In My DreamA Celebration of African-American Music

The Musical Ambassadors of the ArmyWashington, DC

The United StatesArmy Field Band

The first known African residents of the New World arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. They came without choice, without hope, without even a common language. These people were silenced in a strange land, with seemingly nothing to sustain them, and it appeared that thousands of other Africans would discover the same bleak and forbidding circumstances.

Yet one inextinguishable means of sustenance remained—music. Through succeeding generations, music stimulated communication and revived spirits. African-Americans learned that music could provide a new voice in the New World, and they used this voice in dealing with poverty, oppression, and fear. This voice continued to sing for freedmen and free blacks after the Civil War, and inspired trained and untrained artists at the turn of the twentieth century. Unhampered by changing contexts, music remained a constant as communities dealt with new faiths, new livelihoods, new instruments, and new lives.

The United States Army Field Band dedicates In My Dream to the memories of those who strove to develop this new voice, and to those today who continue to “dream of a perfect place with but one human race.”i

In My DreamA Celebration of African-American Music

Program NotesIn My Dream Overture “gives one the impression of walking into a huge house with a number of different ‘musical rooms.’”1 Through this overture, The United States Army Field Band pays historical tribute to the contributions of African and African-American musicians. Chant synthesizes a wordless chant and percussive accompaniment from African traditions with the harmonic language of Western traditions. Oh, Freedom, known across American culture through its use in the Civil Rights Movement, touches briefly upon the spiritual. Maple Leaf Rag,

the classic example of a piano rag, demonstrates the typical structure and the trademark syncopation found in ragtime, while also paying tribute to Scott Joplin. Two versions of St. Louis Blues, popularized by W.C. Handy and Bessie Smith, occur next. The first utilizes a small Dixieland ensemble, including clarinet and banjo, which leads into a more bebop-flavored arrangement, as it might have been performed by Dizzy Gillespie or one of his contemporaries.

In a swift transition to pop and rock, Sam Cooke’s You Send Me honors the doo-wop singing style, followed by the Motown classic Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. Originally performed by Diana Ross and the Supremes, this tune represents the cross-cultural popularity of rhythm and blues.

Stevie Wonder’s I Wish comes next, invoking black musicians’ pride in themselves and their culture as exemplified in soul music. Finally, the Overture closes with the uplifting contemporary ballad I Believe I Can Fly. This pop song combines elements of rock, pop, and gospel in its words and arrangement, and sets the stage for the selections that follow. 2

Soon I Will Be Done With the Trouble of the World provides a new look at one of the most popular spiritual texts. Recalling mournful performances he accompanied as a teenager, as contrasted with the more typical setting with a bright tempo, Robert Jefferson chose to use “the six-note descending chromatic figure as the underlying musical theme until the last verse, where the piece expands and breaks away from the chromatic theme, depicting a breaking-away from the bondage and pain of slavery.”2 A mezzo-soprano solo, inspired by Mahalia Jackson and dedicated to Dorothy Lofton Jones, provides a continual textual thread. Ranging from four- to eight-part divisi, the chorus offers a rhythmic counterpart to the more lyric solo as well as an emotional backdrop to the intensity of the text.

I Am On the Battlefield for My Lord / I’m a Soldier combines two works well known in the African-American community. Jefferson writes, “the black soldiers would often gather around a camp fire and have a devotion including prayer, singing, and testimonials before going out to war.”3 Beginning with a simple two-part texture, the piece quickly expands as a soloist evokes the camp meeting through a sung testimonial over the syncopated choral singing. A solo snare drum leads the transition into I’m a Soldier, with call-and-response between the soloist and chorus helping to establish the faster tempo. The soloist continues to give a sense of individuality within the double choir. A sudden shift to a slower tempo reprises I Am On the Battlefield for My Lord, bringing the piece to an emotional conclusion.

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When It’s Sleepy Time Down South reached its greatest audiences through Louis Armstrong, who introduced it as his theme song in 1931. Written by Leon Rene, Otis Rene, and Clarence Muse, Sleepy Time paints a tranquil portrait of the South through its easy tempo and lyrics. Some listeners heard the lyrics as a regressive look at the past—“a life of ease / when ol’ Mammy falls on her knees”—while Armstrong always considered it an evocation of peace and beauty.4 He also appreciated the opportunity the song gave him to showcase both of his strengths; he would first perform the melody on trumpet, then sing the lyrics following the bridge, including his trademark scat in the last phrase.

What a Little Moonlight Can Do pays tribute to the immortal Billie Holiday. She first recorded it in 1935 under the direction of Teddy Wilson, and this song became associated with her throughout her career. Recordings demonstrate the contrast between her free-structured phrasing and the steady, quick tempo of the piece; the lyrics and the melody receive their due, but all in Holiday’s carefully nuanced style. Harry Woods’ lyrics affirm the joy and playfulness of a love affair, and Holiday’s singing always assured listeners that she knew exactly what a little moonlight could do.

This Bitter Earth was recorded by Dinah Washington with Belford Hendrick’s orchestra in 1959 at the height of her pop stardom. She began her career as a pianist and singer, performing blues and gospel, then reached greater fame as a jazz chanteuse. Her recordings of R&B and pop songs, however, helped ensure her status as a household name. This Bitter Earth highlighted her crisp diction and coolly emotional singing, even as the melody itself exploited her entire vocal range, particularly at the end. A simple thirty-two bar structure provides the foundation for composer Clyde Otis to pay farewell to a broken romance.

