Jazz Summary (2024)

Unit Summary
Jazz

Jazz is a distinctively American style of music that developed in the early decades of the 20th century. Its roots include many Afro-American folk music traditions, such as spirituals, work songs, and blues. It also borrowed from 19th century band music and the ragtime style of piano playing. The distinctive elements of jazz include characteristic rhythm patterns, harmonic practices related to, but not identical with, functional harmony, and the practice of improvisation. Jazz has influenced, and has been influenced by, traditional classical music and popular music. The boundaries are not always especially clear. Although jazz has a relatively short history, it has developed several distinct styles with which nonspecialists should be at least superficially familiar.

Important Styles

• The earliest style widely recognized as distinctly in the jazz tradition is Dixieland. This style is called "Dixieland" because the center of its development was in New Orleans. Dixieland jazz is typically performed by a small ensemble consisting of clarinet, trumpet, and trombone, accompanied by a rhythm section of drum set, banjo (or piano), and string bass or tuba.
• The next distinctive style was Swing. Swing music was performed by a larger ensemble consisting of saxophones (sometimes also clarinets), trumpets, and trombones. From three to five plyers on each instrument might be used. The rhythm section would typically include piano, string bass, drum set, with occasional additions of guitar or other chordal/melody instruments. The larger ensemble typical of the swing era required composed works or "charts" in which the tradition of improvisation could be incorporated.
• Bebop, or just Bop, marked a return to small ensemble jazz. This style is characterized by complex harmonies, often rapid tempos, and intense, frequently disjunct melodic lines. Ensembles could consist of one to three melody instruments (typically saxophone, trumpet, or trombone), with a rhythm section of piano, bass, and drums.
• The contemporary jazz scene is complex. All three styles previously mentioned continue to be cultivated. In addition, new stylistic developments have enriched the tradtion. One style is "cool jazz," characterized by technical sophistication and expressive restraint. A radical extension of Bop resulted in "free form jazz," in which small ensembles (typically one melody instrument, bass, and drums) improvise freely without the support of a previously determined melody, harmony, or metrical pattern. Another style is "fusion" jazz, which incorporates many harmonic and rhythmic practices of rock music, and exploits the possibilities of electronic instruments in combination with traditional ones.

Some Significant Jazz Musicians

• Louis Armstrong (1900-1971) was a dominant artist in the Dixieland era who went on to become an international figure in popular culture as well.
• Duke Ellington (1899-1974) is perhaps the greatest genius of the jazz tradition to emerge so far. His compositions for his big swing band (including some extended forms), and the virtuosity and imagination of their performances, set an imposing standard of artistry.
• Charles Parker (1920-1955) was a leader in the Bop movement. He and others created this style in New York in the 1940's, and it was enthusiastically copied by musicians all over the country.

Back to Summary Listing