Jazz Music History Essay Question 1, word count 350: Describe the evolution of jazz music from 1940-1970. What changes occurred? Which artists made signi

Jazz Music History Essay Question 1, word count 350:

Describe the evolution of jazz music from 1940-1970.

What changes occurred?
Which artists made significant innovations, and what were their contributions?
What new styles emerged, and what were the characteristics of this style?

Support your argument by referencing both specific artists, recordings, and dates. Discuss musical changes that occurred, as well as non-musical factors that were an influence (economics, politics, race, etc.).

Question 2, word count 200:

Of the musicians discussed in class (or in readings, see attached file), choose three artists who created music which was at least in part motivated by the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle for equality/freedom. Describe how each artists’ work was influenced by surrounding events/influences. If there were specific events that inspired the work, describe those events.

Question 3, word count 200:

List and describe at least three musical traditions or elements that pre-dated “jazz,” but were significant factors in its origins. Are those elements present in the music we have listened to since 1940? Discuss or cite at least one artist or recording for each tradition/element you discuss.

Question 4, word count 200:

For the final part of the exam, choose just ONE of the following prompts to answer:

Describe the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. How was it revolutionary? How was it subversive?
Describe the music of Ornette Coleman. How was it revolutionary? How was it subversive?
Describe the music of John Coltrane. What made him different compared to some of the other musicians we listened to in class. MUJ 351
BEBOP
Charlie Parker
KEN BURNS JAZZ SERIES
• Episode Six – “Risk”
ICLICKER
When did bands such as those led by Benny
Goodman and Tommy Dorsey stop touring?
A. By 1940
B. By 1946
C. By 1949
D. By 1952
ICLICKER
When did bands such as those led by Benny
Goodman and Tommy Dorsey stop touring?
A. By 1940
B. By 1946
C. By 1949
D. By 1952
ICLICKER
True or false: bebop musicians would use old
popular songs/chord progressions, but rephrase
them with their new vocabulary.
A. True
B. False
ICLICKER
True or false: bebop musicians would use old
popular songs/chord progressions, but rephrase
them with their new vocabulary.
A. True – this type of song was called a
“contrafact”
B. False
ICLICKER
Which of the following is a not characteristic of
bebop?
A. It was fast
B. It utilized surprising, angular intervals/leaps
C. It was meant for dance
D. Its main performance style was that of the
informal jam session
ICLICKER
Which of the following is a not characteristic of
bebop?
A. It was fast
B. It utilized surprising, angular intervals/leaps
C. It was meant for dance
D. Its main performance style was that of the
informal jam session
THE WAR YEARS
• The ideals that America fought for abroad were not often
honored on the homefront
• Black citizens who had migrated north often found:
• better economic opportunities
• housing shortages and poor living conditions
• unequal access to goods and services
•Black Americans who served in the US Armed Forces
overseas returned home to a nation that was still
segregated and full of discrimination
THE WAR YEARS
• Race riots broke out across
American northern cities in
1943
• Includes the Zoot Suit Riots,
referencing the style of suit
that Black Americans and
jazz musicians had made
popular
•A 1943 riot in Harlem was
triggered by police brutality
targeting an African-American
veteran
THE WAR YEARS
• The ideals that America fought for abroad were not often
honored on the homefront
• Black citizens who had migrated north often found:
• better economic opportunities
• housing shortages and poor living conditions
• unequal access to goods and services
•Black Americans who served in the US Armed Forces
overseas returned home to a nation that was still
segregated and unchanged
HOW IT STARTED
• In the early 1940’s, New York City musicians began
participating in jam sessions on 52nd street, simply
known as “The Street”
• Most well known of these clubs was “Minton’s