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Scrapple from the Apple demonstrates the resurgence of jazz through bebop, in which improvisation and smaller ensembles took precedence over the concepts prevalent in swing. The Charlie Parker Quintet recorded the tune in 1947, utilizing a young Miles Davis on trumpet. Parker’s composition combines the first theme of I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin with a bridge section based on one of Parker’s favorite tunes, Honeysuckle Rose by Fats Waller. Its intervallic leaps and flatted fifths are quintessential elements of bebop writing.5

Nefertiti first appeared on the album Nefertiti, described by critic Jack Chambers as “the showcase of [Miles Davis’] quintet’s achievements.”6 Arranger Darryl Brenzel states, “Nefertiti represents his classic quintet of the sixties; the tune is every bit as exotic as the title and really represents how that group was able to create a ‘vibe’ for a tune, making it fresh and exciting even before soloists developed the tune.”7 Written by the quintet’s tenor saxophonist, Wayne Shorter, Nefertiti places emphasis more on the complexity of the rhythm section and less upon improvisation; in fact, the soloists did not improvise at all on the 1967 recording, instead repeating the sixteen-bar melody throughout the length of the piece.

Classic Rhythm and Blues Tribute provides a fast-paced look at some of the greatest R&B hits of the sixties and seventies. Although the performers themselves—Martha and the Vandellas, Sam & Dave, Percy Sledge, and The Temptations, to name a few—received the most public acclaim, the composers represented here read like a “Who’s Who” of R&B royalty. Marvin Gaye’s music comes into the sharpest focus, with examples from his performing career and his writing. This medley begins with Dancing in the Street, a tune he penned for Martha and the Vandellas in 1964, and ends with his iconic 1971 hit What’s Going On. Gaye’s rise from youthful obscurity to the heyday of Motown brought him into contact with many of the other musicians represented here; he played on early recordings of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and later recorded with accompanying vocals from The Temptations and the Supremes. Marvin Gaye’s tragic death in 1984 ended one of the most powerful musical contributions to popular music.

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It’s Time to Make a Change came to the Field Band as a transcription from the recording Saints’ Paradise, devoted to the trombone shout bands of the United House of Prayer for All People (HOP).8 The distinctive music of these shout bands has become such an important part of the worship experience that most HOP churches have a junior and senior band, and young children grow up playing “air trombone” or sitting in with the band on toy instruments. Derived from the ring shout and praise singing of rural worship experiences, the trombone shout lends the spirit of vocalization; as Madison’s Lively Stones trombonist Damon Rodney has said, “We play our horns more or less like we’re singing them.”9 Performed on Saints’ Paradise by Madison’s Lively Stones, the tune fits a typical verse/chorus structure. The focal point of each verse is the dialogue between the lead trombones, with the trombone choir voicing agreement or interjections. Although the drummer serves largely as accompaniment, his playing is crucial to the close of the verses as well as to the tune’s abrupt ending.

In My Dream reflects the viewpoint of one of the most prominent contemporary gospel composers. A poignant piano introduction gives way to a simple chordal accompaniment to the vocal line, becoming more elaborate as the song continues. The improvisatory nature of the interplay between pianist and vocalist during this soliloquy gradually builds in intensity as the singer states his fervent hope of an end to poverty and discrimination, and asks for the means and the strength to help in creating this ideal world.6

Hold On demonstrates many of the features of contemporary gospel performance: call and response, solo lead singer, and mass choir. The lead vocal line featured Roger Troutman of the funk duo Zapp & Roger, backed by Sounds of Blackness; the Field Band recording largely remains faithful to the original version, substituting three soloists who alternate on lead vocal. These soloists, while bringing a unique perspective to the melody, retain the signature rhythmic drive of Troutman’s vocal style as they convey the message of remaining steadfast in the face of everyday adversity.

Recording session of Hold On

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An American Legacyof African-American Music

From Africa to the New WorldHistorically, African cultures have regarded music as functional in nature. While it is difficult

to make generalizations about musical values or styles that varied not only from culture to culture, but even from village to village, contemporary observers often described music as playing a role in events as mundane as pounding roots for flour, or as prestigious as a royal ceremony. The human voice was valued far and wide, but African musicians also created a wide variety of instruments from materials available locally. Wind, string, and percussion instruments appeared—in one form or another—in most societies.

Just as different cultures spoke different languages—over one thousand have been identified on the African continent—they also placed different values on beauty and music. Music, while a cultural universal, could hardly be considered a universal language. Yet these distinctions slowly dissolved among the Africans who had been kidnapped by Europeans or purchased by them from other, more dominant African cultures. In the early history of American slavery, the Europeans did not encourage slaves to learn English, French, or any other common language, and slaves rarely arrived with others of their language group. Priorities were placed more upon the teaching of relevant skills (farmwork, carpentry, housework) and less upon skills indirectly related to their new social position.10 Slaves, then, found music to be a rare common thread, one which became unique among the few communal activities allowed them in the Americas. Naturally, it retained the importance found throughout Africa as a whole.

