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Introduction to Jazz

What is Jazz?

The Elements of Jazz

Jazz TODAY• Jazz is still relevant

today• Grammy Awards 2011

• First jazz artist to EVER win the award for Best New Artist of the Year (won over Justin Bieber)

Different styles of jazz

Miles Davis

Though jazz is still being played to this day, it has changed drastically over the years.

There are many different genres of jazz (we will discuss this in depth later)

“Jazz is a music of the present moment, anchored lovingly and respectfully in the past.”

EVOLUTION OF JAZZ

Jazz from the past Jazz in the present

What is jazz? Jazz is musical conversation: a partly

planned and partly spontaneous musical dialogue among the musicians who are performing it.

Jazz musicians utilize the inspiration of the moment (social, political, life experiences, etc.)

Where did jazz come from?• Jazz is a newcomer to music --

unlike symphonic music, folk music, opera, Eastern music, etc., jazz is only a century old.

• Jazz was born out of the Black experience in America, basically fusing African and European musical traditions.

• Evolving from slave work songs, spirituals (religious Black American folk songs), blues, brass band music, and ragtime (a rhythmically sophisticated piano style), jazz first appeared in the culturally diverse city of New Orleans in the early 1900s.

influences Today, jazz is performed, innovated, and

listened to by people all over the world from virtually every ethnicity, religion, and culture.

Jazz has influenced and been influenced by other music: rock, rap, country, funk, Latin, classical, blues, gospel, African, Eastern, pop, folk, hip-hop

Jazz, while extremely diverse and all encompassing, is, however, its own unique art form

Complexity of jazz music Jazz makes far more demands on the

listener than do most popular styles which are fundamentally simpler than jazz, requiring less from the listener.

Although complicated, the core of jazz is about feeling, not intellectual definition.

birthplace Jazz is America’s native art form, having

its birth and evolution in the United States.

In 1987 the Joint Houses of Congress passed a resolution declaring jazz an American National Treasure.

Where can you find jazz?

Jazz is everywhere; it is an ingrained element of American styles and attitudes.•nightclubs and concert halls•sidewalks and subway stations•elementary, middle, and high school classrooms; college classrooms•television and film soundtracks; television commercials•records, CDs, and the radio•in America’s slang and jargon

A reflection of American culture Throughout America’s 20th century, jazz

has entertained, interested, affected, and inspired Americans; it has contributed to and been a reflection of American culture.1) Jazz, more than any other music, has been closely associated with the geographical, social, political, and economic affects of American cities as well as the fluctuating reputation of American culture throughout the world.2) Jazz, more than any other music, has been intimately linked with legal and social equality for all, particularly African Americans.

A reflection of American culture3) In the 1930’s, jazz reached new levels

of sophistication in the Swing Era, reflecting America’s need for self-esteem following the Great Depression.

4) In the late 1950s and 60s, avant-garde and free jazz reflected America’s social and political changes and the loosening of strict standards of behavior

5) Today, jazz is universal. It is performed and listened to by people of virtually every ethnicity, religion, and attitude

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Elements of jazzBasic terminology used in jazz

music

Improvisation• Perhaps jazz’s most

essential ingredient• Improvisation is

spontaneous composition; that is, each musician determines what he/she is going to play AS he/she is playing it

• Jazz improvisation is very similar to regular conversation

Jazz Rhythms Basic definition of rhythm

a regular pattern formed by a series of notes of differing duration and stress.

Jazz rhythms can range from simple to extremely complex. However, underlying even the most complex rhythms performed by each individual musician in a jazz group is an underlying pulse (the beat) - that which makes the listener able to tap his/her foot with the music

Tempo The speed of the pulse Tempos in jazz range from very slow

(ballads) to extremely fast

Syncopation Definitions:

the accenting of beats that are normally not accented

stressing the notes that are on the up beat (i.e., when one’s foot is in the air - or up position - when tapping normally with the beat of the music)

Swing1. a difficult-to-define rhythmic concept2. for the musician, the definition of

swing is a manner of playing a steady stream of notes in a long-short-long-short pattern

3. for the listener (as well as the player), swing refers to the music’s buoyancy, rhythmic lilt, liveliness, and cohesiveness

Tone Colors Each instrument has its own general tone

color and each musician has his/her own particular sound on that instrument.

It's like being able to distinguish one friend's voice from another friend's

A jazz musician’s particular sound is part of his/her signature, part of what distinguishes him/her from another.

What attracts the listener is not just what a particular jazz musician plays (i.e., how he/she improvises); it’s also the way he/she plays (i.e., his/her particular sound).

Different tone colors:Tenor saxophone

John Coltrane

Mellower, darker tone

Gato Barbieri

Edgier, brighter tone

Typical Instruments Used In JazzToday, jazz can be (and is) played on virtually any instrument, including the human voice; the most common instruments associated with jazz (in order of basic precedence) are:1. saxophone2. trumpet3. piano, bass, and drums (known as the rhythm section)4. guitar5. clarinet6. trombone7. flute

harmony Basic definition of a chord:

Two or more notes played at the same time constitutes harmony, also known as a chord (also known as a “change” among jazz musicians).

Jazz Chords Jazz chords are usually four to seven notes

played simultaneously.

comping Definition:

the rhythmically syncopated playing of chords

Pianists and guitarists comp the chords The term “comping” comes from two

words: to accompany and to complement; that is precisely what pianists and guitarists do: they accompany and complement the soloists

formA. Structure

Most jazz tunes utilize a recurring chord progression that serves as the structure of the tune; the way in which the different sections of the progression are grouped determines the form of the tune.

B. Musical BlueprintForm can be considered a tune’s “musical

blueprint,” allowing each musician (and educated listener) to keep his/her place in the structure.

See and hear the form for“Song for My Father”

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Jazz beginningsRoots

Ragtime

African roots From 1619 to well into the 1800s, slaves

were brought to the Americas from Africa where music played a functional (not artistic) role: work songs, spiritual songs, healing songs, fertility songs, etc.

Though slave traders took just about everything from African slaves, they allowed them to keep their music as "a singing slave,” because that was a happy slave" and, therefore, would be less likely to cause an uprising. 

Also, the blues evolved from slave field hollers and African American folk songs (more on this later!)

JAZZ TRAITS FROM AFRICAN ORIGIN1. Rhythm2. Expressive vocal quality when playing

or singing

Jazz traits from European origin1. instruments (saxophone, trumpet,

trombone, piano, bass, etc.) 2. harmony (most chord progressions

utilized in jazz compositions are essentially European in origin) 

Ragtime• Ragtime was the direct

precursor to jazz• It was primarily a solo

piano style

This is a ragtime piece by Scott Joplin titled “Maple Leaf Rag”

Ragtime reflected both African and European musical traditions1. African

1. Ragtime was developed and first played primarily by African Americans and was a source of pride to African American composers, musicians, and listeners

2. the most prominent ragtime composer in history was Scott Joplin 

2. European1. the piano itself was

of European origin 

Ragtime’s cultural implications Ragtime was developed in response to and

reflected the “balance” of American attitude in the late 19th and early 20th century 

Ragtime was enjoyed by both European and African-Americans because it appealed to both conservative to liberal attitudes conservative example: ragtime was performed

on the piano, a white middle class symbol of nostalgia and status 

liberal example: ragtime’s syncopations, derived from Black musical traditions, reflected the exciting pace of modern industrial life