Playhouse,” where house pianist Thelonious Monk led
many of these jam sessions
EVOLUTION INTO BEBOP
• Some of Bebop’s style evolved naturally from swing:
• RHYTHM SECTION INSTRUMENTATION remained the same
(drums, bass, piano/guitar)
• PIANO STYLE: Following in the footsteps of Count Basie, bebop
pianists largely stopped playing “stride” or “boogie woogie” with their left
hand. This freed pianists of the responsibility of a “time-keeper” and
allowed them to play more syncopated rhythms and interact with the soloist
• BASS STYLE: Following in the footsteps of Walter Page (Count Basie’s
band) and Jimmy Blanton (Duke Ellington’s band), walking bass lines which
were more linear and adventurous became more common than in the swing
era
• DRUMS STYLE: Following in the footsteps of Jo Jones (Count Basie’s
band), bebop drummers kept time on the ride cymbal and played lighter on
the bass drum – this allowed them to be more interactive on their snare
drum and bass drum by using accents called “KICKS,” “HITS,” or
“BOMBS”
EVOLUTION INTO BEBOP
• RHYTHMIC VOCABULARY: Bebop vocabulary continued to highlight
syncopation and polyrhythms from earlier styles, but at more extreme tempos
and with higher degrees of complexity.
• MELODIC VOCABULARY: Bebop featured longer, faster lines that
required more virtuosity of the performer, and featured more ornamentation/
embellishment of chords. Improvised solos gradually focused more and more on
this vocabulary rather than on creating variations of the melody.
• HARMONIC VOCABULARY: Bebop composers featured some of the
harmonic colors (featuring upper extensions and french impressionistic
harmony) as earlier jazz musicians such as Bix Beiderbecke and Art Tatum.
• FORM: Bebop musicians drew from some of the same sources (including Tin
Pan Alley and Broadway) for their repertoire.
• COLLECTIVE IMPROVISATION: No longer used with the trumpet,
trombone and clarinet in the New Orleans style, collective improvisation still
exists in the spontaneous interaction between rhythm section and soloist.
THE BEBOP REVOLUTION
• While Bebop represented the natural progression of jazz,
it also made a departure from some swing
• The music was for listening, not for dancing
• Smaller groups, simpler arrangements
• More emphasis on improvisation
THE BEBOP REVOLUTION
• The culture surrounding bebop included a more defiant
reaction to American racism
• Younger black musicians felt that Louis Armstrong and
other older players conformed to racial stereotypes in their
efforts to entertain white audiences
• Political and artistic activism in black music can be traced
to this time period by exploring songs such as “Strange
Fruit,” as well as the music of the bebop generation
THE BEBOP REVOLUTION
• Of Charlie Parker’s music, music professor William Austin
said:
• “Passages of flowing motion with frequent changes of direction
and no obvious sequences; in contrast, abrupt beginnings and
endings, with a feeling of impatience, self-consciousness, wry
humor; brief emphasis on an occasional burst of dissonant,
chromatic harmony, and no pausing to enjoy its resolution…
Parker’s music required for discriminating appreciation as
thorough a specialized preparation as any ‘classical’ style…
Parker stood for jazz as a fine art, knowing that this meant
exclusiveness.”
THE BEBOP REVOLUTION
• Cornel West wrote that bebop was a:
• “creative musical response to the major shifts in sensibilites and
moods in Afro-America after World War II… It expressed the
heightened tensions, frustrated aspirations, and repressed
emotions of an aggressive yet apprehensive Afro-America.”
• Bebop’s complexity and “incomprehensibility” to the
masses makes it a political weapon of sorts
• While displaying elaborate structure and clarity, it also serves as
a mental challenge to the listener. Appreciation or performance
of bebop requires intellectual consideration, creative prowess,
reason, imagination
• Played primarily by black musicians, it was a challenge to white
supremacy, a continuation of “renaissancism,” and a call for the
civil rights movement of the 1950’s-60’s
THE BEBOP REVOLUTION
• The performers and audience members were considered
“hipsters,” and fans took a liking to the slang used by the
musicians
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bad (referring to something as good)