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Old Ideas, New MeaningsThe music of Africans in their new land

served three areas: work, recreation, and religion. Worksongs, for example, accompanied nearly every sort of task, as they had in Africa. British slaveowners would have been familiar with work genres such as sea shanties or washing songs, and recognized the purposeful nature of their slaves’ singing. Frederick Douglass, in his memoirs of life as a slave, recalled, “Slaves are generally expected to sing as well as to work. There was, generally, more or less singing among the teamsters, as it was one means of letting the overseer know where they were, and that they were moving on with the work.”11 In fact, slaves who did not participate in the singing of worksongs were often considered to be malingering and would be advised to “make a noise” and “bear a hand” by the overseer. Lone workers, carrying out tasks that

did not require assistance, often sang field hollers and water calls for their own entertainment. These unaccompanied songs allowed for more freedom of tempo, rhythm, and melody than group singing.

Following a day’s work, slaves might recall their labor in song, or they might engage in more recreational activities in an attempt to forget their burdens. Fiddles and banjos were easily made from boards or gourds strung with strings of hide or gut. Simply constructed flutes or rattles made from jawbones or snakes’ tails also provided accompaniment to dancing or other forms of relaxation.12 However, slaveowners remained mindful of the dual purposes of some instruments. Knowing that Africans had often used the gungonga or “talking drum” for communication, laws were passed in the Deep South that forbade their construction or use.

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Slaves with highly developed musical skills soon became prized beyond their immediate communities. At auctions, talented slaves were often forced to sing and dance upon the auction block, or demonstrate instrumental skills such as fiddling. Solomon Northrup, a free black who was kidnapped from the North and sold as a slave, later wrote, “After being fed, in the afternoon, we were again paraded and made to dance. Bob, a colored boy, who had some time belonged to Freeman, played on the violin...He handed me the violin. I struck up a tune and finished it. Freeman ordered me to continue playing, and seemed well pleased.”13 Once purchased, a slave could then provide entertainment for the slaveowner, his family, and visitors.

Information about slave musicians would often appear in local publications, and could be used to identify runaway slaves. For example, the following announcements appeared in The Virginia Gazette:

March 1766: “TO BE SOLD. A young healthy Negro fellow who has been used to wait on a Gentleman and plays extremely well on the French Horn.”

March 1772: “RUN AWAY...a Negro Man named Derby, about 25 years of age, a slim black Fellow, and plays on the Fiddle with his Left Hand, which he took with him.”14

Black men who enlisted in the Revolutionary Army typically were assigned to be drummers, in part due to widespread beliefs about their innate musicality. An act passed in 1776, in Virginia, directed black men to “be employed as drummers, fifers, or pioneers” in the military service, allowing them an opportunity to support the troops while circumventing laws against arming blacks.15

Perhaps the best-known musical expression of the enslaved men and women, however, remains in the body of spirituals that have survived for centuries. Contrary to popular opinion, early slaveowners felt no strong desires to convert their slaves to Christianity. Regular church attendance might provide the Africans with a chance to intermingle, and thus a golden

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opportunity to plot against their oppressors.16 Others feared the psychological ramifications of conversion: “As for baptizing Indians and Negroes, several of the people disapprove of it; because they say it often makes them proud, and not as good servants.”17

Conversely, the supposed pagans suspiciously eyed this new religion, wondering why they should accept the teachings of a faith that preached brotherly love even as its ministers provided Biblical justification for imprisonment and torture.18 As Christianity became more widespread among the slaves, slaveowners and white ministers retained control of church services, even those in which a black minister officiated. Nonetheless, Christianity gained a foothold among the slaves, in many cases due to their identification with the Old Testament tales of deliverance for the faithful. Appropriately, then, many spiritual texts depict Old Testament references.

More Than a Hope of Reaching HeavenMost spirituals deal with one of three themes: lamentation, death, and escape.19

These songs also provide a social commentary about slave life, musically depicting grief at the loss of friends or family, agony during forced marches, or beatings suffered at the hands of their masters. Rather than confront these issues in a manner that would lead to further torture, slaves encoded their expressions in double entendre. The Old Testament texts provided a means of discussing subversive topics, and became particularly important as escapes occurred more regularly.

“We were, at times, remarkably buoyant, singing hymns and making joyous exclamations...A

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keen observer might have detected in our repeated singing of ‘O Canaan, sweet Canaan / I am bound for the land of Canaan,’ something more than a hope of reaching heaven.”20 Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman used special songs, such as Steal Away or You’d Better Get Ready, to alert others to her next departure. Wade in the Water could refer to baptism, or give helpful instruction to slaves hoping to flee the sharp noses of dogs. Spirituals could also describe geography, the best example being Follow the Drinking Gourd.

Musically, spirituals culled structure and style from African and European traditions. Call-and-response, typical in several African musical cultures and similar to “lining-out” in Protestant singing, allowed for greater participation among all individuals. Spirituals often contained a simple but effective verse-chorus structure, found in many Western hymns. Unlike hymns, however, spirituals were untraceable to a single composer or creator; rather, their singers held them in a state of collective ownership. The authors of the 1867 collection Slave Songs of the United States attempted to notate these songs, but realized the unsuitability of Western notation for atypical music.21 “The best that we can do, however, with paper...or even with voices, will convey but a faint shadow of the original.”22

