chapter 81 big bands, bebop, & cool jazz
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Chapter 81
Harlem in the 1930s, 1940s, and
1950s: Big Bands, Bebop,
and Cool Jazz
Jazz In Harlem
• In the 1920’s and 1930’s Harlem became the world’s capital of jazz.
• Musicians from all other centers of jazz (New York, Chicago, Kansas City) migrated there.
• A native group of pianists explored a type of post-ragtime playing style called “stride”– loosely based on the model of the
ragtime.
Big Bands• In the late 1920’s, Harlem experienced the
development of “big bands”
• Numbering some 14 or 15 players
• Were divided into – choirs of trumpets, trombones, saxophones
– rhythm section typically consisting of piano, drums, bass, and guitar
• Led to a new style marked by impulsive energy called swing – this dominated jazz into the 1940’s.
• Dance took on a standard form based on a theme followed by soloistic variations– usually based on a blues melody or the chorus
section of a popular song
Characteristics of Big Band Music
of the 1930s• instruments: choirs of reeds, trumpets,
trombones, rhythm, voice (optional)
• limited role of improvisation
• repartee between sections
• heavy and strict 4/4 beat in drums
• popular songs (jazz standards) usually serve as basic melodic material
• variations forms
The Life of Edward (“Duke”) Ellington (1899–1974)
• 1923 - moves to New York with the band “The Washingtonians”
• 1927-31 - leads his own big band at Harlem’s Cotton Club
• 1932 - tours, records, and appears in films
• 1974 - dies in New York
Principal Compositions of Duke Ellington and his Collaborators
• Band arrangements include:– Mood Indigo– In Don’t Mean a Thing– In a Sentimental Mood– Cotton Tail– Ko-Ko– Satin Doll– Take the A Train (with Billy Strayhorn)
• Large musical compositions include Black, Brown and Beige and numerous suites
Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, “Take the A Train,” 1941
Variations form
Bepop
• The big bands lost popularity shortly after WW II– and their place was taken by a
more experimental style called bebop.
• This type of music was:– played by a small combo of instruments
– it was extremely fast in tempo
– it was based on virtuosic improvisations that were largely freed from pre-existing melody and its harmonies.
Characteristics of Bebop
• small combos
• heightened role of improvisation
• fast tempos, beat kept mainly by walking bass
• forms: variations upon pre-existing harmonic patterns
The Life of Charlie Parker (1920–1955)
• 1920 - born in Kansas City
• 1940 - tours and records with several dance bands
• 1945 - leads his own New York band; moves to Los Angeles
• 1947 - recordings establish bebop as a style
• 1955 - dies in New York
Principal Works of Charlie Parker
and his Collaborators• Recordings include:
– Koko– Bluebird– Parker’s Mood– Ornithology
Charlie Parker, “Koko,” 1945
Variations form
Cool Jazz
• A branch of bebop popular in the 1950’s was “cool jazz”
• The mood of cool jazz is:–relaxed and homogeneous–moderate tempos–calm dynamics
The Life of Miles Davis (1926–1991)
• 1926 - born in St. Louis
• 1944 - moves to New York
• 1948 - forms his own bop combos
• 1968 - experiments with fusions of jazz and
rock
• 1991 - dies in Santa Monica, CA
Principal Works of Miles Davis and his Collaborators
• Recordings include:– Boplicity– ‘Round about Midnight– Someday My Prince Will Come– Seven Steps to Heaven– My Funny Valentine– Miles Smiles– In a Silent Way
Miles Davis, “Boplicity,” 1949
Variations form
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