Bag (as in “that ain’t my bag”)
Beat (meaning “exhausted” or “tired”)
Cat (referring to another musician or person)
Cool and Hip
Crib (referring to someone’s home)
Gig (referring to a job)
Square (referring to someone who was not “in the know”)
THE BEBOP REVOLUTION
• Older musicians generally dismissed bebop
• Cab Calloway called the playing of his trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie
“Chinese music”
• Louis Armstrong dismissed it as novelty music, played by overly
competitive musicians
• “All they want to do is show you up, and any old way will do as long
as it’s different from the way you played it before. So you get all
them weird chords which don’t mean nothing, and first people get
curious about it just because it’s new, but soon they get tired of it
because it’s really no good and you got no melody to remember and
no beat to dance to.”
IMPORTANT BEBOP MUSICIANS
• Charlie Parker – alto sax
• Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet
• Bud Powell – piano
• Thelonious Monk – piano
• Kenny Clarke – drums
• Max Roach – drums
• Mary Lou Williams – piano
REPRESENTATIVE SONGS
• Shaw ‘Nuff (Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker)
• Dizzy Atmosphere (Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker)
• Klactoveesedsteene (Charlie Parker)
• A Night in Tunisia (composed by Dizzy Gillespie,
recorded here by Charlie Parker and Miles Davis)
• Four in One (Thelonious Monk)
• Tempus Fugit (Bud Powell)
CHARLIE PARKER (1920-1955)
• Born on August 29th, 1920, in Kansas City, KS
• From 1935 – 37, alto saxophonist Charlie Parker
performed with jazz and blues bands around Kansas City
before joining Jay McShann’s band in 1938
• During this time period, Parker’s drug use began – he was
addicted to heroin by the age of 16
• Parker moved to NYC in 1939, and found a job washing
dishes
• He began jamming with a guitarist named Biddy Fleet,
and discovered that he could use upper extensions of
chords and found new ways of resolving to those notes
CHARLIE PARKER
• Parker continued performing with Jay McShann’s band,
along with groups led by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine
throughout the early 40’s
• He earned the famous nickname, “Bird,” during this time
• He began playing with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious
Monk at jam sessions, and they, along with a number of
other young musicians, developed the new “Bebop” style
• In 1945, Parker began leading his own groups while also
performing with Dizzy Gillespie regularly
CHARLIE PARKER
• In late 1945, Gillespie and Parker went on a tour of
California
• While the trip was generally a success, Parker went into heroin
withdrawal while traveling, and missed his flight back to NYC
• While Gillespie returned, Parker stayed in California until 1947
• While in California, Parker’s drug abuse continued – a low
point included the recording of “Lover Man,” where the
producer had to physically hold Parker up to record the
song
CHARLIE PARKER
• Parker was hospitalized at Camarillo State Hospital,
before returning to NYC in January 1947 in good physical
health
• Still clean in 1948, Parker married Doris Snyder
• The marriage fell apart quickly – and Parker began using heorin
again after the divorce
• Parker was arrested in 1951 for heroin possession, and his
cabaret card (ID which allowed him to perform in New
York clubs) was revoked
• When he got his card back a year later, club owners still would
not hire him due to his poor reputation as an unreliable drug
addict
CHARLIE PARKER
• In a state of depression after the death of his two-year old
daughter, Parker twice attempted suicide in 1954 by
drinking iodine
• Parker died in a NYC apartment on March 12, 1955,
suffering from various health complications resulting
from his long substance abuse
• Though Parker was only 34 years old when he died, the coroner
who performed Parker’s autopsy actually estimated his body to
be between 50 and 60 years old
CHARLIE PARKER
• Parker’s primary style of composition focused on
contrafacts, where he superimposed his own melody on a
chord progression from an already existing song
• Ornithology (based on “How High the Moon”) (1946)
• Moose the Mooche (written for Bird’s drug dealer in California,