Among the largely urban populations of free blacks, autonomous churches had existed since the late 18th century. These churches belonged to established denominations (Methodist, Baptist, etc.); their congregations—for the most part—used the prescribed liturgies and hymns. However, as these churches took their messages beyond the cities, they often held camp meetings to spread the word of God. Music in these meetings took on an improvisatory style based on popular melodies and familiar hymns.23 This allowed more frequent congregational singing, a point duly noted by preachers as they returned to the urban churches. Other aspects of camp-meetings were more questionable in the cities; the ring shout and shuffle-step dancing, for example, with roots in African tradition, became discouraged as ministers worried about a possible loss of face with their white colleagues.24

Following the Civil War, spirituals waned in popularity. On one hand, many African-Americans saw them as lacking relevance—freedom had been achieved, the promised land had been reached. Others viewed them as too closely linked to a time of pain and degradation, 12

and wished to put anything with an emotional connection to this era far behind. However, the concertizing of spirituals by the Fisk Jubilee Singers helped to establish the form as a valid musical genre beyond slave communities. Elaborate four-part arrangements of traditional song, performed by a choir on a concert stage, temporarily increased interest in the art form. At the same time, as minstrel shows began to achieve popularity with their mockery of African-American culture, the spiritual served as a reminder of a shaming and shameful time in history.25 Musically, American blacks began to turn to other means of expression.

The Fruits of Their LaborNew creative developments in African-American music were

often not recognized as being organically distinct until many years later. Clearly, as with the spiritual, it is impossible to name any one person as the inventor or creator of these new art forms, although one may easily distinguish a number of influences. Many musicians in New Orleans, a burgeoning center for artists, simply referred to all of these varied styles as “ragtime.”26 Without overemphasizing its importance in relation to other cities, the musical culture of New Orleans cannot be ignored in a discussion of these styles—the tremendous growth of the black population as former slaves and free blacks flocked there played no small part in their development.27

These performers, playing what we today describe as “ragtime,” “blues,” and “jazz,” ranged in diversity from itinerant rail-riders with makeshift guitars to semi-professional pianists supplementing their income by playing in saloons. They thought less about artistic integrity than about earning a living.28 Some of them gained their formative experiences playing in brass bands, which became popular following the Civil War and readily lent their instrumentation to the infant jazz bands.

The new styles were indistinguishable at their inception, but diversified as they became Ph

oto

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further developed. Although the birth of ragtime—and, as many would then consider, all of these related forms of music—is often pinned to the date of the first published rag (Ben Harney’s You’ve Been a Good Old Wagon in 1895), jazz itself probably did not begin to coagulate until 1910 at the earliest, particularly as many of the early jazz players were infants in 1890.29

The Wheels Are TurningInitially, the new vocal genre called “ragtime” seemed to share many common features

with the crudely stereotypical tunes of minstrel shows. Ernest Hogan, a turn-of-the-century black composer who wrote scores of minstrel songs, achieved fame when one of his rags was selected as the final round composition for the 1900 Ragtime Championship of the World in New York City. Competitors were expected to improvise upon it for two minutes. Other early publications, such as Harney’s Wagon and Scott Joplin’s 1902 The Entertainer, demonstrate the rag’s early prominence as a type of song. However, the instrumental rags, which first appeared in 1897 and focused upon the piano, soon dwarfed the vocal literature that dwindled to a trickle by Joplin’s death in 1917.

The concept and structure of rags are derived from the popular march. Improvising or “ragging” on an established melody evolved into a composed genre that was soon validated by the demand for publication.31 While the structure departs from a march in its lack of a trio, the concept of first and second strains (and in some cases, a third and fourth) remains basic. Joplin, the master of this form, demonstrated it aptly in 1899’s Maple Leaf Rag, named for a club in Sedalia, Missouri. Here, a short introduction precedes four themes, each repeated, with the third theme replacing the march’s trio.

Ragtime flourished among black and white music consumers; Maple Leaf Rag became the first piece of sheet music to sell more than one million copies. White composers, realizing the popularity of this new musical genre, quickly adopted it for themselves. Alexander’s Ragtime Band, by Irving Berlin, appeared at the apex of ragtime’s vogue in 1911, and can be considered to be the swan song of a now-waning style.32 By 1917, only infrequent sparks of interest occurred as other related forms began their own rise. The more classical nature of 14

ragtime soon gave way to the earthier, folk nature of the blues.

The Blues Is a Feeling33

During ragtime’s heyday, singer Ma Rainey claimed to have invented the term “blues” to describe a song she heard in 1902 and added to her act. The next year, bandleader, composer, and performer W. C. Handy professed to have heard the blues while waiting in a train station. Although it is impossible to pinpoint an inventor or premiere performance, scholars and performers do agree that the most important aspect of the blues lies in its feeling—“the same feeling of rootlessness and misery” as found in its older cousin, the spiritual.34 Its emotions cross boundaries of gender and race—although men published more compositions, women often provided the stage performances, and white audiences purchased large quantities of blues music and recordings.

With the need to express poignant lyrics, the blues found its primary instrument in the voice; however, banjos and later guitars afforded convenient and plaintive accompaniment. “He would sing a line, and the guitar would answer it.”35 Blues melodies may have arisen in the attempt to imitate West African musical ideas, but draw their harmonization from European traditions.36

W. C. Handy stated, “Each one of my blues is based on some old Negro song of the South...Some old song that is a part of the memories of my childhood.”37

Double entendre, a prominent feature of the spirituals, found a new purpose in the blues. While previously a cover for slaves’ innermost thoughts and fears, this lyric method now allowed songwriters to approach more risqué topics. In From Four to Late, guitarist Robert

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Johnson sang, “A woman is just like a dresser, some man always ramblin’ through its drawers.” Performers eventually codified a system of lyric writing, an expository first line which repeats, followed by a line in response (AAB form).

