since then.

The toilet is no longer required.

Think of it as "improv".

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I just flashed on the term "singing scat".