based on “I’ve Got Rhythm”) (1946)
• Ko-Ko (based on “Cherokee”) (1945)
• In addition to a variety of compositions based on the 12bar blues (Billie’s Bounce, Now’s the Time, Au Privave,
Relaxin’ at Camarillo), Parker also created a unique
reharmonization of the form, known as the “Bird Blues”
• Blues for Alice (1951)
CHARLIE PARKER
• Musical Characteristics
• Aggressive, commanding tone
• Powerful and high-energy
• Use of fast and flowing melodic lines combined with angular and
highly syncopated rhythms
• Advanced harmonic approach emphasizing the use of upper
extensions
• Emphasis on the blues
• Miles Davis: “You can summarize jazz history in four
words: ‘Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker.’”
• The vocabulary Parker used in his improvisations set the
tone for the rest of the 20th century – musicians continue
to study and learn his music today
CHARLIE PARKER
“Just Friends” (1950)
• An original composition by Charlie Parker, “Shaw Nuff” is a
contrafact based on the chord changes from Gershwin’s hit show
tune, “I’ve Got Rhythm.”
• Charlie Parker, alto saxophone
• Mitch Miller, oboe
• Bronislaw Gimpel, Max Hollander, Milton Lomask, violins
• Frank Brieff, viola
• Frank Miller, cello
• Myor Rosen, harp
• Stan Freeman, piano
• Ray Brown, bass
• Buddy Rich, drums
• Jimmy Carroll, arranger & conductor
CHARLIE PARKER
“Shaw Nuff” (1945)
• An original composition by Charlie Parker, “Shaw Nuff” is a
contrafact based on the chord changes from Gershwin’s hit show
tune, “I’ve Got Rhythm.”
• Charlie Parker, alto saxophone
• Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet
• Al Haig, piano
• Curly Russell, bass
• Sid Catlett, drums
CHARLIE PARKER
“Shaw Nuff” (1945)
0:00
Introduction featuring repetitive, dissonant bass line which
alternates between F# and C – a tritone away
INTRODUCTION
0:07 Introduction continues with a change in groove, and short phrases
from Dizzy/Bird in call-and-response fashion with the rhythm section – the
intro ends with the horns quoting the same tritone interval as the bass line
earlier and a solo break for piano before starting into the head
0:20 The head begins with a rapid 8th note line played by the horns –
notice that while the first four measures of each A section starts with that
same theme, the last four bars of the first A section is different than in the
second A section – creating the feeling of question and answer
0:34 The bridge features the repetition of a motive, and includes
shorter melodic statements with more space, creating a contrast in
texture compared to the hyper-energetic A sections
FIRST A
SECOND A
B (BRIDGE)
CHARLIE PARKER
“Shaw Nuff” (1945)
0:40
The last A section begins the same way as the previous two had,
but again the last four bars provide some variation, and melody ends
conclusively before solos begin
0:47 Parker begins his solo with fire, playing a short but commanding
phrase before unleashing longer lines filled with varied and
syncopated accents, giving the solo drive and rhythmic punch
1:00 Parker’s solo on the bridge has noticeable structure – a motive:
moving up, then down, and then the same pattern repeating lower, and
then lower again, then higher – the harmonic implications of the line are
dissonant, creating tension, and the repetition of the idea creates forward
motion
1:07 Parker wraps up his solo after just one chorus
1:14 Gillespie starts his solo as if he’s interrupting Parker in a heated
argument, screaming suddenly into his upper register – after a pause he
descends with a rapid fire, heavily accented group of phrases similar to
Parker
LAST A
FIRST A
SECOND A
B
LAST A
FIRST A
SECOND A
CHARLIE PARKER
“Shaw Nuff” (1945)
1:27
Also similar to Parker, Gillespie changes directions on the
bridge, reaching back up into his upper register, but this time with
repeated notes and a new rhythmic theme
1:34
Gillespie continues his phrase from the end of the bridge into the
last A section (as opposed to pausing before the next section), a way of
creating tension and variety – he also reaches the most rhythmically dense
part of his solo, beginning the last A with a run of triplets (three notes
grouped into each beat)
B
LAST A
1:41
Gillespie’s solo ends right on the downbeat of the next chorus,
and the piano solo (Al Haig) begins