A passing of the torch may be perceived in the rise of the blues, with the “swan song” of Alexander’s Ragtime Band giving way to the 1912 publication of Handy’s Memphis Blues.38 The blues spread like wildfire throughout the South and through large urban areas of the North, particularly during the Depression and World War II, as populations shifted from rural areas in search of better work. It provided a new means for social commentary about the continued racism and poverty experienced by American blacks. The infamous lifestyles of many blues performers carried a natural mystique that attracted consumers, from the wild and extravagant lifestyle of Bessie Smith to supposed relinquishment of Johnson’s soul to the devil.

Many consumers remained unaware of the unfair practices associated with the sale of “race records,” as early blues albums were often called. Rather than provide royalties to these musicians, record companies typically made a one-time payment for each recording and pocketed the proceeds. The musicians often knew little of business practice and rarely complained. Even by 1942, an artist such as Willie B. considered himself lucky to have earned ten dollars per song, for a total of sixty dollars, for one of his recent releases.39

Today, the blues remains a vibrant art form, thriving in Chicago, Kansas City, and other cities with traditionally large black populations, and holding special appeal among suburban white enthusiasts.

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Jass Becomes Jazz40

James Reese Europe and his music demonstrate the parallel development of ragtime, blues, and jazz, as he helped popularize many of these styles.41 Born to musician parents, Europe had composed, played piano professionally, and worked as an arranger for several years. In 1910, he founded the organization that established his fame, The Clef Club, combining the activities of an orchestra with those of a union and fraternal order.42

In 1914, Victor Records signed Europe to a recording contract, a first for an African-American bandleader. Europe’s

service in World War I as leader of the 369th Infantry Band cheered troops and spread new American musical styles throughout France and other European nations. Europe returned from the war to cheering crowds on a national tour with the 369th, bringing such diverse selections as St. Louis Blues, a syncopated version of the Peer Gynt suite, and Europe’s own compositions. The Moaning Trombone, one of the band’s post-war recordings, stands out for the solo breaks characteristic of jazz today. 43

More indelibly associated with early jazz, of course, is trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Spending much of his early career moving between New Orleans, his birthplace and musical home, and Chicago, Armstrong often created unique renditions of familiar tunes, utilizing his tremendous virtuosity. Yet his trumpet skills were equally matched by his scat singing technique, first heard in 1926 on Heebie Jeebies, an unexpected success that set a new trend in vocal jazz. Although he always performed with talented and creative performers, Armstrong’s bands were no match for the two that set the standard for the swing generation—those of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Dance bands across the nation emulated the tight ensemble playing exemplified by these leaders, and arrangers strove to utilize brass, saxophones, and rhythm sections in ways that would not only showcase their own performers, but which might even get their compositions noticed by the greats.

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The larger ensembles of the swing era began to give way in the 1940s to a stronger emphasis upon improvisation within a smaller group. Called “bebop” after one of Dizzy Gillespie’s scat terms, a firm rhythmic foundation set the stage for melodic transformation honed in Harlem jazz clubs by performers such as trumpeter Gillespie and saxophonist Charlie Parker. Even these innovations, however, were not enough for some musicians, who felt hampered by the constraints of standard chord progressions and well-known melodies. Miles Davis and John Coltrane, among others, championed freer forms and even more extended solos within the small jazz ensemble.

The Sacred Counterpart of the BluesAs the blues established a new relationship between musicians and their world, another

connection developed from musicians and their faith. Newer sacred music, utilizing the same verse-chorus structure as earlier hymns and now the blues, began to take hold in religious communities. This music also borrowed the instruments of the blues—guitars, drums, and amplification. Older instruments such as the organ were put to new use and greater expression. Gospel music filled the musical void left by the departure of the spiritual.

Gospel differed from spirituals in a variety of ways. Although lining-out within the chorus remained an integral part of the singing, improvisation played an ever-greater role for the lead vocal.44 Stepwise melodies focused upon one tonal center. The addition of instruments allowed for a repetitive underlying groove, meant to enhance the emotional power of the music. Lyrics derived their own power from the texts of the New—rather than Old—Testament, emphasizing the “good news” of Jesus as written in the Gospels, hence the genre’s name.

Not all churchgoers saw Jesus’ hand in this music. Controversy appeared in gospel’s early history, as the introduction of secular instruments convinced many that the devil was an unseen performer. However, this initial controversy dissolved as congregations found the new melodies to be an enlightening way to remember God’s word.

The anonymity of spirituals dissolved in another major distinction of gospel music, the ability to attach a composer’s name to a song. No name wins greater acclaim in the develop-

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ment of gospel music than its father, Thomas A. Dorsey. Dorsey had begun his career as a blues performer and became Ma Rainey’s pianist. Gospel gave him the opportunity to develop his compositions while spreading his strong faith. His work, assisted by radio broadcasts, the National Gospel Music Association’s publications, and touring artists such as the Golden Gate Quartet and Mahalia Jackson, attracted enormous audiences in a variety of settings, and demonstrated the amazing commercial viability of gospel.

