Here's your first lesson on jazz history.
Why is jazz important? Aside from the fact that jazz was the first art form created here in the United States, Jazz was hugely influential on today's popular music. The Smithsonian Institute has declared April Jazz Appreciation Month! Read and listen to learn more. (Please bear in mind that the years listed represent the time when those styles began and/ or were most popular. All jazz styles continue to be played even today.)
Early Jazz (a.k.a. Dixieland)- 1900's-1920's (approx.) Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five playing "West End Blues"
Jazz began in New Orleans, Louisiana around the turn of the century. Like the famous New Orleans delicacy gumbo blends a variety of foods, jazz combined African-American spirituals and field calls with American Brass Band music and European classical music to create a new musical genre. Jazz is often characterized by improvisation or spontaneous music composition when the performer makes up new music in the moment (usually within a given "solo" part of the song). Jazz improvisation requires a certain level of understanding of melody, harmony and one's own instrument. This example of "West End Blues" includes great improvisation by Louis himself on trumpet and vocals (called scat) as well as "trading" with the clarinetist in a call-and-response or antiphonal form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WPCBieSESI
Swing (a.k.a. Big Band)- 1920's-1940's (approx.) Count Basie Orchestra playing "Pennies from Heaven"
The Swing Era is often referred to as the Big Band era because the ensembles performing this music were typically larger than ensembles from Early Jazz. (Louis & his Hot Five had six members. Big Bands often include 5 saxes, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, guitar, piano, bass, drums and vocalists.) The Count Basie Orchestra is one of the two most widely recognized Big Bands of all time (with Duke Ellington's Orchestra being the other). This arrangement of the jazz standard "Pennies from Heaven" showcases the Band's ability to play in section solis, behind a vocalist and includes a wonderfully characteristic piano intro by Count Basie himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j_c3gW2Wdo
Bebop- mid-1940's- 1950's (approx.) Charlie Parker Quintet playing "Now's the Time"
Bebop came to be after the second world war. The ensembles returned to smaller sizes (as they were easier to fit in small nightclubs and cheaper to hire). The music became more frantic with angular, jagged melodies and complex chord changes for interesting improvised solos that were more about creative expression than something people could use for dancing. This recording is by Charlie Parker, a.k.a. Bird and his Quintet. Bird was the most famous Bebop alto sax player of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryNtmkfeJk4
After reading the paragraphs above and listening to the linked recordings please reply to this email and answer the following questions:
With your parent/ guardian's permission, search on youtube for more music from the era or performer you preferred (see question 4).