AABA
2:07
The piano solo concludes and the horns jump back in with the
head out – the same melody as at the beginning of the song
AABA
2:35
At the conclusion of the head, the rhythm section returns to the
same bass line heavy introduction that began the track, giving the whole
composition a sense of symmetry
OUTRO
DIZZY
GILLESPIE
(1917-1993)
DIZZY GILLESPIE
• “Bird might have been the spirit of the bebop movement,
but Dizzy was its ‘head and hands,’ the one who kept it all
together.” – Miles Davis
• A good-humored musician who, in contrast to Parker, was
known to joke around on stage and entertain the
audience, Dizzy Gillespie was also an intellectual who
sought to move forward artistically
• “Nowadays we try to work out different rhythms and things
that they didn’t think about when Louis Armstrong blew. In his
day all he did was play strictly from the soul – just strictly from
the heart. You got to go forward and progress. We study.”
DIZZY GILLESPIE
• Born in October, 1917, Gillespie moved to New York City in
1937 where he became a featured soloist with Teddy Hill, and
then in 1939, the famous Cab Calloway.
• Gillespie was let go from Calloway’s band after he was falsely accused
of firing a spitball at Calloway during a performance
• Gillespie later joined the bands of Earl Hines and Billy
Eckstine, and in 1944 formed his own group with bassist Oscar
Pettiford, which performed at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street.
• Gillespie’s 1945 recordings with Charlie Parker solidified the
duo as the two most important young musicians in jazz
DIZZY GILLESPIE
• When Parker remained in California and Gillespie
returned to New York City, the two musicians went in
separate directions
• Gillespie returned to a big band format, achieving some
commercial success through 1950
• Gillespie wanted to popularize bebop, even get people to dance to
it, but had little success
• Gillespie’s big band successfully converted bebop
vocabulary to the larger ensemble, and also highlighted
Gillespie’s growing interest in Afro-Cuban music
• Sometimes called Cubop, Afro-Cuban refers to jazz music which
emphasizes Caribbean rhythmic influences
DIZZY GILLESPIE
• Of particular note is Gillespie’s collaboration with conga
player Chano Pozo, who was featured in Gillespie’s band
and composed music with Gillespie
• Their recordings helped influence and expand the rhythmic
language of jazz music, and inspired many jazz musicians to
study the rhythmic traditions from Africa, Cuba, and other parts
of the world
• Manteca
• Cubana Be/Cubana Bop
DIZZY GILLESPIE
• In contrast to the brooding stage persona of Parker,
Gillespie was a champion for the popularity of Bebop, for
entertaining its audience
• His “hipster” affectations became as well known as his music
• The beret, goatee, and glasses
• He also became one of the most outstanding trumpet
players in jazz history
• Using bebop vocabulary like Parker’s, Gillespie expanded the
upper register of the trumpet, played faster and more complex
rhythms than his predecessors
DIZZY GILLESPIE
“Salt Peanuts” (1945)
• Wham (Re-Bop, Boom, Bam) (1942)
THELONIOUS
MONK
(1917-1982)
THELONIOUS MONK
• “Monk’s contribution to the new style of music was
mostly harmonic, but also spiritual.” – Dizzy Gillespie
• Thelonious Monk was born in in 1917 in Rocky Mount,
North Carolina
• He taught himself to play the piano, performing in church
when he was young
• Monk was the regular pianist at Minton’s during the early
1940’s, but did not begin recording regularly with other
bebop musicians until 1947, with Blue Note Records
THELONIOUS MONK
• Though considered one of the prime innovators of bebop,
Monk’s unique style was, like Ellington before him,
beyond category
• His playing often struck his contemporaries as odd, awkward,
erratic, and confusing
• In contrast to the virtuosic, long-winded lines from
players like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Monk’s
solos were sparse – they could feature a great deal of
silence, and often focused on the development of themes
or motives, rather than on the formulaic bebop
vocabulary used by other musicians
THELONIOUS MONK
• Musical characteristics
• Rhythmic displacement and other rhythmic irregula…
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