Eventually, large groups overtook smaller ensembles in popularity, with the Mississippi Mass Choir and the gospel choirs of historically black colleges and universities receiving nationwide attention. In the late 1990s, solo artist Kirk Franklin further expanded gospel by introducing rap into his musical settings, an innovation that instigated a controversy not seen since the birth of gospel.

To Rock and BeyondAs blues moved into the cities, many of its performers, including Muddy Waters and B.B.

King, introduced electric instruments. Record executives capitalized upon this new sound and actively sought musicians who could explore this new idiom. In 1955, a young Georgia pianoman named Richard Penniman cut his first record, a tune from his club act with crashing piano chords and nonsensical lyrics: Tutti Frutti.45 “Little Richard’s” first single sold 200,000 copies in a week and a half. That same year, Chuck Berry, a middle-class young man from St. Louis, had a chance meeting with Muddy Waters in a Chicago blues club. Feeling as if he

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had met “the president or the pope,” Berry followed Waters’ advice and took a demo tape to Leonard Chess of Chess Records. Chess signed him to record a slightly revamped country tune called Maybelline, which carried a boogie-woogie bass line and quickly achieved national airplay. From these overnight beginnings, rock and roll was born.46

Alan Freed, a Cleveland-area disc jockey, had become one of the primary promoters of the new music, exposing thousands of teens, black and white, to different sounds since the early 1950s. However, the parents of these teens did not accept rock so quickly. White adults feared the possible influence of black rock musicians on white youths, and particularly feared the effect of the frequent use of sexual innuendo. Nonetheless, as more and more radio stations adopted Freed’s programming innovations, rock and roll continued to spread with an impossible urgency.

While Little Richard and Chuck Berry could, in equal parts, share the title of “Father of Rock and Roll,” no one could share the title “Godfather of Soul” with the inimitable James Brown. Beginning his career in the same dramatic vein as Little Richard, Brown managed to distill his musical style into one based primarily on rhythm, and less on traditional structures.47 In addition, his persona on- and offstage projected sheer confidence in himself as an African-American, and he became a role model to the community as he purchased radio stations, mentored in the ghettos, and performed for troops during the Vietnam War.

Women performers carried on the traditions of Ma Rainey, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday as they achieved greater heights of musical freedom than ever before. Girl groups initially came to the forefront, heavily promoted by executives and slick studio packaging. Berry Gordy, the guiding figure behind Detroit’s Motown transformation, helped to cement his reputation with acts like the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, and the Supremes.48 Some women, such as Aretha Franklin, created their own enduring legends through bold solo performances. Franklin had been “discovered” by Columbia Records but found her greatest success in the late 1960s with Atlantic Records, combining her gospel-flavored sound with rhythm and blues to become the “Queen of Soul.”49 20

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More frequently than males, female rock performers taken under the wing of the major studios often faced greater challenges performing their own, original music. The Marvelettes reached the top of the music charts with their Please Mr. Postman, but always believed that executives who were intimidated by their abilities hampered their future success.50 Yet their efforts paved the way for talented modern singers—Lauren Hill, Mary J. Blige, and Missy Elliott among them—who gained fame largely through their distinct voices as songwriters.

In the four centuries since Africans were first brought to America as slaves, an unhampered freedom of expression through music created a new voice for the new nation. In the century and a half since slavery was abolished, the musical contributions of a culture united initially by oppression have conquered the hearts and minds of the entire free world. The ingenuity, persistence, and creative spirit of present-day African-American musicians continue this legacy in the development of popular music of all styles.

107th Colored Infantry Band

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Endnotes i V. Michael McKay, “In My Dream.” 1 Eric Richards, email to author, 23 January 2003. 2 Robert Jefferson, email to author, 23 January 2003. 3 Jefferson, 23 January 2003. 4 Laurence Bergreen, Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life (Broadway Books: New York, 1997), 334. 5 Andrew Layton provided clarification and insight into the structure of “Scrapple from the Apple.” 6 Jack Chambers, Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis (Da Capo Press: Toronto, 1998), 108. 7 Darryl Brenzel, email to author, 10 February 2003. 8 Nick Spitzer’s program notes for this recording have proven invaluable to this annotation. (Folkways Records #40117, 1999) 9 Spitzer. 10 Eileen Southern, The Music of Black Americans: A History (W.W. Norton: New York, 1997), 21-25. 11 Frederick Douglass, My Bondage, as quoted in Southern, 161. 12 Southern, 172. 13 Solomon Northrup, Twelve Years a Slave, as quoted in Southern, 160. 14 Southern, 25-26. 15 Southern, 64. 16 Southern, 39. 17 Rev. Hugh Jones, The Present State of Virginia from Whence Is Inferred a Short View of Maryland and North Carolina (1724), as quoted in Southern, 39. 18 www.spiritualsproject.org, “The Origins of the Spirituals.” 19 Kip Lornell, Introducing American Folk Music: Ethnic and Grassroot Traditions in the United States, was helpful in providing concise descriptions of spiritual texts and structure. 20 Douglass, My Bondage, as quoted in Southern, 143. 21 William Francis Allen, Charles Pickard Ware, and Lucy McKim Garrison, Slave Songs of the United States (A. Simpson & Co.: New York, 1867). This book has been made available online through a joint effort of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Library of Congress at http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/allen/allen.html. 22 Allen, Ware, and Garrison, iv. 23 Southern, 86-88. 24 Southern, 131.

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25 www.spiritualsproject.org, “The Spirituals After Slavery.” 26 Lewis Porter, Jazz from Its Origins to the Present (Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1993), 7. 27 Porter, 20. 28 Porter, 7. 29 Porter, 20. 30 Southern, 317-19. 31 Porter, 12. 32 Southern, 330. 33 Dr. Ted McDaniel, as frequently asserted in his music courses at The Ohio State University. 34 Southern, 333. 35 Jon Pareles and Patricia Romanowski, eds., The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll (Rolling Stone Press: New York, 1983), 53. 36 Paul Tanner and Maurice Gerow, A Study of Jazz (William C. Brown: Dubuque, 1984), 37. 37 W.C. Handy, as quoted by Thomas C. Morgan, “W.C. Handy,” www.jazz.com. 38 Although “Memphis Blues” is usually acknowledged as the most important of the first several blues publications, Artie Matthew’s “Baby Seal Blues” made it into print over a month earlier, and blues scholar Francis Davis considers Nat D. Ayer’s 1911 “Oh, You Beautiful Doll” to have been the first true blues song in print. However, most historians concur that the first blues recording was “Crazy Blues,” sung by Mamie Smith in 1920. 39 Alan Lomax, The Land Where the Blues Began (Methuen: London, 1993), 8. 40 Many historians, including Southern, point to the nebulous origin of the word “jazz” and its frequent early spelling as “jass.” As the genre solidified, so did its name. 41 Discussion of Europe’s contributions may be found in Southern as well as Gunther Schuller’s definitive The Swing Era (Oxford: London, 1988), but lengthier tributes appear online, by Tim Gracyk (www.worldwar1.com/sfjre.htm) and Thomas L. Morgan (www.jass.com/Others/europe.html). 42 Morgan. 43 Gracyk. 44 Lornell, 130. 45 David P. Szatmary, Rockin’ in Time: A Social History of Rock-and-Roll (Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2000), 16-17. 46 Szatmary, 18. 47 www.history-of-rock.com, “James Brown.” 48 Szatmary, 128-31; www.history-of-rock.com, “Martha and the Vandellas.” 49 Szatmary, 167-69. 50 www.history-of-rock.com, “The Marvelettes.” 23

In My Dream Overture ......................................................................................................... arr. MSG Eric Richards* 1. Chant (1:19) .............................................................................................................MSG Eric Richards* 2. Oh, Freedom (0:54) ..................................................................................Traditional (public domain) 3. Maple Leaf Rag (1:01) ............................................................................ Scott Joplin (public domain)

Sergeant First Class Timothy Young, piano 4. St. Louis Blues (2:08) .............................................................................. W.C. Handy (public domain) 5. You Send Me (1:45) .....................................................................................Sam Cooke (ABKCO Music)

Sergeant First Class Victor Cenales, vocals 6. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (1:06) ...............................Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson (EMI)

Sergeant First Class Marva Lewis, vocals 7. I Wish (1:09) ....................................................................... Stevie Wonder (Black Bull, Jobete Music)

Sergeant First Class Timothy Wells, vocals 8. I Believe I Can Fly (1:53) ...........................................R. Kelly (R. Kelly Publications, Zomba Music)

Sergeants First Class Marva Lewis and Timothy Wells, vocals

9. Soon I Will Be Done With the Trouble of the World (4:54) ................ Traditional, arr. SFC Robert Jefferson*(Oxford University Press)

Staff Sergeant Judith Norton, soloist

10. I Am On the Battlefield for My Lord / I’m a Soldier (4:21) .............................................................Traditional arr. SFC Robert Jefferson* (public domain)

Sergeants First Class Victor Cenales and Timothy Wells, vocals

11. When It’s Sleepy Time Down South (4:52) ........................Louis Armstrong, arr. MSG Eric Richards* (EMI)Sergeant First Class Michael Johnston, trumpet

12. What a Little Moonlight Can Do (3:12) ............ Harry Woods, arr. MSG Vince Norman* (Warner Brothers)Sergeant First Class Kevin Watt, trumpet

24

In My Dream

13. This Bitter Earth (3:46) ................................................... Clyde Otis, arr. SGM Eugene Thorne* (Clyde Otis)Sergeant First Class Marva Lewis, vocals

14. Scrapple from the Apple (2:11) ........................ Charlie Parker, arr. MSG Vince Norman* (Criterion Music)Staff Sergeant Andrew Layton, alto saxophone Sergeant First Class Michael Johnston, trumpet

15. Nefertiti (6:21) .......................................................Wayne Shorter, arr. MSG Darryl Brenzel* (Hal Leonard)Staff Sergeant Jeff Adams, trombone, and Master Sergeant Vince Norman, saxophone

Classic Rhythm and Blues Tribute ............................................................................. arr. SGM Parris Spivey* 16. Dancing in the Street (0:47) .............Marvin Gaye, Ivy George Hunder, William Stevenson (Hal Leonard) 17. Hold On, I’m Comin’ (0:43) ................................................. Isaac Hayes, Dave Porter (Hal Leonard) 18. Respect (0:55) ........................................................................................... Otis Redding (Hal Leonard) 19. The Way You Do the Things You Do (0:55) .......William Robinson, Jr., Robert Rogers (Hal Leonard) 20. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag (0:45) ........................................................James Brown (Hal Leonard) 21. It’s Your Thing (1:13) ................................Kelly Isley, Jr., Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley (Hal Leonard) 22. When a Man Loves a Woman (2:02) ..........Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright (Warner Brothers, Quinvy Music) 23. Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing (1:35) ............. Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson (Hal Leonard) 24. What’s Goin’ On (2:32) ............... Renaldo Obie Benson, Alfred Cleveland, Marvin Gaye (Hal Leonard)

25. It’s Time to Make a Change (2:50) ............................. Traditional, trans. SFC Jay Norris* (public domain)Trombone sections of the Concert Band and the Jazz Ambassadors

26. In My Dream (6:29) .................................................................................... V. Michael McKay (Schaff Music)Sergeant First Class Timothy Wells, vocals, and Sergeant First Class Robert Jefferson, piano

27. .................................................................................................................................................. Hold On (4:36)arr. SFC Timothy Wells* (Sounds of Blackness)

Sergeants First Class Victor Cenales, Marva Lewis, and Timothy Wells, vocals

* Staff Arranger, The U.S. Army Field Band 25

From Boston to Bombay, Tokyo to Toronto, The United States Army Field Band has been

thrilling audiences of all ages for more than half a century. As the premier touring

musical representative for the United States Army, this internationally-acclaimed

organization travels thousands of miles each year presenting a variety of music to enthusiastic

audiences throughout the nation and abroad. Through these concerts, the Field Band keeps the

will of the American people behind the members of the armed forces and supports diplomatic

efforts around the world.

Since its formation in March 1946, the Field Band has appeared in all 50 states and in

more than 30 countries on four continents. The organization’s four performing components,

the Concert Band, the Soldiers’ Chorus, the Jazz Ambassadors, and the Volunteers, each travel

over 100 days annually. Tours include formal public concerts, school assemblies, educational

The Musical Ambassadors of the ArmyWashington, DC

The United StatesArmy Field Band

26

outreach programs, festivals, and radio and television appearances.

Performance highlights include concerts and ceremonies in the United States and

Europe commemorating the 50th anniversary of World War II, for the 750th anniversary of

the founding of Berlin, at the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, for Presidential Inaugural

Parades, and at international jazz festivals in Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Joint

concerts with many of the nation’s leading orchestras, including the Boston Pops, National

Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, have received rave reviews.

The United States Army Field Band is considered by music critics to be one of the most versatile

and inspiring musical organizations in the world. Its members, selected by highly-competitive

audition, represent some of the finest musical talent in

America. More than five decades as the military’s most

traveled musicians have earned them the title—

T h e M u s i c a l A m b a s s a d o r s

of the Army.

27

AcknowledgementsMany thanks to the following individuals for their advice and assistance: SGM Parris

Spivey, MSG Beth Hough, MSG Janet Hjelmgren, MSG Darryl Brenzel, MSG Eric Richards, SFC Victor Cenales, SFC Marva Lewis, SFC Timothy Wells, SFC Timothy Young, SSG Andrew Layton, and Tadd Russo.

CreditsExecutive Producer: LTC John ClantonProducers: SGM Jesse Powers and SFC Robert JeffersonRecording Engineers: SGM Tony Sturba, MSG Jeff Corbett, MSG Chris Dodrill, SSG John LamirandeMix Engineers: SGM Jeff Corbett, MSG Chris Dodrill, SFC Kevin Watt, SSG Howard SmithMastering Engineer: Mr. Bill Wolf, Wolf Productions, Inc.Liner Notes: SSG Erica RussoEditing and Proofreading: MSG Tedd Griepentrog, SFC Sarah Anderson, SFC Laura Dause, SSG Mark RegensburgerCover Art: “The Orchestra” by Paul NzalambaPhotography: Booklet Photos provided courtesy of the Library of Congress, SFC Sarah AndersonGraphic Design: MSG Cathy Miller

InquiriesFor more information about

The United States Army Field Band, see our website:

www.army.mil/fieldband

28

The mission of The United States Army Field Band is to “carry into the grassroots of our country the story of our magnificent Army.”

It is an easy story to tell because every day our soldiers give us new reasons to be proud. The men and women of this organization take great pride reflecting and honoring the excellence of our nation’s soldiers and veterans.

In My Dream Overture 1. Chant (1:19) 2. Oh, Freedom (0:54) 3. Maple Leaf Rag (1:01) 4. St. Louis Blues (2:08) 5. You Send Me (1:45) 6. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (1:06) 7. I Wish (1:09) 8. I Believe I Can Fly (1:53)

9. Soon I Will Be Done With the Trouble of the World (4:54)

10. I Am On the Battlefield for My Lord / I’m a Soldier (4:21)

11. When It’s Sleepy Time Down South (4:52)

12. What a Little Moonlight Can Do (3:12)

13. This Bitter Earth (3:46)

14. Scrapple from the Apple (2:11)

15. Nefertiti (6:21)

Classic Rhythm and Blues Tribute16. Dancing in the Street (O:47)17. Hold On, I’m Comin’ (0:43)18. Respect(0:55)19. The Way You Do the Things You Do (0:55)20. Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag (0:45)21. It’s Your Thing (1:13)22. When a Man Loves a Woman (2:02)23. Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing (1:35)24. What’s Goin’ On (2:32)

25. It’s Time to Make a Change (2:50)

26. In My Dream (6:29)

27. Hold On (4:36)

The Musical Ambassadors of the ArmyWashington, DC

The United StatesArmy Field Band

Colonel Finley R. Hamilton, Commander